Jambo Grill is a fairly large restaurant with quite a bit of Africa-inspired decor. Try to somehow go during a quieter time for a better experience and to enjoy the decor more: We went on a Saturday night and it was busy till 9pm, line-up at the door till at least 8pm, and what appeared to be a line-up near the kitchen for takeout. They take reservations, however. We were a large party in a full restaurant, so I expected our food to come out slowly--but still not take over 1 hour and with some persons getting theirs very, very late. Pretty much all the food came cold. Wait staff were friendly and always smiled whenever they came to a table, so they were doing their best under the circumstances. TIP: Do your Yelp check-in BEFORE ordering. The server refused to accept it and had to call over a manager to OK the free Chai at the end of the meal. ALSO, for parties of 6+, you must present your check-in at the start of ordering in order to get the free appetizer. TIP: Masala Chai is $2.50 and BOTTOMLESS. You can keep asking for it! Nylon Bhajia ($8) Crispy potato slices lightly battered in chickpea flour with spices and fried until golden. Served with coconut chutney. -Were not really crispy. Very salty. -TIP: Ask for a small spoon to help scoop up the chutney onto your potato. Patra ($7) A savoury steamed leaf roll, made from arbi or colocasia leaf. Spicy, tangy, and slightly sweet. -Interesting to try but not that tasty. -There is some sort of paste (?) in between the leaves. -Spicy-hot aftertaste, but not too much. Lamb Biryani ($16) Meat cooked with tomatoes, yogurt, fried onions, saffron, herbs, and spices. On a bed of saffron basmati rice. Served with a side of kachumber, an indian salsa. -Good sized plate, probably one of the more filling options without having to order carbs separately. -Biryanis are $2 cheaper on Saturdays. -Will probably be a different experience from what you get at any other Indian restaurant. From the small sample I got, it seemed to have a sour aftertaste. I'm too used to Indian curries to personally like this style. Mishkaki Choma ($10 for 5oz, $16 for 10oz) Uganda style choma (grilled meat). Tender sirloin beef marinated in tandoori spices, served with masala potatoes and salad. -I asked for 10oz but I don't think it was really 10oz. -At the time you order, you can choose between masala potatoes, fries, or naan bread to be your side. -Very dry and rather tough. At least it seemed well-coated in spices. Possibly kitchen error in how dry it was. Ice Paan ($1.50) Betel leaf, spread with sweet rose syrup, packed with sweets and spices like fennel seeds, daal, coconut, rose extract, and betal nuts -Paan is apparently bad for you. See the wikipedia article for references. -For $1.50 you get a cold wrap of betel leaf in foil. The triangular paan is about 3 inches long. See pictures below for the paan wrapped and unwrapped. -I'm not good with anise, so I definitely wasn't good with the amount of fennel. I therefore found this unpalatable and couldn't sample more than a bit. The leaf itself is also bitter. Some things have very good pricing, like the bottomless Masala Chai. Appetizers also seemed priced fairly. But mains were on the pricey side. Combined with a very slow kitchen that evidently can't keep up when the restaurant is full, and mediocre taste, this was a disappointing dinner. read more

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Ordered dinner for 7 people and got it as take out. Ordered Butter Paneer, Vegetable Curry, Bhinda, Bhartha and some Naan and Rice. Usually the food is good and quite generous but I was not impressed with the Bhinda or the Bhartha. For the price they charge for the amount of serving they give is not justifiable. I would skip those and stick with the curries. They charged $12 per item and you can view the pictures to see the portion given. I definitely won't be returning to this rip off establishment. Stick to an actual Indian restaurant. read more

Jambo Grill - Bhinda $12.00 - African Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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We are from way out of town, like south Texas. This place was recommended and wow. Total insanity! Staff is amazing, food is amazing and the vibe is chill. Do yourself a favor, goat curry! read more

Jambo Grill - Goat curry, lamb curry. - African Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Nice ambience and super friendly waitress. Clean and not hard to find street parking. Quite a few different items on the menu. They have drinks and food. Their dishes are pretty good and a bit spicy. It's not the most authentic African food I've had but it's decent and I don't mind going back if I'm craving for some when I happen to be around the area read more

The food was good, but the service was below zero if that option was there to choose. Including us there were only 3-4 tables occupied, and not once we were asked if we needed anything else, nor the server or manager looked our way to give us the bill. I had a baby in my arms , and I asked if I could have my food packed up tgo read more

Delicious food, friendly service, and great portions especially for the price! My coworkers have been here a lot and finally went and definitely didn't disappoint. Will definitely be back again! read more

