breakfast
The Tomato Fresh Food Café 2486 Bayswater St., 604-874-6020, tomatofreshfoodcafe.com
By GARY BARCLAY

It’s been a year and a half since Tomato Café, the popular neighbourhood bistro on Cambie, re-located, after 17 years, to Bayswater and Broadway. Entering the “new” much larger space, drenched in Saturday morning sunshine from high-ceilinged skylights, we are greeted with the aroma of fresh-baked goods, the warmth of natural wood, walls painted tomato-red and cream-yellow, an empty bar lined with swivel stools, and an enormous indoor fig tree.
Seated, we check out the Blue Plate Specials, then turn to the regular menu to choose Tomato’s Omelette, “filled with tomatoes, Monterey Jack, Parmesan & basil served with sourdough toast & country-style potatoes” ($8.50) and The Diner Classic, “two eggs softly scrambled or poached, European back bacon” and, again, toast and potatoes ($9.50).
Rock music plays in the background. Babies in strollers and children, led by their parents, pass by our table, stopping to say hello.
The café is fairly busy with no apparent shortage of staff, but it’s taking way too long to place our order. As we contemplate the bottle of Heinz Ketchup, grouped with the salt and pepper shakers and packets of refined white sugar at the end of our table, the bartender, observing our neglect, comes to our rescue to graciously take our order.
The food is good, the portions small. In all, fresh standard fare with a moderate emphasis on regional ingredients, some organic, served in a well-lit cheerful space to socialize or read – with room to spread out the Sunday edition of The New York Times.

lunch
Village Taphouse 1C–900 Main St., Village at Park Royal, West Vancouver. 604-922-8882, villagetaphouse.com
By MICHELLE HOPKINS

Do you ever yearn for some memorable food in an upscale urban eatery without paying for the privilege of “fine dining”? A new venture of Cactus Club, this restaurant/pub offers a whiff of modern elegance in a Whistler après-ski kind of way. We stepped out of the cold and into the warmth of the oversized river-rock fireplace and sank into the cozy leather chairs.
Gone are the days when the smoky boozer with a jar of pickled gherkins on the counter, alongside a plate of cheese sandwiches with curled up edges, were all that was on offer.
The Pacific Northwest-inspired dishes by Executive Chef Darren Clay are as smartly designed as the room. We started off with appetizers, lightly battered calamari ($10.50) and one of my favourites, Thai chicken pieces ($9.50). The calamari was superb, served on a bed of jalapeño and red peppers with two distinctive and mouthwatering dipping sauces. Both the spinach and Sierra salads ($13; $14) were delectably healthy and dressed with a sinfully good lemon-thyme vinaigrette.
This chic gastro-pub was surprisingly busy for a weekday afternoon. It was filled with moms and babies in tow, businessmen and friends alike, all enjoying the ambience and the friendly and unobtrusive staff. It’s a great while-away-the-afternoon spot on a cool, wintry day. Even though the Village Taphouse seats 230, the designers have managed to create little intimate pockets in a large space. The upscale eatery is open for lunch and dinner. 

dinner
Chill Winston Restaurant & Lounge 3 Alexander St., 604 288 9575, chillwinston.com
By THEA MERCER

We arrive at Chill Winston in Gastown on a rainy Sunday night and are quickly ushered to our seats by the welcoming and helpful hostess. The wet Vancouver weather has rendered Chill’s large outdoor patio largely abandoned, but inside the restaurant is warm with food and chitchat.
Once most of the water’s been shaken from our coats, we settle down to relax and sample the new winter menu designed by Executive Chef Richard Tyhy. For entrées the options are limited, and a good chunk of the mains on offer are tapas-sized gourmet pizzas like the functionally titled Earth, Turf, or our pick, Surf ($13), a West-Coasty construction of house-smoked salmon and clams abed spinach and feta and drizzled with a lemon-dill cream sauce that is tangy but not overwhelming.
If you’re looking for a more delicate bite, there are plenty of appies to choose from, like the Smoked Bison Carpaccio ($15), which is smoky with just a hint of sweet, or the Duck Bacon Unwrapped Scallops ($13) that had us ordering a basket of bread to sop up the juice from the accompanying ceviche.
Chill Winston is not the place to go for an economy-sized entrée; for that you might try down the street at the Old Spaghetti Factory, but if you’re looking to spend an evening nibbling and catching up with good friends, Chill Winston might be what you’re looking for. The service is warm and friendly, and while the delivery is a bit slow, no one here seems to be in a hurry.
Open from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday to Saturday; Sundays to midnight.