You know the feeling when you want a tasty bite to eat in the middle of the night? You want to calm your cravings as soon as possible, but you don’t know where to go. This might not happen to you often, but when it does, you’re in serious trouble. Fortunately, there are some restaurants in Vancouver open all night. We’ve searched for the best options, and here are the results.
The Naam Restaurant
2724 West Fourth Avenue, Vancouver
Let’s start with Vancouver’s oldest natural food restaurant, located in the middle of Kitsilano. What started as a small cafe more than 30 years ago has grown into a popular full-service restaurant open 24/7, every day except Christmas Day. We must mention that this place focuses on vegetarian options, but even if you’re a carnivore, their meals are well worth trying. After all, their numerous awards speak for themselves.
The menu is rather long. For breakfast you can order burritos, omelettes, scrambled tofu, pancakes, shakes, granola, or salad. The lunch and dinner menu is even more extensive, including pizzas, nachos, quesadillas, grilled chilli, soups, burgers, and several sweet vegan desserts. You can order fresh juices, tea, wine, beer, or cider to accompany each dish. Don’t forget to taste their miso gravy, Naam’s signature ingredient served with many of its dishes.
Naam Quesadilla by jeffgunn
One customer shares her experience:
On a recent visit to the Vancouver restaurant, prompted by my daughter’s early rising and a complete lack of food in my refrigerator, I ordered the spinach and feta omelette. Was it the best breakfast I’ve ever had? Probably not. But it was still pretty tasty, and the ingredients were exceptionally fresh and healthy. And did I mention that they’re open 24 hours? If your kid is going to wake you up at 6:00 AM on a Saturday, you might as well get out there and get some fresh, yummy food in your belly!
The restaurant is often full, especially at mid-day and at dinner time on weekends, so don’t forget to book a table in advance. One of the few downsides of this place may be the somewhat slower, not very attentive service, so you really need to be patient. This is not so surprising since this restaurant used to have a reputation as an ageing hippies’ meeting point, and the hippie influence is still present. So if you’re in hurry, we recommend choosing another restaurant. However, if you have enough time, come here and enjoy some very tasty food, a nice and eclectic atmosphere with live music, cozy old chairs and wooden tables, many plants, and regular art displays.
Lucy’s Eastside Diner
2708 Main Street, Vancouver
No matter what time it is, you can always enjoy breakfast, lunch, or dinner at Lucy’s Eastside Diner. This is not a place for large groups of people since there are only 28 seats, but if you’re alone or with only a couple friends, you’ll appreciate this diner. Why Lucy’s? The co-owner, Erv Salvador, decided to name the spot after his little daughter.
She owns the whole company and we work for her in trust. She’s pretty much got me wrapped around her little finger. When my wife became pregnant, I had this moment of panic, of being responsible for another person. What did I know that would ensure her future? I know restaurants.
he said for the Vancouver Sun.
Delicious Blueberry Cake
The menu offers a wide variety of choices, mainly typical traditional diner fare like burgers, sandwiches, omelettes, burritos, pancakes, and grilled cheese. Vegetarians and vegans don’t have to worry: even though there are fewer vegan options, there are still a lot to choose from. Moreover, this place is really affordable, and you can get a burger with fries and a tasty milkshake for as little as $10. What’s not to like here?
Lucy´s Eastside Diner
Siegel’s Bagels
1883 Cornwall Avenue and 1698 Johnston Street
Siegel’s Bagels is the real deal, so if you’re in the mood for a toasty, chewy bagel smothered in cream cheese, hit up either 1883 Cornwall Avenue in Kitsilano or Granville Island’s 1698 Johnston Street. This deli and bakery sells not only sell authentic Montreal-style bagels, but also sandwiches, eggs, smoked meat, and beef salami. But it’s their bagels that attract crowds. They bake them throughout the day and night in a traditional wood-burning oven to give the bagels an amazing crusty outside and chewy inside. You can choose from 21 different almost fat-free bagels, from plain and sesame to the not-so-typical blueberry and banana walnut bagel. A single bagel costs $1, while a dozen bagels will run you $9.95, or $8.25 on Tuesdays. Toppings range from $1.50 for butter to $3.50 for flavoured cream cheese.
