Fodor's Expert Review Blue Water Cafe & Raw Bar

Executive chef Frank Pabst focuses his menu on both popular and lesser-known local seafood (including frequently overlooked varieties like mackerel or herring) at his widely heralded, fashionable fish restaurant. You can dine in the warmly lighted interior or outside on the former loading dock that's now a lovely terrace. You might start with Gulf Island scallops in a tomato-and-caper relish; Dungeness crab salad with baby shrimp, mango, and jicama; or a seafood tower, ideal for sharing. Main dishes are seafood-centric, too—perhaps sturgeon with a cauliflower puree and golden beets, or Arctic char with trout caviar and pearl couscous. Ask the staff to recommend wine pairings from the BC–focused list. The sushi chef turns out both classic and new creations—they're pricey but among the city's best.