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Yaas Bazaar
Categories: Food Specialty Food Ethnic Food Restaurants Persian/Iranian Food Grocery Food Specialty Food Meat Shops Ethnic Food, Persian/Iranian, Grocery, Meat Shops [Edit]
1860 Lonsdale AveNorth Vancouver, BC V7M 2J9
Neighbourhood: Central Lonsdale
(604) 990-9006
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
16 reviews for Yaas Bazaar
16 reviews in English
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Review from Deniz T.
5/13/2012
I have stopped at the Yaas Bazaar yesterday, hunting down the sour plums. In the Mediterranean, we all wait a whole year for 3 weeks of green plum craze. They are extremely tart, super crunchy and very refreshing. Dip it in salt and fire away until you can't feel your teeth. After moving here, I kinda forgot about them, until one of my relatives reminded me it is the season. Saturday task; head out to North Shore and sniff around.
I do not know the restaurant part of the whole deal, I think they moved it to a new location. This review is just for the supermarket. The place looks clean compared to other middle eastern stores. If you know what you are looking for, they have it all. I asked for the plums. The gentleman at the cash register was very kind and helpful. He went to the back and brought a box out. I was pretty pretty happy. They have an array of middle eastern products which is very standard.
What struck me was their lamb on their (and pretty much this is why i am writing this review) meat display. Well it is local lamb, just by looking at meat's dry quality in the packaging, it has never been frozen, and very very cheap. Buying local lamb in this city is kind of ridiculously budget gauging, the alternative is Australian, which is somewhat decent quality, but just do not like the idea of it being slaughtered, god knows when and frozen in blocks.... New Zealand version, I am not a big fan, the breed must be smaller, not meaty enough.
The whole lamb shoulder rack was $11, lamb kidneys (acquired taste, but i grew up with it), 2 in a package, $0.80, 2 meaty shanks $7, whole lamb' neck to cook mom's Kekek, which you can not get anywhere again, dirt cheap.Annnnnddddddd!!!!! (drum roll) The LAMB RIBS!!!! all rib the goodness with taste of lamb The beef and the chicken did not look anything special.
I am not buying lamb from else where again. Happy as a piggy in mud. -
Review from Elisa A.
North Vancouver, BC
2/6/2012
The persian food in Yaas Bazaar was my first time for persian food... so I had a little trouble understand what food it is and so I asked the staff,but unfortunately no body is able to answer my question in English,so I asked them which one is chicken and beef? then they pointed it out and i said ok i want this and that one... but they still screwed up with my orders afterwards because of the language barrier.
The food tasted like nothing,they got me a combo with chicken skewer and a combo with ground beef skewer which i asked them I want beef like steak type,just beef chucks, not ground beef...
the chicken tasted really plain. The beef taste dry ,I was really disappointed because it looks so good when they grilled it freshly...I thought it is the way it should be,the persian food. thanks god my persian friends took me to some other better restaurant to try the delicious and good priced persian food.. so I know its not the persian food not good,it's the yaas bazaar screwed the food up! -
Review from Alice A.
Updated - 7/27/2011
Since my last review, I've been here several times. Tonight we had the chicken and lamb shank specials. I guiltily finished everything on my plate, yes, even the mountain of rice.
I love the casual cafeteria style: you order then pay, wait for your number to be called, collect your food, grab some cutlery and your choice of pop, and tuck in.
The best bit? Shopping in the store after a meal for affordable kalamata olives, lamb shanks and dates. Makes me love North Vancouver and Canada that much more! I mean where else in the world can you get seriously authentic food from all around the world?!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/18/2011
Love this place! Exotic variety of Middle Eastern food products, at least exotic to me. Then imagine… Read more »
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Review from Tara M.
North Vancouver, BC
11/12/2011
I know good food when I eat it. When this place first opened up, the food was at least edible. But now? Horrible! I am Persian myself, so I know what good Persian food should taste like, The ground beef patties (Kobbideh) is so dry that I cannot even swallow it, To be honest, all of their food is super dry, their rice is never cooked enough, it is almost raw and the food is lacking in taste (salt and spices). The only reason why people think this is good is becuz the price is less than other places.
The koobideh does not even have enough onions grated into it and they use the worst kind of meat possible, which makes it sooooo dry! -
Review from Michael H.
Calgary, AB
8/19/2010
One of the top three Persian destinations in the Lower Mainland. You don't need waiters and menus and fancy table cloths to have a good eating experience.
The Chicken Sultani Kabob is delectable. Everything is worth trying, but the Sultani Kabob (Chicken or Lamb) is my favourite.
The place is definitely a hole in the wall. Persian grocery on one side (all sorts of really cool Middle Eastern ingredients) and the other side is a crazy cramped Persian grill.
All the staff are super friendly and helpful. They just seem thrilled to have non-Persians coming in to taste their part of the world.
That one star review below. What a load of bullshit that is. A dude with only a single review and such a generic scathing blast. Smacks totally of someone with an axe to grind. It does not come across as legitimate at all. I'm not sure why Yelp is even counting it ... people with single one-star reviews are usually filtered out of rankings automatically. -
Review from FRED G.
Vancouver, BC
11/8/2010
My wife and I visited this restaurant/store yesterday evening after a day of shopping with some Saudi friends.
The store is packed full of Iranian style merchandise and food items. It all looked quite interesting. The restaurant section was an area next to the grill with about 15 tables. It is some sort of fast food type place, as we could not find a table for four, but there was one by the time we ordered and picked up our plates. You can order by picture with numbers and they call the number on your cash receipt when its ready.
