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A small, casual middle-eastern and Indian restaurant offering exotic organic flavors from Istanbul to Calcutta. Enjoy your meal in the cozy restaurant or use the convienent take out window.
Food: I don't really remember what we ordered. I went with a friend that totally loves this place. We went for lunch and ordered an appetizer that is very much like a flaky naan bread with chickpea "dipping" and a double roti combo. It was really nice that for a couple dollars more a single roti could be changed to a double roti, with a different flavour. It came with soup or salad (for the double one, you get to try both). We tried a chicken and lamb one. They were both pretty tasty but it all started to taste the same after a while.
Service: It was amazing. They were attentive and offered to explain the menu a little. We also got a couple samples of the chai tea, it was good but a little too spicy for my liking. The food came quickly and it was still pretty hot. We had 2 servers serving us at a point in time.
Value: Two dishes came to about $30 in total. Portions were large and we were stuffed but $15 each for lunch is just a solid score for me.
Ambiance: It's very special. It's very dark and exotic. When I first walked in, honestly, I was a little scared but my friend recommended it so there were we. The seats are very low so it would be very uncomfortable for ones with long legs to sit for an extended period of time. When the felling of awkwardness and uncertainty subsided, I started to enjoy the ambiance of the place. It was very well decorated with wooden tables and charts. There are wall hangings and neat little displays. It feels like you're in a royal castle/banquet in the ancient times.
On the way to the movies we stopped off at East is East as I had heard many positive reviews. The staff were friendly and accommodating when we told them we had to eat fairly quickly. The live sitar music finished at 7.00PM which seemed strange as the restaurant was filling up. It is small, no real tables (eating on one's lap or off a coffee table is not everyone's idea of a night out), no liquor licence and no washroom. On the positive side the food was appetizing, nicely presented and varied, the dinner plates ($15) had complimentary refills if you were still hungry and the chai teas excellent. Definately a different dining experience and one to remember!
I came here with my boyfriend last night after walking up and down Main Street trying to decide what to eat. We finally settled on East is East and I'm sure glad we did. I've driven by many times and have often wondered what goodies came out of here.
I couldn't pass up sitting inside eventhough it is some extra dollars compared to take out. The inside donned carpeted walls, wooden tables and benches and wonderful cushions. However the benches are meant for groups, not couples - so if it's busy, it's probably not the best place to bring a date.
Immediately after we sat, we were served water and a complimentary cup of chai. The chai is great - bursting with ginger and clove flavor.
I have to say, this place is unexpectedly expensive. We shared a double chicken roti and a large shake and the total came to about $25 with tax and tip.
Was it worth the price? The roti tasted really fresh and the flavors were awesome. The shake was the best and you can really tell they don't skimp on ingredients. At $5.50 for a large shake with soy milk and yogurt, it's really not bad.
I would have like to see lower prices, but even at what they are now, I would definitely return.
Whenever I'm in the neighbourhood, I always go out of my way to grab a chai to go. Their chai is to die for.
Food:
I would have to say East is East is one of my favourite places I go to whenever I crave middle eastern, curry dishes. Usually I go on an empty stomach so I order the Eastern Plate Feast. You get a large plate with bowls of homemade Dhal lentil soup, two types of rice of your choice (Afghan rice and basmati for me), side salad of mixed greens, beets, parsley and dill vinaigrette, roti, biryani and TWO items from the menu. I have tasted the Organic Lamb Kebab, Organic Chicken Masala, Wild Salmon, Saag Paneer, Afghan Eggplant, Mango Butternut squash (creamy, so delicious) and Alu Gobi- all tender, flavourful, juicy and seasoned well. The added bonus is that the refills are FREE, but to get the refills you can’t share the plate (that’s why I go on an empty stomach, wink wink). I think it’s great value when you get to try various menu items!
I ‘ve also tried the Double Roti Rolls. Great value for 13.50 which is served with side salad and dhal soup. I absolutely love the Chicken Mughal, the Gandhara Blues. They are filled with Afghan Rice, delicious seasoning and meat or vegetarian delights. Go to www.eastiseast.ca to get the full ingredients.
