Calabash Bistro

Wow, the food was good!
I would say that it was quite expensive, but we are in Vancouver, so everthing is expensive:(
the service was very attentive and friendly. Our server helped us choose which dish to eat as we were first timers. The food we ordered turned out to be very good!
We got oxtail and seafood curry, and bread pudding with sorbet.
Tasted all the good flavor from the fresh ingredients. The bread pudding was so good!
The restaurant is in kind of sketchy area which I will not walk by myself. We were worried about parking in the area though.

I was super happy that Calabash opens so late on a weekday. Perfect place to go to after a movie at International Village.
Their food was soooo good. The only reason I’m not giving them a full 5 stars is because I find some of the items aren’t as authentic.
–Jerk Fries (4.5÷5): At first taste, nothing too special but when you get to the middle of it and it’s all coated in that jerk seasoning, it is ADDICTIVE! I just couldn’t stop eating. I also used the jerk aioli that came with the patties. Oh my God! They are a match made in heaven.
–Patties (⁴⁄₅): We ordered one chicken and one beef patty. They came out small. With some background in Caribbean food, these weren’t exactly how a Jamaican patty taste like. The skin was more of a slightly deep fried Guyanese roti. It came with the meat of our choice and with potatoes and veggies. Authentic or not, they tasted good. And yes, it came with that amazing jerk aioli.
–Goat Curry (⁴⁄₅): Our mains came in this metal cylinder that is split in three. Super cool. Reminds me of the old school chinese lunch boxes. This dish a bone-​in goat curry with some spice. This tasted authentic. Exactly what I’ve eaten when I was in the Caribbean. Comes with rice with black eye peas (the rice was a bit too puffed, usually it’s served a bit more hard with a bounce) and a side salad which had this creative plantain like vinaigrette.
–Ox Tail (⁴⁄₅): This dish is also made like how it is served in the Caribbean. Hard to describe the taste, it leans towards savoury since it’s neither spicy, sweet or sour. Same issue with the rice. This dish also came with a coconut dumpling. I had no clue what that is and was curious. Oh my God! The reviews about you must order this is true! If only I have more stomach space… next time, next time.
–Coconut Jumby (3.5÷5): A refreshing drink but nothing to really write about.
Our server was nice, friendly and talkative. We had a good time with him.

Went to this funky Caribbean/​Jamacian spot with my Jamaican man who is accustomed to delicious authentic cuisine in his family home, and were not disappointed! The service was great, the cocktails fantastic, and our entire meal from a roti appetizer to entrée platters and a banana-​based dessert excellent! The only reason I wouldn’t endorse a 5-​start review is that this restaurant isn’t any sort of fine-​dining, the décor is simple and effective but not outstanding, and the location is in one of the shadier parts of town. Definitely a must-​visit if you like good Carribean food though!

We booked a group table downstairs at Calabash for a birthday party and every aspect of the evening was awesome. We had a group of about 20 and we can be loud and social… which means people moved seats to chat with each other often.
Every one of the staff were friendly, fun and completely accurate. Been drinking rum over there and now you’re having gin over here? they got you.
We chose meal A and there was plenty of food and all of it was delicious.
The birthday girl had a great time dancing after dinner and all of us are feeling happy and grateful that we chose Calabash to celebrate our amazing friend.

After having mediocre Caribbean food at several places around town, I was actually a bit hesitant to try this place out. Fortunately, it delivers.
Parking is pretty tight in the area. Try the side streets.
The restaurant is split into 2 distinct levels — the main level which is mostly restaurant, and the basement, which is more of a cramped music lounge, complete with stage. This level can get pretty packed. Small groups are key here, as the place really isn’t very big.
Staff were friendly.
Being a Caribbean themed place, there is quite a large selection of rum. This will set one back a few bucks though.
The waitress recommended the free-​range jerk chicken dish. Decent portion of chicken with parsley sprinkled on top, as well as a dome of rice pilaf, and vegetables. Unlike most other places, the chicken here wasn’t dry at all. The sauce went well with the rice and vegetables, though the secret is to also add a scoop or two of their house hot sauce. This stuff has quite a kick to it. Special mention.
Definitely one of the better jerk places in recent memory, and worth a try.

