TastyPals
Login / Sign up
Taste ID
AboutMethodologyApp
GuideUpdated July 15, 2026

6 Best small plate Restaurants in Vancouver

The best 6 restaurants for small plate in Vancouver — curated by TastyPals editors.

The best small plate restaurants in Vancouver are Guu Original Thurlow, The Keefer Bar, Zakkushi on Denman, and more. Start with Guu Original Thurlow if you want the strongest overall first pick.

By Marcus Chen•6 ranked picks•Published July 15, 2026•Updated July 15, 2026
Methodology•Editorial team
Guu Original ThurlowThe Keefer BarZakkushi on Denman
6 Best small plate Restaurants in Vancouver
Google

Top picks at a glance

#1Guu Original ThurlowJapanese • Vancouver • moderate#2The Keefer BarBar • Chinatown • moderate#3Zakkushi on DenmanJapanese • West End • moderate

Who this guide is for

This guide covers the highest-rated restaurants for small plate in Vancouver, sorted by Google rating and editorial judgment. Picks span Vancouver, Chinatown and West End.

Quick picks

Guu Original Thurlow
Japanese • Vancouver
Guu Original Thurlow is a japanese restaurant in Vancouver that is worth opening when you want a clearer read on the menu and the room.
The Keefer Bar
Bar • Chinatown
The Keefer Bar occupies a particular position in Vancouver's cocktail landscape that most bars don't attempt and fewer could sustain: an apothecary-themed room in Chinatown where the drinks are bui…
Zakkushi on Denman
Japanese • West End
Zakkushi on Denman has operated as a yakitori izakaya in Vancouver's West End since 2004, and two decades of consistency on a single culinary premise is its own form of argument.
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. Guu Original ThurlowView →
  2. 2. The Keefer BarView →
  3. 3. Zakkushi on DenmanView →
  4. 4. Hapa Izakaya YaletownView →
  5. 5. Zakkushi Dining on MainView →
  6. 6. Eat Bar & Patio HaraheriView →

How the restaurants compare

Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Guu Original Thurlow
Google
Guu Original Thurlow
Vancouver • Japanese
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
moderate
Best for
small plates
Mood
Casual
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for The Keefer Bar
Google
The Keefer Bar
Chinatown • Bar
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
moderate
Best for
Cocktails and snacks
Mood
Chinatown
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Zakkushi on Denman
Google
Zakkushi on Denman
West End • Japanese
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
moderate
Best for
small plates
Mood
West End
Hapa Izakaya Yaletown
Yaletown • Japanese
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
moderate
Best for
small plates
Mood
Yaletown

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.

6 ranked picks

The Keefer Bar — The Keefer Bar occupies a particular position in Vancouver's cocktail landscape that most bars don't attempt and fewer could sustain: an apothecary-themed room in Chinatown where the drinks are built around Chinese herbs, dried botanicals, and bitters drawn from a genuinely different cabinet than what populates most back bars. The concept isn't decorative — national recognition has followed the ambition, and the reputation holds across sources in a way that distinguishes it from bars that wear a theme loosely. The cocktail menu is where the premise is tested most seriously. Flowers for George and the Core Memory are among the named signatures, and both are reported to use apothecary-cabinet ingredients to reframe familiar drink structures into something less predictable. The seasonal apothecary cocktails extend that logic further, shifting with available botanicals rather than holding to a static list — which rewards return visits and, according to consistent diner accounts, genuine conversation with the bartenders, who are known for fluency with their own inventory rather than rote recitation. Bar snacks round out the offering and anchor the late-night case for the place, given the neighbourhood's own history with that hour. Practically: the room — low light, dried herbs, a back bar that reportedly resembles a herbalist's shelf more than a conventional spirits display — is central to what people are paying for, and the experience is widely described as working better at the bar itself than at a table. The price level is accessible for what is clearly a considered program. The advice that circulates most reliably is to arrive later, sit where you can talk to the person making your drink, and let the menu's more unfamiliar ingredients guide the order rather than defaulting to the recognisable. View restaurant →
Zakkushi on Denman — Zakkushi on Denman has operated as a yakitori izakaya in Vancouver's West End since 2004, and two decades of consistency on a single culinary premise is its own form of argument. The premise is binchotan grilling — that dense white charcoal long favoured in Japanese yakitori kitchens for the even, smokeless heat it produces. The restaurant has built its reputation around this technique, and by most accounts from diners familiar with the form, including Japanese visitors who reportedly call it one of the more faithful izakaya experiences in the city, Zakkushi takes the method seriously rather than using it as a marketing footnote. The menu centres on a roster of over thirty skewer varieties, with the binchotan chicken skewers drawing particular attention — offered across multiple cuts and preparations in the manner of a proper yakitori counter rather than a simplified Western approximation. The Wagyu skewers represent the upper end of the grill menu, and the kitchen also offers sashimi for those who want something raw and clean alongside the charcoal-driven courses. The pattern diners seem to follow, and what the format rewards, is building a meal across several skewer varieties rather than treating them as a side to something else. The room is described as small and lively, which is both a draw and a practical constraint. At roughly forty to fifty dollars per head, Zakkushi sits at a price point that warrants genuine attention to what you order rather than casual grazing. It reads as a better fit for two or a small group than a large table the room likely cannot comfortably accommodate. Reservations are strongly advisable. The concrete play: anchor the meal to the binchotan chicken skewers and Wagyu skewers, let sashimi provide contrast, and resist the impulse to over-order beyond what the grill can justify. View restaurant →

Get the App

Save these spots to your Vancouver list

Keep the shortlist handy in the TastyPals app and find similar restaurants across Vancouver.

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

Explore next

West EndMount PleasantYaletownJapaneseBardinnerDate Nightlate night

Related guides

Vancouver waterfront dinner scene
Google

Guide • vancouver

Best Restaurants in Vancouver 2026

Ten Vancouver restaurants that define the city's quietly exceptional food culture — from a Railtown Québécois room to a Coal Harbour aburi sushi bar, a Chinatown Japanese-Italian gem, and the Mount Pleasant osteria that makes Sunday dinner feel like the most important meal of the week.

Read guide

Get the App

Save these spots to your Vancouver list

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