Review Simba's Grill Ltd - Vancouver

What an experience. This place was amazing. My girlfriends and I have never eaten East African food before and I came across this place from a post on IG and decided to check it out. Boy did it NOT disappoint. We ordered a few dishes from the menu and they all tasted great and fresh out the kitchen. Bring on the Muhogo and african bread, so yummy! The staff and owner are all very friendly and personable and checked on our table quite often even on what seemed to be a busy night. We definitely felt at home and enjoyed the ambience hence we were there for a couple hours. 😜 This is a must try place in my books. I will definitely be back. Thanks Simba's Grill for a wonderful first time experience!

Went to Simba's Grill for the first time with some friends. It's a beautiful restaurant and quite spacious. The food was delicious! We ordered the Machicha with Lamb (generous portion of lamb too), Chicken Surwa, basmati rice, naan and muhogo. I tried Tusker Beer which was light and refreshing. Their Mango Cheesecake is amazing! I'm definitely going back.

Ordered Muchuzi (the curry) and Mishkaki. I don’t normally go for goat when it comes to meat selection, but their goat is absolutely delicious and so soft! Their naan bread is really great to be eaten with the curry along with the condiments. Besides, the owner was so friendly and gave us complimentary naan bread knowing that it was our first time trying African food. Definitely highly recommended!

I’ve had take-out multiple times from Simba’s, but this was my first time eating in. I must say it did not disappoint! I brought my grandmother who grew up in Kenya, and we had a truly wonderful and authentic dinner experience here. To start we had the Muhogo, and I highly recommend it —especially if you've never tried cassava fries. As for the main meal, we had the Mchaguzi wa Chef. It was a spectacular spread of grilled meats that easily filled a table of four. The meats were soft and the sauces provided wonderful flavor and heat. The spinach curry and naan bread were also very comforting and a perfect accompaniment to the meats. We enjoyed the food so much that we ordered more food to go! As the owner suggested, the Mbinda and Jungle Prawns traveled well and even reheated the shrimp were tender and packed with flavor. Like the food, the atmosphere of the restaurant was delightful. All of the servers, and particularly the owner, were incredibly welcoming and contributed to an amazing experience. If you're ever in the area or looking to have some delicious East African cuisine I definitely recommend this place!

Wow this place was amazing! Everything was so delicious with huge servings. The African bread was soooo good! Everything from appetizers to desert was delectable. The staff are lovely as well. I highly recommend this place!

Excellent food. Love their lamb chops! The owner Simba is friendly and remember recurring customers (like us) the food preference. Excellent service!

After reading all the great reviews and paying $100 I was expecting great feast and flavors. Chicken was ok.Meat skewers were a bit salty and ribs chewy. Dipping sauces very watery. The most disappointing part was the salad. Mangoes were green and I didn't get any dressing. Attached is a picture of the "salad".

Great meal. Came here before the dinner rush (nice open space) and got the goat muchuzi with a side of ugali. Tasted delicious. Goat was very tender and the spice options were plentiful (they make their own hot sauces on the side with plenty of kick). Plus with the bill they give you those thin mint chocolates— damn I love those things. Really rate this place. Give it a try.

Anyway, Simba’s Grill serve East African dishes (the owner is from Kenya). As it was our first time trying this cuisine, we were very excited!Kuku choma: I ordered the BBQ chicken breast, which came with saffron rice. It was so delicious! The chicken was juicy and flavoured with many spices and herbs. There was a very generous portion too. In addition, the saffron rice was fluffy and fragrant. The portion was HUGE!

I haven’t returned in years, it is nice to see that the restaurant continues to serve consistently well made dishes.<br/><br/>On this occasion, we ordered the 3 beef kebab on skewers and the halibut curry special. Both dishes were sizeable but most importantly both were nicely prepared. Flavours were on point and they provided a number of great selection of sauces and chutneys to accompany the our dishes. A sweeter blueberry, slightly spicy mango, tamarind, coconut for the halibut curry and also a hot sauce.<br/><br/>The service was quick and hospitable, the owner came around to check in to see how we were enjoying our food and suggested we tried the coconut to accompany the halibut curry, nice addition.<br/><br/>We will definitely be back but won’t wait for years before we do so.