Calabash Bistro was my first experience with Carribean food, and I absolutely loved it. Stopped by one morning and got split an oxtail brunch bowl, which I would just like to note that is more of a rice bowl than a stew (not a bad thing!). The oxtail was tender and very nicely seasoned, and while I was initially iffy about the coconut hollandaise pairing, I ended up loving it. The fried plantains also brought a nice touch of sweet to the savory flavors of the oxtail.
The service was also fantastic – upon hearing that we were planning to share the brunch bowl, they took the initiative to split the bowl up for us, giving us two nicely plated bowls for ourselves.
Overall, a very casual, reasonably priced restaurant with delicious food.

My Jamaican fiancée and I really enjoyed this place! It felt authentic without trying too hard. The vegetarian plate was delish and portions are generous. My fiancée really enjoyed the Oxtail. I wish there was a place back in the states where we live that was similar. We will definitely make another stop when we’re back in Vancouver!

It really is as good as it gets! Great food upstairs and downstairs there’s a small venue where they have live music and DJs.
I’ve had akee and salt fish before and didn’t care much for it but here it was excellent! And served with brown rice… yay! I’m not a fan of white rice at all. The plantain is beautiful. It’s like eating candy! I like candy ;0) And the coconut balls are totally addictive!
I have to say I’m also a big fan of the area. I worked on the Downtown East Side for many years and Calabash is a great addition. It’s not shi shi but it’s not shabby either. The atmosphere is relaxed and the staff are lovely.
I’ve been a couple of times for brunch and several times for dinner. It’s one of our favourite date night destinations.

I can say that I have not been to many Caribbean food places in Vancouver, are there even much in terms of variety, so I am no pro on this matter, let us get this out of the way. Another thing I do not usually do is dine around this area, but I have heard of the place, so when my friend invited me I was eager to see what this place was about. I feel this place is more in the Chinatown realms than Gastown as I feel Hastings is that border that separates things. It is in an odd part of town, where our parents (if you grew up here) have told you of strange things and even on this night it was true before I reached the door.
When I entered, I believe I was the last one to the party, I quickly found my seat near the window while everyone was getting to know each other. From what I saw, it was a cozy room, the nice use of wood colors from the tables and chairs, to the not so bright rooms helped give that feel, not the chic hipster bright joints that we have been accustomed to. When I sat down the drinks were already being dispersed, and a man working there named Terrell greeted me, and somehow in that instance we were talking about where he was from (Brooklyn) and those times back in NYC. I forgot the other man’s name, but he was telling us what calabash stood for (which is gourd) and what it is used for.
Onto the food, and we were served family style starting out with their roti and dip, they even brought out the hot sauce, and it did have a good kick, during the mains we had a vegetarian platter, jerk chicken, and ribs… now the last one I saw disappear very fast and I was lucky to get my hands on some bones with the succulent meat falling off of them. Each dish had it’s unique flavor, and it was described to us, I actually was seeing myself go after the chick peas quite a bit. We eventually made it to dessert, and this food can really creep up on you, we were treated to their house made deep fried coconut balls, served with fresh cut up fruits and some crème and a caramel like sauce on the side. What we didn’t know about the place is that it was bigger than what we see on the main floor.
If you get a chance come to the downstairs, which is a full on bar, restaurant, stage for live music, wall for presenting local artist, and in some ways and old museum, as their is quite a bit of history in this building. Starting with this mammoth of an old carcass of an elevator. Yes, they actually made these things to move people back in the day, and this goes to show the respect to history Calabash has to the space they are in, and the next time you are walking outside, know those lights coming from the ground are coming from their underground! I did not get the chance to enjoy the downstairs, but I can see this place really happening at night, and you can be lost in the fun of this space… I can say the people are passionate about what they do, and I learned a lot to say I would come back.

