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GuideUpdated July 15, 2026

5 Best Restaurants in Burnaby, Vancouver

The best restaurants in Burnaby, Vancouver — Californian, Italian and Global and more, each rated 4.0★ or higher. Top pick rated 9.4★. Curated by TastyPals.

The best restaurants in burnaby in Vancouver are Birdies, Trattoria by Italian Kitchen, Tenen Restaurant, and more. Start with Birdies if you want the strongest overall first pick.

By Marcus Chen•5 ranked picks•Published July 15, 2026•Updated July 15, 2026
Methodology•Editorial team
BirdiesTrattoria by Italian KitchenTenen Restaurant
5 Best Restaurants in Burnaby, Vancouver
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Top picks at a glance

#1BirdiesCalifornian • Burnaby • value#2Trattoria by Italian KitchenItalian • Burnaby • value#3Tenen RestaurantGlobal • Burnaby • value

Who this guide is for

This guide covers the highest-rated restaurants in Burnaby, Vancouver. Whether you're a local or visiting the neighbourhood for the first time, these picks give you a reliable starting point sorted by quality and review depth.

Quick picks

Birdies
Californian • Burnaby
Birdies took over the old Earl's on Lougheed Hwy, and the lineage shows — this is a Cactus Club/Joey/Earl's family project, with a menu designed by Chef David Wong and a California-by-way-of-Burnab…
Trattoria by Italian Kitchen
Italian • Burnaby
Trattoria by Italian Kitchen has outlasted its own network.
Tenen Restaurant
Global • Burnaby
Tenen Restaurant is a sensible global call in Burnaby in Vancouver when you want something that usually lands well.
Browse all Vancouver restaurantsBack to Vancouver hub
Editorial details
Author: Marcus Chen
Published: July 15, 2026
Last updated: July 15, 2026

On this page

  1. 1. BirdiesView →
  2. 2. Trattoria by Italian KitchenView →
  3. 3. Tenen RestaurantView →
  4. 4. Tap & Barrel • BrentwoodView →
  5. 5. Hart House RestaurantView →

How the restaurants compare

Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Birdies
Google
Birdies
Burnaby • Californian
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
dinner
Mood
Burnaby
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Trattoria by Italian Kitchen
Google
Trattoria by Italian Kitchen
Burnaby • Italian
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
dinner
Mood
Burnaby
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Tenen Restaurant
Google
Tenen Restaurant
Burnaby • Global
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
dinner
Mood
Burnaby
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Tap & Barrel • Brentwood
Google
Tap & Barrel • Brentwood
Burnaby • Global
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
dinner
Mood
Burnaby

How we chose

We looked for restaurants that feel like a strong fit for the guide topic, not just the most obvious names in the city. The shortlist favors rooms with clear mood, dependable pacing, and enough distinction to help someone decide faster. Read our full methodology →

Room tone

Lighting, pace, and general energy all need to support the reason someone clicked this guide.

Food fit

We favored restaurants that feel best suited for the moment, not just restaurants with broad reputation.

Useful range

The final list tries to give readers enough variation in neighborhood, price, and style to compare real options.

5 ranked picks

Birdies — Birdies took over the old Earl's on Lougheed Hwy, and the lineage shows — this is a Cactus Club/Joey/Earl's family project, with a menu designed by Chef David Wong and a California-by-way-of-Burnaby attitude. The room leans into it: tropical greenery, doors that fold the patio into the dining space, local BC artwork on the walls. It's spacious enough that a twelve-top won't feel crammed against the bar. What to actually order: the Individual Ceviche Picante is the one I'd lead with — ahi tuna and prawns in citrus with habanero, jalapeño, avocado, and corn tortilla chips for scooping. The Birdies Burger stacks two patties with tomato jam, smoked bacon and American cheddar, and the steak frites earns its repeat mentions. Loaded patatas bravas round out the table. Value's fair: chef-selected set menus run $35 at lunch, $45 at dinner, with half-price wine bottles Tuesdays and Wednesdays and half-price bubbles at brunch. There's also a front pantry slinging grab-and-go lasagna, ribs and brisket mac. A genuinely group-friendly room. View restaurant →
Trattoria by Italian Kitchen — Trattoria by Italian Kitchen has outlasted its own network. When the Kitsilano and Park Royal locations closed in 2023 and 2024, this Burnaby outpost at 102-4501 Kingsway didn't quietly fade — it came back renovated, with an 18-seat pizza bar and a 65-seat heated patio designed to run year-round. That kind of institutional persistence could easily signal a room coasting on brand memory. Under Italian-born Executive Chef Matteo Fontana, the evidence points elsewhere: a kitchen that has leaned harder into house-made pasta with real technique behind it, and a room built to hold twelve people together for three hours without the evening losing momentum. The menu's priorities are legible from the pasta section alone. The House Made Tagliatelle and Saffron Risotto with Tomato Fondue are the dishes regulars point to when making the case that this kitchen treats pasta as the main event rather than filler — the risotto's saffron-forward base against the acidity of tomato fondue is reportedly a combination that requires no embellishment at the table. For protein, the Herb Crusted Lamb Chops and Pan Seared Steelhead Fillet represent the range Chef Fontana brings to the savory courses; neither reads as a placeholder. And the Cannoli al pistacchio e Amarena is the dessert the kitchen is known for — the benchmark, according to consistent diner feedback, for how seriously this room treats the final course. Practical notes for anyone planning a group dinner: the 65-seat heated patio absorbs crowds that would overwhelm most eastside rooms, so book it if you're arriving with more than six. Tuesday evenings run a pasta promotion that brings the price point down significantly — one of the more straightforward value propositions in Burnaby right now. Book ahead, specify the patio, and let the pasta section make the decisions. View restaurant →