A taste of Africa that hits the spot!<br/><br/>Truly a unique place for aromatic dishes. <br/><br/>We stopped by on a Friday night, no need for any reservations as they welcome walk ins. <br/>The smell of the food going to surrounding tables stimulates the senses in preparation of what to expect.<br/><br/>We ordered the chef’s special which was served on a huge platter with grilled chicken tenders, 2 beef skewers, 2 lamb skinless sausages, 2 fried fish, spinach curry & sides including saffron rice, salad & freshly grilled naan. <br/><br/>The spinach curry was delicious & not what you expect. It’s not covered in sauce but rather sautéed in a curry. Cooked very well & goes extremely well with the naan. <br/>Another highlight was the crispy fried fish. Packed full of flavour, like a sweet & salty taste. <br/><br/>My recommendations- spinach curry with naan & fried fish. Will definitely be back to taste more of the menu!

My favorite kebab in all of Vancouver! I love everything about this place, the food, the atmosphere, the service. The owner is there regularly and he knows his returning customers - always accommodating and kind (and cracks the occasional joke here and there). I highly recommend the lamb kebabs here, although the kuku choma is also excellent for those who prefer chicken. I'm not the biggest fan of African curries as they are runny but the flavor is still there. I recommend accompanying your meal with their rich chai and finishing off with the equally amazing mango cheesecake.

Consistently good food, throughout the menu. I was simply blown away by the perfection reflected in each of the dishes. If you've never been to an East African restaurant, this is a great place to start!

Simba's Grill is an East African restaurant. The "African" part has a lot of mystique to it since most African restaurants are basically Ethiopian. Unfortunately, there is a very strong Indian influence to East African cuisine, so it's really hard or impossible to separate comparing them. Going in, try NOT to compare them -- you are not truly going for Indian food, so drop those expectations. If you really want Indian food, just go to an Indian restaurant.

I absolutely love Simba's!  They call it an outlet because it used to have another location but I believe the one in the West End is the only one.  It is a Vancouver legend.  Any friend, family member, or work colleague I have ever taken there has loved it, and continued to talk about it later (e.g. when are we going back to Simba's?).  The interior is decorated and the staff use wonderfully colourful uniforms.  It's very clean and well maintained, and the owner is so friendly.  The best however, of course, is the food.  A fusion of coastal east African tastes (Indian and African) with the best being the chicken sirwa.  Large portions, affordable, freshly made, and with fantastic condiments and side dishes (rice, bread).  Go once and it will become one of your favourite restaurants.

Grayson and I have been walking by Simba’s Grill for a good 2 years now. Every time we went down to English Bay we would think to ourselves “we should go here sometime” but we had never gotten around to it until now!. And I’m glad we finally did because goodness it was a delicious experience!

The food is rather unique i'll say, never had much of south african food. These pictures are the ones from the edmonds location that is closed down now, wasn't able to find the newer pictures.<br/><br/>The food tasted okay for most part, although the portion is a little bit more dissapointing for me. so then, i'll say that the food is decent, and the portion is small for me. the desert is good though i'll say. overall it's a unique first try, however i didn't really appreciate the taste of the food for most part.<br/><br/>Overall i won't recommend the place :(

Simba's Grill will feed you. <br/><br/>Large portion sizes at reasonable prices makes Simba's Grill a great choice for a meal. The service was friendly and was more than happy to offer menu suggestions. <br/><br/>We had the lamb kababs and Simba's Chicken and both was very tasty. The chutneys that comes with the meal matches great with the meat. The sides are kind of boring though.

Delicious, flavourful African fusion food at Simba's Grill on the West End in Vancouver! Came here for a #SABNMEETUP with fellow South Asian bloggers. The service was a great blend of attentive, but not annoying. I especially liked the fried cassava and trying the Vimto sparkling juice drink! There are plenty of vegetarian and vegan options here.

East aferican. When you walk inside, you will see Simba himself. Simba is a man of beauty. He has a heart of gold. The food is the best. It is 5 stars out of 5 stars. It is heaven. The best and only African restaurant any where in the world with buisnise first class 100 star service. Simbas Grill is the best East African food any where in the world. It me alts in your mouth. Simbas Grill think fresh, eat fresh. Be prepared to pig out, stuff yourself until you are full. Eat like a true Simba. Simbas Grill, come hungry leave happy full energetic satisfied.. The food is better than the best and better and higher than excellent. You will not find anything better than this and so delicious, tasty healthy and yummy. It will make you feel and be fresh. It is worth the try.

