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Eh! Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Canadian (New) Canadian (New) [Edit]
1050 Alberni StVancouver, BC V6E 2A3
Neighbourhoods: West End, Downtown
(604) 568-9915
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 7 am - 7 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
13 reviews for Eh! Restaurant
13 reviews in English
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Review from Edward L.
After reading Marc D's review, I decided to try and see if I could find this creepy 30yo guy he spoke of. Had no luck, but found a really decent restaurant instead.
Parking completely sucks here, so you may want to walk or take the bus. Or get dropped off.
This is seriously one of the last places you'd think of when it comes to locating a restaurant. It's actually on the 2nd floor of an ESL school. The only hint of its existence to the world is a small sandwich board outside on the sidewalk. Once you enter the building, you're in a tiny lobby with an elevator and what looks like a fire exit. Unlike the warnings, the door is NOT alarmed. Taking the stairs is much faster than waiting along with the hordes of students for the elevator.
The interior of the restaurant is actually clean and somewhat trendy, with paintings on the wall. There's a counter selling desserts and other confectioneries. The place is a little deserted in the evenings, but there's nothing wrong with that in my books. They had Spanish music playing in the background. The waitress sat us down and gave us ice waters with lemon slices inside. Yay!
On Fridays they have $11 steak + prawns. On other days it's +$2. The steak is actually quite good. Sure the pieces aren't the world's largest, but I will gladly compare it to $30 pieces elsewhere. Served with seared vegetables and potatoes. The prawns were a bit on the raw side, but we ate them anyways.
I also had a chance to try the yellowtail (ahi) tuna. This was done very well. Seared on the outside, nice and raw on the inside. Served with rice and vegetables. All for just $9! Insane.
I will definitely be back to try the other dishes.
One other tip: it looks like you can get 20% off the Daily Special here if you check in. -
Review from Ellen L.
2/6/2012 1 Check-in Here
I've been meaning to come to Eh! for dinner since forever, but never quite made their 7pm closing time. So clearly, this is more of a lunch place than dinner. Anyway, came in at 6:20pm and the place only had a few patrons - made for a quiet casual dinner.
Pound O' Wings - the hot wings really really hit the spot. Way better than Wings (the restaurant). Hot and flavourful. This was devoured in minutes.
Yellow Fin Tuna - A little bland with only the rice, though a nice touch with brown rice. The tuna was marinated full of flavour. However, judging from other pictures on Yelp, the tuna seemed overcooked. It was definitely not raw in the middle.
Rice and Beans Brazilian Style - steak was a poor cut, chewy, and under-seasoned. The rice and beans were nice though.
A few hits. Some misses. Price may seem cheap, but really quite appropriate given that the plate is mostly filled up with carbs. The burger and sandwiches menu actually is quite steeply priced for lunch.Listed in: Lunching it up Downtown
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Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
12/12/2011 1 photo
* My beef *
This student oriented restaurant is hidden away on the second floor of a non-descript building that houses an ESL school. The bulk of the menu is not terribly exciting, and from reading over the other Yelp reviews is fairly subpar.
I saw "rice and beans" on the menu, and since we don't get much Latin food in Vancouver figured I'd give it a go. It was priced at the high end for their menu, but still very reasonably at $9.50.
I found it amusing that even though there is a very generous portion of perfectly cooked flank steak (well seasoned, medium rare as I requested, with a nice crusting) the dish is just called rice & beans. The beans were well seasoned with a hint of pork flavour, topped with some sauteed onions, and the rice was nicely cooked. They also put two small fried bananas which were not greasy at all, had been nicely softened on the inside and added a nice sweetness to the overall dish. This was a very nice plate of food. Photo: http://www.yelp.ca/biz...
My only "beef" with the place isn't with the beef at all. It was the creepy guy in his late 30's who I think just hangs out there trying to chat up ESL students. I saw him visit at least 5 different women trying to strike up a conversation with them at their table. They all sent him on his way packing. But he really creeped me out. There was something about him that was just not right.
