Ethnic Eats – Sampling the World’s Cuisine Without Leaving Vancouver

There’s something to be said about having a beer in the sun after some hard work and even tho it only took me a couple of hours to pack up my apartment, I fully intended to call in that reward.

I headed to The Reef on Commercial Drive which I have managed to never visit yet, despite living not far from it and having eaten at the Main Street location several times.

Dragon Stout was dark and brooding and not really fitting my sunshiny mood, so after I got my food I switched to a party-in-a-glass umbrella drink. The Irie Shaker has cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut and the requisite umbrella garnish which had me kicking back in no time.

I ordered the Jerk Chicken roti ($10) which is pretty spicy on its own. Even more so when it’s doused liberally with Miss Kitty hot sauce. The flatbread, jerk chicken and coleslaw is pretty traditionally Caribbean, but if you want something more exotic, Jamaican favorites jerk goat and Jamaican’s national dish – akee fruit and salt cod – are also available. I’ve had both at the other location and while there are more authentic Caribbean restaurants around, you can’t argue with a patio and a drink with an umbrella in it.

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The Reef
1018 Commercial Drive, Vancouver