Taste of Africa to the fullest! This is our favorite authentic African cuisine in Vancouver, Canada! Owner Nash is very friendly and speaks my native tongue Luganda! If you are looking for Amazing food that's straight out of the motherland this is your spot! Karibu!! read more

Indian-african cuisine,wifi,free underground parking,service is excellent,huge place,neat and quite.decors were awesome ,african safari inspired theme,the hard copy of menu is so neat and unique,accept cash/cards,good for group,family and kids.foods are great aswell,i had chicken curry and fish pakora..yummy,im very satisfied...ill visit again sometimes.... read more

Beware of ordering from this place close to kitchen closing time. Your naan will not be fresh from a tandoor but instead it will be from a packet (the taste difference is sooo obvious). It is so upsetting they charge around $3 per naan that I can buy 5 at superstore for the same quality, size, taste and price! The food is pretty good (hence the 3 stars) but the owner has a bit of an attitude. He doesn't seem to appreciate the business even though his dishes are way overpriced. Additionally, some prices that they ring through on the receipt are different than the prices on the menu so watch out for that! They are also stingy and slow with the chai - you're an Indian restaurant so you can't be cheap with chai...Indians need it like they need blood! read more

I am on the fence whether to give this place a 2 or a 3 star rating. I went with a big group on a Friday night and the service was extremely slow... like an hour and half wait for your food to arrive, slow. Not to mention that I had to wave around repeatedly to get my chai refilled. To their credit, the server was friendly and was trying their best. They should definitely hire more people. As for the food, I ordered their Pili Pili Ribs. Even though the ribs might not be the best cut, they were definitely spiced right. The potatoes as the side dish was so delicious! I also loved their chai, which, in my opinion was one of the best chai in Vancouver. read more

Jambo Grill - Pili Pili ribs for $15-16 - African Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Uber Eats. I got butter chicken paneer. Butter chicken lasagna. Garlic naan. It was good. Large portion size.

Large menu, great food, good prices, and friendly service, will definitely be back!!!

the Food is amazing. The Service is really good. The chai...totally yum. The portions are bit small (but I'm greedy). Would definitely go back again. read more

Try something special in Jambo Grill. Perfect plates and meals for affordable price. 5 stars. Ah and their faluda is EXCELLENT! read more

I would like to give them more (for taste) but the price/amount ratio was ridiculous. So I ordered through delivery and I went for a platter. The size was ridiculous. I paid 30$ for a platter and it ended up being a standard to small size container that included some meat, a tiny salad and a handful of fries. I paid another 3$ for naan which offered more for the price than the "platter". It was as big as a normal meal.... Taste wise it was really good! The meat was tender, the sauces weren't very intense but really tasty. The salad was fresh. The exception were the safari ribs. They were described as "meat falling off bones" but it was more like "bones with fat and some tough meat". The sauce was ok but the consistency of the meat was terrible. Generally, I'd say go there in person and you'll probably have a good time. Don't order online. read more

Excuse me? Drunk? We were working and no one was drinking. You took the order wrong. Absolutely disgusting of you to say this

We were a party of 10 to celebrate a Milestone Birthday for a good friend that is also a regular customer. She spoke highly of the food so we were really looking forward to it. We were seated at 6:30 and our friend suggested that we order 2 appies to share. Our waiter seemed to be eager to push the alcohol (when I only wanted water!) that we found out to be very pricey! One of the appies came in a timely manner however the second came very late to the point that we considered canceling it even after we had asked several times for it. Then most of the entrees were served except for 2 Thali along with the missing appy. Then they served the Naam bread that was part of the 2 missing Thali.. then everybody started to eat and almost finished their entrees before the 2 missing Thali were served!!! My Vegetarian Thali dish that was served late and my friend's Thali was served really late...by then everybody was done! When we complained to our waiter he said he would deal with it...but at the end all we got out of it was a small bowl of mango icecream for my friend!!!Ridiculous! Then at end the bill came with no sign of any discount other then the waiter apologizing for the delay saying that the owner would not do anything and my husband asked to speak to the owner that never showed up!!!! This whole experience left a bitter taste in our mouth, we will never go back and we will tell everyone about it...plus be aware of their African beer in a bottle: $9 dollar each! Very good but ridiculously pricey! read more

Small little restaurant; but its beautiful inside; love the decor!, staff were really friendly; i came at around 1pm....there was this family of 8 or 10 that were in front of me....funny how they couldn't decide which long table they wanted to sit at. So I just stood there patiently; until one of the servers acknowledged the fact that they saw me and gestured me to come sit! Will be coming back!! read more

