Oooh, so delicious! And such a gorgeous setting, as well! IDK much about Afghan / fusion cuisine, but after two visits, I'm hooked! This is a very accessible menu, and the tastes are so rewarding, you'll be back, for sure!
Alanna P.
The LAMB IS AMAZING. I like that you can try different chai before committing to your flavour. If you don't get the feast you are wasting your time. I get that staff are hard to find right now, but a little more consistency with service would be nice (hence not 5 stars.)
Sunny S.
The first thing that hit me when I walked in was how dark it was. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of the dark, although it was really elegant. The food smelled pretty great, and the staff was friendly. The performer was really talented, although I didn't stay too long. I really dislike how gloomy it seemed in there, and more than half of the people in there were really odd. The wait time was really long, and the food was slightly overpriced. But I guess that's what most fancy restaurants are like.
KatharinaS
Great ambience and live music. We had the tasting/all you can eat dinner and they were so Delicious. It was fun to be able to try various different food items. Fun to eat. Enjoyable. Definitely would come back again. Service was excellent - all the staff were very polite and pleasant. The only thing was if they had more staff on a Saturday night dinner time would be great especially the menu involves topping up the all you can eat items. Excellent restaurant.
It's always a weird experience going to this restaurant, and I don't think I'll be going back. The staff are aloof and act bewildered when you ask for something as simple as a knife. Poorly and sadly disappointed.
Vivienne
East is East is a great restaurant choice if you are looking for a unique dining experience in Vancouver. The service was lovely and the atmosphere of the restaurant was quite charming. The tasting menu is a good price and I love that you can choose from so many different options (perfect for indecisive diners like me!) I have been here a few times already and will come here again!
MarkK
The atmosphere is nice food is great if you order the sample meal you can order as much as you like .. good way to try everything ! A little pricey I thought 43.00 and I feel it should include a chai tea and dessert for the price .. but I would definitely go back!
LouiseM
The room is warm and inviting. I've only been here for dinner twice but each night the live music was so nice! Great musicians. We were very near the stage yet we could still talk easily at our table. The menu is inventive, in that you can order almost every dish on the menu for a set price. The servings are small so you can try nearly everything. My only complaint is the miserably hard benches with no backs! We traded off through our meal so we could each rest our butts and our backs. Cushions for the benches - please. :)
SanjayMR
It is interesting - for such a busy restaurant, they still charge $4 per person for the entertainment. The customers did not request the entertainment - that is brought in by the restaurant, and as such, the restaurant should be paying for that. The restaurant is handcuffing the patrons to pay for this entertainment, even when the customer didn't request it. This does not sit well with me. It is not new to the restaurant, as it has been something that the restaurant has been doing for a while, but we didn't remember that it was a requirement to add on the $4 charge per person for the entertainment when making the booking. We were reminded on the phone before the scheduled booking time, but it's too late to change locations for dinner. Don't get me wrong - the food is EXCELLENT, and the entertainment was of good calibre! But just like at any other restaurant, the prices of all the food items have gone up quite a bit, and the food portions have gone down quite a bit. When you tack on a forced gratuity for the entertainment, it gets problematic. The entertainment adds ambiance, but it also makes the restaurant quite noisy with all the patrons.
Tanvir
The overall experience was great. However there was an additional cost for the booking on a special day and we were not aware of it until we received a call from the restaurant. The ambience was great but knowing upfront would be helpful in the future.
Service staff were very attentive and knew the menu. The soft music: cello then piano was soothing and beautiful. My second time there and loved the ambience and food. So much flavour, felt like there was a party in my mouth from start to finish. First time at this location for my mom and sister and they loved it.
Khelim C
Since I rarely eat Afghan food, I don't know whether it is a traditional dish or not, but the food quality is quite good, and the decoration of the restaurant is very exotic and unique, and it feels very comfortable. The place is clean and the waiters are very polite
VinayP
All three of us ordered the Silk Route feast and it was fantastic and delicious. Every single dish was flavourful with just the right amount of spices. Especially the wild salmon - the best salmon I've ever had. And the dessert (easter ecstasy) was so good - with the combination of cake from the gulab, and the ice cream/rice pudding. The perfect way to end the feast! Also, don't forget to try the soy chai!
RachelleC
really cool experience. the vibe is awesome and we loved the live music. We did the Silk Route Feast which is essentially a thali style dining experience. You can try small portions of as many items as you'd like for $43 ++.We were greeted right away with delicious chai and brought to our table which was decorated with Persian rugs and pillows and live edge furniture. A violinist came and played right beside our table as we sat and perused the menu. Very beautiful aesthetic and thoughtful design. I will say though that the food was just OK. There are lots of places in Vancouver for authentic Irani, Indian and Afghani food and though none of them have quite nailed the vibe like East is East has, you can definitely find better quality food elsewhere if you know your stuff. I will say East is East is a great introduction to Irani, Indian and Afghani food. If you're not familiar with these types of cuisine its a great way to dip your toes in.
Arnie
I enjoy the uniqueness of this restaurant, and the staff are super! Meeting us at the entrance with a hot chai drink was special! But I did feel the $25 per person cover charge was steep, since we were seated where we couldn't even see the players, and they quit playing shortly after we got there.
