Great Spaces: Vancouver’s Good Thief Cocktail Bar Redefines Rebellion

Most younger siblings feel a pressure of sorts to live up to their older sibling’s reputation—and for Good Thief, a new cocktail bar launched by the co-founders of Anh and Chi, expectations were almost impossibly high. Anh and Chi is widely recognized as one of Vancouver’s best Vietnamese spots; it’s easy to identify via the line of eager diners that often snakes its way down Main Street. But the team knows a thing or two about family dynamics—after all, Vincent and Amelie Nguyen are a brother-sister duo themselves.

“Good Thief is like Anh and Chi’s cool, funky, rebellious, badass little brother,” says Vincent (who is, yes, the little brother). The Nguyens’ second restaurant aims to embrace sophisticated techniques and adventurous ingredients, but stays close to home where it matters. Literally—Good Thief took over the units next door to Anh and Chi, where a hair salon and framing store once stood. “Don’t ever build a restaurant where there wasn’t an existing one,” Vincent says with a laugh.

Read: the renovation was a beast, but nothing that the designers at Ste. Marie and builders at CDC Construction couldn’t handle. Guests enter Good Thief through lush, velvety curtains, and are greeted by a spectacular green quartzite bar dressed in warm woods and brushed brass. The lighting, custom made by a local designer, incorporates fabric that Amelie hand-picked from a market in Vietnam.

Good Thief is inspired by ‘nhậu’, a Vietnamese way of eating and drinking that embraces the laidback fun of snacking and sipping with friends and family. “We’re building to last,” says Amelie of their new venture. “Everything is intentional; everything is meant to be a tribute to where we come from.”

Well, not everything is intentional—barely a week after opening, customers were quick to point out that Good Thief’s green, retro interior reminded them of Pho Hoang, Vincent and Amelie’s parents’ original restaurant. “Even when you’re trying to step away, somehow your identity is still with you,” says Amelie.

On the Menu

Pho Dac Biet  “We really wanted to take the family atmosphere and put it into the drinks,” beverage director Ben Kingstone explains, “and there’s no better way to do that than to emulate Mom’s famous pho.” This cocktail uses bourbon washed in fat that’s skimmed off the top of Anh and Chi’s 18-hour beef stock pots, plus sake, pho seasoning and rice noodle amylase. “You’re left with this extremely savoury concoction,” Kingstone says.

The Good Leaf  The ultra-refreshing Good Leaf, fizzy with champagne and dusted with turmeric, is easy drinking—but it’s not so easy to make. “It’s a lime leaf pisco distillate. Everything is clarified together in a bottle, then we force-carbonate it,” says Kingstone. “So it’s not just the champagne that’s giving you those beautiful bubbles—we’ve actually carbonated all of the ingredients together.”

Frog Legs  Me’s fish sauce—an award-winning pantry staple by Anh and Chi—is reduced to a glaze and drizzled over crunchy fried frog legs in this fan-favourite menu item. “We don’t want people to come in and think this is a gag, or a dare,” says chef de cuisine Jonathan Lee. “We’re giving this ingredient the respect it deserves—because at the end of the day, it’s a delicacy.”