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Josephine's Restaurant & Catering
Categories: Event Planning & Services Caterers Restaurants Filipino Caterers, Filipino [Edit]
2650 Main StVancouver, BC V5T 3E6
Neighbourhood: Mount Pleasant
(604) 876-8785
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Has TV:
- No
6 reviews for Josephine's Restaurant & Catering
6 reviews in English
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Review from Sam L.
12/10/2010
I've walked by this place probably a million times, at least, and last night I finally decided to give it a try. It's very cafeteria like on the inside, with glaring flourescent light and pastel colours. There's no 'please wait to be seated' or 'please seat yourself' sign, so we approached the front counter, which has the till, as well as all the trays containing the different dishes on display. I don't have much experience with Filipino cuisine aside from some adobo chicken or pork, but everything looked pretty tasty. The woman behind the counter was super friendly and tried to offer up some suggestions that might be more agreeable to our western palates, veering away from a hash type dish that was apparently made up of beef lung and heart and a couple others. Almost all the dishes contain meat of one type or another and we made our combo plate selections (2 items plus rice and soup for $8 something) and marched them over to an empty table where we proceeded to sample the food.
The first thing I noticed was that all the food was overcooked, which may have been a result of sitting under a heat lamp for several hours, but regardless, all the meat was tough and rubbery. On top of that, I was a bit shocked to realize that what I had though was chunks of potato in the beef dish as well as the pork dish, were actually large pieces of fat. On top of this, there were large pools of oil in each plate. Some of the flavours were pretty good, and I'm sure if the food hadn't been out since September it might have been ok, provided some of the oil was skimmed off as well. All in all, not a very pleasant dining experience, and I almost feel a bit bad giving a negative review of the place since the people were so friendly, but bad food is bad food. -
Review from Arnold P.
2/7/2012
Overpriced and the food looked and tasted like they're old.
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Review from L L.
Vancouver, BC
6/1/2011
I went in for Filipino dinner, found out it is cafeteria self-serve style, however, the price is not. For $8.5 (plus12% tax), I got one small chicken thigh (thigh only, not leg), a tiny nappy dish of stir fry beef with onion, and a scope of rice. The meal is small. For such price range, I could have a decent HK style nice dine-in dinner, with a beverage.
The beef was cold, super salty and greasy- a thick layer of oil on the dish. It was so salty that I could not eat at all. I should have asked for a refund. Waste of money. Would never go back to such a horrible place, and no star rating from me. -
Review from Sohayl H.
Vancouver, BC
5/7/2011
My first time at a Filipino restaurant and I was incredibly disappointed. The food is already prepared at a buffet behind the counter. Half of what I ordered was cold, and almost tasted stale. I went with a large group so several of the dishes were tasted and I can say everyone was disappointed. Even if it was fresh, the flavors were absolutely terrible. I will have to give Filipino food another try but definitely not here.
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Review from Luisa S.
Vancouver, BC
10/17/2008
Not really a big fan of Filipino cuisine... too meat-centred for my vegetarian leanings. And somehow, the scent of their marinated meat infiltrates every fiber of my sweater. But for those who find meat more palatable than I do, this might be the place for you. Provided that you don't wear any heavy knits.
Specialties include pinakbet (seasonal vegetables stewed with fermented anchovy paste) and dinuguan (meat simmered in rich spicy gravy of vinegar, pig's blood, chili and garlic). -
Review from T M.
Burnaby, BC
9/6/2009
Took my brother out for lunch here yesterday. Not only is he a fan of Filipino food but he's got a BIG appetite. So, the combo plate was a great deal.
For $7.95 you can choose 2 items which comes with rice and sinigang (clear, tamarind that is nice and sour) soup. For an additional $1 you get an empanada and an egg roll (lumpia).
Since we got there early (around noon), the dishes were hot and fresh. In fact, a half hour later they were still bringing new dishes out to the counter. So we went back and ordered additional combo plates to try other dishes.
The mungo (mung bean soup with spinach and shrimp--similar to lentils in texture) was good. So were the beef short ribs and talong (grilled eggplant). The pancit (vermicelli noodles with vegetables and pork) was OK. My grandmother used to make this and I liked hers better than Josephine's.
My brother had liked the lechon (pork), but that looked too fatty for me. There were a lot of fish dishes but they were either in soup or deep fried. Not my favorite way to eat fish, so skipped those.
We were so stuffed that we decided not to get dessert.
This is NOT the place for vegetarians. Traditional Filipino cooking is all about fish and meat. Vegetables are just added to round out a dish, but is definitely not a big part of the meals.
If I want a cheap, filling Filipino meal, I'll keep this place in mind. But it isn't one of those GOTTA GO THERE places.