Beverages:
They have a great menu for cold and hot beverages. I’ve had their apple ginger shot (tart and spicey), Nutty Gyspy (pistachio, cinnamon, chocolate, cardamom, with a hint of rosewater smoothie; Ganges Nectar (honeydew, pineapple, lychee, rosewater, cardamom); Himalayan High(Mango, pistachio, rosewater, cardamom). These are some that I’ve tried. I think the portion could be bigger for the price, but they make up for that with the ingredients and flavour. Great cold treat! Once again, I love their chai. Made in house you have your choice of green tea or black which either can be made with soy or milk that day at the Main Street spot. At the West Broadway location, they have added a Rooibos chai to their menu. They really should bring it to the Main resto. Another feature is that if you bring your own take away cup you get a 10% discount AND if you want a refill, the drink is half off!
Ambience:
As for the interior, they really excelled on making this spot feel as though you stepped into another place in time. It has a very organic look. The walls are a textured plaster with Afghan carpets hanging on the wall. Tables and stools/benches are crafted to look like they took a tree, cut off circular discs for the stool seats, thick branches for stool pegs, long pieces of the tree for the table tops, lightly coated with shellac. There are plenty of pillows to add comfort to your visit and more Afghan rugs detailed into the banquettes. The warm palette of creams, browns, burnt red and oranges are reminiscent of my own home. The sensual lighting is perfect for my dining experience.
Service:
The service is fantastic! I’m always greeted when I enter. The staff is very attentive and I always have my water refilled. Whenever I’ve ordered my Eastern Plate, I’m always asked if I want more....OH YEAH! They do take out as well, for those on the go.
Yes, I could be the poster person for this place. I give East is East two major thumbs up!
They are doing something great. I just wish they would open one in New Westminster!
I really love East is East when I am craving exotic curry dishes. There atmosphere is always so calming (I guess its because of the incense). I've tried most of their dishes and they are all pretty good. The waitresses are all really nice too :)
I always order the Turkish Delight smoothie, OMG! Its a must!
I've been to this place twice, and I enjoyed the experience both times.
The food is delicious. The flavor just burst in your mouth.
Lots of vegetarian options, but I didn't miss the meat at all because the spices are used perfectly.
Service is not too consistent, but they serve with a good heart.
If you are lucky, they might give you some delicious samples of appetizers and a cup of chai.
As previously mentioned by the other reviewers, the portions are tiny.
Ambiance is very exotic, and quite dark.
The seats are not the most comfortable ones, but I'm ok with it.
They sometimes have live music, and it makes you feel like you are in a foreign country.
Will come back again.
Dang.. for $18 it's basically all you can eat curries and stews. A Great selection of tasty options. I can imagine this cavern like room getting packed and busy on weekends and nights. If you can handle the odd seating arrangement then you'll be good to go.
Basically the menu has rice bowl as the simpler option. If you're in for a real meal and treat.. get the platter where you initially get to choose 3 different dishes and then get to refill your platter as many times as you'd like. You even get to refill it with new items you had not ordered originally. That's greatvalue to me and the food is superb.
I don't think I'd enjoy the experience if it was packed. It's pretty claustorphobic in there and the them is a bit rich for me.. but again food is A+ and so is price.
My husband and I decided to forego our usual lunch choices and try something different, so we headed to Main Street, parked south (no meters!) and walked north perusing menus when posted and whether or not places were busy. It being a rainy Sunday, most places were pretty hopping, but nothing appealed to us food-wise. When we walked past East is East a very pleasant young woman offered us samples - eggplant Roti rolls, grilled stuffed Roti, mango/pistachio and coffee/chocolate smoothies - and we were instantly hooked by the amazingly delicious food. I don't know how any hungry person could walk past this place after sampling some of their dishes. We took a bit of time over the menu choices, and finally opted for sharing a platter, as we were both pretty full from all those samples! And about those samples - they just kept bringing us more and more. The two dishes we chose for our platter were coconut lime salmon and saag paneer, but over the course of our meal our server also brought us a dish of chicken masala and lamb, as well as chai, and we had to turn down additional food 'cause we were stuffed.
If you're not a huge eater, opt for sharing, which brings the $17 cost of the platter to a more than reasonable lunch choice. Next time we're going for the double Roti (I've GOT to have that eggplant dish again) which includes salad and rice as well as two Roti rolls for $13 or so.
