Main Street is one of Vancouver’s most vibrant streets, taking you through several of Vancouver’s most interesting neighborhoods, including Gastown, Olympic village, China Town, Mount Pleasant and Lower Main (Loma). It has become a hub for great bars and restaurants, wonderful boutiques, vegan shopping and eating and microbreweries. The area around main street is great for walking or cycling and boasts many of Vancouver’s best murals. Several festivals are hosted on Main Street including Vancouver’s annual mural festival in August. Go early, do a little shopping, taste some beer, stay for happy hour, have dinner and finish at one of the very unique bars. Main Street is great for an all day adventure. Just remember to pace yourself. And maybe use public transit or a taxi!

Murals

Vancouver hosts an annual mural festival at the beginning of August every year and has been doing so since 2016. Currently there are over 100 murals throughout Vancouver with many of them centered around Main Street. This past year 25 new murals were added. As per the VMF website: Vancouver Mural Festival is organized by Create Vancouver Society, a Registered Non-Profit dedicated to artistic and cultural development in the Lower Mainland. Through the creation of permanent large-scale public murals, we provide a platform for Vancouver’s diverse art scene to contribute to the city’s cultural legacy for years to come.  You can download a map of Vancouver’s murals at the VMF website: https://www.vanmuralfest.ca.

Restaurants

Main Street is known for its’ abundance of restaurants. You could, conceivably eat your way through the cuisine of almost every country in the world as you wander up and down Main. Best fish and chips (check), best seafood dim sum (check), best Vietnamese cuisine (check), pizza, burgers, Malaysian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Thai, upscale, take out, you name it, you can find it on Main Street. The restaurant scene changes regularly, so it is always dangerous to limit yourself to those listed here, and always best to do a little research to see what’s new. However, there are some that have survived the test of time and are worth checking out including: Bodega on Main (for Spanish tapas), Nomad (for creative cuisine from around the world), The Fish Counter (for some of the best fish and chips in the city), Burdock and Co. (for exquisite upscale seasonal offerings), Au Petit Cafe (for excellent Vietnamese food – be prepared to line-up), East is East (for yummy Eastern cuisine, often accompanied by live music) and Hawker’s Delight (great take-out Malaysian). To see what’s new check out Scout Vancouver https://scoutmagazine.ca/ – an online magazine about what’s new and happening in Vancouver, and/or Vancouver Foodster: http://vancouverfoodster.com

Vegan Restaurants

Looking for a great plant based meal? How about supplies to make a plant-based picnic. Well, Main Street has you covered. You can stock up to do your own cooking at the Vegan Supply Store, find great burgers and fries and lots of other stuff at (Meet on Main), fabulous middle eastern cuisine (Chickpea), go high end (The Acorn) or more casual but equally delicious (The Arbor), have pizza and ice cream (Virtuous Pie), or just a quick snack of some amazing vegan cheese (Blue Heron Creamery). And don’t forget doughnuts! While Cartems doughnuts is not solely vegan, it does have an excellent (and delicious) line-up of vegan doughnuts. As a non-vegan, I can vouch for the fact that all of the places mentioned above prepare seriously delicious food!

Happy Hour

Mmmm. I seem very food focused don’t I? Oh well, if the doughnut fits. Just about every restaurant on Main Street offers some sort of happy hour. Most run weekdays from either 3-6 or 2 to 5. Beer lover – check out Portland Craft with it’s dozens of microbrews on tap. Tapas – Bodega on Main has been a Vancouver Institution for many years and offers daily happy hour. In a Reggae mood – check out The Reef for Jamaican specialties. Happy Hour has become a Vancouver staple over the last few years and Main Street with it’s abundance of restaurants is a good place to indulge.

Boutiques

Main Street is a shopper’s paradise. Here is where you find local designers offering their creations at affordable prices and unique boutiques catering to the more discerning buyer who wants to get away from the chains and department stores. Check out Twig & Hottie and Eugene Choo for local creations, Smoking Lily for handcrafted/silk-screened clothing and accessories, Front & Company for new and used clothing as well as unique jewelry and gifts, the Barefoot Contessa to feed your inner girly-girl (featuring all things lovely), Hazel and Jools for maternity and baby clothes as well as comfortable clothing for women in natural fibres (a personal favorite of mine). Do your own exploring. There are often pop up stores and the area is always changing!

Microbreweries

Google microbreweries near main street and you’ll get a map with an abundance of little red dots on the map. Take a taxi to Main Street Brewing and go from there. In addition to Main Street brewing, check out Brassneck, 33 Acres, Parallel 49, and Storm. We are fans of the hop and those five definitely satisfy. Grab a seat, order a flight and

Unique Bars

Looking for somewhere a little different to grab a drink? What about the Narrow Lounge. Located at 3rd and Main, look for the red light. In side you’ll find an old fashioned speakeasy bar with interesting cocktails and delicious appetizers. Or try The Emerald, located in Chinatown just off Main Street. You’ll find it behind the Green Door and up the stairs. How about a Tiki Bar – The Shameful Tiki Room (yes that’s really its name). Join the rum club and see if you can work your way through all 50.