Saj&Co

Awesome, healthy eats and friendly staff.
I love the vegetarian items… Anton the Great and the Hummus is awesome. The bread is the best part, always served fresh and warm.
Only negative is that there is a lack of seating.

Love this place. Amazing tastes I have never experienced before. Really fresh and vegetarian, vegan friendly. Large portions you will want to share or save for later. Step out of your food comfort zone and step into this magical world of flavour nirvana.

The first thing you will notice is eye contact from the chef/​owner from behind his red glasses as you walk-​in and a warm greeting. My partner and I had such a cool experience on a Saturday afternoon sitting there listening to the owner chat up with regulars and look at the personal photos on the wall, while the chef makes personal orders with hip-​hop lightly playing in the background. For a second I thought was In New York. Or at a close friend’s home.
We tried the «animal lovers» section with two incredibly filling pita-​type sandwiches. The owner is very humorous and playful and takes his time with every order, usually making one at a time. We told him what we wanted, and he invited us to sit for a while and relax.
When it was ready he handed it straight to us from his cooking station piping hot and full of nutritious kale, cucumbers, olives, and a delicious herbal and sesame dressing. Our favorite parts was the buckwheat/​rye bread he makes in front of you and the rocking hummus that is generously spread on top. We ordered Anton the Great and the Super Food, both delectable and vegan.
I can only imagine we will be back very soon, maybe even tomorrow. It was that good!
A funny anecdote, a couple of new customers walked in, asking about the menu and the business. They curiously asked how long Saj’s had been opened. Without hesitation, the owner blurts, «25 Years.» Deadpan. The owner is like in his thirties and the restaurant is clearly in clean modern condition. After some chuckling he says with a smile, «Nah. Two years.»

There is only one place that I spend my time to enjoy life and food, and that is in Malek’s masterpiece known as Saj&Co. Every time I’m in Vancouver, this becomes my go to place for every meal. I can go on and on about the freshness, the taste, and the unique meals Malek makes, but more than anything, Malek puts his heart and passion in every meal. Special is only the word I can use to describe.

I stumbled into this foodie paradise on a recent trip to Vancouver. I needed to grab a quick lunch while my girlfriend was on set filming, and found this amazing gem.
Bite-​after-​mouthwatering-​bite filled me with absolute pleasure from the core. I ordered the first item from the animal eaters section. Fresh, healthy, nutritious, and just an absolute mouth-​plotion of flavor. How was this so affordable? Some of the finest Lebanese food I’ve ever had… and that comes from a hummus snob (my father is from the middle east, and I’ve been back extensively to visit family).
When I was finished, I smiled remembering this famous advertising slogan: «If It Doesn’t Get All Over the Place, It Doesn’t Belong in Your Face». In other words, bring some US-​sized napkins with you to wipe the Za’atar off the smile on your face.

So great. Amazing food and one of the nicest and generous owners in Downtown.
Rejoice of you’re a Vegan (or not) as so much of the menu is Vegan friendly (or can be made Vegan friendly) and is full of flavour. All of the various flavoured humus is handmade and bread fresh baked.
All of the Saj dishes are full of bold flavours and taste incredibly fresh and healthy. This is pretty no-​guilt food. I’m a big fan of the Anton the Great wrap (Zaatar paste, roasted kale, vegetables, olives, pomegranate molasses, mint and hummus). So great.
PS if the owner is there and feeling generous, you’ll leave half full from all the samples he feeds you!

I was in the area with my mom looking for a new place to have lunch. We found here on Unilocal after we actually got here from outside it looks like you don’t want to enter but as soon as I had my first bite, it was like tasting heaven in my mouth. it was awesome. Real deal. The owner is a very friendly guy. So please stop by and don’t pay attention to the look of the place from the street. I will definitely come back.

Based on the friendly customer service! Love this place, its not a place you can fit your company office party in by any means, but if you want an affordable and wonderful tasting healthy meal with a friend or alone, GO! Its great, best food discovery of 2015!

I echo the other Unilocal reviews that it’s hard to find healthy, affordable and delicious sandwiches in this city and here you can find all of that.
The décor is very bare-​bone and this place is much better as a take-​out option as it’s also very tiny and narrow.
The owner/​chef is very friendly and genuinely cares for your honest feedback. I tried the YummyHummy which was roast beef garnished with lots of vegetables, including grilled eggplants and hummus. The bread is also freshly baked which takes the sandwich to the next level. For dessert I tried the Halwa Special, a mix of Halwa with Nutella and lots of nuts all wrapped up in a freshly baked whole-​grain bread.
Overall, I’ve become a fan and will be back again to try more of this delicious goodness.

Complete attention to delivering a profoundly moving taste experience… the place I reward myself after a good workout at the gym!

You will likely wait for around 15 – 20 minutes, but it’ll be well worth it. As authentic and fresh as it gets. Plus great music and really nice staff. One of my favorite places in Vancouver.

