Calabash Bistro
859 Reviews
$$
- Thursday4–11 PM
- Friday5 PM–2 AM
- Saturday5 PM–2 AM
- SundayClosed
- Monday4–9 PM
- Tuesday4–9 PM
- Wednesday4–9 PM
About the Business
Calabash Bistro - Caribbean Cuisine & Reggaecentric Environment : Calabash Bistro | Caribbean Restaurant serving in Vancouver, British Columbia. Come enjoy an inspiring and artistic experience, true to the roots and traditions of the Caribbean
Contacts
Website
Call Us
+16045685882
428 Carrall St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2J7
Hours
- Thursday4–11 PM
- Friday5 PM–2 AM
- Saturday5 PM–2 AM
- SundayClosed
- Monday4–9 PM
- Tuesday4–9 PM
- Wednesday4–9 PM
Features
- Delivery
- Wheelchair-accessible parking lot
- Wheelchair-accessible entrance
- Debit cards
- NFC mobile payments
- Credit cards
- Takeout
- Dine-in
- Wheelchair accessible seating
- Wheelchair-accessible washroom
- Healthy options
- Small plates
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Dessert
- Seating
- Washroom
- Casual
- Cozy
- Groups
- Accepts reservations
- Alcohol
- Beer
- Cocktails
- Coffee
- Hard liquor
- Wine
- Breakfast
- Brunch
- Bar on-site
- High chairs
- Late-night food
- Live music
Recommended Reviews
Heliattack
01.10.2023
Calabash Bistro
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)
Agni Kaur
27.09.2023
Calabash Bistro
Went there on Saturday for dinner. Had a reservation through open table app for 7:45.First impression: The place was mostly empty, after a brief miscommunication with the hostess (she couldn’t read our name on the reservation so she brought the tablet to us to identify ourselves lol), we got taken down the steps and seated at our table. Cosy atmosphere, chill-vibes, we were really hungry so got to ordering right away. I asked for the iconic red stripe (Jamaican beer), was told that they didn’t have any in stock. I opted for the rum punch. And boy was it punching! I couldn’t finish mine, I found it too strong. Not a downfall on the barman, I’m just not really a rum person. We ordered spicy beef patties and jerk pork belly for starters, and curry goat meal and oxtail dinner for mains.First impressions experience: 8/10Patties: you get two with a choice of dip. The pastry was crisp and flaky, very light and enjoyable, the filling was plenty full, but not spicy at all. In fact I think it could’ve done with more seasoning. Overall - 8/10.Jerk pork belly: oh lord! Sooooo goood! Good size portion for a starter (2 pieces), drenched in tropical salsa type sauce and served with 4 fried dumplings. I thought the dumplings were a little hard (the outer layer was too fried and hard), but overall good. The pork belly was well seasoned and definitely a highlight of the starters.Overall 9/10.Curry goat: comes in an old school lunchbox style containers, accompanied by rice and peas (peas were white though), and a green leaf salad mix. The goat was well cooked, falling off the bone, juicy, tender, but also, a little mild on the seasoning. Not much curry flavour coming through.Overall 7/10.Oxtail: generally my absolute favorite Jamaican dish, unfortunately just like the curry goat, under seasoned. Very well cooked, comes off the bone completely as it should, no issues there, but lacks the authentic flavour that would be enhanced had the seasoning been portioned into the stew properly.Overall 6/10.Service: attentive, friendly, smiling staff, no complaints at all.Overall 10/10
Joy M
06.08.2023
Calabash Bistro
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 I paid for it.The oxtail came with no gravy for the rice whatsoever, the rice was undercooked and that is most definitely not coleslaw. It contained cucumber, parsley and orange. It is a salad but that is not coleslaw, I feel tricked. As a born and raised 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, DO NOT get the family meal, it's cheaper and worth more to get the individual jerk chicken and oxtail separately, than together.
Mahal Love
02.08.2023
Calabash Bistro
Where do I start? I had brunch there and it was delicious. I had to ackee and saltfish with dumplings. My favorite was the dumplings. My partner and I had some leftovers and fought over them when we got home! The rice and peas are different from how my friend makes them, but I still enjoyed them. I would love to go again and try something different this time! I loved the spice, it was just the right amount!
Angelica Yee
24.07.2023
Calabash Bistro
Carribean-influenced cuisine in an unfortunate area. This neighbourhood has significantly declined and there is barely any lighting - you have to know about this place to find it. The Dark and Stormy ($15) has ginger beer which I love, perfectly sweetened. My jerk chicken was moist but the flavour fell flat. There was almost enough sauce to mix with the rice (it’d be bland without sauce, which I think is normal for many cuisines!). Those were nothing to write home about, it was the fried plantain that was REALLY tasty; wish I had more than 2 slices. Overall, thought this was pricey for the quality and flavours. The server was sweet but couldn’t remember if she took my order, and walked away before I could get my receipt. Notes: auto 20% gratuity for big groups. The basement turns into a dance floor at 10:30pm, so book in advance for resos close to that time. My friend recommended the coconut dumplings, which sound odd but I might try them next time I want to walk through DTES in the dark!
Gal N
23.07.2023
Calabash Bistro
The area feels unsafe. The atmosphere in the place was great. The service was ok. The style of food served here is not to my taste so I can't say about it. I ordered fries and it was a bit spicy for me. They charged 20% tip on the bill. After we finished our food we wanted to go down to the basement floor to dance. They told us that because we shared dishes and didn't ordered in enough money they want us to pay each one of us 5$ to go dancing. We didn't like it and decided to quit.
Elmira Nazari
21.07.2023
Calabash Bistro
Sketchy location of Vancouver but pretty delicious Jamaican-style food. This spot also has some crazy selection of rum and rum flights if you're into that!
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Map
428 Carrall St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2J7
Calabash Bistro