The Reef Runner

Had part of my lunch from The Reef Runner while at Make It! last Sunday.
We got 2 items, the Tobago Wrap and the Jerk Chicken Poutine. The wrap was delicious, filled with flavorful curry & chicken. The Poutine was alright. I personally found the gravy to be a tad too salty, but my friend loved it.
I’ll probably give some other items on their menu a try the next time I see them around!

The guys in the Reef Runner food truck were kind enough to make a vegetarian curry for me at the recent food cart fest. The rice was prepared well; each grain was chewy without getting smooshed to its fellow brethren. I would have preferred brown rice over white, but I appreciated the dish nonetheless. The curry was flavorful with just the right amount of heat. And it was packed with carrot, potato and other veg. It reminded me quite a bit of the curry I prepare at home.

I have been on the search for a good curry and roti since moving out to the west coast. My sister regularly sends me pictures of our favourite place back in Scarborough, Ontario, and my jealousy couldn’t take much more! Thankfully, I ran into the Reef Runner food truck at Buskerfest! Finally! I ordered the jerk chicken roti — the staff were friendly, they took credit cards (yes!!), and my food was ready in no time. I ate walking up and down the street, so though there was plenty of delicious curry sauce, it was easy to eat. The chicken had just a bit of kick, and was tasty with big chunks of chicken. The roti was hot and soft, I love this stuff! In my quest for west coast curry, while this doesn’t knock Roti Hut off the throne (really, what can?), it was a good choice, and I’d visit again.

So good! Just had the jerk chicken roti and it tasted fresh, flavorful and they whipped it up really fast. Loved it! Will definitely come back for more soon!

They were at the Make it Fair over the weekend. I think their homemade ginger ale is tasty, but was a bit disturbed that the guy poured in 20% of the cup’s volume of PC Ginger Ale to the homemade yellow mix, along with the ice. PC Ginger Ale? Come on. It was a 2L bottle too, completely open, with all the fizz gone. If you’re going to do this, at least use the good stuff like Canada Dry. Homemade ginger ale shouldn’t be using that stuff at all.

Being a huge fan of The Reef restaurant on Main street, we decided to hire The Reef Runner truck for an event that our company had down at Kitsilano Beach late May.
They were amazing. From a business perspective, I had a lot of communication with the owner, Simon Cotton leading up to the event, and even when at one point it looked as though we might not be moving forward with a food truck, and opt for catering instead, he offered his words of wisdom and industry contacts to help us find the perfect catering/​food for our event.
We ended up going for the Reef Runner food truck, and they catered for approx. 60 of our staff in record speed. The food, as the restaurant always is, was amazing. They were super quick, and the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful.
Also received great feedback from the staff, who were also super impressed. Loved it, and they made the event a breeze!
Thanks!

I love their Plantain chips. I’ve ordered these about 5 times this past month. Delicious.
Jerk poutine was just okay.

Great food, served quickly, by a genuinely nice staff. Great spot for a quick Caribbean lunch.

Great food, quick and friendly staff. What more could you want? I love the jerk chicken poutine and those little Johnny cakes are to die for!

Located a block away from my office and they have veggie options! Jackpot!
Before I gave up meat I used to get a Jamaican Patty every weekend. I love those things. I’ve been seriously missing them, and now I don’t have to cause the Reef Runner carries a veg version! And it was good. I was impressed! Pretty darn cheap at $ 4.00.
I also noted that they have a veggie Roti on offer so I shall be trying that next.
Oh and they serve those delicious Johnny Cakes out of the truck for $ 2! Lunch and Dessert!

The problem with food trucks in Vancouver is they charge a lot for very little. I got the $ 9 jerk chicken roti. It should have been called potato and curry roti. Sauce was alright but there was no jerk chicken in it. Lots of potato filler. It was pretty tiny meal for $ 9. I went elsewhere for a real lunch afterwards. I couldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Saw Roti offered on the menu so had to try it-​still miss the regular Roti I used eat here in my ‘hood, plus having visited Trinidad I know what good Roti is.
The Roti (wrap) itself was delicious if a tad inconsequential the filling was just large chunks of plain boiled potato with tiny smidgens of other veggies and very little flavour at all.
Paid around $ 7.50 and it was very poor value-can’t recommend it to anyone I’d ever want to speak to again.

After a 5k lunchtime run… what better place to run to than the Reef Runner? =(
As counterproductive as it seems, I have no regrets. The Reef Runner is the new food truck of the fine folks at The Reef Caribbean restaurants (with locations on Main Street and Commercial Drive).
I had the beef patty ($ 4) and a side of plaintain chips ($ 2.50). A pretty good deal for $ 6.50! The food was delicious — same great quality as their storefront locations (dare I say — the beef patty was even BETTER than the restaurant!). Service was a little slow but hey, that’s to be expected with a food truck!
Tip: Come early to avoid the lunch rush (and also avoid disappointment that they’ve run out of jerk poutine!). But this can be said of any food truck as well.
Next time, I will try the jerk poutine! And probably run twice as far.