Art and Food are on the Menu at PiDGiN

"Next to Pigeon Park, this restaurant takes its name from pidgin languages and, in Vancouver’s cultural melting pot, blends European techniques, Japanese flavors, and local Canadian ingredients from the Okanagan and Fraser Valley into something wholly new. Care and empathy shape the experience: outside, a historical mural by Ilya Viryachev acknowledges the city’s past from 1855 to 1955—including Indigenous history, Chinese railroad workers, and Japanese internment—while inside the stark, wood-and-white room with Norwegian/Japanese joinery keeps the focus on people, conversation, and cuisine. Chef Wesley Young leads a collaborative kitchen that even works with the artist-in-residence to create special dishes (a fish inspired by Kari Kristensen’s Nordic roots and a layered dessert to complement Tara Lee Bennett’s paper creations), while the seasonal tasting menu might include wagyu, Maitake mushroom tempura, and seafood prepared with kombujime; à la carte mainstays include a Quebec-sourced foie gras rice bowl, and Grossutti personally loves the Korean rice cake with gochujang bolognese. Sake from local brewers is a house passion for its natural pairings, and a thousands-strong playlist—mixing 90s hip hop with classical—echoes the restaurant’s pidgin ethos. A decade on from owner Brandon Grossutti’s leap from algorithmic trading back to food, the place feels like a community built on art, hospitality, and taking care of people." - Michael He