This might be the most theatrical new restaurant Metro Vancouver has seen open in YEARS.
Memory Corner has FINALLY soft opened its long-awaited second location on North Road in Coquitlam.
They took over the previous WINGS unit at the corner of North Road and Lougheed Hwy.
And they somehow took the design-heavy energy of the Richmond original and cranking it up another notch.
For those unfamiliar, Memory Corner is a well-loved Taiwanese restaurant famous for its nostalgic, fully decked-out interior and authentic dishes.
It is known to make diners feel like they’ve stepped into a bustling outdoor street market in Taiwan’s past.
The story behind the restaurant is one rooted in family tradition.
The Wu family’s culinary legacy began in 1975 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, when Grandpa Wu left a secure job to pursue his passion for Taiwanese lamb cuisine.
His dedication led to the creation of Wu Family Lamb Hotpot, a local favourite that became a symbol of home-cooked comfort.
After immigrating to Canada, the Wu family continued this legacy through the next generations, leading to the founding of Memory Dining Group and the eventual opening of Memory Corner in Richmond in 2013.
The front entry sets the tone immediately, with a dramatic carved figure on one side and the waiting area tucked just off to the left.
Past the check-in booth on the right, the main dining room opens up into something that feels less like a restaurant and more like a movie set.
It is huge, bright, and filled with red lanterns hanging across the ceiling.
Skylights pull natural light in from above, which keeps the room from feeling heavy even with all the wood, brick, and stone-style detail.
On a nice sunny day, the space is no doubt stunning as the pockets of sunlight beam through the windows.
The biggest move is the indoor pond.
It runs through part of the restaurant and yes, there are real fish swimming inside.
Around the water are cave-like walls, rock-style seating edges, and wooden pavilion structures that make the whole section feel like an old Taiwanese courtyard.
Some tables sit right along the water, easily the most photo-friendly seats in the room and the ones people will start asking for by name.
The far side of the room has another wooden pavilion-style structure that looks back across the rest of the dining floor, framing the pond, lanterns, statues, and carved decor in one layered view.
The rest of the main dining room keeps the old-street feel going.
Wooden benches, square tables, brick walls, vintage posters, and decorative signs all push the same direction, with little streets and corners built into the room rather than one flat dining floor.
There are also a handful of semi-enclosed dining rooms that feel slightly quieter, but keep the theme going.
Between the red lanterns, indoor pond, live fish, cave-like walls, wooden pavilions, statues, and vintage corners, this is the kind of restaurant where people pull out their phones before they open the menu.
Because a fully decked-out space like this is so rare, you can’t help but want to walk around the space to check out every little corner of the room.
The menu itself largely mirrors the Richmond original.
Combo sets, beef noodles, and hot pots are all here, and like Richmond, every table uses a QR code to order.
We went in anonymous during off-peak hours and still hit a 20 minute wait at the door.
Friends who showed up later have reported lineups stretching close to an hour, so the soft open lull a lot of people were expecting clearly has not happened here.
For many locals, North Road is considered as Metro Vancouver’s Korea Town.
So having a well-known Taiwanese restaurant like Memory Corner, is one that many living around the area are welcoming with open arms.
The location is convenient and parking is ample, but its popularity will no doubt mean long lines and wait times for months.
But if you’re willing to brave the lines, Memory Corner is a great addition to the area.
For more new and upcoming food spots in Metro Vancouver, take a peek at our tracker here, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
Address: 345 North Rd, Coquitlam, BC V3K 3V8