villan

Maybe my expectations are too high, but I expect a Caribbean restaurant to have some Caribbean soul. You know slow relaxed friendly service, great food with large servings… well that ain’t the Reef.

Servers were rushed and way too trendy to for Caribbean soul. The food was decent, but portions we embarrassingly small for a Caribbean kitchen. The jerk pork was dry, the curry goat was dry, the rice and peas tasted like it came from a box of minute rice. The pints of beer were served in glasses sub pint size and the pitchers were filled with too much foam and not enough beer. I even ordered a glass of Havana Club reserve neat and let’s just say I inhaled the aroma of the fine rum and the little that was in the glass evaporated into the air.

I wouldn’t go back and would be ashamed to take anyone from any of the islands there.

Always fresh sushi and sashimi, great value, friendly (the entire staff greets you when you walk in and when you leave). Bonus, the wasabi is freshly ground, not the reconstituted stuff from powder or from a tube. A great alternative to Toshi’s which commonly have 1 hour plus waits. Superb maki as well. The California Roll is made with real crab, none of the fake crab meat here. We’ve dined at Shiro’s many times and love taking our friends there. Everyone always leaves with a smile :)

Trendy young hipster crowd in Kits. Good selection of local beers. Come here for the drinks, stay away from the sushi.

The sashimi fish appeared as if it’s been out for half the day. It was starting to dry and warm. It wasn’t spoiled or off, but getting close to it. The rice in the maki rolls and nigiri was way too starchy, it was over cooked and too wet. The texture of the rice was like that of a wet dough ball.

Huge list of maki rolls in the menu, apparently this is their specialty, but as mentioned the rice is sub-standard. Good rice is fundamental to good maki. I also question if people can actually tell the difference to all the combination and permutations of every single ingredient to come up with 101 different maki rolls. I’m all for a smaller selection that’s made well vs a huge selection that’s done poorly.

Service was lacking. Not only did the waitress mix up our orders, but get this… my friend ordered a pint of Big Rock Grasshopper, the waitress brought her a pint of some lemon summer ale (I can’t remember which one). When my friend, who knows her beer, questioned the waitress if this was Grasshopper wheat, the waitress replied “No it’s not, I substituted it because we’re out. I’m surprised you noticed, most people don’t.”

If you’re after sushi, I’d head somewhere else. There’s absolutely no reason to have bad sushi in Vancouver. If you’re after drinks, make sure they don’t try to give you something you didn’t order.

Price was moderate. Two of us spent $80 including drinks, but considering we were served maki rolls made with rice pudding and the waitress pulled a switch-a-roo on our beer, we walked out felling… well, I bit ripped off.

This place is awesome! We love it and go there regularly. It’s a no frills, down to earth, eat out in the open air of Fisherman’s Wharf super fresh fish and chips and seafood place. Cheap, super tastey and quick. Unless of course you visit during lunch or dinner hours on a nice day, then be prepared for a line up.

The menu of tacones vary depending on what the catch of the day is. We had oyster, tuna, salmon and they’re all super tastey and served with an asian inspired slaw. The scallop sandwich when it’s available is to die for. One of the ladies that work there describes it as “heaven on a bun”… she’s right!

Summary: Fresh seasonal seafood menu, creative tacones and sandwiches, great value and never disappoints!

Good portions, friendly service, close to authentic flavours at a decent price.