Vancouver/Mt Pleasant-South Main

Mount Pleasant-South Main is a district of Vancouver south of 6th Ave. It has long been a mixed residential, commercial and industrial area. Its main draws are Queen Elizabeth Park, and the restaurants and eclectic shops along Main Street.

Understand

Get in

The B-Line bus route #99, which runs along Broadway, connects the area with Kitsilano, UBC and East Van.

• #3 runs up and down Main Street.

The Canada Line follows Cambie Street on its way between downtown and the airport/Richmond with two stations of interest:

• Olympic Village — Connects with the #50 bus to Granville Island.
• King Edward — A few blocks walk to Queen Elizabeth Park and Nat Bailey Stadium.

See

Captain Vancouver points the way outside Vancouver's city hall

• Queen Elizabeth Park, 33rd & Cambie (alternate entrance off 33rd Ave across from Nat Bailey Stadium). An old quarry that was converted into a number of gardens and ponds. The top of the park is the highest point in the city of Vancouver and offers views of the entire city. Free. 
  • Bloedel Floral Conservatory, top of Queen Elizabeth Park. Daily 10AM-5PM. Tropical plants and birds under the white dome. Adult $4.60, child $2.30. 
• Vancouver City Hall (Cambie & 12 St). Built on the rise over False Creek, the building has nice grounds and provides a different view into downtown Vancouver and the mountains behind. 

Do

• Vancouver Canadians, 4601 Ontario St (Nat Bailey Stadium - 30th Ave & Ontario St). Vancouver's minor league (single A) baseball team. $11. 

Buy

South Main (sometimes called "SoMa," the parts of Main Street south of 2nd Avenue or so) is rapidly becoming the new bohemian neighbourhood of designer boutiques, Asian religious item stores, and coffee shops. Many local designers have boutiques on Main between Broadway (the equivalent of 9th Ave) south to about 29th Ave where you can buy cutting-edge and handmade clothing for reasonable prices. Between King Edward Ave (the equivalent of 25th) and 29th is a cluster of antique stores, some of which are expensive and not very good, but you can find treasures there if you search.

• Our Community Bikes, 3283 Main St, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Daily 11AM-6PM. A community bike shop that offers space for do-it-yourself bike repairs and maintenance, as well as selling refurbished bikes. 

One of the best places to look for outdoor equipment in Vancouver is on Broadway in the blocks just east of Cambie Street. The two big shops are Mountain Equipment Co-op and Taiga, but there are numerous other smaller shops in the area if you walk between these two stores.

• Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), 130 West Broadway, ☎ [phone]. M-F 10AM-9PM, Sa 9AM-6PM and Su 11AM-5PM. $5 lifetime membership required to purchase goods. 
• Taiga, 301 West Broadway, ☎ [phone]. M-F 10AM-6PM, Sa 9:30AM-6PM. 

Eat

Budget

• Hawker's Delight, 4127 Main St, ☎ [phone]. At Main and King Edward Hawker's servers up authentic Malaysian/Singaporean dishes at $4-5. Fast-paced atmosphere (as the name would suggest). Good vegetarian options. 
• 🌍 Heartwood Community Cafe, 317 E Broadway (Just east of Kingsway), e-mail: [e-mail]. Tu-F 11AM–6PM, Sa Su 10AM–4PM, M closed. Successor to the popular Rhizome Cafe, serves bistro food, organic coffee, and alcoholic drinks. They seek to build community, and offer a meeting room for events. 
• 🌍 Lucy's Eastside Diner, 2708 Main Street (At the corner of Main St and E 11th Ave.), ☎ [phone]. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A slightly self-conscious reinvention of the classic burgers-and-pancakes diner. Being open all night long is good. Breakfast 24 hours a day is even better. The friendly and flexible service is great. The milkshakes laced with whisky, rum, and on request, bacon? Priceless. Good range of vegetarian selections. Since there aren't many all-night restaurants, Lucy's can get crowded late at night after clubs close. Mains under $10. (updated Jul 2015)
• Ro Sushi Japanese Bistro, 542 West Broadway, ☎ [phone]. M-Sa 11AM-10PM, Su & Hol noon-10AM. Mainstream Japanese food, but the wide variety of "boxes" (set meals) are an astonishing amount of food for the economical price. $5-9. 
• 🌍 Vera's Burger Shack, 2922 Main St, ☎ [phone]. Daily 11AM-11PM. One of a local chain, well known for tasty, made-to-order hamburgers and a casual atmosphere. Vegetarian options and beer also served. Take-out also. burgers $6-10, combo $4 extra. 
• Whole Vegetarian Restaurant (formerly Bo Kong), 3068 Main St, ☎ [phone]. Open daily from 11AM-9PM (open Sa-Su to 9:30). A vegetarian Buddhist Chinese restaurant. Has an incredibly diverse menu. Get the bean curd skin rolls with black bean sauce! It's a good idea to make reservations; it's very popular. Mains about $10. 

