Best Formal Restaurant

Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar

1095 Hamilton St.
604-688-8078
Bluewatercafe.net

In a tightly contested category that included the “timeless food, elegant surrounds, and unfailingly genuine hospitality” of Bishop’s, the “classic French fare” of Le Crocodile, and the “off-the-chart dishes, luxury, and service” at the now-closed Lumière, Blue Water Cafe (Gold) scored highest with its “commitment to every aspect of the dining experience, starting with a chef, Frank Pabst, at the top of his game.” “Always busy without feeling crowded, and expertly run,” offered another judge, “Blue Water is the room you’d take an out-of-town visitor who wanted to experience the embodiment of Vancouver’s culinary sensibility.” West (Silver) has “come gradually back to life (after a post-David Hawksworth stumble) under chef David Gunawan,” who “brings regional expressions of the season to the plate with imagination and flawless technique.” Bronze winner Cioppino’s is “as brilliant as ever,” overseen by “a quality-obsessed chef and proprietor who elevates Italian with his passion, inventiveness, and consistency.”

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