The Reef

Had the Jerk chicken w/​rice N peas accompanied w/​Jerk wings. The wings were good but the Jerk Chicken was a bit salty, and the rice was a bit hard…
Im surprised that it has gotten this bad… I mean I carribean food… guess I’ll be looking for another carribean restaurant the =(

I really enjoy coming back to the reef from time to time. It offers a great happy hour selection and prices that few other spots seem to match.
I always love the Johnny cakes. They are complimentary with most meals, but they cost $ 1 for 2 at happy hour. I also go to the reef to have plantain chips. Yum! The mayo dip is a smart complement. Another favorite item of mine is the jerk chicken. It falls off the bones, which means it’s been marinated perfectly. If you have never been there, I suggest sharing the appy late for two. It gives a sampling of curry chickpeas, coconut prawns, jerk chicken and plantain chips. It’s enough for two if you’re not ravenously hungry. They also have some satiating fish dishes.
As for drinks, the dark & stormy is a classic one to get here, or the ginger beer shandy is a great light choice. The ginger has a bite to it.
I will continue to return to this spot for its consistency in good food!

Ate here on a GroupOn, the appetizer of hush puppies & spicy sauce was really good, especially the coconut butter.
Went with the pork & chicken jerk platter and it was good. The meat portions were generous, the vinegar Cole slaw was good, as well. The beans and rice didn’t have much flavour. Service was good and we weren’t even asked to pay for tax on the GroupOn. I’d probably go again.

Came back for a Unilocal event on a rainy & cold Thursday night. The place was pretty empty and our server was very attentive. We had an opportunity to try the tasting platters and more Johnny Cakes. My favourite part of the tasting platter was the chick peas and the heat from the hot sauce on the Johnny Cakes. Other than that, the food was fairly bland.
We appreciate that The Reef could accommodate our small Unilocal crowd and thanks Alex for coordinating the event. It was a pleasant experience on a cold and rainy night in December.

Cozy spot near Commercial and Venables. We came here for happy hour and appy’s one rainy afternoon. The ambiance, while not fitting a square Caribbean stereotype, is an upbeat restaurant-​bar with bright décor.
I tried the Dark n’Storming cocktails which is dark rum ginger beer. The notes were very, very piquant ginger and not sweet which to me hit the spot. The appy platter included a mild homestyle Indian-​style chickpea curry, mind-​blowing plantain chips, spicy jerk chicken wings, rather bland Jamaican patties (both veggie and meat versions seriously lacked seasoning), and both mustard and cream-​based dips. The best-​complimented out of the lot were the plantain chips, although I did enjoy the jerk wings, which seems heavily jerked and baked. Johnny cakes were basically fresh crispy doughnut holes, served with their house hot sauce which is initially sweet with a medium burn to finish.
Overall a worthy dining spot. Given the Caribbean food desert that is Vancouver, this place is definitely worth going back to!

A Vancouver classic, the Reef has been wowing people with authentic Caribbean flavours and expertly mixed mojitos. The fish is out of this world, and the hush puppies alone would bring you back a few more times.
Brunch can be a mixed bag, with the staff sometimes overwhelmed by wave after wave of hungry weekenders. Go early and avoid the crowd!

The Johnny cakes are sooooo gooood. The empanadas and curries are good too. Drinks are reasonable and the service is good. I think competition on the drive has really increased in recent times. The crowd here is more locals/​regulars. Not as good as calabash, but a cool place none the less! They are even open on Mondays, when most other restaurants near by are closed.

First time having Jamaican Food. It was good. This location isn’t too busy compared to the main street location. If you get there before 6, they do have a happy hour special. But again its mostly alcohol. They do have complimentary bread. They are very tasty.
Got the lamb shank and the beef tenderloin. We actually shared it. I liked my mash potato more creamy in texture but over its not bad. The tenderloin was very tender. The food is quite strong in flavor.
I ordered the tiger malt and it came in a bottle. It has an interesting taste to it. But I am not used to it not having milk in it. But it can be filling though too.
Décor. It does give that Jamican feeling to it. The artworks on the wall are quite unique that’s for sure.
Service I will give them 5 star. The waitress is very friendly. Thumbs up to that!
I can’t comment on if its authentic or not because this is my first time trying Jamaican food. Plus I have never been to Jamaica.

