Spice Up

Great chicken masala, super service, and very cool décor — not at all what it looks like from the outside. We even loved the music they were playing.

My first write up after finally moving into this hood!
Wifey and I had an Indian craving and we were cruising by Chai Lounge noticing the crowd and atmosphere which intimidated us a bit as we were still soaking wet and in sweats from from our late afternoon dip at the Hillcrest pool. We decided to rely on our Unilocal app and low and behold… SPICE UP was exactly what we needed tonight.
The food was great and like other reviewers have posted here, very much like home cooking. The order did take closer to 30 – 40 minutes but its all because they take pride in their cooking. It’s all about the quality here and judging by the lack of patrons in the restaurant, I fear that Vancouverites have gradually succumbed to the pitiful masses of quick, cheap and mediocre.
Favs — eggplant bharta, tandoori chicken (which is completely different than the typical red sauce you get at the typical Indian fanfare).

On an Saturday evening when my fridge was painfully bare I found this place on
and thought I’d give it a whirl. Ordered naan, samosas, raita, poppadom, butter chicken, and palak paneer.
Delivery was really really fast (under 30 minutes), but keep in mind I do live only 2 blocks away. All of the dishes arrived hot and were very flavourful, however I was disappointed that they were not spicy at all. In retrospect I realize that I could have probably mentioned that I wanted my dishes spicy in the field where you can enter notes to the restaurant, so I’ll take the fault for that one. It’s just something to be aware of if ordering online.
I had a 20% off coupon so it came to $ 34 with tax and tip. This was well worth it given the quality of the food and the fact that there were enough leftovers for another lunch and dinner for 2 people!
I have walked by this place on numerous occasions and notice it always seems to be painfully empty which is too bad given that the food is quite good. While it’s not somewhere I would go to dine in, it is a solidly good takeout and delivery place.

Pleasantly surprised by the 9 Bean Lamb curry and that they delivered in the snow! Lamb was incredibly tender and juicy and went well with subtle flavours of the curry. The rice was perfect and gobi masala was a nice compliment with a good level of heat, though the spices are definitely muted.
Two minor annoyances. One was with the papadum — we were told it’s two pieces per order, so we asked for two orders, yet the bag arrived with three pieces instead of four. Not a big deal, but slightly disappointing.
The other annoyance was the veggie platter being much smaller than expected for $ 7.50. I was surprised there was only one small samosa and that the rest of the selections were quite soggy. Getting deep fried anything delivered means it gets a little soft between the time it comes out of the kitchen and actually reaches your mouth. Nonetheless, the soggy onion rings and lone piece of cauliflower were eaten — I was hungry and it was still good!
Never been to the restaurant itself, but would like to. Wont be ordering appetizers ever again here, but will definitely go straight for the lamb next time I get delivery!

Even though I haven’t tried the food, as was here just for meeting but can say it’s not your traditional décor found in other india restos, a bit more hip yet not too funky.
Friendly staff.
Preferred booth seating.
Owner does though take great pride in his cooking, as his resto isn’t exactly located like around Punjabi town on Main/​49^th so sounds authentic, will report on his food very soon.
parking ample here along Main. st.

We saw this place in our neighborhood replacing the formerly hideous Legendary Noodle place. Been hoping for an interesting Indian place nearby so decided to check it out, we were excited that they offered delivery on their take out menu.
We ordered over the phone and waited. They told us about 30 — 40 min. Around 30 min into the wait, a woman called us to ask if we can go by and pick up the order instead. We said, no, we waited 30 min and had ordered based on delivery. She passed us to the manager who said ok they’ll deliver it in 10 min. (We live about a 15 min walk away). 20 min go by and still no delivery, we called them again and the same manager said ok, another 10 min. Tick tock, tick tock. we waited another 15 min and were going to cancel when we heard a knock. a woman and a man showed up with the food with some weak half hearted apology.
The food was ok. Good enough that we would eat it again but we definitely would not order delivery. Most certainly not impressed with the horrible customer service!

