With all the closure news these days, it’s great that another Vancouver food spot is expanding yet again!
Cherry Pham, the chef and owner behind Crab Hot Lau on Kingsway, confirmed to Noms Magazine that the restaurant will be opening a brand-new location on Granville Street this month.
Cherry first launched Crab Hot Lau in 2022 without any prior restaurant experience, driven by a mission to recreate the comforting flavours of her hometown, Hai Phong.
She immigrated to Canada more than a decade ago and, after struggling to find Northern Vietnamese food that tasted like home, she decided to build her own restaurant from scratch.
Her Kingsway restaurant quickly became known for its richly flavoured Rice Field Crab Hot Pot, which earned praise and awards like Best Vietnamese Restaurant in Vancouver by Van Mag in 2024 & 2025.
This summer, Cherry also expanded the restaurant to UBC under Crab Hot Lau’s “Smart Franchise” model, which focuses on sustainable and intentional growth.
The new Granville Street restaurant will take over the former Mr. 2993 space, a unit that made headlines last spring when its lease was terminated after rent disputes.
Cherry and her team have completely transformed the site into a 200-seat destination, complete with multiple private dining rooms designed for family gatherings, business dinners, and celebrations.
While the Granville spot will serve Crab Hot Lau’s signature Hai Phong Crab Hot Pot, it will also debut something completely new for Vancouver: an authentic Vietnamese-style BBQ menu.
It’s the first time the city will see this type of dining experience, making the expansion even more exciting for fans of Vietnamese cuisine.
The Granville location will host its soft opening on September 21, 2025, with a grand opening celebration scheduled for September 28, 2025.
This marks Crab Hot Lau’s third location in Vancouver and signals the continued growth of a restaurant that started as a passion project.
With the new outpost, Crab Hot Lau now joins other upcoming Vancouver food spots like TOUK, SUD SOI, and Jack’s Chowder DT.
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: 2993 Granville St, Vancouver, BC V6J 2J1