A lovely atmosphere, exceptionally welcoming (and generous) servers, and a marvelous selection of outstandingly flavourful food make this a solid choice. Highly recommended.
Well one thing I can tell you is don't go there if you're hungry. HALF of a wrap with a hand ful of undressed Costco greens and and thimble full of lukewarm unseasoned lentil soup will set you back over $10.
I have been here a few times as I have a friend who loves this place and Chai tea. Now as I don't like chai tea or fruit smoothies there is little to tempt me in that department. The wraps are ok but seriously I have had ones just as good at a local coffee shop. Plus I find I still burp up the spices hours later. The roti bread is good. I have not had a platter but would maybe try that if I had to go again. They are good about coming around with free samples.
I's say the ambiance is totally cool and great for one time but after that the food has to win me over. I'm not a huge eater, and I feel like I still need something when I leave. So try it once and then you decide.
A little hole in the wall cafe, but you enter and you feel like you've been transported to India. It's an experience. The perfect place to take visiting teenagers.
The food is good and prices are reasonable.
We live in Langley but every once in a while we make the trek to Vancouver and try to stop here whenever possible!! If we haven't gone here in a long time we start to crave it!!
The chai tea is the most wonderful blend of spices i've ever had. It's very strong and has quite a bite but it's real and unlike any i've ever had.
The smoothies are also great; you have an option of yogurt, ice cream, or soy yogurt / ice cream which I LOVE since i'm a vegetarian & try to consume as much soy as possible. I personally like the ones with Cardamom and Rose Water since they're exotic and hard to find anywhere else. The mango smoothie w/ cardamom & pistachio is to die for!!!
The wraps combos are probably small to some people but being a small vegetarian, one wrap is enough to fill me. The flavours are wonderful, so exotic and bursting wtih flavour. For a normal person, I would definitely definitely recommend going for the 2 wrap combo.
The ambience is very rustic; you can tell there was alot of thought put into making the restaurant. I've never been to Afghan, but the personality of the staff + the ambience definitely makes me want to visit. All in all, i love East is East, so glad we found this little gem on Main, and come back as much as we can!!!
I went there last Friday night and was plesantly surprised. We went around 7pm and had no problem getting a table. The ambiance was very warm and inviting with the candlelight lighting and rugs on the walls. We sat at a very low table which was interetesting because we were eating at the same table as some other customers. That night they had an amazing trio playing live music for us. My friend and I shared two eastern plates which were delicious and filling. These plates come with soup, roti, salad, rice and two sides. We had lamb kebab, chicken masala, mangobutternut squash and cauliflower. YUM! I will be coming back for sure....
There's a small eating area inside. You can either rest against the carpet covered walls or sit on a low bench on the other side of the low tables. It's small and intimate and quite dark. The servers had to constantly change the candles.
Eating in, the roti wraps are $10.50 for one, 2 for $13.50. We each had a drink.$5.50 Turkish chill with frozen yogurt (expresso, hazelnut, cinnamon...) It was strong and rich, much better than any starbucks drink.& Himalayan something, (mango). DELICIOUS. it had a sweet frangant smell as well. We each ordered an entree platter (which we shouldn't have because the server told us AFTER the meal that they came with complimentary refills) $15 for small bowl of soup, salad, 1roti, rice, and 2 side dishes.
Overall, the food was REALLY BLAND. All except for the soup was lukewarm to cold...I had the sang paneer (alright, just mushy spinach) and lamb kebab. Friend had eggplant (overpowered by tomato paste) and lamb too. The lamb was alright, but lacked taste. The roti was like a pita, basically everything lacked spice.
I would come back just for the drinks/tea. "Darjeeling masala chai" was DELICIOUS. $3.50 with one complimentary refill.
The server was patient, helpful and answered our questions (there was no one else there at the time either) All until the end of the meal when we paid, she didn't even smile or say thanks! It wasn't even because of how much we tipped because she didn't get a chance to check inside the folder. It was unexpected.
This was my second time to East is East, and i find the food is very yummy. I had the platter feast with chicken masala and the saag paneer. Both were very tasty. For $16.50, the portion size is pretty filling. I really like the ambiance, very traditional middle eastern decor with the persian rugs. I do need to get used to the low sitting position of the wooden crafted chairs and table. It could get uncomfortable after an hour or so.