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Tap & Barrel • Brentwood — Tap & Barrel Brentwood has built a reputation in Burnaby's dining scene not by chasing precision or minimalism, but by leaning hard into the logic of abundance — specifically, seafood-forward abundance at a price point that genuinely accommodates a full table. The Brentwood location draws a crowd that arrives with a clear agenda: something cold to drink, something dramatic to share, and enough room to spread out. That clarity of purpose is what separates it from gastropubs that hedge between casual and polished and land nowhere useful. For a group celebrating something — or simply a group that wants to eat well without doing the math all night — the room consistently delivers on its own terms. The seafood program is where the menu makes its case. The Chilled Seafood Platter is what most diners appear to organize their visit around — a centerpiece-style spread that, by all accounts, commands the table in the way only a tiered platter can. The Peruvian Ahi Tuna Ceviche is described as a bright, acid-forward counterpoint to the richer offerings elsewhere on the menu — a smart early move before the heavier plates arrive. The Lobster Mac & Cheese is positioned as unabashed comfort: reportedly creamy, substantial, and entirely intentional about it. The Steak & Lobster reads as the celebration order — surf-and-turf without apology, which is a more specific commitment than most gastropubs bother to make. The Jumbo Prawn Cocktail rounds out the seafood options as a shareable opener that diners consistently return to for its simplicity and reliability. Reservations on weekends are strongly recommended given the room's popularity, and tables with broader sightlines to the dining floor are reportedly worth requesting. The strategic play, based on what regulars seem to gravitate toward: open with the Peruvian Ahi Tuna Ceviche and the Jumbo Prawn Cocktail, then let the table decide from there. View restaurant →
Hart House Restaurant — Hart House in Burnaby is doing something most Vancouver-area restaurants are too cautious to attempt: running a genuinely global menu inside a heritage property with real architectural weight, at a price level that doesn't demand a special occasion to justify the drive. The room carries the kind of presence that registers the moment you walk in — rare at this price point — and the result is a space that reportedly works equally well for a date where you want to impress without telegraphing effort and a multi-generational family dinner where three generations need to find common ground. The kitchen's reputation is built on confident, internationally-leaning range rather than trend-chasing, and that consistency is what keeps the dining room filling faster than its Burnaby address might suggest. The menu's strongest throughline is seafood, and that's where diners consistently land. The Wagyu Beef Carpaccio opens the meal on a restrained, technique-forward note — thinly laid and delicate, it signals a kitchen that knows when to hold back. The Crispy Coconut Prawns are known for delivering exactly what the name suggests: a crunchy exterior and tropical sweetness that reads as a confident contrast to the savory lane that follows. The Spaghettini allo Scoglio is arguably the dish Hart House is best known for at this price tier — a briny, olive-oil-forward seafood pasta pulling mussels and clams into a sauce that reportedly clings well to every strand. The Seared Steelhead rounds out the pescatarian path with a reputation for a properly managed sear and yielding interior. The Mussels & Clams complete what regulars treat as a natural seafood progression across the table. Practical reality: the dining room books up Thursday through Saturday evenings, and advance reservations of at least five days are widely recommended. If the occasion calls for it, request a table near the heritage windows. View restaurant →

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Save these spots to your Vancouver list in the TastyPals app, then explore similar restaurants when you want a tighter shortlist for the night.

Personalized city picksCleaner shortlistsBuilt for iPhone and Android
TastyPalsTonight
Your taste. Our picks.
Smarter follow-through after the guide: better restaurant context, quicker narrowing, less second-guessing.
For tonight
Date night spots with warm rooms and polished service
Next step
Keep exploring in the app when you want a tighter shortlist