Milltown Bar & Grill

Two of the three patios face something genuinely worth looking at, one toward the North Shore mountains and one out at the Fraser and the airport's main runway. The whole arrangement sits beside Milltown Marina among working boats and boatyards. Richmond has a great deal of waterfront and almost nowhere to drink on it, which is the odd thing about a city ringed by dykes and river arms. Outside Steveston, public access to the water with a beer in hand is close to nonexistent. Milltown is the exception.

Finding it is the only real obstacle. The site sits off the main roads in the marina and industrial belt along the north side of Richmond, and you will not stumble across it on the way to something else, so put the address in before you leave. Patio seats at a place with a view like this are the first things gone on the first warm evening of the year, so a weekday is the better bet. Sunset over the North Shore from the right side of the river is worth arranging a week around.