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Downtown Core
- Indian : Beneath the Murray Hotel on Hornby street, just south of Helmcken and just north of Davie, you'll find Choice Fast Food. Some of the best butter chicken in town! Get a full meal including rice, naan, and a salad for $6.99. The veggie meal is a good bet as well, including veggie stew, rice, a samosa, naan, and a salad for $4.69. Dine in or take out for a picnic. Open for lunch and dinner. **Note - Prices cited here have recently gone up by about a dollar a meal here - but it's still a great deal.
- Shawarma/Donair : On Robson street just west of Granville St., you'll find a donair place, Babylon Cafe, that can't be beat. Everything offered on the menu is posted on the sandwich board outside - 5 items in total, so you know they're all good. Chicken shawarma, falafel, and the excellent veggie wrap with roasted vegetables. The veggie option weighs in at an affordable $3.95, and you can put all the extras right in the wrap - hoummos, tabouli, hot sauce, etc. Open all day.
- Salad Bar: One of the best salad bars in town can be found behind the law courts, on Hornby street between Robson and Smithe, near Wall Centre called Hyrise Produce. Fill up your plastic container, and they charge you by weight, $1.19/100grams. Several aisles of fruit and veg are always fresh and tasty. Another new salad bar is on Davie at Thurlow. Though there are fewer fresh fruits and veggies, there are more dressings, tuna/egg/tofu salads, and you can make and grill your own wrap, $1.29/100grams.
- Vietnamese : Right next to the above mentioned salad bar, (Hornby at Smithe) you'll find One Saigon, a great new Vietnamese joint. Dine in or take out a selection of Pho, vietnamese subs, salad rolls and noodle/rice dishes. A meal can be had here for between $5-8. Open for lunch and dinner. Great spring rolls!
- Lebanese: On Seymour just south of Davie, is the new 2nd location of Nuba Cafe. It's a small place that serves great Lebanese fast food food. The only "expensive" item is a mezze platter for 2 at $20.50; all other items are $10 or less. The menu and hours of operation are posted on Nuba's website.
West End
- Indian: On Robson street, between Bute and Jervis, you'll find The Original Taste of India. It's a small restaurant with limited outdoor seating. Good selection of beers and East Indian dishes, including the ever-popular butter chicken. Dinner dishes are typically under $10.
- Japanese : On Robson street, between Nicola and Cardero streets, you'll find Gyoza King. They have a huge menu of dinner items (their specialty is gyoza which are stuffed pan-fried dumplings) most of which are under $7. While most of the clientele are Japanese, the menu has pictures and enough English to make ordering straightforward. You can have enough food to feed four people comfortably for $60 - tip and tax included. The long line (30 minutes on a Thursday night at 8:30) is due to the small size of the restaurant, the high quality and low cost.
- Pacific Rim : Milestone's is a chain of about a dozen restaurants in the Vancouver area. Their locations include one on Robson street (between Bute and Thurlow) and one on Denman Street (near Beach). Their menus have "share plates" (appetizers or light main courses) and "world noodles" as well as the more common seafood, steaks and burger sections. Examples of share plates include: three small skewers of ginger five-spice beef or kaffir lime marinated chicken with three dipping sauces (Kobe mustard, mango vinaigrette, sweet red-chile sauce), and calamari and andouillle sausage with aioli sauce. Dinners include steak with dipping sauces, grilled seafood salad and chicken with portobello mushrooms. The Denman Street restaurant is across from English Bay and has a very nice view. Dinner for four (with a few drinks but no dessert) can run about $120 including tip and taxes.
Granville Island
- Soup: In the Public Market is The Stock Market which has a fabulous array of soups, to eat on site and to take home. Bags of soup to take home generally run less than $10. Each bag holds about 3 cups of soup.
- Seafood: At 1505 1st Avenue West where it intersects Island Park Walk is Go Fish. Besides fish 'n chips, they have fish tacones (fish etc stuffed into a rolled tortilla), a varying fish soup and other items made with the freshest fish available that day. Most items run between $5-$12. Hours are limited, vary seasonally, and they close if they run out of fish. Go early and stand in line at their shack to wait for them to open.
Gastown
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Lebanese: On W Hastings between Homer and Hamilton, is Nuba Cafe. It's a very small place that serves great Lebanese food on plates filled to overflowing. The only "expensive" item is a mezze platter for 2 at $20.50; all other items are $10 or less. The only drawback to the place is the limited hours, M-F, 11-8.
- Vancouver Community College: At the corner of Dunsmuir and Hamilton is their City Center Campus student center. On the second floor is the usual college cafeteria, but this campus also has a culinary arts program, and those students have to do a lot of practice in the kitchen. The modestly priced results are available at JJ's Restaurant and in their bake shop, both also on the second floor. The bake shop opens at about 10am, M-F and has bread, pastries, cakes and some to-go meals like salads, soups and entrees for 1 that only need heating in a microwave. JJ's Restaurant serves lunch and dinner and reservations are advised (604.443.8479) if for no other reason than that the days they are open depend upon the school calendar as much as anything else. A lengthy review is available at http://evalu8.org/staticpage?page=rev....
Kitsilano
- Funky: Sophie's Cosmic Cafe is located at 2095 West 4th Avenue in Kitsilano and is a Vancouver institution. The walls are covered with lunch boxes, records, trikes and other yard-sale junk — it provides a fun backdrop to the good, large servings. Sophie's is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast entrees are about $12 and include multiple versions of Eggs Benedict (a Greek version which adds feta, sour cream and a Southwestern one served on cornbread with salsa — both delicious). Large plates, covered with good food at a reasonable price and in a funky setting — what's not to like?
Commercial Drive
- Mexican: The Red Burrito, on the corner of Commercial and 1st, offers gargantuan burritos for between $5-6. Only for the truly hungry.
- Sandwiches: The Elizabeth Bakery, on Commercial just before Grandview Park @ William, offers daily made sandwiches for $3 or less. Grab a sandwich and a mango pudding for a picnic in the park.
- Pizza: Jamaican Pizza Jerk on Commercial and 12th offers the best pizza on the drive. While a little more costly than buck-a-slice, you can still get full for under $5. Favourite slices are the Peter Tosh (with jerk chicken) and the Bob Marley (with broccoli). All the cheese is soy-based — this is the least greasy pizza you'll find in Vancouver.
- El Salvadorean: The El Salvadorean Ristorante on Commercial and 4th is a great spot for a casual meal. If you've got $10, get the fried fish; if you've got $5 get a few papusas, the national dish of El Salvador. Dough stuffed with beans, cheese, and/or meat with salsa for dipping.
- BBQ: Try Memphis Blues Barbecue House, on Commercial and Grant. For meat lovers only! Get a pulled pork sandwich, pork and beans and coleslaw for $7.
- Thai: If you're looking for Thai, try Take Thai Home on Commercial and 2nd. Get the pad thai, or the red curry with pumpkin for $8.
- Deli: Head to Santa Barbara, on Commercial and William - one of the better Italian delis around. Grab a few slices of meat and cheese from the zoo of a deli counter. Take a number and grab your baguette while you wait. Best place for supplies for a cheap picnic.