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I agreed to meet a friend at this place but was not sure what to expect. The host is very hospitable and the staff were attentitive but there were only a few customers there in the middle of the week. We ordered our dish and it arrived within 5 minutes. It tasted like cafeteria food or something I pulled out of a freezer! Terrible! If you want good Italian, go someplace else! Stick to Commercial Drive or downtown.
We came across this new & small Indian restaurant located in Surrey tucked away on a side street. My husband had heard about it and we decided to venture out with the kids. The owner suggested a few items from the menu. For appetizers we had lamb kebab & Amritsari fish. The presentation of the food was excellent and the garnishes were very fresh. What stood out was that the food was very tasty and not your typical Punjabi restaurant food that tastes the same! This place offers very good food and it all tastes very unique at low price. It's the kind of food you'll get in India. We then ordered the butter chicken and eggplant partha with rice. The butter chicken was exceptional and had very good spicy flavors. The eggplant was very good too but could have been a bit smokier but nonetheless was fantastic. The naan came out perfect too. The service was excellent. If you are looking for very good Indian food, rest assured this place rocks. They don't have license for alcohol but I suspect that will come in time. Service was professional as well and the chefs know their food. At the end, we ordered some masala chai and the chef recommended an unusual dessert for being an Indian restaurant. He recommended a hot brownie dessert with ice cream. It was yummy! This is not your typical Indian restaurant and we've searched for an Indian restaurant for 6 years in Vancouver. We will definitely go back and try out other dishes. So far, its two thumbs up from us. I highly recommend it if you are a foodie!
We recently visited this Indian restaurant located in South Surrey on 152nd St. We've been to many Indian restaurants throughout Vancouver, Surrey, Ottawa, Toronto & Delhi.
The food was a big disappointment. We ordered the lamb vindaloo which tasted like it came from a jar (Patak's to be specific). The butter chicken was not impressive and was sweet. The naan bread was fluffy and was not cooked in the tandoori clay oven. It was more like fluffy pita bread. The last item we ordered was bangan partha (eggplant) which stated on the menu was cooked in a clay oven. We could tell it was not cooked in a clay oven and appeared to be steamed dish with no taste of the eggplant being seared in a clayoven. Now, I know what bangan partha should look and taste like!
The three dishes in total was $58 dollars...a complete downer!
Matisse restaurant located in downtown Victoria was a delight. The food was not exceptional all around. We came in from Vancouver and have dined at other French restaurants throughout Ontario, Quebec and France. So, we had some expectations going in. Our server recommended a Reserve wine, and if I recall it was Mission Hill and went well with our dishes. We ordered the escargot and butternut squash soup as appetizers. Both were good but not exceptional in our minds. My husband ordered the halibut and I ordered the filet of beef as main courses. I tried my husband's dish but thought it was average at best. The beef was excellent and cooked to perfection with complementing garnishes. For dessert, we ordered the bread pudding and it was full of flavor and is highly recommended. The service was good too. Would I go back? Yes, I would go back and sample some of the other dishes based on the quality and ratings of some of the dishes we ordered. By the way, our seating was @ 7:30 pm and we did not see a 2nd seating at this place. We didn't leave until 10 pm. The service is a bit on the slower side but I think it is done purposely. We enjoyed it.
Over the years I have tried various Indian sweets from different restaurants in the lower mainland and Ontario. Prabu Sweets was a delightful surprise! The sweets are always fresh, soft, and divine. I've sampled the majority of the sweets like chum chum, barfee, milk cake, etc and wow, they've done a great job. This is a small establishment and typically the chum chum's run out by 2 pm each day. I've been here three times and everytime there is at least 5-10 other customers waiting in line. If you like Indian sweets, try this place, you will be surprised! Highly authentic and well recommended.
I was craving ribs and brisket for some time after watching some of the Food Network shows on tv. I had my doubts about this place. And sure enough, the food was average. We drove in from Richmond hoping to find something great or different. I think if you are not spoiled by good southern cooking, you may find something on the menu that you like. For us, it was nothing special or worth the drive. I can't wait for our next trip down south of the border.
