Vancouver Gets Glitzy Before Olympics

Along a lively strip of Yaletown full of it-restaurants and be-seen bars is Cioppino's, a traditional Italian eatery that consistently manages to lure foodies and visiting celebrities. An open-air kitchen sizzles and steams with the occasional outburst from chefs and assistants opposite a dining room of exposed ceilings, painted ductwork and pendant lighting serviced by professional waiters with lingering Italian accents. Traditional tile floors typical of eateries in Tuscany and Piedmont are adorned in simple four-top tables with wooden bistro chairs. Chef Giuseppe Posteraro uses health-conscious for long-time Italian recipes like four-hour braised beef cheeks and garganelli with wild boar sausage and preserved truffles.

The best of 12 a.m. Vancouver

If you listen to any of the chatter around the Granville coffeehouses, you'll quickly associate Ginger 62 with wild weekend parties and a notorious doorman who separates groups of friends like a prison officer. It helps to secure a slot on the guest list via the Web site before braving entrance, easing your way into a lounge-theme cocktail and tapas bar that's been one of the hottest clubs in Vancouver since opening in 2006. The space is divided between several intimate lounge rooms in a mix of Morocco meets the Marais, complete with oversize red sofas, upholstered poufs and ornate chairs in ruby-colored crushed velvet.

It's not your usual dance hall that vibrates till 3a.m.; this upscale cocktail lounge Au Bar lures dressed-up locals and the occasional celebrity for its popular lineup of weekend dance events. Native design elements like tumbled-stone walls and saloon-style barstool seating around the bar let you know that you're still in the Northwest, but with a stiletto-and-jeans clientele of revelers drinking cosmos and requesting their favorite "Umbrella" anthem for the umpteenth time. Don't miss Friday's Sensual offering, a mash-up of hip-hop and reggae hits to a mostly downtown clientele of salacious singles.