Wallflower Modern Diner

Credit: Hilary Henegar

Vancouver diner Wallflower Modern Diner on Main Street.

Main Street’s Wallflower Modern Diner offers up comfort-food favourites with a chef’s quirky twist

We all have them, nights when the last thing you want to do is cook. When you crave chilli, fried chicken or perogies but the thought of cooking a meal makes you cringe. Well, the Wallflower Modern Diner is here for you! Opened in January 2009 by husband and wife team Lisa and Matt Hewlett, the Wallflower Modern Diner deliciously combines comfort food with creative ingredients.

The macaroni and cheese has added jalapenos, the meatloaf is served in a puff pastry and the crab cakes are made with curry, apples and peaches. Brunches are equally as tasty and inventive. The hash is served either vegetarian or with pastrami, there’s a variety of Benny’s, and the coffee is perfect for lazy mornings. The restaurant will even cook meals catering to patrons who are celiac or vegan.

“I try to cook with local and organic foods,” says Lisa, who is also the chef.

“I go with best available. And if neither are available in good quality, I shop at Santa Barbra Market on The Drive.”

Adding to the dining experience is the brilliant atmosphere Matt and Lisa have created. The restaurant buzzes with activity, yet intimacy can still be achieved.

Says Lisa, “When we started The Wallflower it was with the goal of creating a restaurant that was an extension of our living room. The result is greater than either of us imagined, a blurry line between regular customers and new friends. We love it.”

Heather Lochner is a stay-at-home mother and a freelance writer. She loves combing the neighbourhoods of Vancouver to find locally owned shops and restaurants. Together with her two children, husband and dog, she lives aboard her sailboat in Vancouver. When not at work or school, the Lochners are out cruising the BC coast.