The Room
AnnaLena opened in 2014 on West 1st Avenue in Kitsilano. Mike Robbins named the room for his two grandmothers, Anna and Lena, and built the cuisine around the modern-Canadian playbook with a serious vegetable programme that the kitchen's Kitsilano local-sourcing rotation has refined over a decade. The dining room seats 60 across the main floor and a small chef's counter.
Service is small-team and floor-warm. Robbins is in the kitchen every service. The booking window is two to four weeks for weekends.
The Food
The six-course tasting at $135 rotates monthly and pulls from a serious BC ingredient bench. The pairing menu at $95 is the right way in. Wine programme is BC-natural-French with depth in Naramata pinot and Okanagan riesling.
Best Occasion Fit
First Date: AnnaLena's small dining room is the Kitsilano first-date for the diner who wants the night to register as neighbourhood-quality without being self-conscious about it.
Birthday: Birthdays at AnnaLena are quietly polished, a candle on the dessert, a signed menu, the captain's acknowledgement.
