Vij’s

Vij’s serves indian infused fusion food. I’ve heard a lot of great things about this place and I thought it was time I try it.

Since I gave away my Blackberry to TaipeiGirl, she took me and TaiwaneseGirl out for dinner. I was super happy because well…Vij is quite pricey.

We just missed the first sitting at the restaurant and had to wait in the back of the restaurant near the bar. We were about the 3rd party waiting and we were told we would have to wait 1hr to 1.5 hrs. Since they do not take reservations, we just waited. It was probably one of the best waiting experiences I have ever had! Nice atmosphere and there were even chairs and tables to have a small conversation.

Before we knew it, the waiting area filled up. This was at least better than waiting outside in the cold. Vij knows how to treat their loyal customers.

As we were waiting, the waitress passed around some samples of different foods that they had. In total they had about 4 variations of samples. They had strange names so I don’t remember most of them. None of them were bad at all! We probably ate everything twice while we were waiting, but still we were happy.

After about 1 hour of waiting, a table cleared up. The lighting was really nice and not too dim. The lamps even add a little something something to the ambiance.

The menu was pretty text heavy…and as a graphic designer… they could have formatted the menu a bit better. They do have a variety of different appies and entrees.

Our water came with a refillable jug on the table. It looked pretty cool so I snapped a picture. It looks like it could be an artifact of some sort. Perhaps I am strange and like things that I would not see in everyday life.

We started with the Samosas ($13). They are filled with lamb and beef sauteed in fennel, cloves and sumac. It also came with naan bread. TaipeiGirl did not take a liking to it since she does not have a high tolerance for the taste of lamb. TaiwaneseGirl didn’t really like lamb but she tried it anyways. We both enjoyed it and the sauce went really well with the samosa.

TaiwaneseGirl ordered the grilled salmon ($28). It came with a coconut and green onion curry. We all came to a consensus that the salmon tasted a bit different that what we would like it to be. It tasted like grilled skin.  On the other hand, the Coconut and green onion curry was fantastic!

TaipeiGirl ordered the Braised Beef short ribs ($27). It is braised in yogurt, fenugreek and cumin curry. This was really good. The meat was really tender and most enjoyable!

I ordered the wine marinated lamb popsicles ($27)in fenugreek curry on turmeric and spinach potatoes. This is the most ordered item at Vij’s and you can’t go wrong with this dish…unless you hate lamb. The lamb is succulent and tender! I would eat this every single time if I could.

Our entrees came with Naan bread and rice to go with our curry sauces. We got full really fast due to all the naan. Naan is so good!

Overall we had a positive experience, but I think Vij’s was too hyped up from friends so we kinda had very high expectations for it. If you compare Vij’s to other indian cuisine places, you can tell Vij’s uses really fresh high quality ingredients.

Words of Wisdom:

• No reservations
• Long line ups, unless you go before 5:30pm to line up
• Lamb Popsicles and Beef Short Ribs are a must!!
• This is not your everyday Indian Fusion restaurant… expect to pay around $30 – $45

Website: http://www.vijsrestaurant.ca/

They are located at:

1480 W 11th Ave
Vancouver, BC