Restaurant
St. Lawrence
Chef Jean-Christophe Poirier's Michelin-starred restaurant on Powell Street serves refined Québécois and French cooking, with maple running through a weekly-changing table d'hôte.
Blue Water Cafe
In a Yaletown heritage warehouse, Blue Water Cafe has served seafood, oysters and sushi for 25 years under executive chef Frank Pabst, with a garden patio and award-winning wine list.
At a glance
- Type
- Seafood and raw bar
- Area
- Yaletown, Vancouver, Canada
- Price
- $$$$ · Luxury
- Official site
- bluewatercafe.ca
Good to know
- Raw bar
- Sushi bar
- Garden patio
- Private dining
- Extensive wine list
Why we recommend it
Blue Water Cafe is a seafood restaurant in a heritage warehouse space in Yaletown. It is marking its 25th anniversary, and over that time it has become one of the city's best-known places for fish and shellfish. The kitchen is led by executive chef Frank Pabst, with sushi chef Masaaki Kudo running the raw and sushi side and Ben McNamara as bar manager.
The menu is built around the raw bar. Oysters change daily, with varieties such as Shigoku, Sunseekers, Fanny Bay and Royal Miyagi named among those served, and the seafood plateau is the dish for a group. Signature dishes listed by the restaurant include the Dungeness crab roll, halibut croquetas and Moroccan calamari, and the sushi counter adds another option. Seasonal menus run through the year; one, the Unsung Heroes menu, has given ten per cent of proceeds to the Ocean Wise Seafood Program.
The wine list is a major part of the draw. Blue Water Cafe has held a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence almost every year since 2001, and at the 2026 Vancouver Wine Festival it won gold for Best Grand Wine List. Other recent awards include silver for Best Seafood Restaurant at the 2026 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards a DiRoNA Award of Excellence in 2026, and silver at the 2026 Vancouver Wine Festival for Best Wine Program in an Upscale Restaurant. Tripadvisor's Best of the Best awards for 2025 ranked it second for fine dining in Canada.
The bar opens daily from 4:30pm. Dinner starts at 5pm from Sunday to Thursday and at 4:30pm on Friday and Saturday. From Friday to Sunday the open-air Sunseeker Garden Patio, which has a retractable awning, serves an afternoon menu of cocktails, sushi, chilled seafood and lighter dishes from 2:30pm to 4:45pm. In December the restaurant has also served a weekday holiday lunch.
Reservations are made online through SevenRooms; parties of eight or more need to contact the restaurant directly, and private dining rooms are available. This is a restaurant for a celebration, a business dinner or anyone who wants a serious seafood meal. The restaurant also opens on special dates such as Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve, with set menus and seatings announced on its website.
Blue Water Cafe FAQs
What is Blue Water Cafe known for?
Seafood, a raw bar with daily oysters, sushi and an award-winning wine list.
When does it open?
The bar opens daily from 4:30pm. Dinner is from 5pm Sunday to Thursday and from 4:30pm Friday and Saturday.
Is there a patio?
Yes. The Sunseeker Garden Patio opens Friday to Sunday from 2:30pm to 4:45pm with an afternoon menu.
How do you book?
Online through SevenRooms. Parties of eight or more should contact the restaurant directly.
Which oysters are served?
The selection changes daily and has included Shigoku, Sunseekers, Fanny Bay and Royal Miyagi.
Who is the chef?
Executive chef Frank Pabst, with sushi chef Masaaki Kudo.
Are there private rooms?
Yes, the restaurant has private dining spaces.
Where is it?
At 1095 Hamilton Street in Yaletown.