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.