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Vegan Field Report: Gorilla Food in Vancouver, BC
8April 3rd, 2011more restaurants (not LA), vancouvertime for another vegan field report! this one comes to us from Geanna who recently visited an all raw/vegan/organic take-out restaurant in canada called gorilla food. for you raw peeps out there, this place looks pretty promising. if it’s good enough for joey potter, it’s good enough for me.
You’ve probably heard of Gorilla Food because they had a recent visit by none other than Mrs. Tom Cruise (that’s Katie Holmes to we mere mortals). She made quite a stir by visiting this raw and vegan cafe located in Gas Town in downtown Vancouver, BC
I recently visited Vancouver and stayed in Yaletown, and in fact, I found Gorilla Food quite by accident. My traveling partner and I were meandering around the streets of Vancouver, enjoying the city, when we came across the cafe. I remembered the name and the celebrity sighting almost immediately from my pre-trip research. However, the restaurant was closed when we walked by, so we had to wait until the next day to stop in.
The establishment is small, to say the least. It seats about 10 people total, and it’s located in a basement. Although the décor is really awesome and fun to admire for a few minutes, I was grateful to get my items to go.
I had falafel and hummus back where we were staying, so I decided to pick up the Sprouted Quinoa Tabouli and the Strawberry Zing Smoothie to go. Both were served to me in completely compostable containers.
sprouted tabouli for $6: a wheat-free, watery, fresh and raw take on a classic parsley, cucumber and tomato salad
The Tabouli tasted fresh and light. Since I’m gluten-intolerant, I’ve never actually eaten Tabouli before, so I had no idea what to expect, but it went really well with the rest of my meal once I took it home. The Smoothie didn’t make it that far because my pal and I were too busy slurping it up as we walked the 4 blocks back to our place. It was delicious: smooth, fruity, and with a spicy ginger taste that really added a kick.
smoothie for $6: strawberries, bananas, orange juice, hempseeds, ginger
Although I’m not a raw foodist, I do enjoy eating raw cuisine from time to time, and would definitely go back for a smoothie any day. The service was great and the staff was helpful; the gal at the counter was really friendly when I was deciding just what I wanted to eat.
They also sell products such as dehydrated fruits, cookbooks, and raw crackers, and their case of truffles looked especially tempting. I would definitely try those the next time I make the trip.
Gorilla Food
Tags: canada, field report, raw, vancouver
101 – 436 Richards Street
Vancouver BC
604.684.3663
Open Monday to Saturday from 11:00AM until 7:00PM and Sundays from 11:00AM until 5:00PM.
8 responses to “Vegan Field Report: Gorilla Food in Vancouver, BC” 
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I’ve had their pizza and it was delicious!
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Gauri Radha गौरी राधा April 3rd, 2011 at 19:15
Looks good, the smoothie sounds great.
I’m also not a raw-foods-only vegan but don’t mind checking out raw places once in a while for lunch or breakfast. -
Alison C. April 4th, 2011 at 05:22
Nice to see a review of a place in my city!
btw, Gorilla Food is not in Gastown. It’s just in “downtown”. (Gastown is on Carrall and Water Streets) -
That place looks awesome – I love restaurants in basements… nothing like a quality dive.
Love me some compostable containers, as well, although they take some serious time to break down in my compost pile.
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Gauri Radha गौरी राधा April 4th, 2011 at 16:24
Yea, the containers sound terrific!!
I’m trying to go green like everyone else in this city–consolidate errands, use less fuel, compost, etc but the one thing where I can’t seem to improve is the amount of packaging I throw away from just normal restaurant outings and grocery store shopping trips. It’s so ridiculous. I really hope more and more places switch over to environmentally safe take-out boxes soon. -
Jason April 6th, 2011 at 11:29
I visited Gorilla in the summer of 2009. We tried four dishes. All were some of the best raw food I’ve ever had.
A lot of the other restaurants in Vancouver were mediocre compared to LA’s, so this should be high on your list if you visit.
Erica April 3rd, 2011 at 17:59