Bin 941 Tapas Parlour

Vishwa Mohan worked his way up the ranks at several luxury hotels and resorts around the world before taking over the reins at Bin 941 Tapas Parlour in 2014. “As a chef working at large hotel chains, such as Fairmont and Four Seasons, it can be a little restrictive...you can be creative but you have to follow certain rules,” says Vishwa. “I was looking to move on and I was really ready for a challenge.”

Nestled along Davie Street in Vancouver’s West End, Bin 941 is an intimate 28-seat eatery that has been a neighbourhood for almost two decades . The narrow lounge is moody and eclectic in its decor; the space features exposed brick walls, cozy booths and colourful pieces of avant-garde artworks that beg to be looked at. When it comes to food, the small but well-thought-out, globally inspired menu showcases inventive tapas-style dishes (tapatizers) made with fresh, local and seasonal ingredients.

With a sociable menu designed for sharing, Bin 941 gives foodies plenty of choice. When Vishwa took over the kitchen in 2014, he refreshed the menu with his own creative culinary approach while maintaining a couple of the restaurant's bestselling dishes. “We kept the concept of small, sharing plates but we're focused on keeping it creative, so I change the menu frequently," explains Vishwa, who serves as both the owner and executive chef at the restaurant. “The only two items I kept on the menu when I took over Bin 941 were the pommes frites and the beef tenderloin Wellington,” Vishwa recalls. “I would have been in trouble from the regulars if I took them off.”