PiDGiN Restaurant
Pan-Asian restaurant · Downtown ·
French-influenced Asian fusion with creative craft cocktails
French-influenced Asian fusion with creative craft cocktails
"Pidgin seamlessly blends the bounty of the Pacific Northwest with French techniques and Asian influences. Although the place is perfect for bar snacks — the gochujang chicken wings are the best in the city — and genuinely thrilling for creative cocktails with ingredients such as toasted rice rum and gunpowder tea gomme, go with the prix fixe, which offers exceptional value with seven inventive mini courses for 105 Canadian dollars (about $73) per person. Whisky and sake fans will love the selection, and the wine list offers global gems too. Best for: Book the chef’s table, which gives you a front row seat to all the action." - Nikki Bayley
"PiDGiN has been a pioneer in Vancouver's nonalcoholic movement since 2013, offering a mix of sparkling, zero-proof wine, nonalcoholic cocktails, and almost zero-proof beer." - Kevin Chau
"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
"If you think fancy-ish fine dining food can’t travel, then think again. Homing Pidgin is the three-course meal collection service from Pidgin in Hackney. The menu changes daily as in £25 a head. Book in advance here." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak
"There are many reasons why Vancouver is considered a culinary destination, and PiDGin certainly has something to do with that. Inside, stirring artwork from local artists, soft industrial lighting and wood banquettes set a city-chic tone.Chef Wesley Young has been running the show here for a handful of years, and his menu is distinctive. Playful, even irreverent, he is clearly having fun surprising diners with unusual combinations that not only work, but they wow. Signature dishes, like the Korean rice cakes cooked in an umami-rich gochujang "bolognese" with crunchy, spiced hazelnuts, make a nightly appearance. Other dishes include refreshing tuna tartare with nori puree and salty ikura, accompanied by taro root crisps." - Michelin Inspector