Published on Main becomes 1st in Vancouver to earn top spot on Canada's best restaurant list

Cured scallop, kohlrabi, ground cherries and gooseberry from Published on Main in Vancouver is shown in this undated handout photo. The list of Canada's 100 best restaurants has named Published on Main the Number 1 culinary place to be. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Published on Main, Sarah Annand

For the first time ever, a Vancouver restaurant has earned the top spot on Canada's 100 Best Restaurants List.

Rankings were released at a Toronto event Monday night with Published on Main taking the No. 1 spot. 

The list, determined by a team of 100 judges, is the focus of the biannual publication, Canada's 100 Best Restaurants. 

Published first opened in 2019, just months before restaurants were forced to close or adapt because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the restaurant worked hard to reopen just a few months later, with restrictions in place.

"We wanted the experience to be as normal as possible for our guests, and we wanted to still be able to offer everything we had intended," Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson, executive chef at Published on Main, told The Canadian Press.

"It's really nice to have this recognition now that we're fully open in our full capacity."

Published describes its dining experience as "contemporary with a focus on local and sustainable." The menu has a variety of options, with "flavours to be shared amongst friends," a description on the restaurant's website says.

The Main Street restaurant wasn't the only B.C. eatery to be acknowledged. In fact, a total of 22 B.C. locations made the list. All but three are in Vancouver.

B.C. bars were also recognized in a list titled Canada's 50 Best Bars. Vancouver establishments took the second, third and fourth spots, while seven others were also mentioned.

The list of B.C. restaurants, with their ranking in the top 100 list is below:

1. Published on Main (Vancouver)
3. St Lawrence (Vancouver)
9. Boulevard (Vancouver)
23. Oca Pastificio (Vancouver)
25. Hawksworth (Vancouver)
29. Kissa Tanto (Vancouver)
32. La Quercia (Vancouver)
37. Pluvio (Ucluelet)
41. AnnaLena (Vancouver)
46. Tojo's (Vancouver)
47. Testsu (Vancouver)
48. L'Abbatoir (Vancouver)
61. Botanist (Vancouver)
68. Maenam (Vancouver)
73. Bearfoot Bistro (Whistler)
75. Savio Volpe (Vancouver)
78. Say Mercy (Vancouver)
79. Baan Lao (Richmond)
89. Araxi (Whistler)
90. Cioppino's (Vancouver)
95. Bacchus (Vancouver)
96. Nightingale (Vancouver)

The list of B.C. bars, with their ranking in the top 50 list is below:

2. Botanist (Vancouver)
3. The Keefer Bar (Vancouver)
4. Laowai & Blnd Tger (Vancouver)
20. Clive's Classic Lounge (Victoria)
24. The Lobby Lounge and Rawbar (Vancouver)
32. The Chickadee Room (Vancouver)
33. Grapes and Soda (Vancouver)
35. The Raven Room (Whistler)
36. Monashee Spirits Craft Distillery (Revelstoke)
44. The Narrow Lounge (Vancouver)
49. The Bar at L'Abbatoir (Vancouver)

The full lists are available online. 

With files from The Canadian Press