Calabash Bistro

After our adventures in restaurant finding a couple of weeks ago, we decided to choose a restaurant on a shorter street. Carrall Street is one the city's newest greenways, and while not especially green or even finished yet, it is definitely a more pedestrian-friendly environment. We walked casually down the street, confident that even if we walked by the restaurant the first time, we'd still have time to circle back and search more carefully the second time. Fortunately, the restaurant was hard to miss, and we arrived safely.

In a city where you can find nearly any kind of Chinese food, where there are countless "upscale casual" restaurants, and where you can't throw a stone without hitting a sushi joint and two Starbucks, there are not a lot of Caribbean restaurants. Indeed Urbanspoon lists only seventeen. Calabash Bistro is one of the newest, having opened this spring.


We arrived without a reservation, naturally. Nevertheless, we were greeted warmly and given a choice of tables upstairs or downstairs. The restaurant is pleasantly decorated, making excellent use of the heritage features of the building. The original art on the walls added to the ambience, but we had to restrain ourselves from straightening the canvases.

The expected reggae playing through the sound system was enjoyable, and we could see the DJ setup for Foundation Radio.

As you can see, there is a full bar, and the cocktail menu lists several Caribbean/Caribbean-inspired drinks. Six beers are on tap, and among the bottled beers are the two Caribbean beers widely available in Vancouver: Carib and Red Stripe. They also have the city's most extensive selection of rums.

Can you guess what this gentleman is doing specifically?

downstairs bar

Correct! He is making our drinks.

bashy sour

The Bashy Sour features Flor de Cana rum, pineapple purée, crushed black pepper, lemon, cane sugar and egg white.

hurricane

The Calabash's version of the Hurricane mixes El Dorado 3 year-old rum, Pussers Navy rum, lime juice, orange, pineapple, passion fruit, guava jam and house-made grenadine.

We saved our appetite for this dinner and went overboard with our appetizer ordering.

roti and dip

vegetable patty

jerk fries with jerk aioli

coconut dumpling

Everything was delicious, but our favourite was the jerk fries. Was there room for another cocktail before our main courses arrived? Of course!

reggae on broadway

The Reggae on Broadway is a wonderful concoction of Diplomatico Anejo rum, chili tequila, honey mango purée, fresh lime, agave syrup, and a Kaffir lime leaf.

The wine list while limited was well thought out. Three wines by the glass each in red and white, along with a nicer red and white by the bottle.  Add in champagne and another sparkling wine. Simple.

ackee and saltfish

oxtail

Both our main courses were flavourful and refreshing. We felt like we were eating authentic Caribbean food. Now, mind you, though we've been to the Caribbean on more one occasion, we don't consider ourselves experts, and we don't proffer that this is actually authentic Caribbean food.

cheeky one (Sleeman honey brown)

We love how they offer a four-ounce serving of draught beer for a dollar, called a Cheeky One.  To paraphrase their menu: to quaff while you decide what to order or before you hit the road.

If you have a hankering for Caribbean food, stop by the Calabash Bistro for great food, lively music, and a good time.