Vij’s Restaurant

Expressly went to Vij’s during my trip to Vancouver. We arrived around 5:10p so the line was forming but not overly long. We, at the other location, were greeted with hot chai and various appetizers.
My friend Anne and I managed to narrow our selections down to a few after listing nearly every item on the menu as possible choices. My friend loved her Mutton kebobs with Bengali style curry. I adored Vij’s Monarch Butterfly, acorn squash with wood ear mushrooms braised in raw sugar and ghee. AMAZING! We shared Kalonji sautéed vegetables on coconut curried brown rice + black chickpea pilaf and the Lemon-​ghee marinated grilled chicken breast with roasted garlic and fenugreek seed-​lime leaf curry.

vij’s is known for the best indian chef in vancouver… after looking at Unilocal photos, I didn’t see the typical curry dishes and basmati rice so I was skeptical on how I would rate this place.
the wait was around 40 minutes but there was a lounge inside and a waiter was passing around appetizers which was a great idea! + we got to meet Vij himself!
We also realized that we entered his newer upscale location that featured an entirely new menu so I can’t say my review is for his other original restaurants.
we had 3 dishes that were all unique and I dont remember the names… so i will have to pull up the menu:
Vij’s Monarch Butterfly — raw sugar and ghee braised squash with wood ear mushrooms
Jackfruit in black cardamom and cumin curry
Mutton kebobs with Bengali style curry
Local pork belly with apple mint chutney (per spoon)
… after trying these dishes, I have to highly recommend this to all foodies out there. This took indian food to a greater level of exploring with spices, vegetables and sauces.
I also have to say the Naan was amazingly light but chewy and come with your meal!!!

Love this place. Have been here several times. The food and service are always excellent.

Since my review, the owner Vikram Vij has sent me several insulting and mean messages until I decided to block him. I took screen shots of his messages and posted them here, but they got taken down (I’m assuming he quickly contacted Unilocal to get them ALL taken down according to some of the other reviewers who had same issue). If anyone wants to see these please DM me as I took screenshots of them. I feel it’s important for customers to know who he really is — beneath all the smiley schmoozing — a true douche.

Definitely by far my favourite place in Vancouver for great food! I can’t say enough about this place. The atmosphere is incredibly charming and welcoming. A friend and I first came here several years ago on a whim because we heard that that is the favourite restaurant of my celebrity crush at the time, Jensen Ackles, as he lived and worked around the area. And we are so happy we heard about it from him, because now I considerate it a must when I’m in Vancouver.
As we are stereotypical Westerns who automatically would order butter chicken from an Indian restaurant, I was very happy that they didn’t have the common Indian foods on the menu as they are Indian-​Fusion. Asking recommendations from the waitress, she suggested the Lamb Popsicles and the Sablefish. And let me tell you, we. were. blown. AWAY. The lamb popsicles are INCREDIBLE and this is coming from somebody who doesn’t even like lamb. There isn’t a single person that I have brought here who said they felt the same thing.
While the individual dishes are close to $ 30 each, they are pretty large portions and I think can be shared between two people if you’re on a budget, but still want to experience it. Also, it comes with free & unlimited naan bread and rice, so I honestly don’t think it’s that bad of a deal.
As this place is incredibly popular and busy, the wait times can be 2.5hrs during dinner time. They have a great lounge where you can have a drink and chat with servers coming around frequently with small appetizers (which are equally as delicious).
I still have the habit to scan the place for Jensen though.

What a night!!! This place is fantastic! It’s not just about the food and wine (which by the way is impeccable), but the overall atmosphere and service. A full 5 star experience. If you have a chance to dine here… DO IT.
Highlights:
They serve free amuse bouches in the lounge while you wait for your table in the main room.
The wine list is to die for. My favorite was The «Antonelli» and we later had a couple of reserved bottles not on the list, recommended by a sommelier (WOW, I wish I remembered their names).
Chef Vikram had a Barbershop Quartet sing to us as a special Valentines Day surprise and he later greeted us at our table!!! I was blown away. You can feel his good energy. He shook all of our hands and spoke to us for a good 5 minutes.
The entire Staff was on point.
BELOW ARE THE DISHES THAT WE ORDERED AND LOVED:
Khoa paranta with tangy tomato-​onion chutney
Eggplant in thick yogurt and garlic curry
Garam masala sautéed portobello mushrooms in porcini cream curry
Punjabi Heart Attack! spicy cashews, paneer + ghee
Grilled vegetables on semolina nooddles, lentil pilaf with Kalonji curry
Vegetable koftas in creamy tomato curry with green beans
Wine marinated lamb popsicles in fenugreek cream curry on turmeric and spinach potatoes
We also had basket, after basket of freshly fired Naan.
My story:
I was taken here on Valentine’s Day as a surprise, not knowing it was Vikram Vij’s. I was ecstatic because I have heard of him, but live in California and never thought I would have the chance to try his seemingly delectable food. My mouth is still watering a week later after our experience! Thank you Chef Vikram!

