Vancouver’s October food calendar includes pasta classes, oyster shucking, a Halloween cocktail workshop and a Penfolds collector’s dinner. New tasting menus, seafood platters and returning dishes add more options for dining out this month.
The Forager’s Table at Hawksworth Restaurant
Hawksworth Restaurant hosts The Forager’s Table on October 21 at 6:30 pm, featuring an eight-course dinner centred on locally foraged and cultivated mushrooms. Chef David Hawksworth will present a menu revealed course by course, with guests seated around a communal table in the restaurant’s York Room. Paul Cain, known as The Mushroom Forager, joins the evening to share stories and insights about the featured mushrooms and their role in the forest ecosystem. An optional wine pairing selected by the restaurant’s sommelier team will be available. Seating is limited, with reservations through OpenTable.
Vancouver Fall Home Show
The Vancouver Fall Home Show returns to the Vancouver Convention Centre from October 15 to 18, with cooking demonstrations, chef-led presentations and opportunities for selected guests to become VIP taste testers at the Chef’s Table. The Market District Sip & Shop features drinks, gourmet samples from local vendors, artisan products and home décor. Visitors can attend design talks, browse local artwork and take part in home wellness programming, with a Smash + Tess fashion show scheduled for October 17 at 1 pm. Admission is free on Thursday, October 15, courtesy of Rock101, with tickets for other days available online.
Chupito Fifth Anniversary Patio Party
Chupito celebrates their fifth anniversary with a back patio tailgate party on October 11 from 1 to 8 pm at 2450 Yukon Street. Chef Maria Ponce will serve a Mexican raw bar and Wagyu Carne Asada, with DD Mau Chinatown’s Kim Tran and Chef Tyler Hoang contributing Vietnamese snacks and charcoal-grilled skewers. Tara Davies and Erick Vazquez will prepare Mexican-inspired, low-waste cocktails, and VinVan will pour low-intervention wines. The celebration marks the end of Chupito’s patio season and is open to everyone, with no tickets or reservations required. Outdoor heaters will be available, and the dining room will continue regular service.
Fraser Valley Wine Passport
The Fraser Valley Wine Passport runs through October 31, offering tastings at 13 wineries, three cideries and one distillery across Langley, Abbotsford and Surrey. Each passport costs $30, including taxes, with $15 supporting participating businesses and $15 donated to local food banks. Visitors can sample local wines, fruit and honey wines, craft ciders and spirits, with a non-alcoholic option available at every stop. Participating venues include Backyard Vineyards, Chaberton Estate Winery, Krause Berry Farms & Estate Winery, Maan Farms Estate Winery and Roots and Wings Distillery. Passports are available at participating businesses as supplies last, and tasting hours vary by location.
National Taco Day at La Taqueria
La Taqueria celebrates National Taco Day on October 6 with $5 tacos at their Brentwood location at The Amazing Brentwood and Comedor by La Taqueria at 2450 Yukon Street in Vancouver. Pinche Taco Shop at 367 Seymour Street, where tacos are $5 daily, offers a complimentary third taco with the purchase of two, bringing the price to approximately $3.33 per taco. The promotions run all day, with some exclusions possible. A social media giveaway offers one winner $300 in gift cards, with $100 for each location. Entrants must follow all three Instagram accounts and follow the giveaway entry instructions.
Cultural Wednesdays at Kavita: Rajasthan
Kavita hosts their next Cultural Wednesdays dinner on October 21, with Chef Tushar Shroff of Indish joining Chef Tushar Tondvalkar for a five-course, family-style menu inspired by Marwari and Rajasthani cooking. The dinner draws on Shroff’s Rajasthani heritage, dishes prepared by his mother and grandmother, and memories of childhood travels through the region. The monthly series welcomes guest cooks and collaborators to share culinary traditions from across India, dedicating each evening to one region. Tickets are $91 per guest, plus applicable taxes and gratuity.
