Reviews for Calabash Bistro in Vancouver, BC
Excellent Caribbean food from a social enterprise that is sure to impress all! Love to come here and plan trips to Vannjust to... do so. They make there own ginger beer.... try a Dsrk n Stormy (shopping good) Read more
My second time here and they have decent oxtail. Reservations are a must as it gets really busy. The staff are all kind and down... to earth and the bottom floor of the restaurant turns into a dance floor at night on the weekends, and it's pretty fun andbumping. My boyfriend says the oxtail recipe has changed throughout the years (he has been a patron here since way back) andthat it used to be much better with bigger portions of meat, but we still enjoyed the dish. The meat is tender and fattyalthough some of the pieces are very small. Tiny bones with small pieces of meat. There is just the right amount of spice. Itcomes on a plate with rice, salad, a doughnut ball, and two tiny pieces of fried plantain (would have liked more). The rice wasdisappointing because it was flavorless and so plain!! If you're going to make oxtail then you need authentic rice to go alongwith it. If I could rate just the oxtail it would be 3.5/5 The dark and stormy drink appears to be pretty popular here and itis very tasty with coconut shavings on top. We also shared a starter of the pork belly which was really good. I enjoyed themango pieces it was paired with and it also came with two doughnut balls. The only downside is that the area that thisrestaurant is in has gone downhill, especially more so during the pandemic. Just steps outside of the restaurant you willwitness some of the most impoverished and mentally ill people, which is heartbreaking to see. That being said, parking can be aheadache in the area and it might be better to park a few blocks down where there is less foot traffic. Or better yet just takea cab and leave your car at home! Read more
I have a vegan soup and oxtail tonights it's cooked right on spot really opens up my stomach for oxtail. The portion is huge... and looking really nice. My partner orders that poutine and something else. The servers are awesome. The clear communicationfor allergies and alternative when one option don't work through. I highly appreciated that. The music is just good to hearand not loud enough to annoying. it's pineapple everywhere so check out this tropical place in the Raincouver. The restauranthas a red wall with a huge art work which opens up imagination while waiting for food. Read more
Visited Calabash yesterday and had a mixed experience. The service was good, and it’s a nice space. The pork belly, coconut... dumpling and meat pie appetizers were really good. I wasn’t a big fan of the wings, poutine or the curry chicken. I wouldrecommend it, especially as there aren’t many Caribbean restaurants in the area. Read more
The food was absolutely delicious. We were a group of seven and there was not a single complaint. The oxtail was perfect, the... mango and goat cheese salad is a MUST. Portions are very generous. Drinks were great too. The only negative was really theexperience downstairs. They have a bar/lounge with a DJ where we went after our meal. I dont know if it was the DJ or if one ofthe speakers was glitching, but it was really really bad. The volume would go to extreme loudness then back to low, then back toextremely loud and back to low. It did that for a solid 45 minutes. At some point it was loud to the point of it hurting our eardrums. We left for that reason, it was genuinely painful. We ended the night at another bar. We were pretty disappointed !Would’ve loved to stay longer. Read more
A really nice night at Calabash. Pork belly appie so delicious. Fun, funky place. We dined but there is also live entertainment... at this venue down stairs. I'm giving it a five star however it bordered on a 4.5 as service wasn't bad but pretty slow.Possibly a result of pandemic and staff shortages and frankly if you're not in any hurry the service will be quite fine but hasa little room for improvement. Bevies were outstanding and food flavours were fantastic. Perhaps a few more items could beadded to the menu. A great salad was enjoyed there. Read more
The food is great, Caribbean food mixed with a slight bit of Canadian. Definitely a different vibe! The location isn’t the... best but if you’re looking for Caribbean food, this is the place to go! The old school reggae music playing in the backgroundadds to the vibe. The employees don’t seem to be Caribbean people but they have a good knowledge of what’s going on and whatthey’re serving. I would 10/10 recommend. Read more
I could not believe the food I received came from the same Calabash that I usually speak so highly of. I had the family meal... (oxtail, jerk chicken, rice, coleslaw, plantain) through Doordash and it was so disappointing, especially for the price that Ipaid for it. The oxtail came with no gravy for the rice whatsoever, the rice was undercooked and that is most definitely notcoleslaw. It contained cucumber, parsley and orange. It is a salad but that is not coleslaw, I feel tricked. As a born andraised Caribbean person I am so disappointed that I now have 1 less Caribbean restaurant to go to when I'm feeling homesick,seeing as they're not that many Caribbean food spots to choose from. Please note, if you are still going to order from here, DONOT get the family meal, it's cheaper and worth more to get the individual jerk chicken and oxtail separately, than together. Read more