Calabash Bistro - Vancouver, BC

It's time for a change of gears so for tonight's date night, the Piglets opt for a night of Caribbean food. Reservations? Check! Off we go...


We walk in for our reserved time and are told the table before is running late so we'll be seated in the lounge while we wait. I don't mind as I'm still feeling the remnants of lunch in my belly and Mr. Piglet is easy either way. We sit in the lounge and order a Yellow Bird and a Tusker to nurse while we wait.

Yellow Bird - $12

• There's a nice spice and a hint of vanilla aftertaste
• A pricey drink but has a nice hit of rum - this is NOT watered down. In fact, when we get home, Mr. Piglet says there was a lot more rum than he thought cuz he's feeling a slight buzz.

Tusker - $8

• It's expensive but it's pretty good and comes all the way from Kenya

We're seated in the lounge for 15 minutes before a table opens up. The Piglets are liking the hip hop/soul/reggae vibe and the dishes on the tables around us are looking very good. The Piglets are excited!

Plaintain Chips with Jerk Aioli - $5 + $1.50

• Spicy, crunchy fried goodness with an amazing aioli - very good overall
• Chips could be a bit thicker as the plantain is lost in the jerk spice - some of the chips are just completely covered so all you can taste is the spice
• The Jerk Aioli could solve the world's problems, just sayin'

Mussels - $12

• Steamed in jerk spice, cream, butter and white wine
• The sauce is a perfect balance between wine and spice - excellent! - you could serve this stuff in a shoe and I'd still eat it
• Our tip: take the mussel out of the shell and then dip it in the sauce - yum! (wish I could dip myself in this stuff)
• The sauce is so good, you forget you're eating mussels as they play second fiddle in this dish

Jerk Fried Chicken with Spicy Ketchup - $21 + $1.50

• Free range chicken marinated in house jerk, dredged in special seasoning and fried, served with fries, a side of jerk sauce, and mixed organic salad
• Perfectly fried and moist flavorful chicken that's fall off the bone finger lickin' good
• Fries are just fries but with that jerk spice and spicy ketchup, they just kicked it up a notch
• Salad is salad - you can tell its from the boxes you can pick up at your local grocery store so it'll inevitably have some melted/wilted pieces as I found in mine
• A bit pricey but the portion size is quite formidable so I pack half of it to go - that was my first mistake. I shoulda finished the sucker when I had the chance as I preceded to forget my leftovers when we left. After realizing this grave mistake, 15 minutes as most, we turned back to only find out that they had thrown it away. A piece of me died at Calabash that night. *tear*

Goat Curry - $14

• Marinated in a house-blended curry and slow-cooked, served with rice & peas, salad and roti
• There is a lot more food than meets the eye here - Mr. Piglet could barely finish it!
• The meat had many small bones and a lot of gristle so although the sauce/taste was excellent, the Piglets would probably opt for chicken or seafood curry next time
• The underdog star of the dish turns out to be the roti - it's buttery, sweet and not at all greasy. It reminds us of a croissant but in flat form.

Sorrelade - $3.50

• Hibiscus flowers brewed with ginger, citrus and soda
• My nose is running and I can feel the sweat starting to bead on my forehead. It's time to order something refreshing and this fits the bill perfectly.
• Excellent balance of flavors and very original - for those looking for a non-alcoholic drink (I'm eyeing you preggos and safe drivers), Ms. Piglet highly recommends this one

Solara - $8

Mr. Piglet and I are stuffed to the brim but the server convinces us to order dessert so we do. Solara it is! And she informs us it's made to order! Oh, the drool ducts turn on! However, the server comes back to us and informs us that there's a table due in a few minutes but the solara takes 15 minutes to make, there isn't any room at the bar, acknowledges that we waited for our table and asks if we'd like any other dessert that doesn't take that much time. The Piglets decide to forgo dessert as it wasn't meant to be (inside, I am a bit irked - we had just sat for just a little over an hour and hadn't even gotten the chance to really enjoy the ambiance!). We get the bill and the server has given us a 12% discount - that's nice but it's too bad our evening had to end on a bit of a sour note. (Sourness exacerbated when my leftovers were thrown out to due to my own forgetfulness. See above. Ugh. I hate my life.) Long story short, there was no dessert served.

LOVE LOVE the food here but be forewarned, there may be some waiting and/or odd circumstances that may arise where you are asked nicely to leave. I really really want to love this place because of its authenticity and excellent food but the situation surrounding our meal makes it my obligation to tell you that you may receive some seriously weird service whilst experiencing some wonderful food. Bon appetite but be warned!

Pros:

• Vegan options available
• Reservations accepted (I guess kind of... LOL)
• Friendly service
• Good portion size
• Authentic Caribbean cuisine
• Excellent/laid back atmosphere

Cons:

• Only pay street parking available
• Disorganized service - perhaps overbooking on a Friday night?
• Waited despite having reservations (tied in with disorganization)
• Extra $ for dipping sauces - it is our belief that the first sauce should be free if you order something that needs sauce but that's just us