When we arrived the waiter asked for drink orders. I ordered bubbly water. His reply was that they had no water and proceeded to suggest multiple alcoholic drinks which I was unable to consume. Again said that I want soda water. Ten minutes after my friends all had their drinks; my water was no where to be seen. We asked and nothing. So, told my friends not to order until I get my water! Then he ran and brought it! We ordered appetizers and only one type arrived. Our meals arrived one or two dishes at a time. The kitchen should ensure that all dishes arrive simultaneously. Two of us ordered Thali and it never came. We asked several times to no avail as to where it was. After 15 minutes, my friend received her dish. Mine arrived another 10 minutes after hers. By this time, most of the people at the table were finishing their meals. Now the Thali is a pretty simple plate to put together. It consists of two curries, daal, rice pudding and rice. All of these are sitting pre-made in pots in the kitchen. It is just a matter if ladelling them out. The portions of curry were equal to about 3/4 cup. The chicken curry had three bite sized pieces of chicken in it and for that they charged an extra $1.95! The chicken tasted like it was left over from the day before and turned into a stew. The veggie curry was fine but tepid as was the rice. It was served with some god-awful carrots that had been bathed in horseradish. No one liked it. Not even Indian spices. And the pudding was acceptable with nice flavors. Daal was only thing piping hot. The floor manager, a little wormy guy with glasses, was all nice to my two friends who are regulars. Once things started to go awry; he was no where to be seen. A friend even asked to speak to him but he never showed. Crappy way to manage a floor. The waiter brought me a small bowl of ice cream for my meal that was sub-par and 25 minutes after my friends. Wow! How cheap! Was not their night and I will not return. It is overpriced and the staff are only concerned about money and not proper customer service. read more

The atmosphere in this place is super unique and we loved it from the moment we stepped in. Justin Trudeau also loves it as well seeing that he's been there before(picture on the wall). It was quite busy and we got seated promptly. The server gave us a whole bunch of useful suggestions and everything we ordered tasted amazing. read more

Dreadful. Our server messed up almost all our orders and still overcharged. The server brought 4x the amount of meat and rice we ordered. The server tried to blame us for the mistake. I ordered the Grandville Pale Ale Beer but our competent waiter kept on returning saying "I can't serve you the beer, I don't have a license". (Why the hell do I care? I just want the drink not a huge explanation). I suggested he get the bar tender or someone else to who has a license. He came back again and said they were busy so I couldn't get my beer. I thought to myself, is this guy joking? Eventually a woman who was licensed brought it over. He forgot to place the main dish. Told us not to worry because the extra 4 plates he brought out were only $1.00 each, they were $3.75 each on the bill. Place was cold, we were served last even though we got there first, very disorganized. The food was Indian, not African. Honestly, the worst service I've experiences in ten years. If you want African food that tastes like East Indian food and want to monitor and baby sit the servers so they do things halfway properly, then by all means try our the Jambo grill. Never returning. read more

My dad recently stumbled into Jambo Grill during a business meeting and after that very day he has been obsessing with this place, claiming that it is different from all the other Indian Restaurants in town, and so... Here I was.. back two times in the past week to try out their butter chicken and buffet specials... To start, I'd like to mention that their decor is really nice. The red bricked walls, high ceiling, and African-esk decor is extremely pleasing to the eyes; I would have to say that before walking through the front door, I did not expect a place like this in the Kingsway/Joyce area. The first time I visited, I tried the Butter Chicken over Nan bread. The curry itself was pretty decent and the portions were alright. After that first visit I left with the feeling that everything was "okay" nothing more and nothing less. The prices of their dishes is fair, to say the least, and the selections were pretty good. I didn't enjoy everything but at the same time I didn't hate them. The second visit was a bit better because we went during their buffet special. For $10 their was a selection of 4-5 different curries, 2 different types of bread, rice, salad, and 2-3 different desserts. Food quality was the same, so having the same great selection was definitely nice. I'd have to say that during the second visit, I had enjoyed myself a lot more simply because this time it felt "worth it". I'm not sure if that is a fair thing to say as a review for a restaurant, but if you're coming in with a average consumer mindset, then definitely come for their buffets instead of their individual dishes. read more