I had the pleasure to visit Vij at their new location. Top notch service, the food was great and on par with their reputation. We had a great time.

The new space is way cool. It’s got a late mid mod vibe, paired with beautiful triangular glass panels. The food is the same as the old place, and very, very good. If you like his food, get the cookbooks. The recipes are pretty doable if you’re a decent cook. Also, grab some goodies to take home from their other spot, Rangoli.

I have been wanting to go to this place for a while and was not disappointed. Great food and service. The lamp pops are amazing.

If you’re looking for authentic, this is not the place. I had the lamb and pork tenderloin in a curry and both were absolutely amazing. I wish it was a little bit more authentic curry. The curry is a little Bland. Prices here are very high and the service is ok. The curly haired woman working as hostess is just kinda rude. Actually very rude. Our server was also not that helpful. When my friend asked her what she recommends and what she thinks is best. She looked at her with a blank face and was uninterested in helping her. You would think after waiting for 70 minutes and paying so much money, service would be amazing, but nope. Not this place.

The food here is amazing, really an experience, especially as someone who’s Indian and is used to Indian restaurants not really measuring up. The customer service is great, there is a wait, but you’ll be served little apps and can order drinks while waiting. The space is warm and welcoming, and the wait is so worth it. We got the lamb popsicles, eggplant with the fried onion, and other dishes, everything was fantastic.

What can I say about Vij… That you don’t already know… I have so much respect and love for Vij! Some may say it’s to a point of obsession but that’s only their opinion. Our dining experience at this new Vij’s was excellent. I live near there so I’ve always wondered, for years, about how this place would look. So J and I had to go check it out.
This space is effing amazing. We walked in and put our name down and the host took us to the waiting area where we were presented with some hor d’oeuvres and ordered ginger sodas. We didn’t wait too long to get seated at our table. The dining area gave a very warm vibe. I loved the intimate feel it provided. We ordered about 4 dishes. Local pork belly with apple mint chutney, Salad trio, Beef shortribs in cinnamon and red wine curry, and Eggplant in thick yogurt and garlic curry. I loved them all!!! During dinner Vij made his rounds and asked how the food was and all I could say was, «everything is so good I want to give you a hug». He said you can and gave me a hug! His hug was even perfect!
After dinner as we walked out he thanked us and I said oh thank you for opening this place in my neighbourhood and gave him a big big hug. What a wonderful dining experience! J and I will go back! Yes yes!

This is not the typical authentic Indian restaurant, but a upscale food-​gasmic fusion kitchen.
My girlfriend and I dined while on our visit to Vancouver. We ordered lamb popsicles and mango based curry. Took a bite of them, and my head exploded with a new taste sensation.
Staff is very friendly, but busy as well. Food samples were always brought around while we waited for our table.
Great place for a special date/​dinner. Be informed that you won’t find much authentic Indian food in their menu.

This is a favourite of ours for special occasions. Every time I have been here it was a great experience worth every dollar. I am not sure what all the reviews are about long waits and lineups… Have I seen the line up there? Yes. Have I ever waited in one there? No. We drive out from the Fraser Valley and get there early. No wait, no line, no problem, ever. If lineups are an issue for you, just arrive about 20 minutes prior to opening, and don’t arrive at 7pm on a weekend.
The lamb popsicles are a classic, but lately I have been venturing on to other menu items as I have learned to mimic the lamb dish at home quite well.
The last time we were there, the goat blew me away.
Can’t say enough about the dining experience. Vikram was there every time, and makes a great effort to see every table and chat a bit. I am interested to see how often he will be around now that he is on so many Food Network shows and expanded his business ventures…
If you want true authentic indian food, (I’d say go to Surrey, but there are no good authentic indian restaurants in Surrey that I have found yet) it is not quite here… if you want the true authentic flavours of India cooked with classic French methods, with an amazing experience, go to Vij’s. Very proud to have Vij’s in our nearby city.

Yes the wait is long, but waiting is part of the experience. The waiting area is made to hang out in with friends, tasting free appys and having a few inventive cocktails. The service is incredible. Once you get to the table, I suggest sharing a few meals with others in your party. Food is fantastic. I highly suggest experiencing Vijs.

