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Riddim & Spice
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1945 Commercial DrVancouver, BC V5N 4A8
Neighbourhoods: Grandview-Woodlands, The Drive
(604) 215-9252
12 reviews for Riddim & Spice
12 reviews in English
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Review from Chelsea S.
West Vancouver, BC
1/12/2012
Years ago, I was introduced to Jamaican food by my roommate/boyfriend. I hadn't yet travelled to the Carribbean- so many of the tastes and ingredients were totally foreign to me... The novelty has not worn off. I don't know what it is about Ackee fruit. I'm kind of in love.
They have Ackee and saltfish here, easily on the top of my most often desired dishes. Curried goat... Jerk chicken of course... and Patties too.
The only reason I don't move in or set up camp outside is the fact that they don't have callaloo. I still have dreams about the callaloo and saltfish my boyfriends mother used to make.
Damnit. Now I'm craving it again. -
Review from Haedis L.
10/15/2011
Aww man.. So many good memz of this place with my daddy.
I've heard that the patties aren't that great so, you have been forewarned.
However the jerk, salad and rice have always been good. Not too salty. Good spice.
My father has said they have been getting stingy lately, oh with the changing world :(
I still like this place.
Probably can't eat here as I'm vegan.
Gonna stop now.
kthxbai. -
Review from Joyce D.
Burnaby, BC
6/24/2011
I don't know what the hell happened to this place!!! It has been the same cook, nice enuff guy for at least 15 years but the patties just are not the same anymore.
I was a steady customer when I lived on the Drive and continued to be when I moved to Burnaby but the last 3 visits have been progressively worse and worse.
First off, they hire the most STUPID counter staff of any restaurant I have ever been to. Its a revolving door and I never see the same girl from month to month. The last two managed to get my order wrong both times, its bad enuff when it happens once.
The patties once rivelled the great Jamaican Patties you get in Toronto, now those are Jamaican Patties. Now you get weird mustard yellow pasty dough with something I can't quite make out, a little of it mind you, stuffed in between. Yuck, I threw the last order out.
Never again Riddim & Spice, even for free. -
Review from Felicity D.
Vancouver, BC
4/9/2012
there wasn't anything awful about the goat curry, but it wasn't great. oily and fatty, nice spicing but it left me feeling greasy. the salad side was ok, some lettuce a bit browner that i would serve, passable dressing. just meh.
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Review from Leroy H.
8/6/2011
The food was alright. The sorrel (hibiscus) was the best thing they had. Like everyone else serving beef patties, they were frozen and not homemade. The waitstaff seemed off. The owner is unorganized, but very nice. I went the weekend of the Caribbean Festival and of all the Jamaican food I had that weekend this was the best. By the way, if you can make it to the Caribbean Festival, do so!! Honestly, Vancouver's Jamaican food scene seems to be slipping.
By the way, if you can make it to the Caribbean Festival, do so!! It's the last weekend of July every year. -
Review from kath r.
4/3/2009
On a damp Vancouver day we trudged in looking for a little spice to warm us up.
Riddim n Spice is a casual, plastic table-cloth, easy-on-the-decor eatery right on the Drive. It's the sort of place that checked the hip factor in at the door in exchange for reggae tunes and good eats. A transportive experience with friendly staff and regulars, you could almost be on a beach, man.
We started off with the patties (spicy beef and a chicken). They were huge, over-sized, tasty if not a little under-stuffed (more pastry than filling). We washed these down with ginger beer. hmmmm...ginger beer. now that's the spice ticket!
Full from the patties we opted to split the Jerk Chicken roti lunch; a leg quarter of chicken liberally slathered in jerk sauce and served w/ a side salad and roti. While the roti was steaming and the salad was a nice contrast, the jerk didn't do it for me. It just didn't have enough spice (and I prefer a dry jerk rub to a wet marinade/sauce).
For the budget minded it was a great alternative to the Reef, I'd like to go back and try the curries since they seemed to be the 'order of the day'. -
Review from geraldine g.
Toronto, ON
6/5/2010
Alright. Now this place is something I have been curious about but my jamaican cuisine arsenal is not say, at the top of my game. However, yesterday, I went with a friend who's mission was to go eat at this place. She's from the Caribbean and craved food from home. So, that totally bumped my food game up to 5 stars on this.
She went through the menu. Asked the waitress a few things and realized the one thing she saw on the menu and was really excited about was the roti which she called 'skin.' Anyway, the server said they didn't make their own but they just used regular wraps.
"So, not the way it's done back home." She ordered the curry goat. I had the fried chicken and rice. We were both happy with the food. My chicken was flavourful and the rice tasty too. The accompanying salad was just that - green filler.
The place ain't fancy by no means but give it a shot for something different. -
Review from Louise G.
3/14/2010 1 Check-in Here
Nice place with good jerk and roti - and a great vibe.
The place is authentic Jamaican - nice rotis, patties, and curried meats.
It's a little utilitarian: a shop-front with a kitchen attached. And actual Jamaicans eat there, which usually recommends "ethnic" food.
Brilliant place for a quick lunch or take-out.Listed in: West Indian Survivial Guide
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Review from Reena M.
2/15/2009
This place is interesting. It's a little dive on Commercial Drive serving Jamaican food. I don't know how authentic it really is because I've never been shown exactly what true Caribbean food should be like. The jerk chicken was okay, I had nothing to compare it to though.
I ordered the chicken in a roti dish, which I guess was okay too. However, I come from an Indian background and to me, it just tasted like a much milder version of a chicken curry that my mom can make and we eat with roti too. The food took a while to come out too. The menu isn't terribly large, but some of the other things the other party guests ordered looked interesting. At the end one girl ordered the casava or yam bread cake thing... Which was essentially a very dense quick bread. It tasted like Banana Nut Bread but with A LOTTTTTTTTT of ginger in it, the spiciness of which hits you at the end after you've swallowed a bite.
Overall, it was an interesting experience. I'd like to try a caribbean restaurant with someone from the Caribbean so I know what it should be like. -
Review from Shannon L.
Vancouver, BC
5/15/2011
I went to Riddim & Spice recently and was disappointed by my dining experience. I dined there on a Friday night and the restaurant was out of rotis, which meant that half the menu wasn't available. The red snapper was okay as an alternative, but nothing special. The restaurant is obviously very casual, which makes for comfort dining, but it would have been nice to have drinks served in real glasses instead of in plastic cups. I would still like to try a roti at this place at some point but I'm definitely not in a rush to return to the restaurant.
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Review from Dan F.
Vancouver, BC
10/7/2010 2 Check-ins Here
Growing up in Toronto, I was accustomed to great beef patties. I took it for granted but now I'm on the search for Vancouver's greatest golden crust of goodness. I've bought a mixed reggae cd AND a great patty here. I give this place 4 patties out of 5
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Review from John D.
9/4/2011
Years ago this place turned me on the greatest Jerk Chicken ever. After a recent visit hoping to have my faith restored, I discovered the food is still quite disappointing. Perhaps they lost their original chef, they certainly lost this customer.
