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Steveston village is a city within a city. You enter within its boundaries and you feel like you’ve been whisked off to a small village in the middle of nowhere that mysteriously has a coastline and plenty of docks. It is located at the mouth of the South Arm of the mighty Fraser River that runs through and around Vancouver.
It’s my favourite place to take out of town visitors, especially if they want to see something in Richmond, the actual city I call home. We would start the day at the docks, walking along Fisherman’s wharf and checking out the catch of the day.
Many boats come in offering the freshest seafood making Steveston’s fishing port the largest commercial fishing port in Canada.
Being right on the water, it was only natural that Steveston started as a salmon canning centre in 1880.
The area also supported a significant boatbuilding and shipbuilding industry.
The salmon canning business was so important in this area, that Steveston was once known as Salmonopolis. Eventually the industry ceased and now the buildings stand as a testament to times passed. The Gulf of Georgia Cannery is the best place to go to see this history and is how we would spend the rest of the morning.
Today, Steveston is a mix of charming historical buildings and modern day comforts. With many delicious food options, it’s hard to choose where to eat. For lunch, we head to the docks for a classic: fish and chips. Pajo’s. famous for its fish and chips, is our destination and sits on its own separate dock area. What started off originally as a small stand has now grown into a multi-location business.
Since 1985 Pajo’s has been serving up fresh local ingredients and recently they’ve been certified as a partner of Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program which means the restaurant is committed to serving seafood entirely sourced from sustainable fish stocks.
Who’s hungry?
After lunch we take a stroll around the village, popping into a variety of independently owned shops, all while taking in the small town atmosphere. Steveston’s charm is not lost on location scouts as Steveston has been the backdrop for a number of movies and TV shows, including the current show, Once Upon a Time.
They have transformed Steveston into the fictional town of Storybrooke, Maine. I have never been in Steveston when they were filming, but you can see parts of the set around the village as you explore.
They actually serve bread and it’s a delicious Romanian sourdough made in a brick oven. Try it if they’re open!
All this walking has worked up a bit of an appetite and a stop for some dessert is needed. There is only one place you need to go: Timothy’s Frozen Yogurt. The smell of the waffle cone is what hits you first. Then you spot the line. While they offer gelato and sorbet, it is the fresh fruit frozen yogurt that you want to go for. Your choice of fruit gets blended together with a plain frozen yogurt block, nothing like the recently popular frozen yogurt places with candy toppings (ahem Pinkberry). What you end up with is a thick frozen yogurt with plenty of fruit flavour in a freshly made waffle cone. Perfection on a summer’s day.
Yum! Can’t wait to have my mango frozen yogurt. It was delish!
I like walking when I have ice cream, so we head down the path towards Garry Point Park which offers great views of the Fraser River and the nearby Gulf Islands. Take a wander through the Kuno Garden, a Japanese-style memorial garden, and take a look at the Fisherman’s Memorial Needle.
Looking at the Fisherman’s Memorial Needle Photo: Jon Chiang
Otherwise Garry Point is a great place to sit and relax, enjoying a summer’s day. There are plenty of benches or you can bring your own blanket. It’s usually windy here and perfect for kite flying.
Photo: Jon Chiang
Note: there is also a branch of both Pajo’s and Timothy’s at the park. If you don’t want to deal with lines, these locations tend to be less busy.
For dinner, head back to Steveston to one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in the city: Ichiro Japanese Restaurant. Sashimi is a must. It’s so fresh and has a great velvety melt in your mouth texture. I haven’t ordered anything I haven’t liked yet on the menu. On it you would find the typical Japanese fare. It’s simple, but so delicious. They also have a revolving special menu depending on the catch of the day which is usually something really unique. The meal will be on the pricier side, but so completely worth it. This place is really popular so be sure to drop by earlier in the day to make a reservation if you’re going during peak dinner times.
Ohm nom nom – so good!
So there you have it. A perfect day in Steveston village full of history, charming buildings, nature and lots of delicious food.
How would you spend a perfect day in your hometown?
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Looks like a great place to disappear to for a few hours! Thanks for sharing!
Looks like a perfect microcosm of all that Vancouver Island has to offer.
Yum the fish and chips looks delicious! And it’s not helping my late night cravings right now! 🙂 I am also a Once Upon A Time fan so it is very cool to see where it is filmed. Looks like a great place to call home!
