With the future of our oceans at stake due to overfishing, restaurants and consumers across Canada are becoming increasingly interested in making sustainable choices. National Sustainable Seafood Day aims to bring more awareness to preserving the goodness coming from our lakes and oceans but you can also vote with your wallet by selecting Ocean Wise choices.
The Ocean Wise program by the Vancouver Aquarium makes it easy for consumers to choose an ocean-friendly option. An Ocean Wise symbol on the menu at any one of over 650 partnering businesses (including restaurants, retailers or suppliers) at thousands of locations across Canada is the Vancouver Aquarium’s assurance of an ocean-friendly seafood choice.
Here 6 great local restaurants to find Ocean Wise certified seafood on the menu:
The Fish Counter
Photo credit: The Fish Counter
The Fish Counter (on Main Street in Vancouver) has lots of delicious, sustainable seafood where you can purchase a wide variety of fresh, local and seasonal seafood from producers who care as much about the sustainability of the ocean as the quality and taste of their catches. Check out their Fish and Chips counter which opens daily at 11am featuring soups, chowders, fish tacos, and oyster po’boys. This is a place you don’t want to miss.
Red Fish, Blue Fish
Red Fish, Blue Fish is an outdoor waterfront eatery in an up-cycled cargo container on a wooden pier in Victoria’s Inner Harbour. It’s a unique, fresh, and sustainable approach to a fish ‘n’ chip shop and probably the most popular eatery in Victoria.
Miku
Miku is an award-winning restaurant specializing in aburi-style sushi, whereby it is seared and dressed with specialty sauces to enhance the natural flavour of the fish. The chefs are incredibly skilled and make highly addictive sushi.
One item you can’t miss is the salmon oishi (the most ordered item on the menu). It’s been mimicked by a lot of restaurants around town, but no one has been able to perfect it quite like Miku.
Spinnakers
Since 1984, Spinnakers has been a local artisan brewer with a philosophy that great beer goes best with great food. Their brewery is inspiration for the food they create – a fact that makes Victoria’s only gastro brewpub deliciously unique. They also have a good selection of dishes with Ocean Wise certified seafood.
Yew Seafood + Bar
Yew is a modern seafood restaurant inside the Four Seasons Vancouver. If you don’t know, it’s definitely one of the top seafood restaurants in town and attracts locals and tourists for their delicious seafood creations. Everything from the lobster bisque to the roasted ling cod and warm tuna tart with tomato and basil coulis is perfect.
The RawBar
Photo credit: Hamid Attie
RawBar is inside the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel near the Lobby Lounge and is Vancouver’s first 100% Ocean Wise Sushi restaurant. No matter what you order here, you will be guaranteed a delicious and sustainable meal. After a delicious meal, you can easily take a walk on the nearby sea wall to enjoy the water while feeling good about your lunch.
