Squamish Restaurants: Downtown and Cleveland Avenue

Squamish restaurants sit in two clusters, downtown around Cleveland Avenue, where the Stawamus Chief rises behind the rooftops, and nearer the river and the waterfront. Start on Cleveland Avenue and turn onto the side streets, expect crowds after a clear day and check the weather as well as the menu.

Dinner is busiest on Friday and Saturday, and on any evening after a clear day. Wear whatever you wore outside, since the dress code is relaxed.

How are Squamish restaurants and dining laid out?

Downtown is walkable and flat, with the Stawamus Chief rising behind the rooftops. Cleveland Avenue and the streets around it hold most of the sit-down places, the coffee counters and the bakeries. A little south, the brewery district around Commercial Way has taprooms with food, and north of town Brackendale has the river and the quieter patios. Parking is easy downtown on a weekday and harder on a sunny Saturday, when the farmers market takes over a corner of the core.

Where does Squamish downtown food start?

Start on Cleveland Avenue and turn onto the side streets. You will find breakfast counters, pubs, a handful of dinner rooms with share plates and takeout windows that serve trail-sized burritos. The Squamish farmers market sets up at the corner of Cleveland Avenue and Victoria Street on market days, which makes that corner the town's lunch table in season. Walk one block in any direction and the crowd thins.

What do locals suggest for Squamish lunch?

Something quick, filling and not fussy. Lunch in a climbing town means sandwiches, bowls, soup in cold months and a lot of coffee. Many places prepare food to go, because the person ordering is often headed for a trailhead. If you have more time, a long lunch on a sunny patio is hard to beat, and the breweries and pubs guide covers the taprooms that serve proper meals at midday.

When is Squamish dinner busiest?

Friday and Saturday, and on any evening after a clear day. Restaurants fill as climbers and cyclists come in together, so the sensible plan is to eat a little early or a little late. Weeknights are calmer. Kitchens in a town this size can close earlier than visitors expect, often well before the late bars do, so work out where you are eating before the light goes.

Is there a good brunch near the river?

Yes. Fergie's Cafe, in Brackendale on the banks of the Cheakamus River, is a brunch favourite with a riverside patio. Weekend crowds are the rule, so go early or late and confirm the hours before you drive up.

How do you choose with a group?

Pick the kind of table first and the place second. A group of six after a hike wants a big patio and a menu with something for everyone; two people on a date want a quieter room. When you rate a place, you can tag it Group Dining when a table of friends was looked after, and other diners can look for that tag in the Find sheet. That is a note from a person, not a promise from the restaurant.

How can you save what you eat in Squamish?

Open the Mosey app, rate each place with the dish you had and a few tags, and let the ratings build up. Rate places with a tag, like Italian or Pizza, and you earn a badge; keep going to climb four levels, from Sampler to Connoisseur. Your highest-rated places also collect in a list called Top Rated, which you can hand to a friend who is visiting.

What else should you know before you go?

Check the weather as well as the menu. Rain turns the patios into a rumour and the cafes into a queue. The town is also a transit stop between Vancouver and Whistler, so a late lunch can double as a pause on a longer drive. The Whistler food guide picks up where this one stops.

How does the weather change a Squamish meal?

Constantly. A clear day fills every patio by noon, and a wet one sends everyone indoors at once, so tables that were easy at eleven vanish at one. Winter brings fireplaces and soup, and spring brings the first outdoor tables, damp but hopeful. Check the forecast before you decide between a patio and a booth, and keep a second choice in mind. A Squamish meal planned around the sky tends to go better than one planned around a menu.

Is Squamish good for vegetarians? Often, yes. Outdoor towns tend to attract cooks who like grain bowls, roasted vegetables and good soup. Use the Vegetarian and Vegan tags when you rate, and ask the kitchen about ingredients, because a tag is a rater's note and not a guarantee.

What should you wear? Whatever you wore outside. Nobody in Squamish will blink at muddy boots on a patio, though a quick scrape at the door is polite. Bring a layer even in summer, because the wind off Howe Sound can cool a late dinner quickly.

Heading somewhere else in British Columbia? The Food in British Columbia page links the rest.

See all Canadian food guides for other towns.

After your next meal in Squamish, get the Mosey app, rate the dish that made the day and build a list for the friend who asks where to eat.