AnnaLena becomes Vancouver’s first two-Michelin-star restaurant as Barbara loses its star in the 2026 guide

Vancouver has its first two-Michelin-star restaurant. AnnaLena, chef Michael Robbins’ tasting-menu restaurant in Kitsilano, was promoted from one star to two in the 2026 Michelin Guide Vancouver selection revealed on Tuesday, the guide said. Michelin described the restaurant’s cooking as creative, modern Canadian fare with global influences. The city now has 11 starred restaurants in total.

“You won’t find white tablecloths or a formal atmosphere at AnnaLena, but you will find one of Vancouver’s most polished — and delicious — dining experiences,” Michelin wrote in its citation, Daily Hive reported. The guide singled out dishes such as peak-season Sungold tomatoes with house-made XO sauce and caramelized buttermilk infused with Thai green curry, and fresh pasta with charcoal-roasted asparagus and sauce vin blanc poured tableside. AnnaLena is owned by Robbins and operations manager Jeff Parr. “Today we celebrate reaching new heights for Vancouver, with the first Two-Starred restaurant being awarded to AnnaLena,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the guide’s international director.

Robbins told CBC News he was happy and shocked by the promotion, even though it was a goal he and his team had worked toward, going as far as renovating and upgrading the restaurant. “I think it’s a surprise because we’re not doing a playbook,” he said. “My son writes the menu with crayon … it’s not always going to be for everyone.” He described the restaurant as his creative outlet and credited his team for its success.

The promotion puts AnnaLena alongside Ontario’s Restaurant Pearl Morissette and Quebec City’s Tanière³ as the only Canadian restaurants holding two stars, CBC reported. Michelin came to Canada in 2022 with guides for Toronto and Vancouver and later added Quebec; this is the guide’s fifth Vancouver edition, the Sun said.

The 10 one-star restaurants in this year’s selection are Burdock & Co, iDen & QuanJuDe Beijing Duck House, Kissa Tanto, Masayoshi, Okeya Kyujiro, Published on Main, St. Lawrence, Sumibiyaki Arashi, Sushi Hyun and Sushi Masuda. AnnaLena was the only restaurant to gain a star, while Barbara, a one-star restaurant last year, now appears in the guide as recommended, the Vancouver Sun reported. CBC noted that until now Vancouver’s list of starred restaurants had only grown, with every restaurant keeping its star from year to year.

The guide named 16 Bib Gourmand restaurants, its category for good food at good value, Michelin said. The newcomer is Restaurant Kavita in Mount Pleasant, where chef Tushar Tondvalkar draws on his upbringing in Mumbai and the coastal town of Malvan, including an “Ammakase” tasting menu that combines the Indian word for mother, amma, with the Japanese omakase. Kavita also won the city’s special award for service. Chef’s Choice Seafood Restaurant, a Cantonese spot in Fairview, moved up from the recommended list; inspectors called its lunch menu a “steal.”

New to the recommended list are Jay Nok Modern Thai in Olympic Village, the Korean restaurant Jeju in Mount Pleasant, Niwa, a Japanese-inspired farm-to-table restaurant in East Vancouver, and Peya, which applies French techniques to Indian dishes, according to the guide and Daily Hive. Its inspectors pointed to a trend toward global flavours shaped by chefs’ personal and cultural backgrounds, and to menus built around British Columbia producers and seafood. Other special awards went to Chris Enns of Peya for cocktails, Mark Taylor of Bacchus as sommelier and Vish Mayekar of Elem as young chef, the Sun reported.

In all, the 2026 Vancouver guide features 72 restaurants, down slightly from 76 last year, The Canadian Press reported. Michelin says its inspectors are anonymous and judge restaurants using the same criteria around the world, according to CBC.

Sources: Michelin Guide (Vancouver 2026 starred restaurants); Michelin Guide (Vancouver 2026 Bib Gourmands); CBC News; Vancouver Sun; Daily Hive; The Canadian Press via Narcity.