3 Vancouver Venues Join 50 Best Discovery

Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge, Elisa and Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions are among more than 650 venues added during the platform’s largest refresh to date.

The additions include more than 210 restaurants, 110 bars and 130 hotels worldwide. For the first time, the guide also includes vineyards, with more than 190 wine estates joining the collection.

Unlike The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and related annual lists, 50 Best Discovery is not a numbered ranking. Venues are included after receiving a qualifying number of votes from the international academies that contribute to the organization’s restaurant, bar, hotel and vineyard awards.

More than 3,000 chefs, restaurateurs, hospitality professionals, food and travel writers and other industry experts participate in the voting process.

Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge

Located inside the Wedgewood Hotel & Spa, Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge has long been one of Vancouver’s most polished dining rooms.

The restaurant’s velvet banquettes, Venetian chandeliers, grand piano and attentive service offer a style of old-world hospitality that has become increasingly rare in the city.

Executive chef Stefan Hartmann oversees a European-influenced menu that balances classical technique with ingredients from British Columbia. Signature dishes have included lobster bisque, braised bison short rib, brown butter squash ravioli and an elaborate two-tier seafood tower.

Bacchus is also a destination for cocktails and wine, whether stopping in for a pre-dinner Sazerac in the lounge or settling in for a full evening in the formal dining room.

Elisa

Yaletown’s Elisa offers a contemporary interpretation of the traditional steakhouse.

Led by executive chef Andrew Richardson, the kitchen centres around a Grillworks Infierno wood-fired grill. Premium steaks from Canada and abroad are joined by sustainable seafood, locally grown produce and an extensive selection of tartares.

The 50 Best Discovery profile calls particular attention to Elisa’s smoked bison and yellowfin tuna tartares, triple-cooked fries, truffle and Comté mac and cheese and its dramatic baked Alaska.

The dining room combines curved banquettes, modern art and a glass-enclosed cellar holding more than 6,000 bottles. Wine director Franco Michienzi oversees a collection with considerable strength in Old World wines.

Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions

The most casual of Vancouver’s three additions, Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions combines a neighbourhood cocktail bar, wood-fired grill and vintage-inspired gathering place.

The venue begins inside an early-1900s heritage house before opening into a soaring warehouse-style dining room and two patios. Its orange, brown and gold colour palette, mismatched furniture and nostalgic details provide plenty of 1970s personality.

Behind the playful appearance is a serious cocktail program featuring slushies, creative originals and unconventional ingredients. Food from the wood-fired grill ranges from oysters and short ribs to seasonal dishes and upscale bar snacks.

Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions also placed No. 91 on the extended North America’s 50 Best Bars 2026 list, making this a significant year for the Vancouver bar.

A growing global hospitality guide

The latest refresh brings 50 Best Discovery to more than 3,500 restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards across over 800 cities and towns.

One hundred of the new venues are in North America, including 52 restaurants, 25 bars, nine hotels and 14 vineyards. Vancouver and Los Angeles each gained three establishments, while New York City led the continent with 12 additions.

For Vancouver, the new entries are notably varied: a grand hotel dining room, a modern wood-fired steakhouse and a spirited neighbourhood cocktail bar. Together, they reflect the range and maturity of a hospitality scene that continues to attract attention well beyond Canada.