We finally had a chance to drive down to Port Moody. We were craving Trini food for some time but have not found anything good in Vancouver. To our surprise, the goat rotis were excellent. We ordered the hot ones and asked for additional hot sauce on the side. The sauce has a hint of sweetness and then it has a huge kick to it. The goat was fantastic! The goat and potato filling is cooked to perfection. And, I have to say there was no fat in the meat or wild flavor. I'm not sure whether this was New Zealand goat but it had a lot of flavor. We also tried the chicken roti as well along with some Ginger beear. I have to say the food is very good. This is a small, clean establishment with 3 tables. If you are searching for something spicy and good, definitely check this place out.
I was hoping after reading the reviews here that I would find a good Indian restaurant. I'm surprised by the number of good reviews here. The food in general was not fresh. We order beef kabobs, butter chicken, aloo tikki, & palak paneer. The only thing that was fresh was perhaps the aloo tikki (fried potato patty) and the naan. Having had quality indian meals around the globe, I have to say the food here lacked quality and flavor. The butter chicken was a huge disappointment. The chicken should be tandoored (in a clay oven) and then cooked in curry sauce. The saag (palak paneer) in general was not up to par. And the beef kabob? Let's put it this way, I suspect it was pre-cooked and then cooked on a hot plate. It was just OK. If you are looking for good indian cuisine, look elsewhere in Vancouver or Surrey.
I've driven by this place numerous times and decided to check it out this weekend. We ordered a Jamaican pizza and a curried oxtail dish for lunch. The oxtail dish was an average tasting dish with some Caribbean flavors. The pizza was not good. The pizza crust looked and tasted as though it was pre-made or store bought. The toppings were overpowered by the cheddar cheese. I also had expected the food to be more spicy. They did offer side sauces which were ok. The drinks were good and were imported i.e. Ginger Beer etc. The restaurant had a nice setting and it made you feel like you were in Jamaica with cool background music. The servers were very friendly. Overall, I really thought the food could be improved. It was a major letdown for us given we have sampled Carribean food back East in Ottawa and also on our vacations to the tropics where food was so full of vibrant flavors and spice.
I discovered this place on the corner of Kingsway and Victoria recently. I tried the beef ball pho. They serve the pho with bean sprouts, basil and lime just how we like it. All the side sauces i.e. hot sauces etc are available at each table. A great soup indeed. We go to a lot of other Pho restaurants throughout Richmond but this pho was extremely good. Since then I have been there 2 more times and I brought along family. Others ordered the grilled pork, etc but that was below average in taste. My husband ordered the vegetable soup dish which was also great. This is a clean but very modest place. I highly recommend the soups.
Coming from Ottawa, we were spoiled with all the excellent Thai restaurants. After having been in Vancouver for 3 years, we could not find a Thai restaurant that was on par with something out East. Finally! We find a great Thai restaurant which has the flavours bang on. All the dishes were cooked to perfection. The only negative was the fried banana dish we ordered for dessert. The crust was hard. Other than that the flavours fused well and we look forward to visiting again.
My husband and I went to Mis Trucos last night. This restaurant is set in an old character home on Davies next to Shoppers Drug Mart. It is easy to miss the restaurant so look for a sign displayed on the street. We decided to eat outdoors on the patio where they have heated lamps for your comfort. Now for the food.... We ordered Coca with mortadella, the slow cooked egg with ham, lobster risotto, and lamb with chick peas & chorizo and for dessert we had the mango canneloni mascarpone. The food was impeccable! The lobster risotta was my favorite and was so full of flavor. Everything was absolutely perfect! The general manager and waitress were also very informative and helpful and at the end of the night we met the chef on our way out. The setting in this character home also made for a very unique experience. The surprising part was this restaurant is only 1 month old and the owner and employees have done a great job. We give this place a two thumbs up and we will definitely be back again. I highly recommend this place!
A group of us dined at Cru last summer. We decided to order all the items off the menu instead of the 3 course meal. The wine selections were good. The food in general was a solid good but nothing to write home about. Nothing stood out. The service was average. I wouldn't recommend this place. If interested in small plates try out Twisted Fork or Tapestry. These places are solid in terms of service and excellent cuisine & wines.