I would definitely return for the beef, as long as I don't have to have to see that creepy guy again.Listed in: Engrish, Vancouver Latin and Caribbean…
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Review from Mo B.
Vancouver, BC
1/26/2012
Went to enjoy the breakfast at Eh! after having a look at the website.
Was going to take them up for the steak and eggs for $6.95 which seemed reasonably priced. When paying they charged me $7.95 - citing the menu saying the $6.95 price was a 'Friday' special. - however it is clearly on the breakfast menu for $6.95.
The steak was undercooked and was about the same size as the orange slice on the plate. The toast was cold & the eggs were greasy.
The steak was nice but very very very small.... The fat chef is working on portion control - he should probably work on his own portions instead of diner's portions. He also has no customer service skills and a bad attitude. I would not recommend eating his food. I think he might be the creepy guy hitting on all the esl girls!
I think I will have to go and eat again as I am still hungry after this mini meal
I asked to discuss the price and the over billing and the chef basically just showed me the menu and said he would not make any adjustments. I guess they are not going to get the tip.
I would not recommend this over priced cafeteria - It is basically a college cafeteria for the ESL schools in the building.
The menu looks good - but after such a crappy experience and no customer service. this cafeteria is not worth the visit.
- an UNSATISFIED eater. -
Review from Amanda L.
9/21/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Eh! hidden on the 2nd floor of a building with some community college and is a nice hideaway from the pricey restaurants in this neighborhood. It is set up more like a diner then a restaurant and all their tables are for like 6-8 people so it was a little weird when me and my boyfriend were sat at a huge 8 person table.
With only 1 vegetarian option available on the entree section and eligible for the movie ticket deal my decision was pretty much made for me, butternut squash ravioli it is!
For like $8 I got 5 (yes, I counted 5) of those pink and white squash ravioli's that are always served at large banquet style buffets in some sauce that tasted suspiciously "Mac n' Cheese-ish" along with some artichoke and sundried tomatoes. I was not great, I could eat it again but I felt a little sick after and still very hungry.
My boyfriend got some plate with roasted vegetables (that looked really good but quite oily) with lamb, steak and shrimp. He said the meats were all quite good. The portion was small but it was only $8 so he got his money's worth! -
Review from Minori I.
North Vancouver, BC
1/30/2011
Delicious buffalo burger and caipirinha.
Garlic prawns and tuna were also great. It's worth every penny and it's not that expensive at all for what you can get.
Staff was very friendly and helpful. -
Review from Brett C.
Toronto, ON
9/1/2010 1 Check-in Here
The reason I went to Eh! was for their Tuesday special: pay $15 for any meal and get a movie pass to Cineplex (e.g., Scotiabank and Metrotown) for free. In other words, even though my California chicken club normally cost about $8, the total was $15 + HST which included a $7 movie ticket. Not bad consider the sandwich was okay (nothing wrong with it, but the taste didn't pop). And at least they try to use sustainable ingredients.
So while I wouldn't bother eating here without the movie deal and the "Eh" in the name should be more like the American meaning of "eh" (i.e., "meh"), the movie ticket deal makes it fine to stop in for food before going to see a movie. -
Review from Sachi M.
I was hoping this would be a nice quick stop nearby, but it won't become a regular stop for me.
I got the special Halibut with Rice and Veggies (their photo: http://sites.google.co... my photo: http://www.yelp.ca/biz...). It wasn't flavoured enough to make up for the rice underneath. With salt and pepper, though, it wasn't that bad (but I shouldn't have to).
What turned me off most was the temperature: hot halibut (as expected), cold salsa-like topping, barely warm broccoli, lukewarm rice. It could have been a lot better. One of those things I would rather have eaten at home than paid for.
I was also confused with what I'm supposed to do when I walk in. Since I knew it serves the language school in the same building, I was expecting a cafeteria-type place with quick eats. Students do come by and just get coffee to go, but I was told I can sit down to be served if I am having food. And I guess the wait time to get the food wouldn't be bad for a Restaurant, but I miscalculated because I was thinking "cafe".