Best Jamaican food that i have had. Family friendly clean restaurant. Just the right amount of space. Finger licking good jerk chicken roti. Food was prepared very quickly and was just the right temperature. Good kids menu.

My friend and I attempted to go to the Reef on Tuesday, July 21^st. We encountered the rudest server that her and I had ever had the misfortune of meeting and after he rudely and aggressively put our water glasses on the table we waited until he was across the room and left. He looked like he was in pain to serve us. I would expect that kind of service at a Mcdonalds, not a restaurant. Maybe he should consider employment there. The place was basically empty too and I can guess why… Just a bonefide fiasco. Won’t be back.

Took a couple friends here for a bite to eat.
Our server wrote down our orders and brought us our drinks. Waited for an hour, no one came onto the patio to check on us or our empty glasses. It was getting really cold outside, my friend asked if we could move indoors since there were tables avail. told no because people on a wait list might come back. still around 1hr+ later our server returns and tells us he forgot to ring in our orders & also didn’t write them down
(«do u still want to order food?»). =S wtf. Had the audacity to not put our 1 drinks on the house. coooool
Not impressed. Do not enjoy starving.
Went to the Dime after that epic fail.

Went there for dinner last night. Had the salad with added Jerk Chicken. The jerk sauce was poured over grilled chicken, tasted like Ketchup. Super disappointing! The arrogant waiter didn’t add to the experience either.
I remember why I only go there every few years, and I live in the ‘hood.

I’ve been to the reef a handful of times. My favourite dish is the oxtail! I got a different dish once and wished I had ordered the oxtail because I love it that much! It’s so comforting and a great dish! I also love the plantain chips and the chipotle mayo it comes with. I could snack on those forever. Another favourite is the johnny cakes! To drink I always order their ginger beer. I love the real ginger kick and it’s warming feeling.

Ya donn know? Da reef is da sheeeeet mon!!!
I love this place. Amazing food. Great music. Friendly staff. Its open late. Kids eat free on mondays. And johnny cakes, freaking deliciously delicious johnny cakes.

Good grief. I love their shop on Main Street but this location has been nothing but disappointing. I can only imagine the conversation in which the owner was convinced that the thing missing from Sunday brunch was psychedelic violin music. I’m having a flashback, and I’ve never done LSD.
I can’t really blame the server for being little frazzled. He is the only guy working front of house which seems to be the way they roll here, chronically under staffed. It’s a shame because there is no good reason for things being so slow which is the natural consequence of one guy trying to do three jobs.
Just set my timer for 10 minutes. Hopefully food will arrive before I walk out. Which is what I have done one the previous 2 occasions when attempting to have brunch here in the last 3 months.
Update: kitchen still knows how to make a mean huevos ranchero and their home made jerk sauce is a home run.

I met a couple of friends at the Reef for a long lunch. I’ve been to the Reef before for dinner. I thought it was so so, but one of my friends was wild about coming for lunch here so I submitted and we ended up coming here.
Unfortunately, my initial impression of the Reef was correct. I do not like this place! When you walk in the first thing you note is the funky décor. It seems like a cool place. I came a bit early (in case you haven’t realized it I’m a type A personality) and was greeting quickly by our hostess/​waitress. Service at the Reef is efficient and friendly.
We shared a couple of apples… the famous Johnny Cakes, some soft tacos. and their plantain dish… I ended up ordering the Mo Ca burger. First off the johnny cakes were like a deep fried old fashion Tim Bit warmed up. A bit dry. The herbed butter made it a bit better, but this dish did not crank my shaft. A taco is a taco is a taco… I think the taco I got here is similar to the taco I can get a Taco Bell! The Plantain dish was ok. We all had a bit of it, but we left about half of it for the restaurant’s garbage bin.
Ok on to my main course… maybe I was in a negative mood but I did not enjoy this dish. It’s a jerked burger and some yam fries… I found the burger extremely dry. I couldn’t finish it! The yam fries were over cooked (look at the picture… dry, dry, dry)!
The food was not to my liking, but we stayed for almost 2 hours talking about the many vices of religion, popular books, authors to check out (try Alice Munro!), and good places to travel to. Too bad the food wasn’t better!

