The Essentials: Squamish

The Squamish brunch that's worth the drive up Squamish Valley Road. Fergie's sits on the Sunwolf riverside cabin property in Brackendale, on the site of what was once Fergie's Lodge, a fishing spot, and the menu has moved well past basic eggs: a Coastal Benedict on a buttermilk biscuit with sockeye lox and salmon-skin chicharron, an 18-hour smoked pulled-pork ranchero, and a brisket sandwich. There are no reservations, so a weekend wait is part of the deal; the cafe suggests filling it with a walk down to the river. Open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., every day but Dec. 25 and 26.

The answer when Fergie's has a line and you still want a proper sit-down breakfast in Brackendale. The Crabapple runs 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day on Government Road, now under owners Chris and Martina, and the menu calls its eggs Benedict a house specialty, with half a dozen versions from bacon and caramelized onion to braised short rib with horseradish. Hashes, omelettes and Banoffee pancakes fill out the rest, and the heated patio keeps the outdoor tables in play when the valley turns damp. Breakfast mains land around $17 to $26.

Downtown's long-running bakery, on Cleveland Avenue since 1995 and run by owner-operators Ryan Newton and Jamie Brandon since 2019. The case covers the whole day: donuts (fancy and 'extreme', by the single or the 20-pack), sausage rolls, quiche, croque monsieur and a Bavarian smokie for the savoury crowd, plus sourdough, rye and nine-grain loaves to take home. Whole pies and cakes need 24 hours' notice. It opens at 7 a.m. every day, which makes it the obvious stop before a morning on the Chief.

A from-scratch bakery in the Business Park, opened in 2016 by head baker Sean Tremblay and Erin Copeland, both Canadian Armed Forces veterans. Baguettes, sourdough and a rotation of feature loaves (sesame sourdough only Friday and Saturday, bagels only Wednesday and Sunday) share the counter with bear claws, cinnamon buns and a weekly-changing line of baguette sandwiches and paninis. Coffee is from local roaster Counterpart. It runs Wednesday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and shares a building with Backcountry Brewing, which makes for an easy afternoon. Check the site around holidays: Thanksgiving 2026 hours are cut back.

Squamish's original craft brewery, pouring on Cleveland Avenue since 1996 and marking 30 years this fall. The post-and-beam brewpub faces the Stawamus Chief, takes reservations, and runs a straightforward pub menu of nachos, wings, poutine and stone-fire pizza alongside its own lagers, pale ales, sours and a nitro stout. Tourism Squamish's listing notes it was named Brewery of the Year at the 2022 Canadian Brewing Awards. Happy hour runs 3 to 5 p.m. daily with $6 house beers, and the upper patio is dog-friendly in the warmer months, weather permitting.

The Business Park brewery that made the Squamish beer scene feel younger. Backcountry opened in 2017, took rookie of the year at that year's BC Beer Awards, and its tasting room is done up as a 1970s ski cabin with map-top tables and a 20-tap tower that turns over new releases constantly. The kitchen makes its own pizza dough from organic Canadian flour. Its flagship Widowmaker IPA took silver for Best IPA at the 2025 Canadian Brewing Awards, per Tourism Squamish. Open daily from noon to 10 p.m.

Cabin-themed and unfussy, with every beer named for a BC lake. A-Frame's tap room and year-round patio run on a bring-your-own-food policy: outside food is welcome with a drink purchase, and Flipside Burgers takes orders from a window on the patio once staff have seated you. The brewery won gold for its Arctic Lake Dark Lager and silver for a lemon and Earl Grey sour at the 2023 Canadian Brewing Awards. The local pick is Cheakamus Lake, a Czech-style pilsner poured from a side-pull faucet. Weekday hours start at noon.

Downtown's Lebanese kitchen and the easiest dinner on this list for a table with mixed diets: much of the menu is marked vegan or gluten-free, and nothing feels like an afterthought. Expect hummus, muhammara, zaatar fries, kabobs and kefta built on named BC and Alberta suppliers, and bowls in the $18 to $25 range. The move for a group is the Meshwi Platter; the move for one is the Saha Poutine, zaatar frites under mujadrah, halloumi, tahini and feta. Open from 11:30 a.m. daily, and the restaurant strongly recommends booking.

The downtown room for a late one. The Copper Coil has been on Cleveland Avenue since 2015, pairing New Orleans cooking with Pacific Northwest ingredients, and it keeps the latest hours on this list: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. The menu leans Louisiana, with po' boys, house-smoked brisket and ribs, Cajun popcorn shrimp and yakamein, alongside poutines and burgers for the less adventurous. The New Orleans jambalaya is marked as a house special.

The cheap, filling stop just off Highway 99. Mag's 99 does two things, crispy fried chicken and Mexican-style comfort food, and mostly combines them: fried chicken goes into the chimichangas, quesadillas, poutines and the Max burrito. Small tacos start at $4.99 and the Minimus burrito is $11.89, which makes it the best-value meal on this list by a distance. There's a patio, a drive-thru and online ordering for pickup, handy when the car is already packed for the drive home. The loaded fries are the house calling card.

The anniversary booking. The Salted Vine is downtown's most polished dining room, with farmhouse décor nodding to Squamish's rail and logging past, a sommelier-run drinks list, and a dinner menu that names its farms: Hop Creek tomatoes, North Arm beets, Pemberton potatoes. Oysters and a two-tier seafood tower lead, followed by miso sablefish, Hokkaido scallops and steaks up to a $56 prime tenderloin. Dinner runs 5 to 9 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday, with happy hour from 3 p.m.; reserve through OpenTable.

Cocktails with a view of the Mamquam Blind Channel and the Chief, from the water side of a Loggers Lane building. The Broken Seal is a lounge first: the cocktail list runs from a nitro espresso martini to a duck-fat-washed rye drink, and the food is tapas-style plates from head chef Jérémy Beaulieu, including beef tartare, confit duck leg and bao, at $22 to $25 each or three for $55. Posted winter hours open at 4 p.m. on weekdays and 3 p.m. on weekends, with Tuesdays closed. There's no phone listed; email or walk in.

The waterfront pick, on Village Crescent beside Sp'akw'us Feather Park. House of Lager started in 2020 as a side project of House of Funk Brewing and is now a standalone brewery built around lagers. The kitchen is more ambitious than a taproom needs to be: ahi tuna tataki, a 16-hour smoked brisket sandwich, and halibut fried in a batter made with the house Bavarian lager. Open daily from noon, with a take-out window for coffee, sandwiches and ice cream on walks along the water.