Really friendly service and delicious, flavourful, and healthy dishes! Everything we ordered was nothing short of amazing. :)

I used to love this place and I’m sure the food is still good, but I wouldn’t know because now marks the 4^th time I’ve tried to go based on hours they claim they’re open only to be find out they’re closed or the chef wasn’t in. I’m sorry but if you’re running a business turning away a customer countless times just isn’t acceptable, no matter how good your product is.

Agree with other reviewers: food is very good, high quality, nutritious, and flavorful. Excellent value for the money, good portions at reasonable prices. Somewhat messy, but worth it!
The downside is definitely the speed of service, and the layout of the restaurant. The best option is to order ahead! Otherwise expect 20+ minute waits at lunchtime.
Overall though, on the quality of the food, price, portions, and rarity of the offering, this is an exceptional restaurant in downtown.
My advice to the owner would be simplifying the menu and streamline ordering in order to focus on a few excellent items rather than many options. This would decrease prep time, speed up ordering and service, and improve the customer experience by decreasing decision fatigue (especially while hungry!).

Utterly delicious and healthy food. Popped in for a late snack and it was so much fun to watch our food cooked for us. Ingredients were fresh tasty and I don’t have enough words for the hummus here.
Will be back soon

It used to be a Japanese sushi restaurant years ago and I’ve walked by this place numerous of times since then and I always thought it was a grocery type store. Boy was I wrong.
Came here for lunch today, knowing that the waits could be lengthy, I purposely came just before the lunch rush.
I ordered the Churkey which is the «premium cheese grated to melt over smoked turkey breast, pomegranate molasses, pickles, cucumbers, tomato, onions & our in house all made from scratch hummus».
It is made fresh and before your eyes and by the time you get it, handle with care because it is hot hot hot. All I can say it is friggin delicious of foodgasmic proportions. I don’t even know how else to describe it. All the ingredients are just that good. I’ve had the Cunningham in the past, and it too was a foodgasm. It does get a bit messy because how much hummus and everything else is packed into it. It tastes much better than it looks in my pic!
Only downside aside from getting your hands dirty is that if you come during peak times or even if there are a couple of orders ahead of you, be prepared to wait. I don’t think there was anyone ahead of me, but I still had to wait about 5 to 7 minutes. I have lost all my patience years ago, but 5 minutes for the food here is definitely well worth the wait.
Highly recommended. That is all.

So. upon return visits. the zatar is very good. order it without onion
BUT.the wait is just crazy. He says 20min. but I waited 40min. This is a regular occurrence. He makes everything to order. and I mean everything.
Go here if you have A LOT of time
Otherwise it’s just not worth the wait
My lebanese friend endorses this review

I’ve never had Lebanese food before so I didn’t really know what to expect. But, it was really good! My friends and I shared the Cunningham and the Tchurkey, and both were quite good. I liked the Cunningham more because of the roast beef, but the turkey one was good too. Both were a bit saltier than I would have liked, but they were good. I’ve never had anything like it before, and I can’t really describe in words what it tastes like. The Cunningham had this sauce that was really good… but I can’t really describe what it is. The food here is slightly expensive for the quantity though; the Cunningham was $ 10 and the Tchurkey was $ 8.50ish pre-​tax. But, definitely come try this place! Lebanese food is good. The owners are also really friendly, and they let a try free lentil soup. Yum!

The 5 star rating is for the fresh really well made sandwiches. Love the taste and variety.
Unlike most places I went to, the owner is actually in the store and is willing to customize your sandwich to your taste or unique requirements.

I came here with my colleagues today for lunch.
The shop isn’t very big but can still accommodate some in-​door dining. If you want to dine right outside there are chairs available. There were two guys running the shop: Malik who was in charge of the cooking and the other guy was in charge of order and payment.
The service was courteous and friendly. Malik even managed to introduce himself and ask how we liked the food while he prepared and cooked for other customers.
I ordered a Hummy Yummy (two slices of roast beef, aged cheddar, Dijon mustard, pickled cucumbers, fresh mint leaves, tomato, raw sesame, hummus) and one of my colleagues ordered Beefetta (Goat feta, roast beef, fresh mint leaves, raw sesame, pickled cucumbers, fresh mint leaves & hummus). We shared half of our order with each other and we both agreed the Yummy Tummy was better. It must be the goat cheese because I find the Beefetta a little too acidic for me. The Hummy Yummy was cheesy and not too salty. I think I would prefer more vegetables in mine.
There were 3 ladies ahead of us and 7 of us. I was the first one to order so I got mine probably 10 minutes later. By the time my last colleague got his, at least 40 minutes must have passed. There were only two cooking domes going simultaneously. We personally don’t mind the wait but for someone who is looking for grab and go may not find it the best option.
I notice jars of roasted red peppers, apricot and cherry jam. I wasn’t sure if they were for sale or for in-​store cooking only. I like the hummus; it was definitely one of the better versions I’ve tasted in town.