Acacia Fillo Bar

Inexpensive, great food nicely prepared, with friendly staff. The fillo pastries are great, but I am a big fan of the poached egg breakfasts. It can get quite hot inside as it is small and the kitchen busy, but there are a few tables out on the sidewalk, and in the winter that warmth is welcome. I go there regularly: See you there!

The food at this place is really quite good. The only problem I have… The service! It’s so bad. if the service was better I would have given this place a 4 star. Unfortunately this is Vancouver and service is everything. Get it together people.

90% of all the breakfast I’ve encountered in North America has been the same. Eggs, carbs, bacon, sausage, or ham. Maybe there are some regional twists, some places go with over the top Bloody Marys or crazy sugary french toast concoctions. On my last trip I was hungry for something new.
Acacia Fillo Bar seemed like a risky choice for breakfast. Their specialty, Bulgarian Burek, consist of fillings like beef and cheese wrapped in fresh fillo dough and baked to perfection. Not typical breakfast fare in this part of the world. But you know what they say: When in Canada, do as the Bulgarians do.
I had the Spicy Beef and Cabbage Burek, and it was fantastic. The fillo was light and crisp, and it wa wrapped in such a way that almost every bite was completely en-​robed within the dough. The filling was spicy and savory a refreshing, caffeine free way to start the day. The side salad was dressed in a sweet and tangy vinaigrette that helped tame the rich Burek. My partner had the Stuffed Chicken Breast Oven Roast which was tender and juicy. The beer sauce gave it a wonderful yeasty depth and paired well with the roasted veggies.
I will admit the menu is a bit confusing. At first glance Fillos, Banitzas, and Bureks all seem to be the same thing. But our friendly server helped to clear up all the mysticism and make sure we got what we wanted.
If my review isn’t enough for you, we spoke to a former Vancouver local who said that every time she is back in town this is her first (and occasionally last) stop.

Casual & relax atmosphere, great for brunch with generous portion, will visit again. Highly recommend for Sunday Beach strollers. It opens in the middle of the afternoon too. Watching the pastry in the oven and the smell is Fantastic!

Another recommendation from a VanCity Unilocal friend and I loved it. I don’t think I know of this type of café in the Seattle area. I wanted to try something different. Definitely different. Perfect spot for a Saturday breakfast/​brunch. Coffee was smooth. Loved it.

Fillo is kind of a hit or miss for me. I’ve been here 3 times, and one thing I can say is, or at least for their egg bennys — it’s inconsistent. The first time I came here, the egg benny’s blew me away! Eggs cooked to perfection, sauce was par excellence, etc. The second time I came here, the egg benny’s were so overcooked, the egg yolk in the middle was more reminiscent of a hard boiled egg. It was literally solid and I could roll it around the plate. A huge faux pas for egg benny’s. The third time I came back, I didn’t get a ping pong ball in my eggs, fortunately. All I can say is, when it’s good, it’s smoking good. And when it’s bad, it blows big time. Mind you, things here don’t come cheap as well. Egg benny’s and a cup of coffee for breakfast will run you around $ 20 ($ 22 for me with tax + tip). So you’re paying some pretty coin here. And to pay that much for a rock solid egg yolk in an egg benny’s to me is unacceptable.

One of the first and favorite places we go to in Vancouver. Small amount of seating so make sure to get there early or at a time you don’t mind waiting. Food is wonderful and the veggie options are always perfect.

My sister had the poached eggs: very good and pretty much exactly as pictured on the bottom left corner of the menu (how she ordered it as well lol). We were just not used to the yogurt sauce though, especially because she does not really like sour/​tart flavors.
I had the spicy beef burek. I maybe should’ve went with the more popular reviews though, since with every bite I craved more veggies. My order wasn’t bad, but just very, very meaty. I didn’t expect it to be so oily, but oily it was.
My sister also had a mimosa, and she said it was very good, since the OJ was so fresh.
Overall, I would try this place again if I was in the area, but for different items on the menu.

