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The Reef in Vancouver serves Caribbean cuisine.
Where can you eat a fantastic 3 course meal for $18? What a great DOV deal!! Went with a group with reservations. We were sat promptly and the waiter promptly took out drink orders. The rum punch was excellent and good value in pitchers. We shared a few of these and we all recieved separate bills with the cost of all of the pitchers dvided evenly among those who were drinking it. So thoughtful.
Most of us had the plantain chips. I am not a fan of plantains but they were ok and the spicy dip they came with was incredible. Others at the table had a tomato type soup with cocomut milk and pronounced it deslish.
The main courses we had were jerk chicken or jerk tofu which came with peas and rice. Both were amazing and the sauce was spectaculat. Oh and the Johnny cakes - deep fried corn bread heaven. They were complimentary even with teh DOV menue and we got a second round free!
Dessert was fried banana with mango ice cream and caramel . No words. I could not even finish everthing, was suffed and stunned at the $18 tabl Best DOV value ever!
I will go back again.
We ate there last week. My Dominican beef was good and very well done (I like my meat well done but I suspect re grilled!). It was served on a pile of mashed potatoes that hid two dried out microwaved potatoes. My dining companion's jerk chicken was served cold, not cool but just taken out of the fridge cold on a warm plate. It was unpalatable and was immediately returned. My Caesar salad was super salty, so much so that is drowned out any flavour from the lettuce or cheese. Paid the bill and got out as quick as possible. The place was 1/3 to 1/2 full but almost everyone is drinking. I think this place really a bar disguised as a restaurant.
It's Dine Out Vancouver again. I was looking for some cheap menu and found this place. What caught my eye was the Jerk Chicken. I had Jerk Chicken before at Lion's Den and I fell I love with it. And I like Caribbean/Jamaican food.
We arrived at 6:30pm on a Friday night. The place was 70% full. Once it hit 7:30pm, it was packed and there were groups of people coming in. This restaurant is not that big so they have no waiting area.
They were short staffed that day, or even everyday, I don't know. There were 2 servers, 1 hostess and 1 guy that brings out food. The service was lacking but I prefer it to be more attentive.
We had plantain chips & yam fries w/ jerk mayo, curry chicken w/ rice, jerk chicken w/ rice, creme brulee and coconut cream pie. Instead of serving bread, they made 2 fried balls with coconut butter. The appys were good but it kind of filled us up. The entres were ok. The jerk chicken was not as tasty as I expected and not spicy. The curry was good, nothing can go wrong w/ curry. As for dessert, the highlight was the coconut cream pie. The crust was flaky and cream was tasty.
When it was time to ask for the bill, it was so much work for us to get our server attention.
I think this place may be great for drinks. They have a full menu for that.
Unappetizing meal, portion sizes were good, but the quality was not there and the spices were mixed up and strange! Prices are decent, but thats not value since you can forget quick service or cleanliness. The curried (?) chicken was convoluted, too spicy for my tastes and my friends said he didn't enjoy the jerk chicken and oxtail meals. I will definitely not be eating there again, sorry just not for me.
Wanted to try this new location as I've been to the main street location alot especially when it first opened, (even though the last time I went it there it wasn't very good). I had the curry goat which was okay, nothing special, I mean for a jamaican restaurant should be a little better I think. My friend had the chicken roti, he said it was good. Service was okay, maybe a bit sloppy at times but not bad. All in all I think it was just okay, don't think I'll be back.
As you enter the place, you get good music and a friendly vibe from the crowd, the staff and the island-y interior. Even the menus were cute, with their item descriptions in a Jamaican accent. We were served with cute deep-fried bread balls, and our whipped butter had coconut in it! I was a little bit confused why our server only gave us one side plate. We ended up just eating the bread off the table.
We started off with surulitos and chana salad. Everything was mediocre except for the salsa that the surulitos came with: it was amazing!
Next up was Jerk Chicken, which, tasted like Jerk Chicken and a little bit of something else. Except it wasn't spicy. The coleslaw that it came in was delicious, and made a little differently; it was dry, but sour...almost as if the vegetables had been pickled? My friend got the Maracas Bay Snapper which was a little bit bland on its own, but tasted excellent when paired up with the green apple and chayote slaw it came with. I have no idea if your suppose to eat the two in one mouthful, but it worked for me, and is highly recommended.
The deep fried banana with ice cream, tasted as is, which is good. The mocha creme brulee was nothing special, except I was pleased to see it served right after its torching.
Service was friendly, and our food came out in good time despite the dinner rush. Only problem is that our server told us she would come back with water, but never did.
Overall, the food was not the greatest, but I probably would come back, just because I want to explore the menu. Everything from the bread, to the coleslaw had a little twist too it. Some twists were succesful, some failed, but it kept my taste buds at the edge of their seats.
