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Cafe Caribana serves Caribbean food in North Vancouver.
Ate here the other day with a friend. Each had Rotee, Samosa, and a Beef Pate. Really good food. Can't say for certain if it's Authentic, but, really good food. Great price and value. The Restaurant is clean and food was served quickly. Air Con was very strong, and, I will definately be going back!!
I'm used to going to the Drive for Caribbean food, so I was hugely surprised to see this place on the North Shore. It’s more like Indian Caribbean food, but very tasty.
My wife and I both had the butter chicken. It was just spicy enough and a little different from what you would get at an Indian restaurant. The entrée size comes with a salad, rice and roti, but the bowl size comes with either rice or roti, and no salad. The actual butter chicken part is about the same amount for either size.
We also had the chai, which was good, and I had a Jamaican patty which was pretty generic.
Both the server and the owner were friendly and helpful. I did notice there was a lot of traffic both take-out and eat-in, and they could use a bit more kitchen help. The ambience is good, with nice comfy chairs and enough space so you don’t feel crowded.
The menu is simple but it covers all the bases. While we were waiting for our food a fellow patron (who had sampled every menu item over several visits) described the various dishes available, and they all sounded delish! I have got to return to try them all!
Recommended.
A nice hang out to relax and enjoy a good selection of tasting food.
Paulo (owner) lets me special order Shrimp Ceviche (I call two hours before).
My wife and I love the Caribean food from previous owner (still there in all its glory) and the added Mexican touch that Paulo and his wife add to the mix.
Very reasonably priced for the great taste!
Curry prawn dish is one I love, as well as the lamb dish, the curry chicken, oh and the homemade Rotis are authentic.
I've tried several of the other dishes and all have real tasty sauces (professionally done).
A liquor license too and Paulo seems to always be generous on the wine size.
And to the guy that didn't like the microwave door opening and closing!?
How do you expect this place to provide fast, reasonalby priced dishes if you don't let them prepare some of the dishes ahead of time.
Besides the longer these sauces get to blend together for that just right taste, the better.
Keep up the good work Amigo!
Bland, Bland, Bland was all I could say about the food at this place. I had the chicken curry. The only thing which was exceptional was the desert they served which was a kind of milky pudding which was custom made. I love Caribbean food but will give this restaurant a pass - you should too.
I too was excited about the re-opening of the Cafe Carabana. Sadly, my expectations may have been too high. There are some changes under the new ownership, and they are not necessarily good ones.
Prices are up: Whereas two entrees with roti bread would check in at 15 or 16 bucks, that number has surged to closer to $25.
Portions are down: the days of the caesar or mixed salad with your order of butter chicken are long gone. And the butter chicken itself is now crammed into the one small container -- not two separate entities under previous ownership.
The new owners seem like good people, and I hope they fare well, but they are going to have to make some improvements to the menu and the pricing before I return.
I love the food and service at this restaurant. I love the butter chicken! it's different. I also love the dal puri and the coconut prawns. The servings are generous for the price that you pay. This place is anything BUT bland. They have wonderful caribbean music and the atmosphere is great. It really warms up the soul on a cold rainy Vancouver day.
Having been one of the first customers and knowing the owners, it's really too bad the way it has gone under new management. I decided to give it a try again at its higher prices and just can't go back.
I ordered the old standby chicken curry. It was served to me cold. The chipotle veg were also cold but somewhat tasty. I got rice and was never offered roti. The price was ludicrously high..portion size was roughly the same. The new management are family relatives and are spanish so I don't really know why they're trying to cook what they don't know.
We went as a group of 10+ for lunch a few months ago. I ordered the pumpkin roti. The flavour was perfect and consistency (thick blend instead of chunks) worked. Reasonably priced.
We've ordered take-out since and everyone ordered the pumpkin roti. Can't speak for the other food which seemed to get average reviews.
Some of the CDs/DVDs in the display case beside the door were of questionable taste.
Very much a let down. Decided to give this place a try. Once the order was placed we could hear a microwave being used repeatedly, beeping, door slamming etc. The Curried Lamb and the Jerk Chicken were both bland and lukewarm. The rice was overdone and tasteless. I would hardly call this authentic and left much of my meal. The ambiance was lacking with brightly lit florescent lighting.
My family and I decided to try this restaurant after noticing it in the Entertainment Book. We ordered the coconut prawns and the goat curry. The coconut prawns entree was not as good as I had hoped for. It looked delicious and was presented well but the food was cold. The prawns were huge but were not cooked very well or maybe they were cooked from frozen and quite tough. The service was ok, ambiance could have been cleaner. Unfortunately we won't return ... even with the Entertainment book coupon savings.
...the Cafe Caribana has changed little. The menu is now more of a family menu; lots of variations on the traditional menu which provide some wonderful surprizes. The foods are taken from the wonderful Creole combinations found in T&T and Guyanese food: lots of South Asian ingredients mixed in with Spanish and African entrees.
If you want a restaurant where the owners truly love the food that they're producing, this is the one
As already mentioned, the prices have increased significantly and the portions are not what they were. The jerk chicken is very good, the butter chicken was lacking in flavour. For take out there is better value in the neighbourhood.
I've visited this place several times. My normal pick is the chicken curry and it is better than most Indian restaurants on the North Shore. The staff are very friendly and polite. The food is excellent value. My only advice to the owners is to ensure consistency as one curry I had seemed to be lacking in the quality of the meat - although this seems to be a once-off as it's been ok since. I thoroughly recommend Cafe Caribana.
I've visited the Cafe Caribana a few times since it has re-opened and under new management (still in the same family) I tried the different Caribbean dishes. The Caribbean Lamb and Coconut Prawns are absoulutely amazing. It was so tasty and definitely a great size portion served and well worth the price, (ranging from just a little over $10-$13) for a meal. The menu has changed and definitely gives you different options to try. They have also added Curry Beef to the menu, it's worth trying. If you don't feel like having Caribbean food try the Meat Lasagna. Delicious!! Also serving baked goods and coffees. The service was spectacular and a good tropical music. Great job to the new management.
I use to go to Carabana three times a week. It was my favorite restaurant, reliable and consistant. I was so disappointed when they shut down and was waiting for the day they re-opened. The day after they re-opened I went in and ordered my usual meal. Normally 5 soemthing, my bill was 11 something, still reasonable I guess, but that is a bit of a hike! Next they changed their rice, go back to the original, it was good. Don't fix it if it ain't broke. They have also started servign breakfast and coffee. My suggestion is stick to what you know. Go back to the way it was. I will not be returning, it's unfortunate, I will have to find a new place
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