The 10th annual Taste of Yaletown returns to Vancouver on October 16 to 30. This year, 26 restaurants located in Yaletown are participating, with prix-fixe menus priced at $25, $35, and $45.

Similar to the Dine Out Vancouver Festival, which takes place in January and features restaurants from across the Lower Mainland, Taste of Yaletown was designed by the Yaletown Business Improvement Association to promote local restaurants and to encourage diners to support the dining community.

During Taste of Yaletown, restaurants will feature lunch or dinner menus, and this year, there is no limit to the number of courses offered—some restaurants are offering up to six courses in a single meal. In addition, many of the restaurants will provide optional wine pairings for a set cost.

This year’s participating restaurants are diverse in style and cuisine. Japanese restaurants include Bistro Sakana, Hapa Izakaya, Honjin Sushi, and Minami; while Thai cuisine can be found at Urban Thai Bistro and Simply Thai. A number of Yaletown’s Italian restaurants, such as La Pentola della Quercia, La Terrazza, The Parlour, and Yaletown L’Antipasto, are also participating.

For a romantic evening out, dinner and drinks at Brix Restaurant & Wine Bar, Good Wolf Kitchen & Bar, Provence Marinaside, George Ultra Lounge, Hamilton Street Grill, Raw Canvas, or West Oak Restaurant might do the trick. Meanwhile, the Distillery Bar, the New Oxford, and Yaletown Brewing Company offer fun settings for a casual meal with friends.

Several chain restaurants are also part of the two-week event, including the Yaletown location of Cactus Club Cafe, as well as Glowbal Grill Steaks & Satay and Society, which are both owned by the Glowbal Collection. Healthy options are also part of the mix: fast and fresh Vietnamese eatery DD Mau, Saladworks, and Urban Fare are included.

During a Taste of Yaletown media preview on October 2, I had a chance to try two of the participating restaurant’s prix-fixe menus.

Provence Marinaside (1177 Marinaside Crescent) will offer a $35 three-course dinner menu, with optional wine pairings for $20 per person. To start, diners will be given a choice between tomato and Bocconcini salad topped with fresh basil and balsamic vinegar; a trio of smoked fish that includes trout, mackerel, and salmon; or spicy lamb sausage with fennel in tomato sauce.

Main courses celebrate Mediterranean seafood dishes, of which Provence is best known for. Diners can chose between thyme-dusted Lois Lake steelhead trout, served with a grape-tomato confit vinaigrette, saffron pearl pasta, and snow-pea sprouts;  or a West Coast-twist on bouillabaisse that includes prawns, scallops, mussels, clams, fish, and saffron potatoes. Two non-seafood options are also featured: duck confit paired with savoy cabbage, baby carrots, and mashed potatoes; as well as wild mushroom ravioli in a white-wine butter sauce.

For dessert, diners at Provence Marinaside can choose from the list of desserts on their regular menu.

Just a few blocks away, Good Wolf Kitchen & Bar is also offering a $35 three-course menu. Here, diners are not given options for every course. Instead, Richard Goodine—the restaurant’s sole proprietor since chef Josh Wolfe’s departure last spring (hence, the name change from Good Wolfe to Good Wolf)—has come up with a menu that he believes merges bistro dining with French and Asian flavour inspirations.

The first course is a salad of warm chèvre cheese and pickled beets. This whets the palate for the next course: a confit duck leg finished with an orange-chili glaze and paired with crispy lobster wontons and lentil salad.

Finally, for dessert, diners will be served a decadent block of dark chocolate terrine with fresh raspberry and a candy-like orange tuiles.

The menus of all participating restaurants can be found on the Taste of Yaletown website. Diners are encouraged to contact restaurants directly for reservations. A portion of all Taste of Yaletown proceeds will be donated to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.