Downtown Vancouver's lunch scene just got a shake-up. The Burrard Food Court, tucked beneath BX1 in the Bentall Centre, has reopened after a redesign, and it comes with five new vendors covering Thai, Korean, Japanese, Indian and good old-fashioned sliders.

The space itself has been freshened up too, with better lighting, new seating, larger communal tables and bar-style spots to perch at. It's aimed less at grab-and-go and more at actually hanging out, which fits with the Bentall Centre's push to position itself as a downtown gathering spot for work, food and community.

The headline act is arguably Zab Bite Thai Express, a quick-service offshoot of Zab Bite Thai E-Sarn Cuisine, which holds a Michelin Recommendation. Expect the same street-food style dishes in faster form: cashew nut chicken, tom kha and green curry all on the roster.

Two stalls come from the team behind local spot The Frying Pan. Little Seoul does Korean lunchboxes you can build yourself, piling on fresh rice, japchae and proteins like bulgogi, spicy pork or braised tofu. Next door, TORI leans Japanese, with a signature Tori Paitan Ramen built on slow-cooked chicken broth and sous-vide chicken, plus rice bowls, yakisoba, yaki udon and handmade pork katsu.

Indish graduates from food truck to permanent stall, bringing its slow-cooked modern Indian curries, rice bowls, paratha wraps and samosa chaat, no more chasing the truck around town. Rounding things out, Four Bite Burger serves diner-style sliders with fresh beef, thin-sliced onions, melted cheese and a house sauce on soft steamed buns.

Hudson Pacific Properties, which operates and co-owns the Bentall Centre, calls the relaunch a real investment in the everyday experience of tenants and visitors, with Chuck We, the company's EVP for Pacific Northwest and Canada office operations, framing the food court as central to keeping the centre a vibrant hub in the heart of the city.

For travellers, this is a handy one-stop answer to the classic downtown lunch dilemma. The Bentall Centre sits in the financial district, so if you're sightseeing around Vancouver Art Gallery, the waterfront or Canada Place, you're within easy walking distance of a food court that now punches well above typical mall-court weight. Michelin-recommended Thai and proper paitan ramen at food-court prices is a solid deal, and the variety means a group with different cravings can all eat well in one sitting.

It's worth noting this is very much a weekday crowd scene. Office workers keep the queues moving at noon, so arriving before 11:45am or after 1:30pm will save you time. And if you're staying downtown, it's an easy, affordable breakfast or lunch alternative to hotel menus.

Full credit to Curiocity for the original report.