Off my list of places to try and a big no!. Nothing good about this place. Food was not fresh they hadn't even bothered heat it up properly.

We had their food yesterday, the rise was amazing yet the beef and chicken were too salty. Less Salt plz.

Possibly worst place to dine out! Sat down for 10 mins and no menus were brought out. 5 people working yet everyone was occupied doing other things at a slow pace. This one waitress kept walking back to fix a table setting & ignored us. We had to take our own menu. Finally got the male owner's attention and were asking for menu suggestions. His demeanor was very unwelcoming. We wanted to start with appies - he refused until the whole table was ordering their entrees and walked away. We then ordered & got our food and he messed up our order (he raised his voice denying & insisting we ordered it) After barely eating our food, we asked for our bill and again ignored for 10 mins. Went up to the till & the 2 waitresses still ignored us both trying to ring one till. I was not impressed with this place. Sorry to say but Burger King & McDonalds has way better service! $65 for 3 plates, unefficient and unwelcoming service is definitely a NO GO!!

Non stop deleicious fusion that makes sense!. I went to Simba's Grill with a group of co-workers. Very reasonable prices. The food just kept coming. One of the crowd favorites was the spinach dish. We loved it all. Really great service too.

Amazing!. We were a party of 12 - went to Simba's Grill downtown for dinner. We had an amazing time. Everything from the food and ambience, to the music and the staff was just right! We will definitely be back again!

Amazing. I can't say enough how wonderful this place is. The food is a unique blend of African and South Asian. The service makes you feel like you are at the home of a treasured friend. Try the Surwa, you'll never look at butter chicken the same way again...

Very good African fusion that draws heavily from Indian influences. Some unique, interesting spice blends I've never quite experienced before. We shared a creamy curry prawn dish and a spinach/chicken dish, both very good. Nice atmosphere, friendly service.

Incredible. Food was soooooo good and so was the service. I can't wait to go back.

Great in every way. The curried fish dish is delicate and flavourful. A delightful Sunday lunch location.

Best in town vancouver has only 3 good (halal) restaurants <br/>simbas grill, green lettuce and afghan chopan.

As usual food, service and quality was outstanding. Great location and very warm owners. Cant wait for my next date to simba's again.

Incredible!. I first heard about this amazing restaurant when an acquaintance of mine, a long time Westender, mentioned how unbelievable Simba's french fries are (deep fried cassava root called muhogo). This person's restaurant suggestions never disappoint, so we decided to check the place out (we even brought another couple along to join us). We were welcomed and served by the restaurant owner, a warm and funny man who helped us navigate some of the unfamiliar items on the menu. He suggested an African beer, Tusk, that was nice and light and came in a pint sized bottle. It was simply delicious! He also suggested that we order a few dishes and share them so that we could try a few different flavors... we had beautiful prawns served with rice over top, the lamb kabobs (my fav), the chicken curry and a goat and spinach dish - and of course we started with a few of the cassava root french fries! Naan bread, and an amazing assortment of chutneys and hot sauces are served with all of their dishes, and we enjoyed mixing them together to create different tastes and levels of spice. We all agreed that the meal was to die for, and like none other we had ever had before. We have returned a few times since then, and are always met by the owner (who remembers us and thanks us for our business), and have never been disappointed. You must try this place!!

Surprise. Found by accident. Excellent service and well balanced menu. Tasty grilled meats and the curry is awesome. A great surprise find in Vancouver.

Our third time here in 3 years, and once again, an outstanding dining experience. You can get a little jaded with going out a lot, but Simba's offers a truly unique menu, with food that literally explodes with flavor, and not because the chef had dumped a truckload of salt in it either; every dish we've had is a masterful blend of spices, curries and herbs that us truly unique. Plus, it's cheap. We just had a full dinner, including two glasses of wine each, for under 75 bucks, plus the staff and atmosphere are wonderful.