Oooh, so delicious! And such a gorgeous setting, as well! IDK much about Afghan / fusion cuisine, but after two visits, I'm hooked! This is a very accessible menu, and the tastes are so rewarding, you'll be back, for sure!
The LAMB IS AMAZING. I like that you can try different chai before committing to your flavour. If you don't get the feast you are wasting your time. I get that staff are hard to find right now, but a little more consistency with service would be nice (hence not 5 stars.)
The first thing that hit me when I walked in was how dark it was. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of the dark, although it was really elegant. The food smelled pretty great, and the staff was friendly. The performer was really talented, although I didn't stay too long. I really dislike how gloomy it seemed in there, and more than half of the people in there were really odd. The wait time was really long, and the food was slightly overpriced. But I guess that's what most fancy restaurants are like.
Great ambience and live music. We had the tasting/all you can eat dinner and they were so Delicious. It was fun to be able to try various different food items. Fun to eat. Enjoyable. Definitely would come back again. Service was excellent - all the staff were very polite and pleasant. The only thing was if they had more staff on a Saturday night dinner time would be great especially the menu involves topping up the all you can eat items. Excellent restaurant.
It's always a weird experience going to this restaurant, and I don't think I'll be going back. The staff are aloof and act bewildered when you ask for something as simple as a knife. Poorly and sadly disappointed.
East is East is a great restaurant choice if you are looking for a unique dining experience in Vancouver. The service was lovely and the atmosphere of the restaurant was quite charming. The tasting menu is a good price and I love that you can choose from so many different options (perfect for indecisive diners like me!) I have been here a few times already and will come here again!
The atmosphere is nice food is great if you order the sample meal you can order as much as you like .. good way to try everything ! A little pricey I thought 43.00 and I feel it should include a chai tea and dessert for the price .. but I would definitely go back!
The room is warm and inviting. I've only been here for dinner twice but each night the live music was so nice! Great musicians. We were very near the stage yet we could still talk easily at our table. The menu is inventive, in that you can order almost every dish on the menu for a set price. The servings are small so you can try nearly everything. My only complaint is the miserably hard benches with no backs! We traded off through our meal so we could each rest our butts and our backs. Cushions for the benches - please. :)
It is interesting - for such a busy restaurant, they still charge $4 per person for the entertainment. The customers did not request the entertainment - that is brought in by the restaurant, and as such, the restaurant should be paying for that. The restaurant is handcuffing the patrons to pay for this entertainment, even when the customer didn't request it. This does not sit well with me. It is not new to the restaurant, as it has been something that the restaurant has been doing for a while, but we didn't remember that it was a requirement to add on the $4 charge per person for the entertainment when making the booking. We were reminded on the phone before the scheduled booking time, but it's too late to change locations for dinner. Don't get me wrong - the food is EXCELLENT, and the entertainment was of good calibre! But just like at any other restaurant, the prices of all the food items have gone up quite a bit, and the food portions have gone down quite a bit. When you tack on a forced gratuity for the entertainment, it gets problematic. The entertainment adds ambiance, but it also makes the restaurant quite noisy with all the patrons.
The overall experience was great. However there was an additional cost for the booking on a special day and we were not aware of it until we received a call from the restaurant. The ambience was great but knowing upfront would be helpful in the future.
Restaurantji Recommends
Service staff were very attentive and knew the menu. The soft music: cello then piano was soothing and beautiful. My second time there and loved the ambience and food. So much flavour, felt like there was a party in my mouth from start to finish. First time at this location for my mom and sister and they loved it.
Since I rarely eat Afghan food, I don't know whether it is a traditional dish or not, but the food quality is quite good, and the decoration of the restaurant is very exotic and unique, and it feels very comfortable. The place is clean and the waiters are very polite
All three of us ordered the Silk Route feast and it was fantastic and delicious. Every single dish was flavourful with just the right amount of spices. Especially the wild salmon - the best salmon I've ever had. And the dessert (easter ecstasy) was so good - with the combination of cake from the gulab, and the ice cream/rice pudding. The perfect way to end the feast! Also, don't forget to try the soy chai!
really cool experience. the vibe is awesome and we loved the live music. We did the Silk Route Feast which is essentially a thali style dining experience. You can try small portions of as many items as you'd like for $43 ++.We were greeted right away with delicious chai and brought to our table which was decorated with Persian rugs and pillows and live edge furniture. A violinist came and played right beside our table as we sat and perused the menu. Very beautiful aesthetic and thoughtful design. I will say though that the food was just OK. There are lots of places in Vancouver for authentic Irani, Indian and Afghani food and though none of them have quite nailed the vibe like East is East has, you can definitely find better quality food elsewhere if you know your stuff. I will say East is East is a great introduction to Irani, Indian and Afghani food. If you're not familiar with these types of cuisine its a great way to dip your toes in.
I enjoy the uniqueness of this restaurant, and the staff are super! Meeting us at the entrance with a hot chai drink was special! But I did feel the $25 per person cover charge was steep, since we were seated where we couldn't even see the players, and they quit playing shortly after we got there.