You can buy bagels pretty much everywhere, but one visitor describes the difference between fresh bagels and store-bought alternatives:
It’s almost impossible to saunter by a Siegel’s and not be overwhelmed by the sweet smell of baking and it’s refreshing to see real people taking time and care over something as simple as a bagel. The difference really does come through in the product. Siegel’s bagels are readily available in stores throughout the Lower Mainland, but there is something to be said for going to one of their locations in person and selecting a fresh dozen for yourself.
Their sandwiches are also worth a try. The Club Bagel with smoked meat, turkey breast, vegetables, mustard, and mayo or the Candied Salmon Bagel with cream cheese, red onions, and capers sound promising, don’t you think?
Do you dare?
If you’re careful about what you eat, you can take a look at the bagels’ approximate nutritional information. And let’s not forget that you can submit your idea of a perfect bagel on their website and it can be chosen as the Featured Bagel of the month!
Calhoun’s
3035 West Broadway
Calhoun’s has been operating in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood since 1994. The place is extremely popular among UBC students because of its close proximity to the university campus, free wi-fi, and being open all day long. It’s important to mention that this is more of a cafe than a restaurant — so the food isn’t always prepared fresh — but this doesn’t mean that their food isn’t tasty.
Calhoun´s Bakery
You can order a muffin, scone, homemade chocolate ganache cake, raspberry cheesecake, caramel sambuca trifle, salad, soup, pasta, or daily hot specials and coffee, smoothies, local or imported beer, or wine. For students it’s a nice place to eat some comfort food — especially in the middle of the night. There is live jazz music on Tuesday and Sunday evenings, and Latin dancing every Thursday night, so if you’re looking for a spot with a great atmosphere, you should definitely come here.
House of Dosas
1391 Kingsway
Some people say you don’t go to 24-hour restaurants for their food but because they’re open. However, we guarantee there are exceptions, and House of Dosas might be one of them. If you’ve never heard of dosa before, it is a popular, south Indian, paper-thin crêpe-like food made from fermented batter, which is usually made with just two ingredients: rice and black lentils. It can be wrapped around different fillings that can be served with varying spice levels. The first time a dosa is presented to you (together with a small soup and two kinds of chutney), it looks gigantic. Even though the curried filling covers only about a third of its length, it totally fills you up. Prices are adequate given the fact that you’re most likely not going to find a more satisfying meal around. Moreover, they have a tradition of celebrating Mondays as customer appreciation days, so you can get all your dosas with a special discount (so be prepared to stand in line on Mondays, but it’s well worth the wait). Of course, they also offer other popular Indian foods such as biryani, pakora, and curry, and they have other daily specials too.
Dosa by haynes
Next time you find yourself hungry in the middle of the night, be sure to take a trip to House of Dosas for a hearty and affordable meal.
One of their visitors sums it up nicely:
Being a South Indian who regularly prepares and eats South Indian cuisine myself, I have high expectations when it comes to Indian food. That being said, House of Dosas fulfilled all my expectations and more. The place, as other people have noted before me, is small and feels like one of the Indian restaurants back home. We did not have to wait, but there were many people who came after us who had to wait really long for a table. Everything we tried was delicious including the vadas, dosas, chicken 65 and chai and even the vanilla milkshake. I would definitely recommend it to anyone craving for south Indian food.
Breka Bakery and Café
6533 Fraser Street
Once you step inside Breka Bakery & Cafe, you’ll want to stay forever. The display of pastries with reasonable pricing, delicious smoothies, and good coffee are simply irresistible. Thanks to its baked goods’ deliciousness, Breka is a really busy place with regular lines at the counter. We guess that staying open 24/7 indicates that demand really is high for their tasty fare. If pastries and cakes aren’t your thing, don’t worry: you can order sandwiches, wraps, small meals, or fresh bread and eat inside or grab and go. All things considered, this is a nice place for both people with a sweet tooth and those who seek something fresh and tasty in the middle of the night.