There was a special for $5.99 on the board, but, I don't remember the name. It was some meat on a skewer (...later I found out that it was ground beef molded by hand around the spit), there was also a fair portion of rice. No vegetables. The ground beef was very dry and there was absolutely no taste to it. We tried to enhance it with some hot sauce (...which we usually enjoy), but found the sauce a watery, vinegary concoction with the plastic dispenser bottle being encrusted with old dried up sauce and other unidentifiable residues. Our friends had something similar, but with real pieces of meat. Unfortunately it was also dry and quite bland. Close to the bone it was still raw! None of us finished our meal and we saw numerous plates with leftover food as the patrons left.
I agree with Hamed M. that the chicken appeared grease. It actually floated in it. Not having had Persian food before we could not compare it, but must agree with Solmaz H. that it was, at least for us, the worst food we ate in a long time! -
Review from Hamed M.
Persian market with Persian food/restaurant. It's small, so don't expect much in terms of selection. I think the chicken was dipped in oil--so greasy. Nevertheless, it was delicious. The tahdig was awesome. It's been a while since I've had noon tahdig. This is the only restaurant I've ever seen make it.
They have several benches at which to sit. Parking in rear for free.
Because it's not waiter service restaurant, the dishes are relatively cheap, at less than $11 for most. -
Review from Helen K.
2/18/2009
So I was here in October...and it was a great experience.
So my friend's dad recommended this place to us when we were hungry and lost in vancouver- he knew the owner or something, her dad seems to know ppl everywhere!
Anywho, it took us forever to get there from downtown Vancouver but it was worth it.
I was in utter disbelief when looking at all the food selection, I almost peed myself. I love my persian food, I love it! It's my favorite food-I like the food so much that i date the boys just to get to the food, this is not an exaggeration- its a fact & I can prove it.
I felt like a kid in the candy store- they don't have persian cafeteria type places in Wa-we have ONE restaurant, and a few that closed down, but ONE single restaurant to get your grub on, or you better pray you get invited to someones house for some persian food.
They had everything! Kuku sabzi and the potato kind, gormeh sabzi, ash w/ kashk, lubia polo, chelo kebab, baqala polo, and soo much more. I think the lady at the counter figured we were starving, and haven't eaten for days or something.
I figured when else will I be able to eat all this stuff at once? Not anytime soon, so I of course over did and it was wonderful.
Also we were able to load up on some barbari bread before we left.
Woop woop, it's very cheap too! -
Review from Rebecca R.
Vancouver, BC
11/5/2009
If you're in the mood for some quality kebobs, this is the place to go. All meats are cooked to order, so you may have to wait for your meal. But waiting is not an issue as you can walk around the market and check out all the interesting international food items.
Their portions are generous. I can never finish the entire plate of rice. All meals come with a can of pop and an unlimited supply of flat bread. My partner and I usually spent around $27 for the two of us, but we also get an order of the cucumber yogurt stuff... it goes great with the meat and rice.
The interior is nothing special. Actually, I find it cluttered and hard to move around. But the tables and floor are clean. It's a good idea to grab a spot as soon as you arrive because the place constantly has a line up. -
Review from Greg S.
Fonthill, ON
1/25/2010 1 photo
You don't want to eat here, trust me. No, no, ignore those tantalising smells wafting out of the kitchen. Never mind that there's a lineup practically every minute the place is open. Don't even look at what's cooking on the grill, or the photos of the dishes being served up. Avert your eyes every time some drooling patron comes away from the cashier holding their prize. I'm only telling you this for your own good. Seriously. If this place was any good, they'd have waiters with towels over their arms, and charge you twice as much, right? See? I know what I'm talking about.
No, don't go wandering through the grocery part of the store. You wouldn't like that stuff. Really. So why am I loading up? Uh... research. Yeah, that's it. I'm going to write a review about how bad this stuff is. It's probably loaded with cholesterol, you know. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Okay, okay, fine. Eat here if you must. Just save me a seat, okay? -
Review from Ilona E.
Vancouver, BC
7/7/2010
This place holds a special place in my heart as it's the place I had my first date with my now current bf. He wanted to take me to Mythos across the way but I'm glad I made him take me here. He ordered the Kubideh Kabob and I got the Ghormeh Sabzi (Iranian stew with pieces of lamb) and a side of saffron rice. This stew seriously rocks my world! I wish I could make it myself and eat it everyday. I've had the same stew with Halibut and it's equally as good (not served at Yaas'.) After you sit and eat you get inspired to buy groceries and baklava! mmm baklava! Couldn't get any better!
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Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
11/5/2008
Persian grocery with an excellent selection of dried fruits and nuts, Persian yogurt, and a counter that serves hot meals featuring halal meats. The kubideh kabob, barg kebob, and lamb kabob are my favourites. Most dishes served with saffron basmati rice, grilled tomato, and Persian flatbread (help yourself to a bagfull from the top of the counter).
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Review from Gina I.
12/30/2008
Their hot food counter is delish and inexpensive, yum.
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Review from Silvia C.
Vancouver, BC
9/4/2010
I absolutely love polo (persian rice). Unfortunately, it's a bit of an art form to create the buttery fluffy fragrant well-disguised humble sidedish. If I'm inclined to share a platter I come here to Yaas Bazaar. I've only tried zereshk and baghla polo. Add a well-simmered flavourful chicken leg, and my dining conversation is reduced to a lot of nodding. Unless you choose lamb, nothing on the menu is over $12.....great value huh? Just nod.
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Review from Brandi J.
1/5/2011
this place is ridiculously bad. bad service. And they rip you off. The owner, this iranian couple, are super cheap and their labour is their family members. their food is definately not fresh. They also had an E-Coli outbreak (was in the media) in their store. Do not eat here! Youve been warned!
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Review from Chandler H.
12/1/2009
The kebobs at Yaas are out of this world. I get the combo ground beef and chicken, and it is to die for. The rice is amazing too. I don't think I will ever drive through Vancouver without stopping here again!
