There’s a version of Vancouver that lives in most people’s heads. Stanley Park. Seawalls. Sushi. Granville Island. Maybe a memory of rain and Lululemon and a walk down Robson Street years ago.
But Vancouver changes quickly. Entire pockets of the city now feel completely different than they did even two years ago, especially if you haven’t wandered beyond the usual tourist checklist lately.
This spring, we spent a weekend exploring the newest restaurants, cafés, boutiques, and experiences reshaping Vancouver while staying at Revival English Bay, a newly reimagined boutique hotel tucked into one of the West End’s best streets. More than just a place to stay, it completely changed the way I’d recommend experiencing the city.
You don’t need a car here. Walk to English Bay in minutes. Bike the seawall. Grab coffee on Denman Street. Wander through Stanley Park. The neighbourhood is adorable.
The West End has a different rhythm than the downtown most visitors picture. Quieter. Leafier. More local. Inside, the hotel leans into a calm West Coast modern style with warm textures, natural light, and thoughtfully designed spaces. Our adjoining rooms felt more like stylish city apartments than hotel suites, complete with kitchenettes and little private patios overlooking a lush green courtyard.
Every morning started with homemade breakfasts and coffee in the room before heading out into the city. Every evening ended the same way: wine glasses in hand, books open, listening to the quiet hum of Vancouver outside our patio doors (except for our late night shawarma run, another great thing about this neighborhood).
One of the most exciting openings we visited was Touk, the contemporary Cambodian restaurant from Top Chef Canada winner Chef Chanthy Yen (Fun fact: Yen was also the personal chef of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.) Touk has quickly become one of the city’s most talked-about new restaurants, and after one meal there, it’s easy to understand why.
The menu feels unlike anything else in Vancouver right now. Cambodian flavours meet French technique in unique dishes. Serving Fraser Valley duck, sablefish, rich curries with fragrant herbs, delicate textures, smoky grilled elements, tiny details everywhere. Plus, a cocktail menu that will blow your mind! The bartending staff was incredible at recommending pairings for all our dishes, I always appreciate this touch in a restaurant.
Just a short transit ride away in Kitsilano, Fred's Restaurant has brought its Sunshine Coast following into the city with a warm, modern Italian space that already feels established despite being one of the neighbourhood’s newer arrivals. You absolutely have to try the beef carpaccio, made with tenderloin, ricotta salata, black truffle, arugula crema, olives, pickled shallot, and Italian chili crisp. Follow it up with one of their handmade pasta dishes or woodfired pizzas.
Speaking of the Sunshine Coast coming to Kitsilano, make sure you save room to visit Little Spoon. Their small-batch ice cream is handmade using clean ingredients to make up really unique flavors. Little Spoon has been loved by the Sunshine Coast since 2020, made in Gibsons, Kits visitors can now indulge too.
Goldie's Donuts has quickly become one of the city’s most photographed sweet spots. The bright branding, oversized donuts, and constantly rotating flavours make it feel tailor-made for social media, but the donuts themselves actually live up to the hype.
Meanwhile, back downtown, start a morning of shopping on Robson Street at Bouquet Café where floral details, beautiful pastries, and perfectly styled drinks made it feel like stepping into a Paris café hidden in the middle of Vancouver. This cafe is part floral boutique so treat yourself to coffee and flowers!
Directly nearby was one of my favourite shopping finds of the weekend: Shop Maie. If your aesthetic leans feminine, playful, pink, romantic, or just generally “girlhood,” you could lose an hour in there. The boutique is filled with soft colours, trendy pieces, accessories, and the kind of clothing that makes you want to book a photoshoot.
Looking for something new to do? Check out The Dome, at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre. We watched the Blue Whale experience inside the dome theatre, which uses six Christie 4K laser projectors to create seamless 10K visuals across the curved ceiling and walls. With more than 100 million pixels surrounding the audience in every direction, the experience feels incredibly immersive.
The sound system is equally impressive, featuring 20,000 watts of Dolby Atmos surround sound engineered for full 360-degree audio throughout the theatre. From underwater whale calls to cinematic soundtracks, the audio moves throughout the dome to create a fully immersive viewing experience. Click here for all the current shows being featured now.
The city still has all the reasons people fell in love with it in the first place. The beaches. The seawall. The mountain backdrop. But layered on top of that now is a completely new generation of restaurants, boutique hotels, cafés, and experiences reshaping the city into something that feels more design-forward, more culinary-driven, and more exciting!
If you’re looking for even more hidden gems, weekend getaways, luxury family travel inspiration, and new places worth adding to your bucket list across British Columbia and beyond, you can follow along with my adventures on Instagram at @thiswildpassport, where I share cinematic travel guides, real-time discoveries, and the kinds of places you’ll immediately want to book for yourself.
Check out www.thiswildpassport.ca if you’re interested in joining me as I host an incredible group of women through Portugal this July 2-11th. A few spots remain and I would love to include you in our travel girls community!
