Vancouver Guest Guide: West End’s Essential Stops

The West End is one of Vancouver’s oldest residential neighbourhoods, with a variety of delicious restaurants, exciting attractions, and adorable cafes worth stopping by. This guest guide to West End highlights some of the very best places you’ll want to visit while you’re in Vancouver.

West End’s Attractions and Sights to See

English Bay Beach

One of Vancouver’s most famous beaches, English Bay Beach is one of the city’s top attractions nestled between Sunset Beach and the start of Stanley Park. With the famous Inukshuk stone sculpture welcoming visitors to the English Bay Beach, you’ll also find a concession stand for snacks, public washrooms, beach umbrella and chair rentals, along with two sand volleyball courts available to anyone. At English Bay Beach you’ll also find popular events like the Polar Bear Swim, which has been hosting swimmers hopping into the cold water on New Year’s Day since 1920. Near the end of July, English Bay Beach is one of the best places to watch the HSBC Celebration of Light, a musical fireworks competition which attracts talent and audiences from around the world. 

A-maze-ing Laughter
Morton Park, 1800 Morton Avenue

This art installation and sculpture in Morton Park, on the corner of Davie and Denman, was installed in 2009 and is made up of 14 patinated bronze sculptures, each around three metres tall and in the image of the artist “in a state of hysterical laughter”. Created as part of the Vancouver International Sculpture Biennale, this set of sculptures was crafted by Chinese artist Yue Minjun and has become an iconic artistic landmark for West End and the City of Vancouver. Consisting of smiling and happy faces along with a variety of gestures and poses, the various figures are placed in a maze-like fashion to inspire people to wander in between the various laughing faces. 

Barclay Heritage Square and Roedde House Museum
1440 Haro Street

While downtown Vancouver is home to a large amount of high rise apartment buildings and other freshly built complexes, West End still retains its history as one of Vancouver’s oldest residential neighbourhoods thanks to Barclay Heritage Square and Roedde House Museum. Barclay Heritage Square is a small park with various benches amidst well-kept flora and Victorian houses. In the square you’ll find the Roedde House Museum, a restored version of a typical late Victorian House, giving visitors an example of what Vancouver was like before its rapid development during the mid 1900s. The Roedde House Museum offers guided tours from Tuesday to Friday for $10, with Tea and Tour afternoons on Sundays for the same price. Keep in mind that the Roedde House Museum is closed on Mondays and Saturdays, and only open from 1-4pm during the rest of the week. 

West End’s Best Restaurants

Kingyo
871 Denman Street

If you’re looking for an izakaya style restaurant in Vancouver’s West End then look no more, because Kingyo is known across the city for its delicious izakaya-style cuisine. Izakaya is a cuisine originating from Japanese bars which serve up a mix of small and typically inexpensive dishes. Kingyo has refined this style of cooking into an impressively delicious restaurant menu which retains the style and feel of a traditional Japanese bar. You’ll find all kinds of delicacies like lotus root agedashi, stone-grilled Kobe beef, and grilled duck breast at Kingyo which is open until 11:30pm on Sunday through Thursday, and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. 

Tavola
1829 Robson Street

Tavola is an Italian restaurant that can be found on Robson Street just off Denman, and serves up modern Italian dishes that are typically meant to be shared. Using fresh pasta made in house for their dishes along with the highest quality Italian ingredients, Tavola has a menu with various traditional Italian dishes like burrata with prosciutto and tonnarelli cacio e pepe, along with their fish of the day and a succulent 24oz dry aged prime rib steak. Owned and managed by the same restaurateurs as Nook and Oddfish, you’ll find a well-selected wine list and friendly atmosphere at Tavola on Robson Street.

Grocery Stores in West End

Brandon & Joanny’s No Frills
1030 Denman Street

No Frills is one of Vancouver’s favourite grocery stores when it comes to providing a wide selection of products at competitive prices. With a well-stocked and selected produce section, along with all the food products one would expect at a grocery store, No Frills’ top service and selection of items keeps West End’s residents coming back. On top of their already exceptional deals, No Frills is known for their “won’t be beat” policy, which means if you find a cheaper price at a competitor for an item in the store, No Frills will happily match it. You’ll find this No Frills location on the corner of Nelson and Denman Street open from 9am until 10pm every day of the week. 

Aria Market 
837 Bidwell Street

Aria Market is a local grocery store which specialises in produce and international products. With affordable prices across all their products, they stock hard-to-find Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern food products and a high quality selection of dried fruits and nuts. Family-run and always friendly, Aria Market is the grocer to visit if you’re looking for a unique selection of products from around the world at highly competitive prices. You’ll find Aria Market on Bidwell Street in between Robson Street and Rosemary Brown Lane.

Best Cafes and Bakeries in West End

Milano Espresso Bar
849 Denman Street

Milano Espresso Bar has been selecting, roasting, and brewing the highest quality of Italian coffee for more than 20 years. Found at the corner of Haro and Denman Street, Milano Espresso Bar has both indoor and outdoor seating where you can enjoy their proprietary coffee blend made up of premium 100% Arabica coffee beans. Open every day from 6:30 in the morning until 9pm, along with their top quality selection of coffee and other hot drinks you’ll also find a great selection of treats and pastries to enjoy. 

True Confections Denman
866 Denman Street

True Confections is a bakery and cafe which has been making its desserts from scratch since 1989. From fresh gluten-free cheesecakes to sweet summer berry tarts, True Confections has a huge variety of different cakes, pies, and other desserts to choose from. While even just one slice of their cakes is usually enough to satisfy someone, True Confections also bakes and sells whole cakes, pies, and desserts for special occasions. If you stop by the bakery, you’ll also find a variety of different hot drinks along with alcoholic and mixed drinks using coffee and hot tea, making for a perfect place to get a tasty treat and hot drink when its raining outside.

Late Night Snacks in West End

Peaked Pies
975 Denman Street

While most Vancouverites will think about dessert when you mention pies, Peaked Pies specialises in Australian style savory pies that can be eaten at any time of day. With freshly baked Australian meat pies (along with vegetarian and vegan versions), artisanal coffee, and a variety of desserts, Peaked Pies is a must-visit if you’re looking for an Aussie pie in Vancouver or simply need a hot snack to fill you up. Open seven days a week, Peaked Pies serves breakfast from 8-11am along with lunch and dinner from 11am until 9pm. 

7-Eleven
1055 Denman Street

While you’ll find a few various late-night restaurants and stores in West End, none are as well-stocked throughout the entire night as 7-Eleven on Denman Street. Open 24 hours a day every day of the week, you’ll find hot food items like pizza slices, wings, and taquitos, along with refreshingly cool beverages and other various snacks. They also carry a variety of household items, from cleaning products to electronic essentials, making them a great place to stop by when you need to pick something up in an emergency.