Xiaoyu Bistro Opens in Richmond
Xiaoyu Bistro is now open at Continental Shopping Centre, bringing Taiwanese stir-fry and seafood dishes by Taipei Chef Alan Chen to Richmond. The menu includes Lobster Paofan with a tableside broth pour and crispy rice, Truffle & Scallion Oil Geoduck, Crab & Sticky Rice steamed with lotus leaf glutinous rice, and Typhoon Shelter Prawns coated in garlic crisps. Weekday happy hour runs Monday to Friday from 3 to 5 pm, offering 15% off selected dishes, including Braised Pork Rice & Oysters, Salted Egg Yolk Crispy Fish Skin, Lobster Bisque Paofan, Spicy Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken and Seafood Chawanmushi, plus $6 Mo beers.
Italian Kitchen Pasta Class
Italian Kitchen is hosting pasta classes on October 17 and November 14 from 2 to 5 pm, priced at $165 per person plus tax and gratuity. Guests spend up to two hours making potato gnocchi, ravioli du dauphine and their choice of fettuccine or spaghetti before sitting down to a Pasta Tower showcasing their creations. The experience includes Mionetto Prosecco or a non-alcoholic cocktail, a glass of red or white wine with dinner, and an Italian Kitchen apron and pasta cutter wheel to take home.
Fanny Bay Oyster Master Class
Fanny Bay Oyster Bar is running their Oyster Master Class on October 7, November 18 and December 9 at 6:30 pm, priced at $159 per person, all-inclusive. Held in the private Kelp Room with space for 14 guests, the evening includes a Sea’cuterie Board, grilled oyster starters, a welcome beverage, a beverage pairing and an oyster tasting. Guests learn shucking techniques with 12 oysters to practise on, then take home gloves and an oyster knife.
Penfolds Collector’s Dinner at Black and Blue
Black and Blue is hosting a Penfolds Collector’s Dinner on October 19 at 6:30 pm to celebrate 75 years of Grange. Penfolds Chief Winemaker Peter Gago hosts the evening, with a seven-course tasting menu by Five Sails Chef Alex Kim served alongside Penfolds wines. Priced at $5,500 per couple, the experience includes an exclusive 16-bottle wine collection to take home.
October Tasting Menu at Five Sails
Five Sails is introducing Chef Alex Kim’s Rooted in Memory: October tasting menu, inspired by the Korean dishes and traditions of his childhood. Seasonal British Columbia ingredients meet Korean culinary techniques, with courses referencing samgye tang, galbi and traditional Korean sweets. The menu reflects the flavours and food memories that shaped Kim’s cooking.
Halloween Cocktail Masterclass at D/6
D/6 Bar & Lounge is hosting a Halloween Cocktail Masterclass on October 18 from 5 to 7 pm, priced at $75 per person. Mixologists guide guests through making three Halloween-inspired signature cocktails, teaching mixing, muddling and shaking techniques. Each cocktail comes with a Halloween-themed canapé, and participants receive recipes to recreate the drinks at home.
Royal Chilled Seafood Platter at The Victor
The Victor is introducing their Royal Chilled Seafood Platter, priced at $90, featuring East and West Coast oysters, jumbo prawns, Nobu-style hamachi, Gringo salmon aburi skewers, bluefin tuna tartare and taro chips. Their Victor’s Tower Hour offers beverage options including Goose Tiny Tinis for two at $18, Mionetto Piccolo sparkling wine at $18 and ONM Sparkling Junmai Sake at $39.
Returning Shrimp Dishes and Happy Hour at B House
B House is bringing back their Firecracker Jumbo Black Tiger Shrimp this October, prepared with lobster stock, chilli garlic butter, fresh herbs and tomato, and served with baguette bread for dipping. Their Ebiyaki features buttermilk-crispy black tiger shrimp with Cajun spice, katsu sauce, wasabi aioli, tobiko and nori. Pho Dip and Spicy Peanut Butter Beef Soup remain on the menu, with happy hour offering $5 beer and house wine, plus 10% off the regular food menu.