Still full after the holidays? Too bad. No rest for you! Canada’s largest restaurant festival, Dine Out Vancouver, is right around the corner. This post will to tell you everything that you need to know about it.

Produced by Tourism Vancouver and presented by American Express, the city-wide culinary celebration known as “Dine Out” sees thousands of local and visiting food-lovers sitting down and digging in to value-priced three course menus – many with suggested BC VQA wine pairings courtesy of Wines of British Columbia – for the 2+ weeks between January 17th and February 2nd.

For 12 straight years, it’s not only been an outstanding way to stay up to date with Vancouver’s constantly shifting foodscape, but also a vitally effective antidote to the winter doldrums. Because let’s face it, these are 17 calendar days we’d happily trade for any others.

RESTAURANTS

This year, there are more than 260 eateries participating in DOV. That’s a festival record. The massive list of restaurants covers a representative cross-section of well-reviewed award-winners, hole-in-the-wall ma and pops, cocktail shops, casual icons, and the titans of the trade. In other words, it’s the wealth and breadth of cuisines and dining styles that this city is famous for on display, showing everything from casual Japanese and formal French to hip Chinese and West Coast fine dining. And cheaply, too! Depending on where you book your table, a three course meal will set you back only $18, $28 or $38. The complete list of participating restaurants, menus and booking details is now available here.

EVENTS

This year’s menu of festival events is packed with freshly-baked experiences crafted by Vancouver’s top chefs, restaurateurs and food experts. The carefully curated mix of brand-new events and returning favourites includes Chef Soup Experiment (50 chefs each toss an ingredient into a boiling pot with the entire city invited to taste the result), a dinner and drag cabaret, an exclusive screening of Jiro Dreams of Sushi at the Shangri-La of this foodie film classic followed by a Jiro-inspired feast at MARKET by Jean-Georges, Plated & Paired at the Public Market (bigger than ever), Street Food City III (showcasing Vancouver’s exotic array of food trucks – our favourite!), the Secret Supper Soirée presented by Swallow Tail Supper Club, The Grape Debate, and much more. Prices for event tickets range from free to $130. Get the complete skinny – dates, times, tickets, etc. – on all Dine Out events here.

HOTELS

Eating and drinking your way across the city in dedicated fashion will eventually require a place to rest, so it’s a good thing that hotels also participate in Dine Out. Diners can make a special night of it with a base of operations at The Sylvia, The Listel, or any of the other 20+ hotels that are offering special packages and room rates. Price points at $78, $108 and $138 per night. The list of hotels, package information and booking details are available here.



CONTESTS

The newly revamped Dine Out For a Year contest invites diners to submit a picture or video of their Dine Out stories via Instagram, Twitter or Facebook (tag “@dineoutvanfest” and hashtag #MyDineOutStory). Every day of the festival, one entrant chosen by a panel of judges will win a gift certificate to a participating Dine Out restaurant. At the end of the festival, a Grand Prize winner will be selected among all submitted entries to take home the Big Kahuna: 52 gift certificates to some of the city’s top restaurants.

Follow along via @DineOutVanFest | #DOVF | Facebook | Instagram

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