the cannibal cafe

my wife saw this location on tv and we decided to go out and try it. i considered their largest burger but decided i wasn’t hungry enough to finish it and went with a double baconcheeseburger. the greeter/server was a friendly and knowledgeable person and gave excellent recommendations regarding their menu. the food was great and i really enjoyed their fries. the only mark against was the individual manning the cooking station was observed by my wife handling raw meat and instead of washing his hands he simply wiped his hands on his towel and continue handling other food.

have you ever wanted to enjoy a burger with a side of punk rock? if so; this is the place for you. located on commercial drive, this restaurant is literally named after a song by the punk band snfu. it was also featured on you gotta eat here! in season 5.

the vibe is a whole ton of fun and the edginess of the restaurant adds so much to the entire experience. the servers are all very friendly and covered in piercings and tattoos. my favourite thing are the hundreds of vancouver gig posters wallpapering every inch of the walls. i found myself reading as many of them as i could see! i visited on a saturday evening and our accommodating server seated us near the back of the restaurant (a perfect area to take in the scene of the whole place).

i'd heard that their shakes were pretty good, so i started there. their boozy shakes sounded especially fun! i picked the black forest shake (chocolate ice cream, milk, fudge, 2oz cherry bourbon, topped with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle - $11.95) because i was obviously there on serious business. this is a great item to order if you want to have dessert before dinner and you also want for there to be booze involved. this was a pretty good milkshake and it captured the elements of a black forest cake quite well. creamy, sweet, with a hit of bourbon. (but i have to say, the best boozy shake out there is still the legendary shake at save on meats.)

cannibal takes a lot of pride in their beef - which is a desirable thing to see in a burger-centric joint. their beef is certified organic from bc, so it doesn't get more fresh and local than that. of course i was going to order one of the cannibal specialty burgers and it had to be the big blue (bluecheesestuffed patty, a crispy onion ring, more blue cheese, horseradish chive mayo, l.t.o.p​ - $14.95). i also ordered hand-cut fries ($2.95) on the side. as a lover of blue cheese, this burger seemed like a majorly obvious choice. this burg was solid. i liked the patty because it tasted very fresh and was very clearly homemade. i especially liked that there was still a hint of pink inside and that it hadn't been cooked into oblivion. i did, however, find the patty to be a little bit dense and i couldn't really find the bluecheeseinside. luckily, the bluecheeseon top was much more prevalent and added the funk that i craved. the onion ring was perfectly battered and fried, it added a great crunch. i liked the bun because it was buttery and had a nice bite to it. the pickle was delicious. this burger was very messy!!!

the fries were good! they were cooked to a perfect golden and the seasoning on them was delicious.

maybe not the best burger that i've had in my entire life, but definitely a very decent one made with good ingredients.

the overall experience at cannibal café was a good one. it's a really cool restaurant with a fun atmosphere. the prices seemed a little bit high (especially with no sides being included with the burgers) and the food could've been a little bit more exciting. they serve a weekend bunch that i will certainly return to try.

this is a casual joint on the drive that's best known for serving up gourmet burgers. i went there for my birthday as they give you a complimentary american classic burger (if you have your id with you) with the purchase of either a drink or a side. i decided to get a side of onion rings to go with my burger as well as an oreo milkshake. the burger was quite tasty; the onion rings and the milkshake were fantastic. while i got a good deal since the burger came free, i do find their regular prices to be a tad pricy: most of their burgers are currently going to $13-15 without any sides. in terms of service, the waitress i had was very friendly; however, i do feel that they appear to be somewhat understaffed: there was only one person in the kitchen when i went, and some of the tables did take a while to receive their food. all in all, i did quite like this place, and i think it's definitely worth checking out for some classic american fast food.
american classic burger (free on birthday, normally $10.95):
3.5/5
this consisted of two 3oz patties, american cheese, ketchup, mustard, mayo and l.t.o.p. (lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle). this was a simple, basic burger that was done quite well. i normally don't like beef patties, which can often be dry, but here the beef was actually reasonably moist and juicy. the bun was toasted, and crispy around the edges while soft and fluffy in the interior. thecheeseand condiments provided great flavour. although the burger was not very large, it was quite tall and i actually couldn't fit it into my mouth (insert dirty joke here): i had to remove some of the vegetables in order to eat the burger.