My partner and I had our first dinner at the Reef on the drive last night and were pleasantly suprised. We had a reservation and were greated and seated immediately. We liked the vibe and the service could not have been more pleasant. The complimentary hot bread was good enough to break a diet for, and the fried plantain slices were tasty if filling. There was lots on the menu that appealed to me but I can never resist ribs... they were nice. A half rack and spicy. The accompaniments( mashed potatoes and a light coleslaw) were delicious too. My partner had the October special, which was a mixed Carribbean curry, and he enjoyed it. When the bill came- the appy, two entres, and two beers cost us $52. A bargain for an exotic and tasty little meal.
Service was slow (approximately 45 minutes) even though there was only 4 or 5 tables to serve. The food presentation was terrible and the taste forgettable at best. Upon informing the server that the food was mediocre the suggestion was to add a bit of the sauce to it, to improve the taste. The title of this review should spell it all out.
I loved the drinks at this place and ive always wanted to try jerked chicken so i heard this place was alright. I was having a commercial drive day so i strolled over for a nibble.. the first thing i noticed
was the only jerked chicken was chicken wings and everything else was something i wasnt interested in. Or you could get jerked chicken strips on a salad but i didnt want a whole salad. There was a total of 10ish things on the menu. So I had the wings which were delicious and 2 mojitos which were made almost perfectly! My carribean friend wasnt overly impressed with the food and promised to take me to a better spot in north van. So the search for the perfect jerked chicken continues!
We had lunch at The Reef yesterday. I loved the atmosphere. We started off with drinks, my wife had a virgin Mojito, which she enjoyed but said could have used a little more sweetness, I had a Ginger Beer and it was excellent. The manager was our server and she was very helpful describing the dishes and helping us decide on what we wanted to eat. My wife ordered the Jamaican Bun with Jerk Pork and I ordered the Trini Roti with Goat. When we received our meals we were also given Johnny cakes which are normally only served at brunch as she had identified us as first timers to the restaurant. The Johnny Cakes came with pineapple mango butter, I could have eaten a whole meal of just that. My wife's Jerk Pork was excellent although she said she would have liked a little more meat and a little less bun. Her meal was served with a side of fried plantains that she didn't think much of, but I ate half of them and thought they were good with the dipping sauce they came with. My Trini Roti was outstanding, the goat meat was very tender and the spices blended nicely to give it great flavor. I also tried some of the Reef Brand Hot sauce which added a little heat and was also very flavorful. We thought the service was top notch, very friendly and helpful . We had a Groupon for this restaurant so with it I thought the value was outstanding, without it I might only give it a solid 3. We will definitely be back to this caribbean gem.
I like the Reef on Main and we like the atmosphere @ the Commercial location as well. I used to live in the Caribbean for several years so the drink list is a big drawing card for me. Dark n Stormy's are hard to come by in Vancouver. But I've had several meals there now, each time trying something different, roti, curry, jerk chicken to name a few. Unfortunately, the food has gone from mediocre to sub standard to just plain yucky. What's that sauce they put on the jerk chicken? Not like any jerk sauce I've ever had, yikes! The roti's have frozen veggies inside and the curry tastes gluey and heartless. I will still go there for the drinks because I like the ambience and the music, but as for food I'll stick to yam fries and that's it. The service is very up and down depending on the server you get. We've had decent service there but last time we had a waitress that was clearly not in a good mood and didn't mind who knew it. She should get a job as a undertaker because those customers don't mind if you snarl at them.
Three things that are good about The Reef: 1) excellent rum selection, 2) good vibe, 3) Johnny Cakes!
We went to the Reef this weekend after snacking at the Taste of Vancouver. It was later in the evening, and we were tired. Some drinks and appys should have fit the bill - the drinks were great as usual (dark & stormy = ****, Ipanema Calprinha = *****, double white russian = *****). But perhaps the fryer needs to be cleaned, perhaps it hasn't been cleaned in a long while, but the calamari was just kind of dirty tasting.
The waitress was attentive and friendly, but the second round of drinks just took way too long. And to top it all off, we didn't get our complimentary Johnny Cakes!
The Reef management has to be a little bit more consistent between their three locations.
The food was disgusting. Warning to everyone. The goat meat was about two weeks old and there were flies around the table. I initially ordered a small soup. after realizing I was still a bit hungry, I ordered goat meal. However, I was alarmed and disgusted to find a long Hair in my dish of meat. This was gross!
came here a while ago and remembered that i was not particularly fond of the food.. it is much different from the average restaurant in terms of the type of food they offer and you have to have the taste buds for this genre of food. if not, you will likely not enjoy the dining experience here.
our waitress was kind, she was around to give us refills when we needed and polite when we asked about the various items on the menu.
i felt the prices were fair for the proportion of food that was provided... nothing wrong in this department.
i personally would not return... the food does not appeal to me but for others, it could be worthwhile. i think one has to try it at least once to see what caribbean food is about.
We recently tried the Reef after not eating there for 3 years. We used to go there often and when their food quality went down we stopped. We were in the neighbourhood and were hungry so we stopped by on a Sunday afternoon. We noticed the menu now is limited. Some of the items we liked before are no longer on the menu. We ordered the roti. The menu says that it's trini style roti though it is not. It's their best attempt at it. Better then a tortia though not real trini roti. For around 10 you get a roti with your choice of veggie ( tofu) or meat selection inside the roti skin. I had the veggie and my husband had the chicken. It comes with a side of coleslaw. It was tasty. The roti had a good amount of stuffing inside. We were surprised that the roti had improved. We left fairly happy and full. Good place to have some drinks and a bite to eat.
