The man responsible for the massive explosion at a Vancouver Taco del Mar restaurant three years ago has been handed a sentence of two years' house arrest for the arson.

Kamaljeet Singh Josan pleaded guilty in March to one count of arson in connection to the February 2008 blast at the West Broadway fast food restaurant.

He was sentenced in Vancouver provincial court on Monday to a conditional sentence of two years less a day to be followed by three years of probation.

The taco-joint blast shook the neighbourhood and was felt as far away as a sixth-floor hotel room down the block. The fire was started with gasoline and sent glass and crushed metal flying across the street.

The explosion caused millions of dollars in damage to the restaurant and a nearby Starbucks coffee shop, clothing store and dollar store.

Josan took a taxi to escape the scene of the crime, but later checked himself into hospital for treatment of burns to 40 per cent of his body. Police tracked him down shortly afterward.

Police identified Josan as a friend of the restaurant's owners, Harjit and Manjeet Nandha. Manjeet Nandha was found dead in an apparent suicide several days after the arson in the Furry Creek area of Squamish.

Josan has also received a 10-year firearms ban as part of his sentence.