Service was great, food not so much.... Saw some bad reviews regarding the service, but when I went recently it was pretty great. Our waters were refilled constantly and the owner was very friendly and welcoming. Unfortunately, we were a little let down by the food. The beef kebabs were very salty; I had to drink a lot of water with every bite I had. The chicken coconut curry was also salty, but paired with the side of rice that we ordered it was tolerable. However, the chicken pieces were quite tender and I did enjoy the cassava root fries with the kebabs. Their blandness helped balance out the sodium overload. For the prices ($15-20 per dinner entree before taxes and extra for rice or naan), I think I might venture elsewhere.

Impressed. I had read a few negative reviews of this place but my wife & I decided to go anyway with a friend. All 3 of us were very impressed with the food & the service!! it was way more than we expected. <br/>My wife had a bite from my plate of the goat dish I had. she enjoyed it so she mentioned that she liked it to the owner & that she had never had goat before. he came back to the table a little while later, he returned to the table with a goat & rice dish for her at no charge. it was great tasting as well as we were VERY impressed with that. a little thing like that went a long way. we would & do recommend that anyone curious to try African cuisine, this would be an excellent place to try. <br/>highly recommend it!!

Very rude owner. I was at this restaurant a couple of days ago with some friends celebrating our birthdays. Some people were 10 minutes late. The owner repeatedly came up and asked us if he can take away an extra table when half of the restaurant was still empty. When we asked for suggestions, he was very abrupt and impatient. We were about half way done our meal when he started asking us when we'll be leaving. This continued until we left perhaps 40 minutes later. This was extremely rude, especially coming from the owner. The food itself was OK, but the service made the experience horrible.

Great lunch. Simba's was recommended at our B&B and we had lunch after a walk around Lost Lagoon. Apparently they are just now open for lunch Thursday thru Sunday. We were seated immediately at the window. Service was great, very friendly and willing to answer questions. The food was slowed by the rice not being ready so the owner comped us some very tasty fried cassava root. Watch out for the hot sauce. Loved the coconut condiment. My curry chicken was succulent. My wife had the salmon special and was quite pleased. Overall a delightful lunch. A little pricey for us at $30 but we're on vacation so it was well worth it.

Simbas food is outrageously good. After your first visit it will make you salivate every time you think about it afterwards.

Love it. Lots of character. Decor could use a refresh, but considerate service, and delicious food. Try the special yucca fries, and I recommend the Jungle Prawns. Superb!

An absolute gem!!. Not only is the food absolutely outstanding at this fantastic, and very unique place, but the service is incredible. Kurshid Khan is one of the most warm, welcoming, generous, and fantastic manager hosts of any restaurant in Vancouver. <br/><br/>My first experience here was really great - he recommended dishes and offered amazing homemade special sauces after we received our dishes.<br/><br/>My last experience was amazing - it was my birthday and my friend had told him it was and I was allergic to chocolate. He ordered a cake for me and had my name written on the cake (all at no cost to us), and when he saw that they'd put chocolate in it, he brought us out an extra piece of their divine mango cheesecake on the house.<br/><br/>He even told some friends of mine not to order so much food (who turns down business?!!) because the dishes were big - he decided not to become greedy (like so many other restaurant owners) and rip us off by letting us order too much. He definitely cares about what sort of experience you have.<br/><br/>I can't recommend this place highly enough. I even created this account just so I can review it!! Thank you to Simba's on Denman - you definitely won over all 10 of us...you've got customers for life!!

Cozy little restaurant, and the owner greets you at the door. We were seated immediately but found the seating arrangement not very spacious. Ordered the Machicha Masala and the chicken surwa and it was delicious. The food was very flavorful. The naan and rice will cost you extra, but it's good too. Service wasn't the best, but with the amount of staff, I didn't expect stellar service. Food was served in a an appropriate amount of time and my water glass was filled a couple of rounds. The price is average with the price ranging $20 for an entree. Too bad they charge extra for naan and bread. Overall experience: thumb's up.

