LOCAL Public Eatery River District — Restaurant in Vancouver

Ok, so first off... It's nice that there's finally more eateries in River District. LPE fills in a much needed gap in the dining options of the area.

That being said, they don't have a huge food menu. If you're looking for a place to drink on the area, this'll probably do. Crowds here can be a bit rambunctious and boisterous so be prepared to hear a lot of hootin' and hollerin' from the groups of young individuals trying to impress the waitresses.

Getting back to the food... Tried the nachos (guac is outrageously expensive here). Despite the slightly awkward looking pico de gallo, it wasn't bad.

The local fried chicken with hot honey isn't too spicy... More like a sweet chili sauce and served with a few thin slices of pickles.

We thought about ordering the chicken wings but were turned off by having to pay extra for some celery. Really? How expensive is celery?

Never been to a LPE before but they share obvious similarities with the other casual chains that cater to the same clientele. Hopefully they expand their food menu offering in the near future.

UPDATE - February 2025: It's been about a year since we last visited here. We stopped by for lunch on a weekday and the place was pretty dead but still had some loud music pumping in the restaurant (making it a bit difficult to carry on a conversation without raising your voice).

Tried the Spicy Guava Placebo ($8) - It came in a small glass with guava, lime, and tajin. It wasn't really to mu taste and lacked any guava flavour.

Ordered the Spicy Chicken Quesadilla ($20) which actually resembled small soft tacos when they arrived. What I really enjoyed were the onion rings which I added to my meal. These had a nice crunch from the breading and reminded me of pub style onion rings I used to get years ago.

We also ordered the Steak and Fries ($26). These came with good crispy fries but I did think they were a bit too salty. The steak itself looked good when it came out with a nice pink centre but it lacked any flavour (you really needed the accompanying sauce to pep it up). The cut was also not...

Alright, let’s talk about a place — and I say this with all the sincerity I can muster in a world where people pretend cauliflower is steak — called Local. Yes, that’s the name. “Local.” Which is either brilliantly simple or an SEO nightmare. Either way, it’s nestled right there in the River District, where everything smells faintly of citrus, overpriced soap, and misplaced ambition.

So we walk into Local, not knowing if we’re about to be served dinner or a lecture on microgreens and systemic salt intake. And I’m bracing myself, I am. But then—something miraculous happens.

Magnus.

Now, I don’t know if this man was born with a server’s apron or simply trained by the ghost of Anthony Bourdain, but the guy was flawless. Sharp. Friendly. Efficient. Not once did he use the word “plant-forward” or try to upsell me on oat milk. Five stars, just for Magnus.

Then came the drinks. The guava margarita. Let me be clear: this wasn’t some sorority sugar bomb with a gender studies degree. This was a drink. Bold, tropical, tangy, and loaded with exactly the right amount of tequila to make me forget we pay taxes for people to argue about banning plastic straws. It was like vacation in a glass — if that vacation involved freedom, citrus, and no Wi-Fi.

Now, I ordered the burger. Was it life-changing? No. But it was doable. Respectable. Beef was real, bun held up, yam fries didn’t try to be edgy — they just tasted good. I didn’t feel the need to tweet about it, and honestly, that’s a relief.

My wife had the chicken quesadilla. Classic. Came with onion rings that had just enough crunch to remind you you’re alive. None of that soggy “air-fried for the environment” nonsense. Real oil. Real food. Real America.

So here’s the bottom line: if you’re in the River District, sick of sad salads and bars that double as kombucha taprooms, head to Local. Ask for Magnus. Order the guava margarita. Eat a burger that doesn’t apologize for being a burger. And remember — sometimes, the best thing you can do for your country is support a restaurant that still knows how to salt...

I’ve been holding off on this review because I am not one to like to leave negative reviews. I am not expecting anything out of this rather want to be honest with how our experience was at this location.

When my boyfriend and I came here for lunch, we requested to sit outside, the hostess said no problem and took us to an outdoor table. The chairs were wet and my boyfriend did not realize until sitting down and was met with a wet bum, thankfully we live nearby so he ran home and changed. Is it the end of the world? No. But it was a gorgeous day, the staff should have been prepared to have people requesting to sit outside. In fact, there were already several people outside on the patio. The waitress laughed it off, I guess how else was she supposed to react… But we were disappointed that’s how our visit started.

Once he returned, another waitress came over to ask if she could take our order. We ordered. Someone different brought our drinks and then another person brought our food. The original waitress came back to ask how everything was. Then another server took our plates away. We waited probably 20 minutes before another person walked by and we asked for our bill. Someone else brought our bill and took payment. And then our ‘original’ waitress came over to drop off the bill that we had already paid for. It felt extremely disorganized, both my boyfriend and I felt uncomfortable leaving a tip because we didn’t know who the tip was going too.

I guess the point of this review is, we love to support the restaurants in our growing neighbourhood, but it’s disappointing to be spending money on an experience that we don’t feel is worth it. I don’t know the next time I’ll come in for dinner, but hopefully it’s a more...