DINE OUT VANCOUVER RESTAURANTS REVEALED, BOOKINGS OPEN

215 participating restaurants now taking reservations for $18, $28 and $38 menus

The list of 215 restaurants dishing up $18, $28 and $38 menus for Dine Out VancouverTM 2011 was officially released today by Tourism Vancouver, kicking off reservations for the two-week dining festival that runs from Monday, January 24 to Sunday, February 6.

Consumers can now view the list of participating restaurants at tourismvancouver.com/dov, along with their three-course dinner menus and suggested British Columbia VQA wine pairings. Reservations for all restaurants are open and many are directly bookable through Tourism Vancouver’s website.

Reservations for Dine Out Vancouver events and hotel offers have been open since December. With just two-and-a-half weeks remaining before the start of Dine Out Vancouver 2011, consumers are advised to book now to avoid missing out on their top choices.

Tourism Vancouver’s Lucas Pavan, who is responsible for coordinating Dine Out Vancouver, says that interest in the promotion is already high. “Dine Out Vancouver [#DineOut] was trending at number five nationally on Twitter yesterday during our ‘sneak peek’ menu release to Twitter followers,” said Pavan. “I expect interest will grow further with today’s official launch. We also suspect that locals will take advantage of the $68, $98, and $138 hotel stays so that they can enjoy a bottle of wine during their meal without having to worry about getting home that night.”

Now in its ninth year, Dine Out Vancouver has grown from just 57 restaurants in 2003, to the largest dining event of its kind in Canada. This year a record 215 restaurants are involved, along with 33 hotels, three cooking schools (Dirty Apron Cooking School, Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, and Quince), one catering company (Culinary Capers) as well as the Arts Club Theatre Company, the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, Vancouver Aquarium, Swallow Tail Tours, and Kronenbourg 1664.
 
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson commented: “Vancouver is consistently named one of the top dining cities in the world and Dine Out Vancouver certainly contributes to our city’s food culture and reputation. The City of Vancouver is a strong supporter of Dine Out Vancouver and we hope to see it continue to grow and thrive in the years ahead.”

About Dine Out Vancouver
Presented by Tourism Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver is an annual dining festival and celebration of food and British Columbia wine. At its core, Dine Out Vancouver 2011 offers three-course, prix fixe menus at $18, $28 and $38 price points (exclusive of taxes, alcohol and gratuity) at 215 restaurants across Metro Vancouver. Many menus come with suggested BC VQA wine pairings (available at an additional cost), facilitated by the BC Wine Institute. In addition, Dine Out Vancouver 2011 offers over a dozen food-themed events and activities including culinary tours, cooking lessons, dinner-theatre evenings, and special dining events. Consumers can vote for their favourite Dine Out Vancouver experiences in the Best Bite Awards1 and one lucky diner will win the Dine Out for a Year Contest2 granting them 52 restaurant gift certificates worth $3,900 in value. Dine Out Vancouver 2011 runs from Monday, January 24 to Sunday, February 6. Full information is available at tourismvancouver.com/dov.

Tourism Vancouver is grateful to the Dine Out Vancouver sponsors who make this event possible: British Columbia Wine Institute, Kronenbourg 1664, KVOS Television, Metro News, Where magazine, Vancouver magazine, and Tourism Vancouver Television.