save on meats

the vancouver food scene is so diverse. take a look at the gastown neighbourhood for example. there are bars that serve $30 cocktails, sushi, italian, mexican restaurants all within a stone throw from each other. and on east hastings, a street that has the distinction of being canada’s poorest postal code, you’ll truly find gastown’s gamble: the newly revitalized save-on meats diner. the diner and butcher shop have been part of this neighbourhood for like it seems forever. owner mark brand (the brains behind such gems as monster sushi and boneta) has managed to keep the authentic feel of the place. vintage signs painted by local artists suggest to us that it’s time to order a banana split and that the coffee is fresh. a large bar it’s the centre piece of the restaurant. the prices are ridiculous. $6 for a bacon cheeseburger and fries? sign me up! most entrees start at less than $10. the children’s menu start at $4. now some people are expecting gourmet fare. folks, this is a diner. and

over hyped. ordered the club sandwich. advertised that the sandwich comes with avocado but it does not, it's an avocado mayo. the chicken had no flavour although not dry. service is not horrible but not great.

my wife saw this place on tv and told me i’d love it. she was so right. the food is fantastic, staff are a lot of fun to interact with, and after lunch we went into the meat shop in the next room and bought some stuffed chicken breasts for dinner.

great food, unappetizing atmosphere. went to save on meats diner for the first time for dinner. the server and food were fantastic. however i won't be going back due to a few customers walking around with no shirt and big belly's flopping around, spraying ketchup on the bar out of the bottles, and worst of all, sucking the ketchup out of the bottle into their mouths. worst of all i used one of these ketchup bottles. unfortunately the staff didn't do anything about this.

during my previous visit, i had also ordered this: the bbq ribs ($12) .  i wanted to try the infamous turkey pot pie or the burger, but i wasn't actually that hungry and that seemed kinda filling.  better go with more meat, i figured.  served with a warm biscuit, i chose the mashed potatoes to accompany it.  compared to my last visit in november, i felt the bbq sauce this time

surprising amount of food for vegetarians. i have tried the veggie burger, which i personally thought was horrible, it was like the texture if refried beans but slightly solid on the outside. i heard idly her people say it's good, so i might try it again sometime.
i also have tried the vegetarian chilli, which was actually pretty good! it was a bit dry but it tasted good. the biscuit i got with it was pretty good too.
i have also tried their liquor milkshakes, i got the vanilla with baileys and done sort of minty booze, i can't remember which. it was a new take in drinks and i really liked it!
it wouldn't be my first choice to go here, but at least i have a couple satisfying things i can eat.

fantastic. the food at save on meats is always fantastic. i can't give up ordering my usual reuben and my boyfriend is stuck on the burger. better than the the food, is the story. i love the atmosphere because the servers are not only there to serve but also because giving back to the community is part of save on's mandate. josh, the manager, is always friendly, enthusiastic and makes a genuine effort to remember customers. when you go, make sure you stop in on the butcher side too, their prices can't be beat and the product is excellent!

great food, great spirit. i make a point of going to eat here as it's out of my neighbourhood. i've spent my life shopping downtown and am thrilled to be able to get really good quality food at a great price!

bottom line: let's get the good points out of the way first. the chicken was spot on, great seasoning, awesome crunch. the gravy was delicious, super savoury. here comes the bad part, what is up with the waffles? is this corn bread? you serving corn bread waffles? that's bat shit crazy if it's corn bread cause it was so dense. i had a couple omg am i going to choke moments. i've had their other dishes before and no complaints but the waffles, dammit, could have been epic.

finally i made my way to save-on-meats. i been wanting to try this place out for the longest time now. seeing that we had an event planned nearby, we decided to give save-on-meats a try!

low price, high quality burgers. probably the burger isn't the best burger in town, but for the price you pay ($6.95), you can't find a better deal!! the portions are ample and the ingredients are always fresh. this might be due to the fact that they have their own butcher! anyways, if it's your first time there, try the "burger" with poutine (extra $ or two for substituting fries with poutine)

ask anybody who was born or raised in vancouver for a good diner and som will definitely come up. this place is a classic, and used to be very popular in the past for their build your own burgers and milkshakes. it is in a sketchy neighborhood, but i decided to head down there for old times sake. 

it definitely is not the same as i recall it being. the burgers were delicious, huge and reasonably priced, which made the whole trip worth it. not only did we wait 10 mins to get our menus, but your staff would just not attend us. there were not that many customers in the shop which made it impossible for them not to see us.

we went to this place for dinner and it was a very good decision to choose this place. the food was amazing and the staff was very professional in their conduct

so about thirty years ago, i discovered save on meats on east hastings street. it was a butcher shop where i could get rabbit and lamb shanks and other things and at reasonable prices. so the occasional trip to vancouver for ingredients came to include a stop under the neon pig! in the last few years, save on meats has been home to a diner, with socially conscious management who are active in the local community, even handing out tokens redeemable for a breakfast sandwich to those in need. prices are reasonable for the stated purpose of being accessible to the local residents. the folks here could not be friendlier and we were soon seated in a comfortable booth and enjoying the artwork and vibe. it didn't take us long to decide and order. chicken and waffles! this came with a wonderful meaty gravy and syrup and the chicken was nicely tender and moist. marie and i were split on the crunchy coating. i found it a little dry and was not a fan but she munched down every bit. the waffles themselves tended to be a little heavy. that's the thing about gravy and syrup though, they tend to cover other weaknesses. we also had a burger with cheese and bacon. this was a basic winner with a tasty pickle and a nice no nonsense bun. served with a generous side of in house made "haystack fries" which were a good delivery system for any remaining gravy or ketchup! not sure what the best way is go get them into your mouth though. someone suggested chopsticks! we recommend this place for its food and its service to the community!

we drove by this place ever now and then. finally we stopped and gave this place a try. not the best neighborhood if you are by yourself imo.
food was good although one order should have been onion rings. the beer was not good.
overall okay and worth a try.