Hook, Line and Sinker

After stalking the papered over windows on Main Street for months, we happened upon opening day this week for chef Robert Clark’s The Fish Counter.

Part deli (ceviches and salads to go) and part pantry (jarred soups and sauces made in house,) and part fishmonger (sustainable and beautiful local specimens like ling cod), it’s a one-stop shop for this festive season.

Buy your New Year’s Eve oysters straight from the oyster shucking station, and do refuel on the restaurant side with a steaming bowl of seafood bouillabaisse that is every bit as sophisticated as something Chef Clark would have served at C Restaurant. Only here it is $7 and served wistfully on a tin tray and eaten at a stand-up bar.

Now that has us hooked. —Sarah Bancroft

3825 Main St., Vancouver, 604-876-3474, www.thefishcounter.com