The windows are there, but are like white plastic that just lets light through. It's as if we have really thick fog outside. Depressing for me.
That and the really run down elevator... although that has been bad for a while, even when this location was an expensive Japanese restaurant, so I shouldn't count this against Eh!, but nothing attracted me to come back again.
I can see it being a convenient place for the students: proximity, discount, bar. The 12% Service Charge is included in the price (weird). Open Wi-Fi -- probably meant for the students, not for restaurant patrons. -
Review from Danielle B.
Vancouver, BC
This place was a real surprise. I first tried it about a year ago, and for some reason it kind of fell off my radar and I hadn't been back for quite some time. I "re-discovered" this little gem recently, thanks to Groupon.
My co-worker and I went for lunch last week and were (again) surprised how reasonable the prices are. Being downtown, we are used to over-priced food and pretentious servers at most restaurants close by. You will get neither of those at Eh!
I opted for the lamb chops for $9.95 and my co-worker had the yellowfin tuna for $8.95. Each was accompanied with fresh steamed veggies and either rice or potatoes and half a baked tomato. The jasmine rice served with the tuna was really good - infused with vanilla, of all things. Unusual, but very flavourful. The food here is good, sort of like what you would expect at your mom's house (if she is a good cook) but not quite what you might expect next door at Coast.
The seating is very casual, a few notches above cafeteria-style seating and because it's in the same building as a school, there are quite a lot of young students - especially just after 12pm. The best time to go would be just before noon, or after 1pm to avoid any kind of a wait. The service is friendly and reasonably attentive. The service charge is actually included in your bill, so that's another bit of a bonus when eating there.
They are licensed, and their drinks are pretty cheap, too. I think they have Kokanee for $3.50 and GIB pints for $4.50. Their dinner & movie night on Tuesday (from 3-7pm) is quite a steal at $14.95.
They have a good selection of ready-made food for quick take-out snacks and meals as well. I will definitely keep this place in mind when I'm looking for something cheap & cheerful. -
Review from Linda C.
Vancouver, BC
5/12/2011
I heard about this place at a Brazilian Film festival a while back and when I saw via the groupon, the black beans, I had to check it out. The friday night special is steak, black beans, & rice - you can add farofa (sp?) and fried bananas. The food was really good and there were a few other things I'd like to go back and try. I liked everything about the place - really comfortable and laid back. The service was also Brazilian, also laid back and charming. I will be back and I'll recommend it to friends.
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Review from Gina I.
4/1/2010
I had the apple pecan salad here with grilled chicken. The chicken was tasteless & the salad had too much dressing.. The pecans were encased in sugar (way too sweet).
It just wasn't an enjoyable lunch. -
Review from Mike U.
Vancouver, BC
4/3/2010
I've eaten at Eh! now a few times, and it's always an enjoyable atmosphere. It's not rare to have a diverse crowd in the place, and that's what I like about it.
The staff is friendly and the food is delivered in a timely fashion. And once I get the food, it disappears because it's a pretty safe bet that it will be good.
I wish it had a little more exposure because it's on the second level of a building on Alberni street, but if you can find it, I'd suggest you give it a try yourself. -
Review from William L.
Vancouver, BC
9/7/2010
Now, I knew eh is kind of a student cafeteria, so I just thought I'd stop by for a nice relaxing dinner, but I was still disappointed.
I ordered a bean soup and a grilled salmon served with vegetable and rice. Very standard dishes, but executed very poorly. The soup stock was clearly not prepared in advance, the the end product taste like someone just boiled a pot of canned beans and whatever vegetable they can find. The salmon was over grilled, and the charred taste was very obvious. The soup would have gone very good with garlic bread, but they simply grilled the bread and melted some butter on top.
I think what bothers me is that the dishes I tried tasted like someone just half-assed them, thinking that the customers don't care anyways. The cooks quickly tossed some ingredients together to resemble the common dishes found in restaurants, and the end result is disappointing to say the least.
Even if this restaurant is designed as a student cafeteria, it can still be so much better...