onion rings (side, $4.95):
4.5/5
i loved these. the batter on the onion rings looked thick, but was incredibly light and crispy, and stayed crispy even when they cooled. it was served with a side of chipotle mayo, which was creamy and had a nice bit of spice. i was a bit disappointed with the portion: there were only 6 onion rings present.

oreo milkshake ($7.95):
4/5
i have to admit, i have to admit that i was a bit disappointed the milkshake didn't contain any crushed cookie bits. it was still very tasty however, with a great chocolate and vanilla flavour. it was quite thick, and you have to wait to allow it to melt a bit before being able to suck it through the straw.

update: december 2017
i came in for my free birthday burger. i love a free meal!

i had a last minute errand around the area. i was told there was another cannibal cafe location around this area. i had such a great experience last time down town that i had a craving to try it again, and thankfully it's consistent. the service is excellent here and very friendly. their burgers are juicy and delicious. i had a fantastic fast meal. i'd love to come again and i recommend others to try it.

my favorite is the big bluecheeseburger. it has the crispy onion ring in it. management did a great job here. all the servers are so friendly and professional. i love this location

pretty decent burgers - but the real winner here is the taco salad. omg if you like taco salads do yourself a favour and go here. my husband enjoys the carnival burger (it's pretty enormous!) and i like the bluecheeseburger. the sides are all good except the macaroni which is just terrible.

i got drunk and ate some food. i went in on a friday after work for a beer (or two). my husband ended up stopping in so we ordered some food.
i got the bluecheeseburger.
it was good. the patty was cooked the way i asked. the bun was fresh. the toppings were plentiful.
my only complaint is that the burger is thin and tall so it's a bit hard to eat without the butter and grease dripping down your elbows.

my husband got the junior classic. he said the flavour was good and the size was good too. he also got a strawberry milkshake. it was yummy, thick and made with good classic ingredients.

we both got a side of fries and they were ok. most of the fries are in little bits so you need to use a fork to eat them with gravy (the gravy was average).

overall we were happy with out meal and will definitely return.

i don't know if the dine out vancouver menu is reflective of the restaurant's usual food, but i found most of the offerings incredibly bland. the poutine was salty and thecheesenot melt, the mushroom burger had no kick. whatever promised aoili was just a plain old mayo. the donut sundae saw the donut cut in half and fried again. no cinnamon/sugar or glaze either so it was savoury with the ice cream.
having seen the prices on the regular menu in addition to the mediocre food, i will not be back. i will add that the service was decent and efficient. but at a restaurant that's not really enough.

i used to love coming here, the build your own burger was a great deal and everything always tasted great. service was always a bit of an issue but the long waits were usually worth it.

this past weekend i went here for lunch with some friends, immediately i noticed the burgers were now served a la carte(they used to come with a basket of fries & salad). i ordered the bluecheeseburger (about $15 with tax), it arrived cold after about half an hour (the restaurant had about 4 other tables with customers at the time so this was pretty ridiculous). on top of the long wait and bad service our server also completely forgot my friends milkshake.

it's sad to see a restaurant completely change up their format and i can confidently say i won't be coming back for a $18-$20 burger and fries anytime soon.

what gives? you used to be cool cannibal cafe.

finally!!. first time at cannibal cafe yesterday and i really enjoyed myself. our server was super friendly and informative. the music was amazing and brought me back to my teens. the chocolate milkshake was creamy and delicious. the beer selection was nicely put together. the burgers were large and tasty. i had the bluecheeseand my lady friend went for the veggie burger. it was her second favourite of all time only to the truffle pigs' beet burger in field, bc.

welcome to commercial drive guys. i'm very glad you exist.

looking forward to my next visit!. this was one of the best burgers i have ever had. incredibly fresh, great flavour and they have a small but good craft beer selection. my wife had the kimchi burger and we were both surprised at how tasty it was. i had the bluecheeseand man, they did not skimp on the cheese! fabulous. we're going again very soon.