Mid-range

• 🌍 The Acorn, 3995 Main St (At E 24th Ave and Main Street), ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. M–W 5:30PM–10:30PM (bar open until midnight); Th F 5:30PM–11PM (bar until 1AM); Sa 10AM–2:30PM brunch, 5:30PM–11PM dinner (bar until 1AM); Su 10AM–2:30PM brunch, 5:30PM–10:30PM (bar open until midnight). Opened in 2012, this is one of Vancouver's few restaurants to offer high cuisine that is entirely vegetarian, with many vegan and gluten-free options. Open for dinner every night and for weekend brunch. Their bar also serves creative and tasty cocktails. No reservations taken, and vegie foodies have few other options, so expect a wait unless you come soon after they open. Brunch dishes $10-20, dinner entrees $20-30, drinks $5-15. (updated Jul 2015)
• Kamei Royal, 12-601 W Broadway, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. This is the Japanese restaurant to which you can bring your homesick Japanese business partners. Excellently prepared, professional-grade sushi, rice dishes, kushiyaki, and cooked-at-the-table sukiyaki. An authentic Japanese atmosphere, from the irasshaimase greeting to the pretty pictures in the bilingual menus to the serene decor. Another branch is on West Georgia in the City Centre. Dinner $20. 
• Shiro Sushi, 3096 Cambie St (at the corner of W 15th Ave), ☎ [phone]. If Toshi is too busy, walking west a half dozen blocks will bring you to another affordable family-run sushi restaurant with friendly service and a packet of Pocky with your bill. 
• Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant, 3888 Main St, ☎ [phone]. An excellent Chinese restaurant, the chefs are excellent cooks. Beware there are long lineups and reservations are a must. 
• The Foundation, 2301 Main St, ☎ [phone]. A funky vegetarian/vegan restaurant with a hipster feel, the Foundation serves up delicious food for inexpensive prices. Be sure to try their hummus, it's spectacular! 
• The Reef Restaurant, 4172 Main St (26th & Main), ☎ +1 604 874-JERK (5375). Su-W 11AM-midnight, Th-Sa 11AM-1AM. Caribbean restaurant with live entertainment some nights. $15-30 (starter + main). 
• 🌍 Toshi Sushi, 181 E 16th Ave (located off of Main street), ☎ [phone]. Tu-Sa 5-9:45PM. A small mostly family-run sushi restaurant that serves relatively cheap, good sushi. Avoid the garlic beef, but one must try the tempura. It's a popular spot so it's best to get there before 5PM. 

Splurge

• Locus Restaurant, 4121 Main St (25th & Main), ☎ [phone]. M-W 10AM-midnight, Th-F 10AM-1AM, Sa 9AM-1AM, Su 9AM-12AM. Local favourite with a variety of dishes that incorporate local and seasonal ingredients. Will substitute tofu for meat if requested. $20-35 (starter + main). 
• Seasons in the Park, 405 West 33rd Ave (at the top of Queen Elizabeth Park) (From Downtown take Cambie St Southbound to 33rd Ave. Take the park entrance road to the top of 'Little Mountain'.), ☎ [phone]. Lunch and dinner. If the weather is nice, this restaurant has one of the best views in the city since it is the highest point in Vancouver. Surprisingly, for a restaurant with this good a location, the food and service are excellent and the prices are reasonable. Try the rack of lamb and the stuffed mushrooms. Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin ate here when they had their 1994 summit in Vancouver. Mains run from $17 to $34. Appetizers from $7 to $13. 

Drink

Towers and mountains - looking at the Vancouver skyline from Cambie Street

• London Pub, 700 Main St (SE corner of Main & Georgia, 2 min walk north of Main St Skytrain station), ☎ [phone]. Su-Th 11AM-1AM, F SA 11AM-2AM. Imported & craft beers, pub food, but it's not a great place to walk at night, as that section is not far removed from the worst areas of the Eastside. 

Sleep

• Douglas & Windsor Guest Houses, 456 West 13th Ave and 325 West 11th Ave, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Two Victorian houses converted to B&Bs. Reviewers indicated the hearty breakfasts are good and the location is convenient but a couple of the rooms could be cleaner. Both guest houses are owned by the same person. $75-165, with cheaper rates in winter. 
• Holiday Inn - Vancouver Centre, 711 West Broadway (400 m west of Broadway–City Hall station), ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. Clean rooms and courteous service, although the decor could be updated. $160–250 in summer, cheaper rates at other times. 
• Park Inn & Suites on Broadway (sometimes referred to as the Ramada Vancouver Centre), 898 West Broadway (700 m west of Broadway–City Hall station), ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. Mix of rooms ranging from a standard hotel room to kitchenette to suites. Some rooms have views of downtown and the mountains. High-speed internet and fitness centre on site. $160–300 in summer, cheaper rates at other times. 

Connect

Go next

Routes through Mt Pleasant-South Main

END ← Kitsilano-Granville Island ←	W  E	→ Commercial Dr-Hastings Park → Hope
City Centre ← Yaletown-False Creek ←	N  S	→ South Vancouver → Richmond