James Street Cafe & Grill - Burnaby

Great place for East African snacks and food right in front of Vancouver. Consistent food and great service.

Visit this restaurant every time we visit Vancouver for its famous East African dishes and East African style Indian dishes(less sharp). The appetizer plate consisting of black cababs, roasted Cassava, Daal friters and potato fritters was delicious. The chicken, goats and Okra... who came with Nan and Rice were also very tasty. The bottomless chai tea is served at a very drinkable temperature. The service was very fast and excellent. There are plenty of free parking and most dishes are under $13.

James Street Cafe was always a little secret for me. The restaurant is not actually sitting on James Street and seems far from a typical café. We visited early a February morning for breakfast... something they're supposed to be known for. On foot... in this somewhat spacious restaurant, you know that this is more like a full restaurant instead of a small café. The menu is very eclectic with a mixture of Western, Indian and East African dishes. When we arrived when they first opened, the sounds of what I suspect were, morning prayer Ismaili perhaps given the proximity of an Ismaili community center? the restaurant, then shortly afterwards with light jazz music. I chose the Brunch Special $15.95, which consisted of a veggie omelet with masala potatoes, kheema basic beef curry, bharazi pigeon peas in coconut curry, and puri a fried Indian flatbread, which is light and airy. There's plenty of food in this court! I loved the Kheema Curry, but I found the Bharazi a bit too watery. They also serve a traditional English breakfast $14.95 with bakers, sausage, bacon, eggs, potatoes and toast. Speech of heart! The standout must be the thick, lump, juicy sausages that had a nice crack to bite. I would definitely come back to have that sausage back. If you are in the mood for a mix of Western/Indian/Eastern African dishes, James Street Cafe has covered you.

We were in a Friday-Kaoke night. The place felt quite loud, possibly due to the lower ceiling. The server forgot that he also had to bring tea! The Vegi-Pakaros were partially uncooked. When we were ready to pay, we were told at the reception that they only accept cash! (What an apology to save taxes!) Convenient for them, they had no change to return. So we paid with cash and gave a big forced tip (which we would not have paid otherwise).

We loved the environment, the food and the fast service from Gagan. The kebabs and yama Choma Barbecued meat) was delicious