The Reef

The Reef
Two locations in Vancouver, one in Victoria
1018 Commercial Drive (Location visited)
Vancouver, BC

I will admit something. I have restricted myself a little bit on the places I have gone. To an extent, that is not voluntary, rather, I get distracted and end up going somewhere else. One of these places is Commercial Drive, aka, The Drive. I have blogged about restaurants in this area, like Tony’s Deli, Fratelli Bakery, La Grotta del Formaggio, Memphis Blues and so on. One day, although slightly cloudy, I chose to drive there for lunch. Did I need a reason? Not really… And, when I got there, it seems a lot of people chose to do the same, as most restaurants were almost packed. So, when I saw an opening in The Reef, I almost ran there…

Although The Reef labels themselves as a “Caribbean Restaurant”, I would say it is more on the lines of eclectic. Jerk tofu? Quesadilla? Bennies? OK, they might be taken some liberties but still I won’t say it is Caribbean in the same sense I would call (the now closed) Kiss Yo Mama or Taste Nice. Sure, these two are Jamaican and do not represent the Caribbean as a whole, but you should get the idea…

The patio, an almost perfect spot for “people watching”.

As mentioned in my post on Raincity Grill takeout, patio furniture is out and everybody is taking advantage of it. Well, not that in some restaurants they were ever stashed in winter but I am digressing.

Although I arrived after noon, that day (Saturday), they had their brunch menu up, not their lunch menu. Oh, well, brunch menu it would be. To start with, I had their smoothie – in this case, pineapple, banana and coconut. Sounds like a tropical combination, eh? It was thick; however, not thick as in milkshake thick – but thick enough. The only complain I have would be the artificial coconut taste.

My infamous condiments picture, hehehehe.

Just after my drink, the condiments. To the right, your usual catsup; to the left, their version of hot sauce. And it was hot, I tell ya! It made me sweat in almost no time and the pain was painfully good. ^_^

And here is the “main”: A breakfast burrito with scrambled egg, cheddar cheese, choice of jerk or chorizo (I chose the later), salsa, served with hash and fruits. No, you are not seeing wrong, the fruit was missing. Hmmmmm….

Back to the burrito. I have to wonder myself: why it is called a burrito? Why not just call it a wrap? Could it be because it is more marketable as a burrito? Hmmmm…. Anyway, the combination of the egg and chorizo was tasty and the hot sauce just made it even better. The hash was just there, I did not pay too much attention to it.

Overall, I enjoyed this meal. I am not sure, though, how representative is this meal with the rest of their menu (specially the more “Caribbean” ones). For that , I will defer it to other fellow bloggers (Vancouver Slop, Deeelish, or Sherman) with the caveat they went to one of the other The Reef locations.

Tagged under: Caribbean • Commercial Drive • Vancouver