My first time trying Bulgarian food and I was excited! On a dark and rainy day, I almost missed this place while walking down Denman with my hood on. But Thank God to the huge sign with the word BUREK popped out at me.
No greeting from the server so I just walked to the table where my friends were seated. Seems like water was self-​serve so we all got a glass to start and the jug was almost empty.
My friend and I both had the Burek– Beef & Spinach. It came with a side salad, yoghurt and potatoes. I upgraded my potatoes to include sweet potatoes as well. Portion for price, it was a good deal. Everything on my plate tasted bland, except for the sweet potatoes which were naturally sweet in taste. The yoghurt was of no help. The filo pastry of the burek was not flaky at all. I guess it’s a one-​time only kind of meal.
My other friend had the salmon and wild mushroom fillo. Portion-​wise, it’s smaller. Also tasted bland. This dish also came with a side salad and you can get the yukon and sweet potatoes without having to upgrade.
Our last acquaintance had the vegetarian option of Burek-​Spinach & Feta. Similar to the beef burek but had a tad bit more taste due to the saltiness of feta?
Since water was self-​serve, there wasn’t much service required but I did felt that the server kept on pushing us to buy drinks. Never did she ask if our food was ok. Sad to say, but I won’t be going back.

We had a weekend brunch here.
The food was AMAZING!
We got two eggs dish.
Our server said that that is the most popular one, so I decided to get it.
And it was so good.
The yogurt sauce is so tasty.
I like hollandaise sauce too but their yogurt sauce on the poached eggs was really lite, but it had good creaminess.
I asked for soft poached since their default is medium poached. Gotta remember that.
Hash was not just potatoes, but it had yam too. So sweet, soft, and savory.
We will definitely come back. I am already getting hungry just writing the review about the food I had here!

I was in the area for work and saw a big sign saying «BOREK». They aren’t anything like Israeli burekas, but very similar, so I thought yes this is lunch. Although the place is small and in dire need of a paint job, the space is warm and inviting, the waitress did seem a bit overworked, but who isn’t nowadays.
I ordered the meat, cabbage and green onion Borek and damn it was tasty! Came with a small side of greens (could be a little better, maybe add some more veg other than two or three cherry tomatoes) and a small dish of flavoured yogurt. I also ordered a cappucino, which was ok, nothing special. The coffee wasn’t as good as Artigiano’s, but that’s ok for me.
I love this kind of Mediterranean food, it’s so flavourful and simple. I would definitely come back.

We came here because of a Unilocal friend’s recommendation. That and the entertainment book coupon I had ($ 8 removed off a bill of two items minimum). This was my first time trying Bulgarian food. I had thought that fillo pastry was mainly Greek.
Upon sitting down, the waitress did not acknowledge us. And the water is self serve, which is interesting for a sit down restaurant. After looking over the menu, I decided on a banitza or burek over the fillo. Banitzas came with a small side salad, had fillings that were either meat or vegetarian, and are $ 11.
Burek — beef, spinach. This was a surprisingly large portion. I liked how they were easy to eat since they were rolls of pastry stuffed with the filling. I could take the rolls apart and slice them into bite size portions. Taste was average. The side salad was simple and drizzled with a balsamic dressing. There was also a dill yogurt dip on the side which was nothing special.
I had a taste of the vegetarian spinach and feta banitza as well as the salmon and mushroom fillo. They were okay too, about the same as the burek. The portions here are quite good. If I had ordered a fillo or added potatoes to my burek, it could have easily made two meals.
Along with the coupon, it was a pretty good deal. But I don’t think I would come back without a coupon. Service was not good. And the pastry could have been crispier.