Nice change of pace. I tried this place on a whim one night after walking by and seeing the newspaper reviews posted in the restaurant window. It was good but I don't think I would go back. It is a very small restaurant and the servers did not seem to know much about the menu. When I asked for a recommendation between the 3 curries they couldn't give me much info beyond what the menu description already said.<br/><br/>Other reviewers said ithe food was really spicy but I didn't find it overly so. We ordered the lamb kebabs and the spinach & chicken curry and naan. The kebabs were underseasoned and quite bland, although the rice portion it comes with is huge! The spinach curry was a large serving with a nice balance of chicken and spinach. Delicious, but a little on the oily side. The naan was heavy, thick and not impressive. <br/><br/>The menu also has ostrich and goat if you want to try something different. There is also a coupon for BOGO up to $13 off in the Entertainment Book.

Bad Service. The food is really good, however the service is horrible and as this is a really important aspect of the overall restaurant experience for me, I wouldn't recommend it. The owner is quite rude and clearly doesn't appreciate his customers. I have spoken to many others who have shared this similar bad service experience. Not worth going back when there are so many other good restaurants in Vancouver with good food and good service.

Mixed review...but would go again just to try something else on the menu.. Have walked by SG many times, but finally walked in one night. Didn't know what to expect, but wanted to try something new. Found the kebab unexpectedly good! Had the lamb. Quite big chunks and tasty, but the salad and potato was quite rationed. Little surprising as the entree was 18. <br/>Found the ambiance ok. The facilities were quite cramped. It was quite dark as we were seated near the back and then we get the glare of the kitchen lighting. The staff, who couldn't speak English very well, were quite friendly. The staff member who could speak English was quite standoff-ish and not very warm. <br/>Would go back, if I was in the area already, to try something else on the menu.

An excellent find! If you like food less spicy make sure you specify. Seating is limited & we didn't make a reservation so it was a bit of a wait to be seated. Fast service. Great food! Highly recommended!

Satisfies the craving for ribs and mogo. Good sized portions and great array of chutney's. The mogo was less crispy than hoped. Ribs were significantly fattier than those you can get from similar Calgary joints, but there was minimal bones which was a nice change. The mango shake was thick and delicious, and the chocomint is a nice finish when paying the bill.

Very spicy! But worth trying at least once.. This place was a pleasant surprise. Although the food is VERY spicy, and may be too much for some, it is a great blend of Indian and East African fusion. The meats were outrageous: great lamb, chicken and beef. Try it if you are adventuresome!

Hakuna Matata!. Kursheed doesn't smile but he makes magic in his kitchen so that the food comes ready to please your palate. Don't be overwhelmed by his presence. He's a big teddy bear. Don't expect the five star treatment either, but do enjoy the incredible dishes that are enjoyed from Kampala to Dar to Nairobi to Zanzibar. The Ugali, Mogo, Kuku Choma, and of course beef ribs are fabulous. Don't forget to ask for the special mango hot sauce. I love this place!

Went in a group of eight. We let the owner choose the menu for us. Some in our group were unsure if they would like the lamb or goat, but everyone was at least ok with it. I quite like the goat curry , the lamb and spinach dish was also a favorite, the lamb skewer was not so popular but I enjoyed it. The fried cassava root was an inferior version of French fries, as the appetizer it was all eaten but not with much enthusiasm.

We had the chef's special for two and were pleased. The food was quite good, the portions significant and good value. The owner is an imposing figure but was nothing but friendly to us. The service was fine. Some of the dishes were very similar to Indian but as it was very tasty it didn't matter to us. I'd definitely go back.

The chicken was wonderfully seasoned — a little spicy, a little salty, a lot good. It went really well with the tamarind sauce that was brought to our table with the order. There was also raw coconut and yogurt served alongside the tamarind, all of which could be dipped in any way you want.

