Twice awarded Best Bistro in 2004 (Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards and Vancouver Sun Awards), Bistro Pastis is as close to Paris as you can get without a plane ticket. The menu features classic bistro fare (coq au vin or steak frites for instance) served with a contemporary touch and one of the finest by-the-glass wine lists in Vancouver. Add streams of natural light through the café windows to the warmth of a crackling fireplace in an intimate room presided over by a genuine French Maitre d’ and you have all the ingredients for a memorable meal. Said the Vancouver Magazine judges “John Blakeley is one of the most intuitive restaurateurs in the city…he is Left Bank but right brain – this is smart, cozy cooking at decent prices.”

Bistro Pastis grew out of the dream of one determined Frenchman -- John Blakeley. Born and raised in France, Blakeley is the son of a Canadian father and French mother. He graduated in 1974 from L’Ecole Hôtelière in Strasbourg with a Brevet d’ Étude Professionnel. The early part of his career was spent working as a waiter in various restaurants in France, many with Michelin stars. On immigrating to Vancouver Blakeley started his Canadian career at the famed Le Pavilion in the Four Seasons Hotel, from there he went on to work at some of Vancouver’s finest French restaurants — L’Orangerie, Café de Paris and in 1987, Le Crocodile under Michel Jacob. All the while, he dreamed of owning his own place. In 1999, he opened Pastis, a fine dining restaurant. It was an immediate hit, winning Best New Restaurant at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards.

However, Blakeley’s real dream was to own a small neighbourhood bistro. A place where the neighbourhood comes to socialize, eat good food at value prices and to hang out. In 2003 he took the unprecedented step of closing the highly successful Pastis. Blakeley re-designed the interior and working closely with Chef Brad Miller, designed a menu that reflected traditional bistro “cuisine ordinaire” infused with West Coast sensibilities. Bistro Pastis opened its doors on the most French of days, July 14, 2003 – Bastille Day.

In keeping with the tradition of excellence established by the previous restaurant, Bistro Pastis, in its first year of operation, won Best Bistro at the 2004 Restaurant Awards.