Have a taste for caribbean? C’mon over here. We started off our night out here, so we enjoyed a couple happy hour cocktails and appetisers. The plantain chips were crisp and delicious. The ‘calabash poutine’ was also great: jerk seasoned fries with melted brie and jerk veggies (chicken available too). We also got a really tasty green curry soup, I think it was a daily special… awesome! Great cocktails as well!!! Their caribbean twist on a dark and stormy was really good.

I’m a fan! This was our first Caribbean taste in Vancouver and it didn’t disappoint.
Calabash offers vegan and vegetarian options like curry, coconut hushpuppies, roti curry rolls best ordered «Kung-​fu style» with pineapple, and incredible plantains. It was a perfect date on a Friday night for some laid back grub and cocktails. The Dark and Stormy was a perfect balance of ginger and rum, not too sweet and topped with fresh long shavings of coconut.
Because Calabash is a quite small and lively place, it’s not a place to take my folks or large groups. For a smaller party or fun date who digs reggae music and jerk flavors. We would like to be back for the downstairs dancehall sometime soon.

Overall: I want to give this place 3.5 stars. Great chill place to hit. On Sat, the lower floor turns into a dance area with awesome music; reggae, hip hop, etc. So if you want to have a night out with friends, get some good food and not have to wait in line for dancing later on, then check this place out on Sat.
Drinks:
We had a few drinks the best one was their dark and stormy $ 10. Love the shaved coconuts in the drink. Oh and not to mention they have a wide and great selection of rum.
Food:
Fried coconut dumplings $ 5.50 A must get staple of you like pastries and such. The butter is delicious and they also have guava butter upon request instead of their usual mango one. It’s a bit sweeter than the usual one. If you don’t like sweet butters then don’t go for it.
Jerk fries $ 6 tastes like season fries. Needs dipping sauce I feel. Nothing special about them, so unless you are craving fries, just go for the plantain chips instead.
Roti & Dip $ 6 done well and flaky. But again nothing super interesting or special about it. Can skip it if you don’t want extra carbs.
Free range jerk chicken skewers $ 7.50 for 2 skewers. A little pricey. Good flavour and juicy & moist. If you like chicken skewers and jerk seasoning I would recommend it.
Salt Spring Island Mussels $ 14 Goodness in you tummy. Great light coconut curry sauce and the mussels were meaty. We liked it so much we ordered a second one.
Fry Fish $ 17 not worth getting at all. It was dry and tasteless. Needed sauce. The salad was over dressed in my opinion but the rice was ok.
Oxtail $ 19 came in a unique presentation. They brought it out in an Indian take out container style. Oxtail was flavourful and tender. The proportion was a bit small though. Same rice and salad as the fry fish.
Service:
Quick and friendly.
Ambience: Dim lighting, low key Caribbean feel. Pretty chill.
Parking:
Street parking and meter parking. (It’s in a sketchier part of town so don’t keep anything expensive out).

We went to Calabash Bistro on a Friday night and the first thing I notice is the nice reggae music playing on the background.
As other people have mentioned, the Coconut Dumpling ($ 5.5) is a must. It’s more like a dessert than an appetizer but it was good either way. The Dark and Stormy drink ($ 10) was really balanced with just enough kick to make it interesting, I love it. We also ordered the Calabash Poutine ($ 10) to share. While it was good, I found that it was not that special. For the main, I ordered the Goat Curry ($ 16). It was not spicy, in my opinion, and quite delicious. Even though it looked small, it was definitely very filling.
Overall, it was a really good place to relax on a Friday night. Note that on Saturday night there is a live music playing. I would definitely come back here again.

I had decided to go here for brunch with a group of girls since the guest of honour was a vegetarian and I heard they had great vegetarian options. I ordered the rise and shine roti. I really liked the coconut sauce it came with. I felt the roti could have been a bit softer. It was a bit hard and dry for me. The music was also a bit loud for brunch and the food was a bit slow to come but I would still go back and give them another try. I think the dishes were interesting enough to go back for another visit.