Occasionally or more like shamelessly three to sometimes every day of the week, I spend a couple of hours looking for a restaurant to go to for dinner. I start with searching restaurants based on convenience and change the location if none of the eateries interest me. Sometimes I get those "good" days where I find a couple of places and think, "I HAVE to go there" while other times it is more like, "hmm looks okay" and settle. With that said, Simba's Grill has been on my list of interest for quite some time because I always notice the restaurant when passing by. So when I finally decided to look up some comments on Urbanspoon and Yelp, Simba's Grill seemed like a must visit to me. Okay, honest to truth, I was obsessed for the whole day about going to Simba's Grill and had bad cravings to come here. Since there are not many photos of the dishes online, I even resorted to searching through Instagram and looking for their geotag just to find more photos! From what I remember reading, the owner is very friendly and welcoming especially towards first time visitors. I am big on supporting family businesses but at the same, only those who I believe deserve to be successful. By "deserve", all I really mean is for the owners to show they care about their clientele. To further simply put it, owners that do not act miserable. When we walked in on a raining evening with dripping umbrellas, a friendly waitress provided us with a seat by the door when the restaurant was not busy. We asked if it was possible for a different seat, one not so close to the door, and she was happy to oblige. The waitress gave us the option of seating anywhere and we asked if a four person table is okay because we tend to order a lot. This is when the owner stood up from his seat, pointed towards a table in a corner and said, "no!". There is no exaggeration with the exclamation mark. At this time, BF wanted to leave because of the rudeness from the owner but I begged him to stay because I literally spe

The next time I am in Vancouver, I will most definitely go to this restaurant again as I really enjoyed it. I am just sorrowful that I do not live in the neighborhood so I could go there every week!

I fully embraced the house-made Mango Hot Sauce ! Super spicy with a subtle sweetness. I mixed this fiery sauce with the curry that we ordered, which toned down its heat, yet totally elevated the curry’s flavour. The red hot sauce beside the mango was too tangy for me. We weren’t quite sure as to which curry to order, so the owner recommended Simba’s mo

As mentioned in my previous post, this Thursday was Dine Out for Life, an annual event where participating restaurants donate 25% of their proceeds to A Loving Spoonful/Friends for Life, two agencies that help people living with HIV/Aids. I had a dinner date with an old friend that I hadn't seen in a long time planned for this week, so we booked it for Thursday and after perusing the list of participating restaurants, I called and made reservations at Simba's, an African fusion restaurant on Denman. Things got off to a good start when the sous chef and I scored free street parking a block away- Boo Ya! It's definitely not always easy to get that in the busy West End. I was pretty pumped walking into this restaurant- we were welcomed warmly by Kurshid Khan, the owner/manager of this family restaurant and shown to our table. It's a cozy restaurant and it was about half full when we arrived. The walls are covered in african masks and paintings of african animals, the menus are leather wit

dre @ Robson & Denman: I met up with Eric and Becky for dinner and we decided to go to Simba's Grill, only because in the span of the 3 days that I was in Vancouver so far, 3 different people had suggested that place, so when I suggested it, they were game! I had no idea what African cuisine entailed, and as we looked through the menu, we were not sure what to get. Fortunately, the owner of the restaurant came by and asked if we needed help with the menu, to which I answered, "Yes, what should we order???" He suggested trying something grilled and also some curries, so he suggested the "Mchaguzi wa Chef" (Chef Simba's special for 2), which consisted of beef skewers, lamb, grilled chicken, and shrimp skewers. Underneath all the meat was salad and biryani rice. It was so delicious! The lamb wasn't gamey, and the chicken and beef were full of flavour. The owner also brought out some sauces for us to try out. Some of them were really really spicy. He brought out a spinach curry, which

I've only been to the Simba's on Denman Street and this is where the owner (the African guy on the website) spends most his time. The servers are all international students from Asia that probably live around the ares. I'm not sure who cooks the food thou

Been wanting to try foods of a different culture for a while. Finally my chance came when I went to dinner with G. He gave me 3 choices: Korean, Ramen, or African. I picked African right away.

I'm a very big fan of African food, although I will fully admit that my experience has been limited to Somali, Ethiopian and Eritrean food. This past weekend, JT and I went to try Simba's Grill (which is African fusion, from what one of the owners, Mr. Kurshid Khan, told us). He mentioned that the food that they provide at Simba's Grill is East African fusion (from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda). I will fully confess I haven't researched the type of food, to be quite honest. For me, any food from Africa seems good. Just ask me about Ethiopian/Eritrean food, which I absolutely adore. I ordered a Chicken Surwa (chicken breast cooked in cream curry, $15.99). I ordered a type of spicy, saffron-infused rice pilaf ($3.99) as a side. While the spices in the cream curry made it extremely rich and tasty, the addition of a little bit of mango/chili chutney made it incredibly flavourful. I will definitely come back to Simba's Grill. The portion was extremely well served, and I could not finish it all a