Hiya,

well I’ve a few favorite places and ate at different places with my gf on our birthdays while she lived there, I really like the Boathouse which is near English Bay and Denman/Davie Street, great seafood and reasonable prices, Cin Cin is a popular place to go eat, and it can be expensive if you do the three course set at around $50 to $120 a plate, which to me is alot but maybe for your bithday its worth a go or Joe Fortes which would be a great place to just go have a drink at the bar in, we also did have a birthday dinner at the top of the revolving resturant which was great fun and the venues were cool, but it lacked atmosphere and the food wasn’t too good considering the price, so I’d go with either Fortes if you can spurge a bit or the Boathouse and then wander down to the top end of Denman to go to that desert place the chocolate something.. coffee and cake..

Terrific place with wonderful dishes and great paired wine list:

CRU Restaurant
1459 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC V6H 1H6
(604) 677-4111
http://www.cru.ca?

Ambiance?: Modern Romantic
Speciality?: Wine Bar
Menu?: Small Plates and Prix-fixe
Cuisine?: Pacific West Coast
Description?: Wine bar style restaurant in trendy South Granville.
Average Price?: $50

unless i read your mind :-) i can’t answer your question without more info like your likes, dislikes and budget (“harsh on the wallet” is in the eye of the beholder!).

in the absence of that i’d suggest: 1) vij’s (some of the best anglo indian on the planet, about $50 each plus drinks) 2) rangoli (vij’s downmarket bistro next door, about $20 each plus drinks) and 3) tojo’s (some of the world’s best sushi, go tuesday to friday, sit at the bar, order chef’s choice, omikase, about $100 per person with drinks)

http://www.delilahs.ca/

http://www.chambar.com/

moxies is wonderful, they have these chicken strips with plum dipping sauce, and dont forget the bellinies! yummm.

Monsoon’s on Main @ Broadway was always my favorite-don’t miss the banana ketchup!

More up-scale is Vij’s which is just off Granville & 10th or 11th.

I’m jealous! Have fun!