Restaurant Awards 2024: Restaurant of the Year, AnnaLena

Vancouver magazine’s 2024 Restaurant of the Year is… AnnaLena

This is the second year in a row that AnnaLena has taken the top prize in our Restaurant Awards. And while it’s tempting to think of the nine-year-old spot as a late bloomer, the reality is that through all its incarnations (from a playful upstart with share plates starting at $5 to a COVID-pivoter offering a four-course $49 takeaway to today’s $144 tasting menu that books out a month in advance), AnnaLena has been a restaurant that nails its stated goals with an across-the-board application of serious focus. What’s even more impressive is that each of those transitions happened seamlessly, with the restaurant bringing its patrons—few in town have such a dedicated, loyal fanbase—happily along with them for the ride.

When AnnaLena opened in 2015 on a forgotten patch of far-east Kits, few outsiders would have suspected that FOH/BOH duo Jeff Parr and Michael Robbins would become the pacesetters for imaginative cuisine in the city. But in retrospect, it’s clear that after years of toiling in other people’s restaurants, the pair became fixated on creating a room of their own that could match their commitment to working at the highest level. In part, that means having a deep talent pool in every role—think chefs, somms and servers. Their sommelier goes on maternity leave? They have another rockstar waiting in the wings in Reverie Beall. One of our eagle-eyed judges noted that AnnaLena features “not only chef Robbins on their website, but also the four chefs working with him” (that’s Brent Lukoni, Chad Martin, RJ Latorre and Enrique Quiroga)—and it’s a telling point. Parr and Robbins know that it takes a team to reach the heights they’re striving for.

And where those heights end, who knows. In a next-level doubling-down on dedication, they recently reduced the number of seats to just 32 in order to ensure that they can both meet and exceed their intensely high bar for quality. Chef Robbins continues his back-to-the-drawing-board approach of creating unique tasting menus seasonally, so that the only constant is Anna­Lena’s adherence to local fare plus the occasional curveball ingredient—bagel butter being a recent sly addition. But despite it all, this never feels like a “tasting menu” spot. There’s a warmness to the entire operation, and a sense of joy pervades the space. It’s proof that fun and fine dining don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

AnnaLena
1809 W 1st Ave.
annalena.ca

Find more of the best Vancouver restaurants on our list of 2024 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Award winners.