the reef

 

I recently went to the Reef, an award winning Caribbean restaurant with some of my current and former coworkers and had an excellent meal. I was on a detox diet, so I sadly didn't taste the jonny cakes (deep fried bread) but I had a great meal anyway consisting of a starter I shared called the Chana. A warm chickpea curry salad with obvious inspiration from India, served with mixed greens, shaved carrots and roti. It had a great deep cumin curry flavour where the chickpeas were cooked to tenderness and perfection. A yogurt lime dressing was served on the side which added a refreshing zing to the salad as the limey tang cut through the heaviness of the curried chickpeas. YUM!

The plantain chips were simply delicious as they were sliced lengthwise into long strips, fried to a crisp on the outside and had a soft inner layer. These were served with a nicely spiced jerk mayo that gave things a little kick.

As a main I had a Mahi seared with lime and curry with a cho cho and apple slaw on a bed of coconut rice and some peas zucchini and bell pepper. The mahi was perfectly cooked as it maintained its juiciness while cooked throughout, had a curry lime flavour with a hint of char. The chocho and apple slaw was tangy and a perfect accompaniment to the tender fish as it brought out the summery freshness in the dish. The rice had a great coconutty flavour and really balanced out both the curry of the fish as well as the zing of the slaw. What better way to be served than with some lightly cooked veggies that still had crunch. Delicious meal, I was very satisfied.

Lovely company didn’t hurt either, as well as a beautiful server that enthusiastically made suggestions, promptly filled our drinks, and told us a story or two.

Next time I go there, I want to try the pulled pork, Jamaican patties, and the roti looked really good too... I guess I have to try and schedule another trip over there!

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Locations:

MAIN STREET VANCOUVER (original location)

4172 Main Street, Vancouver
T) 604-874-JERK (5375)
 

COMMERCIAL DRIVE VANCOUVER

1018 Commercial Drive, Vancouver
T) 604-568-JERK(5375)