White-​man Indian food. For the longest time I couldn’t figure out the hype of this place and all these 5-​star ratings. The wait at the ‘bar’ can be the reason behind these glowing reviews. There is nothing authentic about this place. Sure their lamb Popsicles are great, but definitely not waiting an hour for. Metro Vancouver is filled with authentic ethnic restaurants for a fraction of the price. Want real Indian food? Go to Surrey, there’s one on every block or Kona Tandoori in Richmond — it’s quality authentic real Indian food.
And everyone who has lived in the area knows this place is HAUNTED! I know because I’ve felt it! Ever wondered why no businesses ever do well in this space? Bet the spirit was PISSED when you guys started knocking down walls, hammering away and disturbing their peace. Perhaps that was why it took so long to open…

I’ve had tap water that was less bland than this! In a recent Globe & Mail interview, famous Chef Vikram Vij says «I’m sick of Indian food» … and it certainly shows! I’m sick of his food too! You know how sometimes something is just so very bad that it comes back full circle and ends up being so good? This is not that. Good taste is diametrically opposed to Vij’s. This is not Indian whatsoever. A good Indian resto may or may not cater to non-​vegetarian patrons but in any case it full well needs needs needs to have excellent vegetarian items. «Ahimsa» is the Sanskrit term for the ancient philosophy of non-​violence. And goddamn if my tastebuds and sensibilities weren’t assaulted and offended. As a racially ambiguous and post-​race individual with a mixed ethnocultural heritage; half Indo-​Guyanese-​Canadian and half Québécois-​French-​Canadian … and having had Indian food in (to name a few places) my Indian grandmother’s kitchen in Montréal, restos in Montréal, Boston, NYC, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Bangkok, Tokyo, Greenville S.C., London, Amsterdam and all around Northern India for like six weeks and having cooked Indian food for myself, my friends and my family since I was like fourteen years old … I think I can definitively proclaim that this is not Indian cuisine whatsoever. It is more like pretentious pseudo haute cuisine à la française; a type of failed fusion involving some stale spices, bland lifeless portions and little effort. It might walk like a duck, it might talk like a duck but it’s a chicken. Well, my fine feathered friends, the case with Vij’s is exactly the opposite of anything delicious. While the toilet is spotlessly clean and the wine glasses are nice and the ambiance is okay but kinda loud … the food is meh. Vij’s is beyond the hype. The hype waited two hours for a seat, finally got a table, chewed this place up, took some strong antacids and subsequently had violent gastroenteritis. I wholeheartedly affirm that Vij’s probably at one point had a soul and was indeed a «real boy» … but that was once upon a time … that was before it sold its soul (and its ability to make good food) in a Faustian stroke of treachery in exchange for some paltry C-​list notoriety. I’m sure the food was good when there was a place on Broadway but the hype burned it all to the ground. The hype killed it dead. The hype killed everything good about this place. Frankly, I’m embarrassed on behalf of Vij’s, on behalf of Vancouver and on behalf of Canada and the CBC. There is such good, damned good, Indian cuisine in Vancouver. Isn’t Vij’s supposed to be one of the best Indian restos in the entire world? Nope, no Michelin stars here. Vij’s just brings a knife to a gunfight. It brings a puerile scratch and an infantile pull of the hair, you know … like a bottle rocket, to an all out Cold War style ICBM arms race. Seriously. This would be a total travesty if we didn’t have the ghost of Christmas future to deal with. That ghost of Christmas future … she wasn’t a ghost, she was actually real; you never knew her name but she did make your iPhone when she was five years old … with her small hands and big suffering in a Chinese sweatshop. Enough suffering; Indian food is supposed to envelop you in a sensuously warming glow of perfectly balanced flavour. It is ancient, nuanced, inclusive and scrumptious. It is the true and tested culinary science of spice. Indian food leaves you satiated and fulfilled. Vij’s on the other hand … gives you heartburn. Heartburn! Go to any five dollar Indian hole-​in-​the-​wall in Vancouver and you’ll have a delicious, filling and oh so wonderful meal … without heartburn. But at Vij’s you’ll spend 250 $ and it doesn’t matter what you order … you’ll be served a ghastly and flavourless concoction of oiliness. There is a dearth of choice with the vegetarian options. The only thing worth eating here is the free amuse-​bouche that they serve while you wait for two hours … also the chai and mango lassi as well as their highballs are good. I love cardamom in any form. So, the food was meh. Please, please, just go elsewhere. Go to Chutney Villa on Broadway and Main or Annapurna on 4^th Avenue or House of Dosas on Kingsway or Saravana Bhavana in the Toronto area or Thanjai in Montréal. Anybody that has the gall to wait in line for this food whilst exercising common sense and acknowledging the multitude masses of humanity the world over for whom poverty and malnourishment are simply second nature… are yellow bellied posers with the intestinal fortitude of lily-​livered chicken shits. Instead of standing in line here … volunteer at your local InSite, take a stand and protest against institutional inaction concerning murdered and missing First Nations women in the Downtown Eastside and across Canada, build a home or bring clean drinking water to the Attawapiskat First Nation, go to Darfur and build a well or try to raise awareness about the global pandemic of violence against women. Namaste!