Huge mistake coming here. And I brought friends with me, compounding it into an embarrassing mistake.
Last time I was at Acacia Fillo Bar, the food was decent, the price for portion (for the banitza) was really good, and the service was horrid.
I thought maybe the service hiccup was a fluke or a bad day. And since the banitza portion was really good for the price, I wanted to come back and try the fillos, which were $ 3 more at $ 14.
Service is still horrid one week later. It’s like being waited on by a surly zombie. Any emotion we saw was annoyance at our being there (and this was BEFORE we presented Entertainment Book coupons). And self-​serve water in a totally dead dinner room? Really?
It’s been a long time since I’ve had service worse than in a Chinese dim sum place. Interactions with the server actually threw a figurative wet blanket over our table, immediately dampening whatever good mood we were in.
Salmon and Wild Mushroom Fillo ($ 14)
–Portion is actually smaller than a $ 11 banitza portion. Less to choose from, but if you are looking for good bang for your buck, then stick with banitzas.
–Portion of salmon is approximately the same volume as one hot dog sausage. Not exactly the same dimensions of course, but approximately the same in volume.
–Salmon is dry. Not surprisingly, this was dry too. But also bland.
–Not that many mushrooms. Combined with the bed of spinach (?) it wasn’t exactly strong in mushroom and salmon flavour in the smallish package.
–Came apart very easily when cutting, so you are likely to have the salmon on its own unless you work hard to keep your flavour bites together.
The one saving grace at Acacia Fillo Bar is you can get a decent plate of dinner (IF you order the right thing) for $ 11. If this place really is in danger of closing, it’s not like you can’t get cheap so-​so eats anywhere else.
TIP: To use more than one Entertainment Book coupon, split up into pairs and have your bills paired up to get $ 8 off each. Despite everything, the server at least gave us that option instead of declaring one coupon per table.

We’ve enjoyed poached eggs with salmon (liked that you have an option to substitute for organic eggs) good portion size for breakfast. Took sweet berry pastry to go and it was delicious!!! Thumbs up!

Absolutely loved our brunch at Acacia! We had never had Bulgarian food before, and we’re so glad we came here! We had the beef filled quiche type with the mixed sweet and regular potato «home fries». Such a good find prior to our bike ride in Stanley park! Next time we’re in Vancouver, I want to go back!

Really enjoyed the leek balitza and hands down best fillo I have ever had (eggplant with roasted veggies). Wonderful portions and amazing flavor. The potatoes and side salad were fresh and aromatic.
We will be back for sure! Great for vegetarians, maybe not so much for vegans.

Me and my friend decided to have breakfast here and I’m so glad we did. The sauce on the egg Benedict is unlike anything I have ever had. It’s tangy and delicious I just wanted to pour it on everything. I love breakfast that have a twist and this place does plus the baked goods are very delicious.

Who: bf & I
What: Original Sofia (banitza) $ 9.50
When: weekday afternoon
Where: West End
Why (not): Call me spoiled, but I had a few Bulgarian friends in college who would make us home-​made banitza. The proportions seemed a bit off from my liking, dry, overly cheesy, and not as much phyllo as I’d prefer. It did come with a little salad and yogurt though.

I’ve never eaten Bulgarian food in my life and I had no idea what to expect. I got the leek banitza and a London Fog. The London Fog was pretty good. The banitza however was the thing I was most eager for and it did not disappoint. It was hearty — extremely hearty. I was stuffed beyond my expectations. The flavour, however, was certainly very foreign to me. It was distinctly European but there’s such a huge difference in the many cuisines of Europe that such a description doesn’t mean much. What I mean is if I were blindfolded and had this I would not pinpoint this to be Asian, African, South American or anything apart from European. The feta cheese didn’t taste like the Greek feta I’m used to, but still was very good. The sour cream that came with it added considerably to the flavour.
I’m not sure what to make of the flavour or how to describe it. I liked it, but further than this I don’t know how to express. I still wouldn’t consider this one of the best things I’ve ever eaten but as an experience it wasn’t something I regret.

I’ve had the pastry at Acacia but never tried their breakfast. Finally decided get up early 1 morning and see what the fuss is all about.
I have absolutely no complaints other than our muffin being half burnt. My egg, sausage, bacon, salad was perfect. Can’t wait to try everything else on their menu.
Will definitely be going back.