Don’t get much exposure to caribbean food, but all I know is that this place is delicious. Been here for brunch and dinner on several occasions, and their rum-​based cocktails are so good.
However, the best part about this place is reggae night on Saturdays, which they host in the basement starting at 11pm. If you’re not into the «I just turned 19″/“frat boy» clubbing scene, then this place will be heaven. No cover, which is probably why it gets super packed in there. They don’t have an official coatcheck, but there are hangers you can hang your jackets and leave your bags, but note that it’s not guarded (I never had a problem leaving my stuff there though).
The dance floor gets packed as it’s a small space, and they don’t clear the tables/​chairs, but once you have a good spot with your friends by the electric fans (because it can get super hot), then you’re good to get your whine and grind on.

Finally made it here !
Seating was a little tough to get on a Friday night if you don’t have reservations but we did not mind seating at the bar siping our delicious dark and stormy drinks !!
Food:
Appy: fried coconut dumplings with mango honey butter … Delicious I wish they would sell this butter .hmmm
Doubles: yummy .good amount of flavour and spice
Entrée: fry fish was okay. I was expecting it to be more spicy. The batter around the fish missing a little kick but once I put the house hot sauce… Magic ! My friend that does not like spice enjoyed the fish.
The jerk beef stew roti was better than the jerk beef curry. I know odd but the meat tasted more tender in the roti
Deserts: had a stick banana pudding thing it was pretty good

I was really hoping this place would floor me, but it wound up being merely quite good.
The roti and chicken curry we got to start was amazing and very spicy, which was even better. Their dark and stormy was also good and different than any other one that I’ve had. It had actual shaved coconut in it.
As a main, I got the jerk seafood. It was very small and not really good. It just wasn’t spicy, which was odd given that the roti really was.

Love this place! Vancouver needs more restaurants like this.
We had the chicken skewers, the roti, the plantain chips, ginger plantains, fry fish and the special: jerk pork tenderloin. All of the food was awesome.
We want to go back and check out the DJ next time. The only reason I wasn’t 5 stars across the board was that the food was slow to come out, and they only had 2 draft beer choices.
But definitely put this place on your list of restaurants to go out to. It works for a meal with the fellas (or the girls?), a family dinner, or even a date! We will definitely be back!

Food: 4.5÷5
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Ambiance: ⁵⁄₅
I ordered the jerk chicken with a side of the coconut dumplings. I loved the hot sauce that they put out on the table and ended up slathering my entire meal with it because it was that good. If you order the coconut dumplings as a side item it doesn’t come with the flavoured butter that you get if you order the full version. Luckily, a friend had ordered the full version and was kind enough to share her guava butter with me ;) It’s definitely not the same without it. Took off .5 on the food rating because I prefer jerk sauce with more tangy-​ness to it and wished the side dumplings came with the butter too.
Amazing cocktails. My favourite was the Bordertown Swizzle followed by the Rose Man See and Dark and Stormy.
Service was amazing, everyone was super friendly. After 10pm the basement turns into a dance floor playing old school, hip hop and funk. We came for a late dinner and stayed to dance the night away. So perfect!

I don’t usually eat Caribbean food, I guess there’s not too many of them in GVR. Anyway ended up here tonight. It’s kind of in the downtown eastside and you probably wouldn’t notice it otherwise. You go in and who would have thought it was like twice the size because they have a basement! Has a cozy but vibrant atmosphere and tonight (Friday night) it turned into a nightclub with old school hip hop (y).
More about the food now. I ordered the Jerk Beef Stew. It comes out in three metal containers, stacked one on top of another. One had the beef stew, another had the rice, and the third was the salad. Don’t let the picture and looks fool you, there is a LOT of food and easily fills up the plate if you pour it out like I did. I don’t handle spiciness well, and thankfully it wasn’t too spicy at all. They definitely don’t cheap out on the meat, there was probably a good 10 to 1 ratio between meat and potatoes. The meat was tender and delicious. I was stuffed by the time I finished my meal. Awesome food and experience. Would def be back if I’m in the area and feeling like (a) jerk! 5 stars.