We ordered quite a bit of drinks and a minimal amount of food. On the side we ordered yam fries. I think it was 5/6 dollars for badly "fried" fries. I think they were probably baked, not crispy at all. Almost black! They were soft and the skin was chewy .........a very small portion as well. This order took almost 30 mins after main dishes arrived and at first, one of the hosts brought us a wrong dish, leaves it on the table for a minute, promptly comes back and takes it back WITHOUT an apology or at least a friendly comment. Maybe this didn't include "johnny cakes" but we ordered a curry entree ($16) it was TERRIBLE. was it because it's curry and didnd't feature any of the "jerk" sauce? It was SO bland. I can make better instant curry from a packaged bag that costs a dollar. I wouldn't skimp on dollar a can coconut milk either. It was just horrible. A small plate that consisted of three parts, rice, a tasteless chopped coleslaw, and a small dish of curry (we ordered chicken) barely any. Overall, I wouldn't ever come back, I'll give the main street location a try and make sure I order something with the "jerk" sauce.
Service sucked. Waitress made a special note after we placed our order couple minutes later than we coudln't order a pitcher if only one person was drinking...hello? so what, it wasn't explicitly stated. We had to explain for a whole minute that hey, although others ordered highballs, doesn't mean we can't still share a pitcher. when we wanted to pay, (and we were seated 2 feet away from the cashier!) we waited a good 10 mins, eyeing which soon turned into glaring down someone to get the bill for us. finally we gave up, went to pay, what was outrageous was the 2 people behind the counter were having a [chat], my friend deliberately stared at them and waited to see how long it'd take. afterwards, no apology, nothing.
it's so friggen dark in there as well. I do like the washrooms though.
I visited the Reef on Commercial drive recently. The ambience is very warm and cosy and the service was good. The DJ was playing authentic trindad calypso tunes. I looked forward to happily tucking into a delicious Trini roti as it is stated on the menu. Sadly this is no Trini roti. Not even close! The roti wrap is nothing like the deliciously soft and strechy Trini style roti, it seems hard and chewy, doughy even. Then the filling, quite a scant amount of vegetables, and not seasoned in tradtitional Trini style. As someone who has feasted on numerous Trini rotis at many an authentic Trinidad restaurant I was sorely disappointed. How can they even call this a Trini roti?
It seems as those of us with a passion for authentic Trinidad cuisine will still have to make the long trip out to Port Coquitlam to chow down at Rahannas Roti.
Nevertheless, i appreciated the warm ambience and music.
I might go back for drinks but probably not for the food.
I enjoy coming to The Reef on lazy saturaday mornings for their Sam Lord's breakfast. It is always reliable and good, the lamb sausage is great. Service is spotty, especially if you sit out on the "patio". Coffee is great and a mimosa in the morning makes my day! The huevos rancheros were also quite good! I've been also for dinner, but prefer brunch. Their chicken wings have very little meat...
The Ms. Kitty's hot sauce is a must try! It is a constant staple in my fridge.
Two friends and I got together for our monthly dine out.Both of them have been to The Reef before, but it was my first time. We had a comfortable seat right next to the window, which was really nice as the evening sun played peek-a-boo with us. It was a Wednesday night and we arrived around 6pm. It was quiet in the restaurant initially, but the place got busier as the night went on. My two friends ordered the Maracas Bay Mahi, which they really enjoyed. One friend finished everything on her plate. I ordered the Island Thyme Chicken, which I thought was nicely flavoured that didn't leave me drinking water afterwards. However, I had expected the chicken to be boneless, it was not. The 3 of us enjoyed the dine out experience. It was a great place to get together enjoying good food and just hang out. The only thing that stood out was the service. There was only one waiter in the restaurant and the service was slow when we asked for the bill. Other than that, I'd go back again.
I went with a friend coz she's into sampling different foods. We had one mishap after the other. First I lost my appetite after I saw how they handle food and cash all at the same time. Hand washing means nothing here. They touch the money, then punch the grimey cash, then touch your food, then bring the glass and never think twice about it.
Second, and this is deliberate, they overcharged us. I called them on it and they didn't apologize. Just changed the bill. I suggest you memorize the prices and compare with the bill. Hope this helps
| 1. | Megabite Pizza (7 m) |  |
| 2. | Britannia Sushi (10 m) |  |
| 3. | Skylight (14 m) | |
| 4. | Rooted on the Drive (18 m) | |
| 5. | Pizza Garden (36 m) |  |
| 6. | Tony's Deli (46 m) |  |
| 7. | Sweet Cherubim Natural Foods & Restaurant (69 m) | |
| 8. | Andy's Bakery (76 m) |  |
| 9. | Pane Vero Bakery & Cafe (83 m) | |
| 10. | Sunrise Pizza (87 m) | |
