5 stores in Metro Vancouver with tasty restaurants

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      When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. All those hours slogging through sale racks, searching for the right sizes, and schlepping from store to store can make even the hardiest shopaholic hungry.

      The last thing that food-loving shoppers want to face is a food court when their feet are sore from pounding so much concrete. Stores that offer their own dining options mean you can relax and refuel between trying on pants and scanning for sale signs.

      Consider these spots if you take the food you eat as seriously as the fashion finds you score.

      Simons

      The Quebec-based retailer recently opened its first B.C. store at Park Royal in West Vancouver, a two-level 100,000-square-foot space with men’s and women’s fashions as well as a small section dedicated to home décor. Upstairs is Eve, Simons’s bright café.

      This sleek and funky space features works by local artists, contemporary furniture with bright-orange accents, a long communal high-top table with electrical outlets for those who like to Google while they nibble, and a whole lot of edible goodness.

      You could order a latte with one of the exquisite pastries that Eve brings in from nearby Temper Pastry—such as chocolate-almond croissants and cream-filled doughnuts—or sip a glass of Le Vieux Pin Petit Rouge or Nk’Mip Chardonnay with your quinoa, lentil, and barley salad or your pork bánh mi on a brioche bun with a side of coleslaw. The food is made in-house, using organic ingredients.

      Other options include maple-bacon popcorn, a cheese plate with fig jam and olives, and roasted beet with arugula, goat cheese, and pita chips. There are also profiteroles and dark-chocolate fondue.

      Nordstrom

      The Pacific Centre behemoth has a full-service restaurant called Bistro Verde on the third floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Robson Square and the Vancouver Art Gallery.

      You’ll find craft cocktails, a wine and beer list with local labels, and a seasonal menu. Selections include a wild-salmon and maple-glazed-bacon burger, ginger-crusted ahi-tuna salad, sake-marinated lingcod, cilantro lime chicken tacos, and burrata and heirloom-tomato bruschetta. There’s even a filet mignon with king trumpet mushrooms, Chinese long beans, shallots, and XO shrimp sauce.

      The bistro offers a kids’ menu, too: order up some macaroni and cheese or chicken fingers to keep the little ones from complaining when you later want to look at everything from swimsuits and handbags to dinnerware and duvet covers.

      Leone

      Located in Sinclair Centre, the 25,000-square-foot space specializes in luxury brands like Miu Miu, Versace, Dior, Prada, and Alexander McQueen. If you’re spent from browsing among items like a newly arrived cross-stitch leather jacket and an embroidered bomber jacket, consider a stop at the in-house restaurant.

      The L2 Cafe is an Italian bistro offering dishes like lentil soup, tortellini with Italian sausage, veal or chicken parmigiana, and thin-crust pizzas. Wine, beer, and spirits are available. The pastas are all made from scratch in-house daily; so is the focaccia. Some say it’s one of downtown Vancouver’s best-kept secrets.

      Secret Location

      Geared to those for whom money is no object, the Gastown concept store carries everything from Globe-Trotter luggage (the cases of choice of Queen Elizabeth II, apparently) to Hermès’s handmade Birkin bags to a $475 white T-shirt by Ukrainian designer Maria Bekh.

      The Tasting Room is helmed by Montgomery Lau, formerly of Market by Jean-Georges at the Shangri-La Hotel. Lunch choices include shrimp tan-tan noodles, barley risotto, charred Humboldt squid with caviar, and a burger with truffle pecorino, while the dinner menu has sturgeon confit, butter-poached lobster, and beef rib-eye two ways, among other dishes.

      IKEA

      The Swedish giant hasn’t introduced a clothing line, but you’ll need closet organizers to store all of your new duds after a successful day shopping, and maybe a full-length mirror to check yourself out in your new outfits before you head out in the morning, right? It serves up more than soft-serve ice cream. The extremely reasonably priced restaurant has, among other items, gluten-free chickpea-based veggie balls, roast chicken with mixed greens, and salmon (with hollandaise sauce) from Aquaculture Stewardship Council–certified farms.

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