I was so dissapointed! I decided to do takeout (though the inner part of the restaurant was gorgeous and tempted me), and this place is right near the knitting shop I was taking lessons at.
The menu sounded great, but the tiny portion size and the price nearly made me take the bus all the way back to ask for a refund. Absolutely ridiculous. The amount of rice in the wraps as opposed to the meat was astounding, and I asked for double the salad instead of soup, and was given a small crumpled paper wrapper with a tiny amount of spinach inside.
I do not suggest this restaurant at all.
I have eaten here a few times, it is not that bad, but it is not consistent.
Tonight the meat was very fatty and the potatoes were hard. I was definitely NOT happy tonight.
Also hate any restaurant that doesn't have a bathroom. What's up with that?
Sorry, won't be back until I am desperate, really hungry and really don't want to cook dinner myself.
Decided to try East is East after reading some good reviews. We got to the restaurant, planning on eating in. After arriving, we changed our minds since there weren't really any tables. Everyone was basically eating with a plate in their lap which wasn't too appealing, so we opted on take out. Placed our orders and was told it would take only a couple minutes as everything is pre-made behind the counter in metal caf style containers. They were scrambling around to put 3 of our orders together. 20 minutes later, still no food so we asked if it would take much longer. She told us they "had to find the lids" to our soups that came with our orders. Ok.. Another 15 minutes go by and the food that was ready on the counter was all cold. Finally after 40 minutes she brings out a bag saying something about not enough salad in one container and too much in another. We told her we'd sort it out. Also note, no apology on the 40 minute wait even though all the food was prepped behind the counter.
We leave, upset on the wait, get home and find out an order was wrong and they forgot some of the dips included.
Small portions for what it was worth.
Overall, extremely upset on the whole visit, the food and service. Would NOT go back.
The only thing going for this restaurant is its ambiance. We ordered aloo gobi and it came with no aloos (potatoes). We also ordered palak paneer and it came with no paneer (cheese). They're pretty simple dishes to make (I've made them before). For paying $20, the portions are very small. I probably won't go back.
I liked this place cause it is not like your average sit in a booth and and eat your food place. I sat at a low table, on a low seat. Kind of interesting. I ordered Masala and some other stuff that I can't remember. You get to order about 3 things off the menu and they put it all on a plate for you. It comes with complimentary chai tea while you wait. It's $17 for that. But, the best part is, when you are done your food, someone comes and asks if you would like more!!! SWEEET! So, they will refill your plate at no extra charge! Good stuff! Awesome service too. And live Middle Eastern music as well. So, I think you should go.
Imagine you are a hungry and weary merchant of a spice caravan that is trekking across Persia into Afghanistan with a pack train of camels.
You arrive at the oasis and enter a long canvas hut where the walls are covered in lush persian rugs, low tables and comfy piles of cushions line the walls, several musicians play a tabla and sitar in the corner and in the dim light a dancer moving to the rythyms of the music.
As you settle among the pillows and take it all in, the hostess brings you a warm cup of complimentary chai and a glass of water.
She offers you a selection of roti - chicken, lamb, eggplant and more, all cooked in exotic spice blends that set your taste buds tingling when you bite into them.
This is East is East on Main St.
Delicious roti for $10 comes with lentil soup and a mixed herb salad. If you are really hungry dinner plates come with rice, 2 choices of meat/veggie dishes, salad and lentils and are bottomless.
The milkshakes, especially Turkish Chill and Nutty Gypsy are nothing short of heavenly.
Unforgettable atmosphere for a dine-in experience and tasty 'fast food' for a takeout option.
| 1. | Broadway (5.9 km) |  |
| 1. | Sushi & Main Tea House (20 m) |  |
| 2. | Dream Sushi (31 m) | |
| 3. | Solly's Bagelry (34 m) |  |
| 4. | Santorini Greek Donair (50 m) | |
| 5. | Cafe Montmartre (51 m) |  |
| 6. | Parm'z Pizza Factory (52 m) | |
| 7. | McDonald's (53 m) | |
| 8. | Chaise Lounge (60 m) | |
| 9. | Ogenki Sushi (68 m) | |
| 10. | Trilussa Pizza and Pane (76 m) | |