We've been going to this place for the past couple years. We enjoy the hot&sour, and wonton soups. The food in general is very flavorful and fresh. The food is cooked and stir fried on high heat and therefore the service is very fast. The food does not contain that old oily flavor which a lot of other restaurants seem to have. Our favorite all time dish is the crab cooked in a hot pot along with the optional noodles. The flavor is absorbed by the noodles and is wonderful. We've had this dish 3 times and always want more! I recommend this place if you are looking for good quality, spicy szechuan cuisine. Definitely try the crab.
We found this little gem after reading all the reviews on DineHere.ca. Twisted Fork is a casual bistro with fine dining. We went on a Wednesday night and were greeted by a friendly hostess and waiter. It's no secret that the chefs enjoy food and it shows in their creativity and exceptional food.
We decided to order "small forks" plates i.e. tapas and a bottle of red wine. We tried the mussels in a creamy sauce, beef shortribs, rosemary beef tenderloin, and an array of other items on the menu. We were pleasantly surprised that every dish was consistent, well presented, and had a mixture of flavors and textures. And to finish off, we had the Caramel Napoleon for dessert but it was paired with fresh strawberries and not raspberries since the bistro had run out of them. Wow, the dessert was fantastic.
We look forward to visiting this restaurant again and we will go for the main menu dishes next time.
I've been to this restaurant three times and have found the quality of food and service to be consistent and excellent. It is a cozy yet elegant restaurant with a great selection of wines. The food is very good and the waiters are knowledgable about the food & wine. I highly recommend this place.
I visited Chop several months ago with my 7 yr old for lunch. We entered the restaurant through the bar area and were greeted by a waitress who showed us our way to the seating area in the restaurant. She even gave us a tour of Chop. It is a very trendy looking bar/restaurant and at the time I thought it would be a great place to visit at night for drinks and snacks. For lunch, we ordered some steak bites (I forget the name on the appetizer menu), and halibut fish. The fish was good but the sides were very average. We also had a side of french fries which were pretty good. The steak bites were quite good too. The price however was for two appetizers and a lunch dish was extremely pricy. I would not have minded paying it for dinner but for lunch it was just a tad too much. Food was good but not outstanding. I will go back at some point but most likely for drinks and appetizers. I don't mind paying big bucks for food but it has to be very good at those prices.
We decided to visit this restaurant tonite (Friday night) after seeing all the great reviews. This is a tiny restaurant located on Main Street near 29th. The food is pretty good. My husband had the roast lamb with chick peas and it had an Indian flavor to it. It was quite good. I ordered a steak and my daughter had a pizza. It was a thin crust pizza with lamb sausage and chili flakes. Quite good but it came out on the colder side. The steak was cooked to perfection. And the lamb was excellent! We also shared an upside down banana cake (vegan) for dessert which had a nice flavor. All in all, I give this place a solid 3 for ambiance, service and food. I will definitely go back because I see a lot of potential with this place and given they change their menu quite frequently I'd definitely like to go back and sample a few more dishes.
Last thing, the ingredients were definitely fresh and were not greasy. I look forward to visiting again.
Kabob Hut is a real hole in the wall restaurant located near Main and 49th. The lamb kabob and chicken tikka is great. You can see the cooks placing the meat on the skewers and cook them in a tandoor. It reminds me of rural India. We also ordered chai (tea) along side with the dishes and it was very good and well priced. This is a great takeout place. There are a few tables inside and next door the owner has an eating area as well but the ambiance is not good. A definite must try!
Tararenbo by far is the best Japanese restaurant in Richmond & Vancouver. I've been to several restaurants in Ontario and throughout Vancouver/Richmond however this restaurant is very consistent in terms of quality. The staff are very friendly and anytime you enter, you are greeted in a friendly manner. The food is excellent and the quality is consistent every time. I've been to other good Japanese restaurants in Richmond but sometimes they are not consistent.
We usually order the karagi chicken, miso yaki fish, torarenbo spicy rolls (wow!), salmon sockeye nigiri sushi, mixed tempura, don buri beef, edamame and I tell you the food is excellent! We have been hooked to this place since moving here to BC and we never get tired of this place. I highly recommend this place. Note if you go on a weekend, I highly advise reservations otherwise you may end up waiting 20 to 40 minutes.