Really disappointing. Very generic tasting dishes, nothing tasted fresh, but canned instead. The food isn’t bad per se, just bland and uninspired.
I’d be ok with it as a bit of a fast-​food Indian type place, but the prices aren’t in line with that.
The room is also uninspiring, and almost always empty. I look forward to something better filling the space, as I walk by it constantly.

Delicious. What a lovely surprise to find this place. We’d come to Main Street to enjoy some other restaurant, and found it closed permanently. But the upside was discovering something new. We will return.
The 9-​bean curry is apparently the house specialty. The 9-​bean curry with lamb is off the charts delicious.
Pic:
I do love lamb and am generally inclined to enjoy a good lamb dish. I fell in love with this one and only wished I had ordered it just for myself.
For some reason when perusing the menu I had a memory of someone recently saying something to me about how they always order madras chicken if it is available. I’m glad I listened to the voices because this dish was flavourful and well seasoned. I could have had it a bit hotter, and will order it that way the next time we visit.
Pic:
Lovely rice and naan accompanied these two amazing dishes. We devoured it all and there was no leftovers. Look forward to the next time we can visit here and again enjoy a meal.

I have eaten here twice and like this restaurant very much. I agree with the previous reviews, the food is very flavorful, delicate and light, very fresh and delicious. It is run by a very pleasant couple, and it was easy to talk to them about my gluten intolerance and what menu items I can eat. The atmosphere is pleasant, very simple décor, nice music and lighting. Tonight I got the Chicken Madras and it is really delicious! I’ve also had the chana masala and dhal, both were great. Great food here!

Replacing Legendary Noodles was a tall order, but I believe Spice Up has succeeded.
I agree with the previous reviewer’s comment that the food is «very flavorful but unusually delicate.» The sauces, while immensely tasty, are not at all heavy. We have so far enjoyed the tandoori chicken, the 9-​bean lamb curry, the lamb rogan josh and the chicken vindaloo, as well as the aloo tikki and pakoras. Even the papadums are special! I also find that the naam bread is the best I have tasted in Vancouver so far: thick, rich and soft, without being oily.
The space is simple and nothing special, which is totally fine for us as we are there for the excellent food. Service is also charming. We visited the restaurant with our very young baby and the waitress was very kind to us and our daughter alike.
There is also a reasonable selection of beers (although I would have liked the option of a darker one) and wines considering the size of the restaurant.
We look forward to our next visit!

This place is very new. I believe it’s open for lunch and dinner now, and they do take cards. Still no liquor license.
The waitress/​co-​owner is a gem, so sweet and so concerned about our enjoyment.
The food was pretty magnificent actually. We had Palak Paneer and some sort of 9 bean curry. The Palak Paneer was probably the best I’ve had. Very flavorful but unusually delicate. Apparently they make it when you order, which takes a few extra minutes, but obviously avoids the taste of spinach which has been stewing for hours. The curry special was also fantastic, perfectly spiced and very flavorful.
The interior is sparse, it’s basically unchanged from the old legendary noodle (the space which Spice Up has taken over) with a repaint. As soon as they get the interior updated and a liquor license I’ll happily give them 5 stars.

Spice up has been open four days, and we have been there twice already. We were really excited that an Indian place was opening up so close. We love the food at East is East, but it not the most comfortable place to sit. Spice up, has proven itself as a great little restaurant so far. The dishes that we LOVE are the Samosa Chat… it’s almost a meal… totally refreshing. Lamb kebab… we’ve had this dish on both visits!!! We tried the Mango shake on our first visit, and then the Mango Lassi on our second trip. I think the Mango Lassi wins out. Tonight we tried the Bombay fish with a side of rice. My boyfriend was over the moon. The only desert we have tried is Ras Mali, very delicate. A great way to end your meal.
The draw backs here: for now they only take cash, don’t have a liquor license yet, and are only open for dinner. The kitchen is really small, so they can run out of some of the menu items. Other than that, we will be regulars there.
The restaurant is run by a husband and wife. The wife is the waitress, she isn’t a polished waitress, but very friendly. The food seems to take a little long… not sure why… maybe because it’s just the husband in the back doing all the cooking and prepping. Doesn’t matter, the food is good.