Having moved further away from The Reef I unfortunately don’t get to go as often as I’d like anymore. Luckily, I was at a dance workshop nearby and a group of us decided to go and grab dinner before our evening started (more dancing, naturally!) We were absolutely ravenous so I called ahead to ask if they had a table available for 7 – 9 people — they quickly checked and saved us a spot. We arrived and were seated and our order taken quickly by the super friendly server. Some of my friends had never been before and were amazed at the complimentary Johnny cakes! So soft, warm, and tasty! Pro-​tip, if you’re a hot sauce fan lather their homemade stuff all over that buttered up ball of yum! It makes for a fiery treat!
We were on a fairly tight schedule and The Reef was completely accommodating to that. At least half the group ordered the Mahi, and were extremely happy with it; I ordered the jerk chicken roti because ohhhhh my god it is the best thing in the world! Throw some extra hot sauce on that bad boy, grab a forkful of their amazing slaw and dig in! It’s HUGE, so kudos if you can get through more than half of it. The chicken is well seasoned, tender, and spicy, and there are huge chunks of potato in there too, all wrapped in a giant, soft roti. SO GOOD!
Their cocktails are really good too, and their beer selection is very respectable! Go hungry, expect great service, incredible food, and super reasonable prices! Rinse and repeat, ad infinitum!

Came here on a weekday evening at 7pm with family. It was surprisingly quiet when we entered the restaurant as there was only a couple sitting at the corner eating away. We were seated right away and placed our order. All of a sudden this restaurant was flooded with customers in a short period. And there went the only server running around scrambling.
Food was good. It was not as authentic in taste as it would be if I was at the Caribbean. I find the food to be Caribbean inspired. Plus, I cannot expect the food to necessarily taste the same because of location, access to ingredients, west coast eaters and their tastebuds, etc. The johnnycake were great! It would have been nice if there was a filling such as those at Calabash Bistro. The food overall tasted alright. It did not have that amazing kick but still satisfying for what it was.
The only server was trying his best. We kept watching him take orders, make the drinks, serve food. He was also the bartender so service was slow. It was understandable that it was going to be a long wait to get our food packed and pay our bill. We were not in a hurry so we patiently waited for him to serve a couple large groups before asking to pay our bill. I found the price of the food to be reasonable. I would recommend this restaurant for people to try Caribbean inspired food. However, I think I will wait for my next vacation to Jamaica to load up on those Jamaican beef patties.

For ambiance and drinks this place is an A+, for everything else it’s a solid C.
Being of Trinidadian and Guyanese descent I’ve got VERY high standards for Caribbean food.
The doubles are meh. The bara isn’t very good, and not the right consistency, and you don’t get any decent chutney with them.
The goat roti is one part awful and one part delicious. The curry goat is really good. Soft and tender, good balance of flavours and not too spicy. The roti is just awful. It’s hard like cardboard and equally tasteless.
The wraps and burgers are pretty good though. Not really traditional Caribbean food, but it’s nice to see some North American favourites with a Caribbean twist.

You have got to be kidding me.
Gad I love the Reef, especially the one on Main St, so why you gotta mess with us with these servers on Commercial?
Today was a low.
There were five of us, hungry for lunch. We all ordered up. One in our group had the Dine-​Out menu, and chose the appetizer option of Comfort Sticks (panko breaded and fried macaroni cheese), which sounded good enough for everyone wanting to try. We asked how many pieces there were in the order and the server told us «four or five». Since there were five of us, and we all wanted to try it, she said she’d make sure that we’d get five. She actually said, «I’ll make sure you get five.»
Now imagine our surprise when it came out and there were only three pieces.
We waited patiently and then asked what the deal was. She said «Oh ya, sorry, my bad.» And that was it!
To make things worse, apparently you can only get this appetizer if you order the whole Dine Out menu, so we couldn’t even buy another if we wanted to.
More like DONE OUT.
Four of us had Trini Rotis and two of the breads looked and tasted really stale. They went unfinished.
Later in the lunch, she dropped a container of sauce behind us and it splattered some kind of sauce all over us. It was an accident, but that was a nice touch. She made an attempt to wipe it off one of the jackets. It was only until we examined the rest of the mess on it later that she showed a real concern. She then offered to pay for cleaning, but really, it was too little, too late.