Big Lou’s Butcher Shop

Closed down for good. Place is no longer open. Due to legal cost of one of the partners.

I think this is a two star business with four star meat but its only getting one star for their new sandwich counter hours that close at 3pm every day and the lack of Bahn Mi on the menu.

Well colour me impressed.
I was really expecting an overpriced mediocre yet pretentious meat shop.
What I got was an overpriced DELICIOUS pretentious meat shop!
Hi had the chilorio pork sandwich. Zowie what a punch in the mouth. Tonnes of flavour, nice smattering of peppers in with the pork… and loads of greasy drippy sauce soaking into the fantastic crunchy-​yet-​chewy baguette.
Not sure it was worth the ten smackers… I *still* might lean toward Meat and Bread… but I’m definitely coming back to test out other sandwiches. For research of course.

Had lunch here few days ago. Delicious quick lunch. It was freezing in the store so would recommend take out. Prices are on the higher side for sandwiches but what stood out was the nice thick chucks of bacon in the chicken club. Would visit again when craving a decent sandwich.

I love this butcher shop and at lunch they have the best sandwiches even better than meat and breads porchetta as the servings here are actually bigger.
It is located in the shadier area of east Vancouver but on s nice day totally worth it
They even have ducturken chicken stuffed in duck then Turkey! What?
The meat prices are higher than sav on meats so I go back and forth between them but they know their meat here
Value 3.5÷5
Atmosphere ⁴⁄₅
Service ⁴⁄₅
Quality ⁴⁄₅
15.5÷20

Based on my experience last weekend using Karl Gregg and his staff to cater our fireworks cruise, you should look elsewhere for your catering. My emails, texts and calls went unanswered the day of. Food was delivered and left at the venue early. No chance to inspect. Order was incomplete. Missing food. And not one plate, napkin, service piece or bit of silverware in sight. Big disappointment. Wish I would have read the news stories and blogs about this so-​called operation before I decided to use them.

The place was a 5 star when they first opened about 2 years ago. Now the are a 2 star. Sandwiches are not the best. The meat ball and sunday gravy (that was to die for) is now meatloaf and tomato sauce … Boring.
And the roast beef sandwich is more gristle and less beef.
The shop needs to go back to what worked … Quality food.

Had a corned beef sandwich, it was so drenched in mustard that I couldn’t taste anything else for hours. The bit of meat poking out through the bread was good, but for a butcher shop not to showcase the meat was very odd.
Likely sloppy prep work, will not be back.

I have to echo R.N.‘s experience. I read an article online suggesting places you must try in Vancouver for a sandwich, and Big Lou’s was on the list. I headed down for the porchetta my first visit. The taste was pretty good, but unfortunately it felt like there was a bit too much bread compared to sandwich fillings, and both the bread and porchetta were dry. Hmmm.
My second time, I tried the turducken which was on special in a sandwich. Again, the bread tasted like it was just a bit too old/​dry. The turducken meat was good.
I wanted to give it a third shot, but with so many other places to try for sandwiches I don’t know if I will. But their selection of meat for cooking looks very impressive. If I return for that, I’ll probably give the sandwich another try.