Thanks Marissa! I’m probably going to do a post sometime highlighting all the Once Upon a Time places, but first – gotta watch it all! I’ve heard such good things about the series.
That is great! I will be looking out for it 🙂 And definitely make sure you watch the show! I really enjoy watching, and I think its fun because it’s different than a lot of other TV series that I usually watch. Enjoy!
Personally I prefer Salmonopolis. Can’t go wrong with a name like that. This place looks amazing! Just your bits about the food alone have me convinced to visit. Fantastic sushi and fish & chips sound like meals I shouldn’t pass up. Thanks for the tour!
Any place with food in its name is good in my books. Can you imagine living in Salmonopolis? All the potential silly mail you’d get? Yes, Steveston is the place to be for yummy seafood.
Very nice place indeed, Adelina, and lots of food temptations also.
Gorgeous scenery and delicious looking food!
Lovely place! I love the look of that fried fish, it’s making me hungry!
As someone currently in a landlocked country, that fresh local fish shot was pure torture! And the idea of some Romanian sourdough sounds ideal for a weekend morning.
A perfect day in my hometown (I am more or less a Brooklynite now) would start with a run in Prospect Park, followed by a visit to the farmer’s market, discovering a new neighborhood, popping into a bar for a drink then a nice dinner out. Wish I was doing all of that today!
Aww, sorry for the tease Dave. Hopefully you get access to some fish soon!
That sounds like a great day in Brooklyn. I didn’t explore enough of that borough when I was in NYC.
…Beautiful!!…And to answer your question, if I were to show someone around Greensboro, it would definitely be around the Downtown area: there’s the city’s museum, Civil Right’s museum (which is in the exact same spot as the Woolworth’s that the Greensboro 4 went to, sparking the national sit-in movement), the main branch of the library, and LOADS of awesome bars and restaurants!!…
Oh wow, sounds like an interesting day! Lots of history which is right up my alley. And did you say good food and good drinks? I’m so there!
I love a fishing village…and salmon, so Salmonopolis sounds like a great place for me! I would love to go kite-flying right about now, too!
It sounds like you need to come for a visit then Corinne 😉
Just as well you have asked, I am going back home in September for a few weeks. My current post details some of my plans. I am still in awe of the views in Steveston village. Such amazing scenery, good food, what more could you ask for? #sundaytraveler
Going home after being away for awhile is always exciting. You get to see how things have changed (or maybe not changed), and revisit old haunts. It gets tougher when going home is permanent. Enjoy your visit home!
That does sound like a perfect day. The photo of the fish and chips and the thought of fresh fruit blended with yogurt is making me really hungry. So, would you rather live in a village called Steveston or Salmonopolis?
Salmonopolis sure sounds like a lot of fun!
Mmmmm, Pajo’s! So many good things in this beautifully scenic corner of Richmond! 🙂
Yes! I always feel like I’m on a mini vacation when I’m in Steveston.
I absolutely love the picture of the Fisherman’s Memorial with the snow covered mountain in the background. So beautiful!!
That looks like a lovely little village, and the food looks delicious too 🙂
This looks like a really interesting place to visit, I certainly think I could spend all day there – especially with those fish and chips! They look delicious 🙂
They were VERY yummy 🙂
Steveston sounds great Adelina and it seems to be another place I have missed to visit when I was in Vancouver. While the wharf sounds interesting and the food looks delicious, you definitely sold me on the charming historical buildings. I guess eventually I will have to make it back to that part of the world and catch up on a few things that I should have seen already… 🙂
Steveston is rather out of the way and no where near central Vancouver so no surprises that you didn’t make it to visit. You should definitely check it out when you’re next in the area though!
This reminded me a little of Monterey in California, as it was a huge cannery area in the country, but there is not much of a fishing industry left there. Glad to see that Stevenston still has fishermen!
Ohh cool! I’ve been to Monterey before, but I was quite young. I remember it being really beautiful though.
Salmonopolis made me laugh :). What I can say, Adelina, any town with such a fishing port becomes my favorite town immediately. BTW, a friend of mine just landed in Vancouver. The first stop on her three-month American journey.
What a fab place to start a North American journey if I say so myself. 🙂 Let me know if I can be of any help!