opened in 1957, save on meats is one of those legendary institutions, a gem of a place that resides in the middle of a big city. found on the edge of gastown and not exactly on a “great” part of hastings, the location turned out to be an endearing part of this diner that only caused me to like it more. i heard about this place by seeing it in enroute magazine’s dining guide 2016. bold consensus?: i think that we can all agree that the best burger in all of the land can be found at in-n-out burger and i have to say, the excellent burger at save on meats may actually be the next best thing. there! i said it!!!
we visited on a saturday evening and it would be amiss of me not to mention that this place is located a mere block away from where hastings gets “bad.” because of the sketchy neighbourhood, i could see that some potential customers might be scared away. don’t let this stop you. the area is more harmless than it looks and the way that som embraces their downtown eastside location and their community is actually quite beautiful. you’ll know that you’ve found them when you see their glorious neon lights! that rotate!
they started off as a butcher shopbackin the heyday of hastings when the street was vancouver’s main shopping and entertainment district (a bygone era) and then expanded to include a diner later on. the restaurant itself is actually quite large, a long and narrow space with a soaring ceiling. one side of the room features exposed brick and booth seating, along with hip and interesting art on the wall. on the other side, a very long counter dotted by chairs. it feels old and fresh at the same time, and surprisingly not all that divey. yes, there are needle disposal units in the bathrooms, but this is just one example of how this place is embracing where they are. again, don’t let it frighten you.
we were told to sit wherever we wanted, settled into a booth, and were immediately helped by the incredible staff. why incredible? i give these guys a ton of credit for the jobs that they do. not only are they serving amazing food, but they are also pouring free coffee for less fortunate customers and are engaging them in conversations. they know who these people are and are treating them with dignity. we can all learn a little something from this.
i had heard that their milkshakes were very good and was quickly drawn to the adult milkshake section where i could get something called the legendary shake (wild turkey bourbon, bacon, milk, chocolate ice cream, topped with whipped cream and more bacon! - $9.45). with a name like that, how could i not try it? yup, the shake sounds crazy! but it looked amazing. it tasted even better! chocolatey and delicious, i could taste the alcohol but it wasn’t too much. the best part was the bacon! this bacon was extra good, so salty and crispy, smokey and flavourful. i find that you can’t get bacon this good in the grocery store - it’s gotta come from a butcher or a farmers’ market. this thing is big enough to share between two people. super fun!
the food menu includes various sandwiches and even all-day breakfast... but the “thing” is the burger. that’s what they’re famous for. the spicy chicken sandwich was totally speaking my language, but it had to be the burger. so i went with the save on burger (since 1957 save on meats has hand ground local beef for the best and freshest burger in town. today, our cache creek burgers come straight from our butcher shop and are topped with american cheese, crisp butter lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles on a brioche bun topped with s.o.m. sauce - $8.95) which is served with your choice of haystack fries, salad or coleslaw. the food came out lightening fast and looked great. i subbed real cheddar ($0.95) on mine and now that i know how good their bacon is, i will add that as well next time. i ordered my burger with haystack fries and asked for coleslaw on the side. the server suggested that they could simply do half fries and half coleslaw, which i happily accepted. the fries were the best!! i love a shoestring style fry and these ones were fried perfectly and tasted crispy and delicious. maybe the best fries that i’ve had in vancouver, actually. i found the coleslaw less good and too chunky for my taste. it seemed like a pile of big cabbage with not very much dressing or flavour.
but the burger. let’s talk about this most wonderful burger. i’m not even a burger person! i rarely order hamburgers and almost always order something else, given the choice. but this burger is special. every part of it is excellent. the beef tastes ultra fresh and it’s not cooked to a char. the mark of a good quality, real, housemade beef patty is one that can be served medium rare. i almost jumped with joy when i saw the hint of pink after taking a bite. the bun is also incredible. a buttery brioche that is perfectly squashy in exactly the best way. every vegetable was crisp, bright and fresh. the pickle was delicious. and their special sauce made all the difference and tasted amazing. this burger was literally perfect in every way and every day that you let go by without trying it is unfortunate.
the prices are exceedingly reasonable at som. plus they have a conscious. they offer a token program where for $3.50 you can purchase a token that you can then give to someone in need. or the restaurant will do it for you if you prefer. this will buy that person a sandwich. since 2012 they have served up over 88,000 delicious meals to residents of this neighbourhood. the entire initiative is extremely heartwarming.
save on meats is trying to make things better instead of worse. in my opinion they’re doing amazing work. but aside from that, they are serving amazing food and the best damn hamburger in vancouver! which is why you absolutely need to try them.