Last night, Tourism Vancouver teamed up with BC Hydro Power Smart to bring Vancouver the Candlelight Conservation Dinner, a city-wide event featuring 30 of the best restaurants in town.

Each Candlelight Conservation Dinner restaurant—which included five-star award-winners Blue Water Cafe and Le Gavroche as well as family favourites Rocky Mountain Flatbread and the Old Spaghetti Factory—served dinner by candlelight, turning electric lights off or down low.

The goal was simple: Bring attention to the need for electricity conservation and help BC Hydro reduce future electricity demands across the province.

When I first wrote about the Candlelight Conservation Dinner, I mentioned dining at Raincity Grill, that preeminant spot for Pacific Northwest cuisine. But when the day arrived, I found myself desperately craving Mexican comfort food, which meant only one thing: Las Margaritas.

One of Vancouver’s most beloved Mexican eateries, Las Margaritas is a cantina-style restaurant with a fabulous location in Kitsilano’s shopping district on West 4th Avenue; it’s also just a few blocks south of the famous Kits Beach.

Dining at Raincity Grill by candlelight would doubtless have been more traditionally romantic, but I loved the boisterous atmosphere at Las Margaritas last night: The candlelight gave the room a rustic, Mexican-party feel, and several of the tables were full of big groups celebrating birthdays (complete with requisite sequined sombrero) and family gatherings.

For dinner, I had one of my favourites, the (very) rich Enchilada Suiza, and my partner had the Tacos de Pescado. I love the way Las Margaritas marries traditional Mexican flavours and recipes with Vancouver ingredients: the Tacos de Pescado, like the big fish burrito, are made with wild B.C. salmon.

Dining by candlelight at the Candlelight Conservation Dinner at Las Margaritas

Did you dine out for the Candlelight Conservation Dinner?