MUST READ: In a recent visit to Lou’s I bought fresh ground chuck for making burgers… BUT when at home and making my burger I found pieces of rubber glove bits ground up in the meat. They advertise the fact that they grind there own meat but after complaining to the staff about the rubber glove they didnt seem to care … I then find out they buy their meat already ground from their supplier.
So they advertise false information, and the staff didnt seem to want to hear my issue about the toxic meat, I highly suggested to them to pull the rest of the meat off the shelf, but the female worker didnt even tell the manger, as I called back the next day and he wasnt aware of the issue. So I called the health dept and filed a complaint.
I am just sick to the stomach knowing that others had burgers that weekend full of rubber glove pieces.
7÷19÷14 — UpDate to managers recent response:
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — –
It is not my intention to create any bad feelings or issues here, just simply tell the truth of my experience.
1) When I presented this contaminated ground meat to the weekend mgr it was very clear, as he inspected it and agreed, that it was a foreign rubber fabric and not meat (I failed to get his name). So they gave me a good faith gift certificate that I used. but I failed to comment on in my review, and pick out a few full cuts of meat (not ground) I was thank you & very happy to use it. But I didnt want to have that certificate get in the way of sharing my Unilocal review experience on line. Im still confused as to whether they grind their own meat, as the owner Karl told me on the phone they buy it ground and he was going to speak to the supplier — maybe that has changed now?
2) One other terrible fact was the counter staff women not did not report it to management when I phoned to complain about it, plus she never pulled it off the counter that weekend as I requested which means they sold it all weekend. I hope the front lines of communication have changed since.
3) For what its worth: Coastal Health did tell me they have not had any issues in the past. But I have not been back since and hope they have sorted issue’s like this out. I do not want to wish any bad energy towards them as I know mistakes can happen with food processing as in this case, but I was disappointed with the way they handled it up front. The cert was a nice good will gesture, but this latest note from the manager is unfair and has me concerned. I spoke with other Unilocalers to get feed back on the whole issue before my posting my review and they all supported my comments.

Talk about your old school neighborhood butchery, this has got it going! From the big sign on the side of the aging 2 story building, right down to the meat counters inside filled with butchered meats, cheeses, and practically all things deli.
I had a wine pairing opportunity around the corner from here, and while the wine tasting experience was great, the cheese and charcuterie it was paired with was just over the top. Besides wanting to purchase their wines, I also inquired about buying the salami and cheese; but our winekeep said they don’t sell them, but brings it in from the butcher around the corner, and hence there I was standing in an old school butcher shop.
Picked up a Smoked Guinness Cheddar, and a spiced Truffle Salami.
A mildly smoked cheddar with swirls of dark Guinness, looking something like a fudge revel ice cream. A Chardonnay pairing must.
The salami was like a salty, sweet, fatty, meaty taste of heaven with a spicy kick that made my mouth do saliva cartwheels… tru-​dat!!! Along with my Meritage… knocked it out of the park.
Wine, hard breads, olive oil, with balsamic vinegar, makes life good… add nice cheeses, add tasty charcuterie and life becomes a ball!

I read someone on here talking about how good the pastrami is… are you kidding? It’s barely edible! I had one bite and tossed the $ 11 sandwich in the trash. The fat was so stringy, it was like eating raw bacon.
If Vancouverites think this is good, they need to get out more. This is a far cry compared to the pastrami you can get an average deli in NYC. An absolute joke!

This is the second time I’ve been to Big Lou’s for sandwiches.
The first time, I had the Bulgogi chicken. Definitely a yummy sandwich, and a nice change from the «norm», but the bread was really hard, and overall, something I would eat again, but not rush to do so.
I got a chance to try the Porchetta today (they were sold out the first time), and while the bread was quite nice, this time, it was the pork’s chance to be dry. Porchetta should never be dry! Not to mention that the chimichurri sauce, while tasty, was scant, and did nothing to help the lack of moisture in the sandwich.
Given how many great reviews the Porchetta sandwich has had, I was somewhat disappointed. I also feel like this is more like an $ 8 sandwich, as opposed to a $ 9.
My lunch mate had the Cubano, and the bite I had was enjoyable. He lamented that the «spicy mayo» wasn’t really so spicy.
The one horrible item on the menu was the Crispy Bacon Macaroni salad. The salad was a disproportionate amount of mayonnaise-​like sauce. The macaroni was literally swimming in it. It was truly inedible, and I rarely don’t eat something that I’ve paid for.
I wonder if Big Lou’s was just having an «off» day… I would give it another chance if in the neighbourhood and super hungry, but to be honest, I wouldn’t rush to get there again soon.

Yeah, it’s good.
The sandwiches themselves are pretty killer, however, there is very limited seating (around 6 stools, bar style) and the staff if pretty bleh. I get it, it’s main street. The service community is pretty angst-​y and postmodern. I’m just over it. No one wants to walk into a business and feel unwelcome.

This was good, but for the price ($ 9) of the sandwich it was nowhere «Meat and Bread» quality. 3.5 stars would do it justice. Got the roast beef and it was tasty but it seemed to be a lot of bread. Also, what’s with them not having free water?! Forcing you to buy a drink.
On a plus side, the actual butcher shop looked awesome. Cool décor too.

