A man has been shot and killed in downtown Vancouver, police say.

Homicide detectives were called in to investigate after a man was shot dead at about 8:45 p.m. PT inside a restaurant in the Wall Centre at 1088 Burrard Street, Const. Lindsey Houghton said in a release.

"It is still very early in the investigation and there are currently no other details available," Houghton said.

It is the city's first homicide of 2012.