Vij’s is the most pretentious, un-​authentic Indian food I’ve ever eaten. Over priced and tasteless. This place has often been touted as a more «refined version of real Indian food». If he had any understanding of flavours in general he would know that a cuisine that’s been masterfully crafted for 1000s of years does not need the kind of refinement that someone with a limited understanding of food can singlehandedly give. But granting that he is refining it that should imply that the food would be perfectly cooked with harmonious flavours which is not the case at all — I’ve had powdery, burning chilli powder in my biriyani and rubbery over-​cooked shrimp. I’ve had infinitely better cooked food in roadside inns for 50 cents.
Real gourmet Indian food is found in every major city in India where everything is prettily presented, is delicious and perfectly cooked. It can be called refined in the English sense. And it is permissible because it only enhances the flavours and presentation of the real cuisine instead of watering it down and killing its roots and its soul.
In comparison this place is crude. There’s no real refinement of presentation or taste. A real stain on Vancouver’s otherwise great culinary scene.
Update: It’s a little disturbing when a business owner sends you personal insults 6 messages in a row over the span of a week. No replies to any of his messages at first pushed him into sending me sexist and racist personal remarks which I posted below.
Update 2: So the pictures I posted of the business owner harassing me with racist and sexist remarks have been taken down. In my personal opinion these unwanted private messages absolutely reflect upon on a business’s practises. If anybody is interested in seeing these please contact me privately. Again this is my opinion but I believe that it is every customers right to see the true nature of a business they are endorsing.

Vij’s is the most pretentious, un-​authentic Indian food I’ve ever eaten. Over priced and tasteless. Completely white-​washing his work, Vij likes to say he’s «refined real Indian food». If he had any understanding of flavours in general he would know that a cuisine that’s been masterfully crafted for 1000s of years does not need the kind of refinement that someone with a limited understanding of food can singlehandedly give. But granting that he is refining it that should imply that the food would be perfectly cooked with harmonious flavours which is not the case at all — I’ve had powdery, burning chilli powder in my biriyani and rubbery over-​cooked shrimp. I’ve had infinitely better cooked food in roadside inns for 50 cents.
Real gourmet Indian food is found in every major city in India where everything is prettily presented, is delicious and perfectly cooked. It can be called refined in the English sense. And it is permissible because it only enhances the flavours and presentation of the real cuisine instead of watering it down and killing its roots and its soul.
In comparison this place is crude. There’s no real refinement of presentation or taste. A real stain on Vancouver’s otherwise great culinary scene.

Wow! What an experience! I must say I have never had this much fun waiting for a table before. The wait was lengthy but I felt very welcomed and taken care of. The owner and staff frequently circled around the waiting area with tasty appetizers and the fun atmosphere was a great start to an excellent evening. I really enjoyed how everything was all on one tab and that the servers all worked as a team. It did lead to a minor miscommunication about whether or not we needed more naan and rice with dinner, but it was due to their attentiveness, not a lack thereof.
Our meals were EXCELLENT. My partner loved the lamb popsicles and he usually hates the gamey taste of lamb. Not the case here! He ordered the goat, which was also tasty, and we split the mutton appetizer to start. The flavors were complex and the portion sizes were just right. Not to mention the drinks were delicious and had just the right style elements. A dark and stormy with garam masala? Don’t mind if I do. Twice.
Definitely get there early, we arrived 10 minutes after opening and didn’t get sat until 1.5 hours later.
We were on a day trip to Vancouver and we are so glad we made this dinner a priority.

Came all the way from LA, heard about this amazing restaurant from watching «No Reservations.» We waited an hour and a half and didn’t even notice. We had a few beers and appetizers were passed around as we waited. The staff made sure we were comfortable and got to personally meet the owner.
When we were finally at our table, we were greeted by our server who went over the menu and the specials. Food came fast and didn’t let a single thing go to waste.
I truly felt like I was eating somewhere special and recommend this spot to anyone who lives in Vancouver or is visiting. Want to say thank you to the owner and staff. Will be back next time I’m in town!

Worth the 45min wait. Food was excellent. All the servers were very attentive and the owner was welcoming and made sure he met and talked to all the customers. Will definitely come back again but wouldn’t want to wait more than 15min next time.

Great service, great food and what puts it over the top is the owner’s attentiveness to all the diners. Advice… Get there early! The line forms fast and the wait is long, but definitely worth the wait!