I discovered Big Lou’s a couple of weeks ago, just as I started a new job in Gastown. It’s a premium butchery with a sandwich counter up front. It says a lot about a place when it has its own unofficial evangelists, and my new colleagues certainly fit that bill.
«Try Big Lou’s,» they said. «You’ll find the best sandwich you’ve ever eaten.»
Big words. Big, bold, very audacious words. So I, a sandwich connoisseur, set off determined to prove them wrong. The best sandwich I’ve ever eaten? Yeah… we’ll see about that.
Well, they sure showed me. Big Lou’s makes the best sandwich I, or anyone I know, has ever had the good fortune to become addicted to. These subs are made with premium cuts, oven-​warmed, and finished with spicy mayos or aiolis, slaws or cilantro. Despite their size, every time I eat one I can feel my mind attempting to override my body and convince me to buy another. The Vietnamese banh-​mi is ridiculously, absurdly good; the Korean bulgogi not far behind. This is how carnivores should eat.
If you’re in the neighbourhood, or even if you’re not, try this place. It’s okay if you don’t believe — I didn’t. Big Lou will make a disciple out of you.
Good luck, sandwich hunters.

There’s nothing like a thick, meat-​filled sandwich with crusty bread.
I convinced a friend to trade half a sandwich with me so we can each try 2 different types. We ordered the Porchetta and the Chicago Style. The Porchetta was good, but I found it too fatty for me. I’m more of a lean meat person over the taste of the blubbery bits of the fatty pork belly. Now the Chicago style, that’s how I roll! Sausage (which is in-​house made), onions, mayo, peppers, pickles and celery salt, –all the good stuff!
Big Lou does not disappoint.

Looks like they had some good quality cuts of meat. However, I was here for their sandwiches and was looking for something a bit different than the porchetta sandwhich that I had at that other meat place…
Big Lou’s was it. My name is Lou and this was kinda fiting to be eating here.
Ordered the Porchetta and the Big Italian special of the day.
The Porchetta, you can read in the other reviews.
I liked it.
Very much.
The Big Italian was a Ciabatta bun stuffed with Italian meat loaf and Sunday gravy and it was very good. The bread wasn’t overly hard but still crusty. Not crunchy. Nice textures throughout and very well flavoured. Maybe a bit salty for me, but for many, I’m sure just perfect.
I also had the Porchetta Potato salad, but like the old lady from the 80’s Wendy’s commercials once said… Where’s the Beef? I mean Pork???
I couldn’t find a spec of Porchetta in it. So for that despite that it was decent, was quite dissapointed.
It was nice to see the old town again and later checked out Sunrise to reminisce about my father taking me there as a child.
** if you notice at the entrance of Big Lou’s. I’m really glad they left the tiling as it was. That piece of tiling on the entrance floor has alot of history in itself.

Favorite dish: The Turducken sandwich.
Big Lou’s is one of the many places that serve sandwiches by my office and the ones I have tried so far were delish! The Turducken sandwich is a selection of turkey, duck, and chicken with some herbs and a garlic mayo. They also have a remixed version of the classic Vietnamese sub and a wicked Roast Beef sandwich. I believe all their meats are prepared in house, you know since they’re a butcher and all, and their breads and condiments are all fresh.
The staff there are incredibly friendly, helpful, and provide great service.
The only thing that holds me back from eating here everyday is the price. A sandwich, although substantial in size, will set you back around $ 10 without any drinks or sides. Aside from that, I love coming here for lunch when i’m in the mood to splurge!

One word: Turducken
Yes, they have a turducken sandwich here — that’s turkey, duck, chicken and it’s delicious. I only wish they made it a turbaconducken instead, but THAT would just be overkill.
Loaded with cranberry orange jelly, garlic mayo and lots of chewy ciabatta bread. Makes a nice lunch to go — but it’s not a cheap sandwich, somewhere around $ 10.
I will definitely return for their butcher selections though — I was intrigued by their leg of lamb. They’ve also got Polderside chicken & duck here.