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No. 3 Road is where most of Richmond's eating happens, and the density is genuinely unusual. Alexandra Road alone packs dozens of kitchens into three short blocks, and the food courts under Aberdeen Centre, Yaohan and Parker Place hold dozens more. That is one end of the city. At the other, Moncton Street in Steveston runs on independent bakeries, cafés and fish-and-chip counters within sight of a working fishing fleet.
In between sit the neighborhood plazas most residents actually use week to week: Blundell Centre, Seafair, Terra Nova Village, Ironwood Plaza, the strip retail on Williams Road. This section covers all of it: restaurants, cafés, bakeries, bars and breweries, dessert counters, grocers, liquor stores and the corner shops that stay open longest.
A Steveston Village fixture since the late 1990s that roasts organic single-origin beans on site and sells them by the bag alongside the espresso. Locals drop in for a white chocolate mocha, a breakfast muffin sandwich and a bench out front.
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A long-running Eastern and Central European grocer in Steveston, entered from the back of the building on Second Avenue. Imported sausage and smoked meats, rye breads, pickles, preserves and the candy people grew up with in Poland and Ukraine.
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A destination bottle shop in Steveston village leaning hard into BC VQA boutique wine and hard-to-find craft beer. Staff run free consultations rather than just ringing you through, and free ice comes with the purchase. Open 9am to 11pm daily.
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A takeout-first pizzeria on Moncton Street known for going well past pepperoni, with seafood, steak and truffle pies at prices to match. Thin crust, made to order, and a short menu of classics if you'd rather not spend big. Expect a wait on weekends.
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A white-tablecloth seafood restaurant tucked into a heritage building on Moncton Street. Dinner runs nightly and brunch is weekends only. Worth booking when you want something dressier than the fish-and-chip windows down at the wharf.
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Off-the-boat seafood sold at Steveston's Fisherman's Wharf, open Thursday to Sunday mornings only and often sold out before closing time. Spot prawns in season plus whatever landed that day. Bring cash, or pre-order online and collect at the dock.
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Shanghainese kitchen on Ackroyd Road that has been feeding Richmond since 2007. Xiao long bao, drunken chicken, braised pork belly and Shanghai-style cold dishes, served in a calmer sit-down setting than the mall restaurants nearby.
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A small specialty bar in Empire Centre near Aberdeen Station that takes coffee and matcha equally seriously, with careful pour-overs in a tidy, minimal room. Free mall parking makes it an easy weekday stop for Golden Village office workers.
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Taiwanese street-snack restaurant on Leslie Road from the same family as Memory Corner, done up in retro Taiwan decor. Expect braised pork rice, oyster omelette, popcorn chicken and shaved ice alongside milk tea and other drinks.
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A Steveston gelato shop churning artisanal batches in house with Asian-leaning flavours such as Uji matcha, Hong Kong milk tea and espresso, plus mango yuzu and strawberry rose sorbetto. The owner trained in Italy; there are dairy-free options too.
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A neighborhood takeout sushi counter on No. 1 Road, open since 2001. Rolls, nigiri and bento made to order, plus premium boxes from the Kyoto Takenoko kitchen next door. Mostly a pick-up-and-go operation for locals.
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The neighborhood liquor store at Terra Nova shopping center in west Richmond, open 9am to 11pm daily. Not the largest selection in the city, but staff will carry a case out to your car and the location beats driving across town for a bottle.
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Thai cooking at everyday prices in the Blundell Centre plaza at No. 2 Road and Blundell. Curries, noodles and stir-fries for dine-in or takeout, serving the surrounding residential blocks rather than any tourist trade.
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A neighborhood Chinese bakery of about a decade's standing at No. 2 and Blundell, run on self-serve tongs and trays behind glass. Pizza buns, mousse cake slices and moon cakes in season; whole cakes need a day's notice. Free lot parking outside.
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An independent Golden Village shop that pairs its bubble tea with Hong Kong egg waffles and ice cream, so most orders leave with a drink in one hand and a waffle in the other. Afternoon and evening hours only, running later on weekends.
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A 200-seat pub in the old Steveston Hotel with two patios that fill the moment the sun is out. Locals come for pints, pub food and game-day screens a block from the fishing docks, and it gets loud and busy on weekends.
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A pub on Sea Island at the north end of the No. 2 Road bridge, right beside the floatplane dock. The patio looks onto the river where seaplanes take off and land. A long list of BC microbrews and a menu built around burgers and fish.
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A casual bar and brunch room in the Executive Hotel on Alderbridge Way. Oysters, tavern burgers and smoked salmon, plus a well-priced happy hour with mimosas and fried chicken sliders. Airport and hotel traffic keeps the hours long.
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The cafe inside the 1895 Steveston Hotel serves a straightforward breakfast until early afternoon - eggs, bacon, hash browns and coffee. Unpretentious, cheap, and a genuine piece of village history that predates every patio on the waterfront.
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A Steveston Village patisserie doing classic French work: fruit tarts, chiffon slices, viennoiserie and cookies made fresh each morning. Regulars also come for the savoury quiches and the small freezer of prepared soups and meals to take home.
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A Steveston Landing gelato parlour making small-batch Italian gelato in house from fresh local ingredients, alongside frozen yogurt. Classic flavours sit beside originals, and the waterfront location is why the line stretches on summer evenings.
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Japanese restaurant at Lansdowne doing sushi rolls, sashimi and cooked plates in a comfortable dining room. A useful sit-down option in a stretch of Richmond dominated by Chinese restaurants, and it stays open through the afternoon.
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A Hong Kong-style noodle shop in the strip mall across from Richmond Public Market. Wonton soup, beef brisket noodles and congee arrive fast and cost little. Plain room, quick turnover, and a long-standing local pick for a solo lunch.
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A private liquor store out on Westminster Highway in east Richmond, with a loyalty points program and free ice on orders over ten dollars. Prices are keen and the staff know their stock, so it is worth a stop if you are already out this way.
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From the blog
Guides and roundups written for Richmond, with the businesses linked inline.
The Night Market's final season is the loud story. The quieter one: free admission at the Cannery ends Monday, Britannia keeps summer hours through Sunday, and Steveston does sunsets better than anyone.
Nothing on Alexandra Road is a secret. It is just in a strip mall with bad signage and no patio, which is why visitors never find it. Here is how I actually use Richmond's plazas and food courts, which specialists are worth the drive, and when not to bother.
The West Dyke Trail is about five and a half kilometres of flat gravel between Terra Nova Rural Park and Garry Point, and I ride it most mornings. Here is what is actually at the north end, which way to walk so the wind is on your side, and why winter is the better season for it.
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