A bit of a forewarning, this is probably a skewed review but I can't help but give them that score. Came here on a Friday night with two friends and two of us arrived first around 7:05pm. Took about 5 minutes before someone asked how many were in our group and we were finally seated at a table. Another 5 minutes or so go by, and the table beside us were complaining about how slow their order was and wanted to have the food as take out instead. Seems like a minor red flag, but what the heck, I really wanted to try this place out (two friends had recommended Jambo Grill to me). As my friend and I continued to chat, 7:50pm rolls around and the last person from our party arrives, yet we still hadn't gotten water...yikes. By now, the table beside us was furious (rightfully so) and even they noticed we had been sitting for 45 minutes with no service or water. We ended up grabbing take out because the wait was just too ridiculous and I honestly didn't want to give them any tips. The only saving grace is that the food isn't bad at all. A bit on the spicy side for my preference, but the service was simply too horrid for me to recommend them. Apparently, they had a new person working that night and he wasn't familiar with how everything worked, but they still had three people working (a fourth one came in when we were about to leave). Not sure how you completely ignore your customers for 50 minutes, but I wouldn't recommend coming during a busy time. read more

5 stars for excellent Service if i could give 10 stars I would ! 4 stars for food. Bhel Puri - Excellent 5 stars fresh with great texture. Habari Wings - Excellent 5 stars amazing flavour ! Kuku Poussin - 3/5 stars great flavour just a little on the dry side. Chili Prawns - Excellent 5 stars because of flavour, little oily but not enough to take away a star. Lamb Biryani - 4/5 stars very complex flavours overall very good. Jungle Ribs - Excellent 5 stars the flavour was amazing. Bharta eggplant - 3/5 ..its eggplant..what can i say... Free Chai tea all around ! probably the best chai tea I have ever had, they made a fresh pot for us....which was really appreciated. Very Very attentive staff, the food was good but the service was exceptional, water and tea was always topped off, plenty of napkins. They must have checked on us a total of 8-10 times. Overall Experience 5 out of 5 ! It's a day later and ate the left overs....maybe because there was only 3 items left but OMG the flavors really stood out...the eggplant the night before was ok but overnight wow I really appreciated the complex flavors. The lamb Biryani Wow .... Yum ...even the Poussin tasted better.. Everything now is all 5 stars because my appreciation of the leftovers. When you have a bunch of items too eat some flavors get lost....well...it was found the next day. read more

I love this restaurant, it is one of my favourites. It's very much a fusion african/indian restaurant with a solid theme of Ismaili flavour. The owners, Nash and Yasmin are like my mom's 8th cousins, or something, (so they have no idea who I am), but the food is always delish and Nash makes a point of coming to each and every table and checking in with guests. They're a bit slow for bringing food out and the bill (this is ok unless you're in a rush). In fact, it just means everything is FRESH! My dad loves the fried beef kabab - great value, and yummy, and I adore the biriyanis and the unlimited chai...my boyfriend on the other hand just likes the "yummy fries" - ahh the gringo - he means mogo, the cassava fries. Which you can get in piri piri or regular:) I actually ADORE the lollipop chicken but it's no good for sharing cause I want it ALL! a warning, it can get crowded and also cold, so dress for the weather! ~The Diva read more

Stopped in last night with 5 people for dinner, had great service and some delicious dishes. The Bharta was really good - as a vegetarian, I've had a lot of it in various restaurants and this was one of the best. The veggie pakoras were a surprise - not the usual overfried or doughy appetizer but rather light and perfectly cooked. Really good. The continual refilling of the steaming chai tea was appreciated, too. The servers were sweet and attentive, and Nash, the owner, came by and was quite gracious. The decor and ambience of the restaurant is unique and really fun. A good place to get a taste of East African dishes. read more

It's difficult for me to give a constructive review on the service considering that my mom is very popular and she is a regular. I tried my best to judge if I was there for the first time by observing the service of other tables. Nothing stellar, but nothing spectacular from what I was observing. The food is Indian, however, not the Indian style that most of the city is accustomed to. It is African Kenyan style food, very similar to the style my mom makes. The combination of spices was dead on mimicking my mom's cooking. The Nylon Potatoes as an appetizer was awesome. I ate these like chips. The prices seemed decent on some items, however, were way too expensive in comparison to the portion size. My date ordered steak which was $15 and when it came out, the plate was an appetizer size for one. It was kinda insulting really. If they used a A+ cut I can understand the cost, however, this wasn't a prime cut. The atmosphere is nothing glamorous but thankfully the food makes up for it. read more

My boyfriend and I ate here last week after a recommendation from a co-worker and a quick look on yelp. This is near our house, so we were sold. I was craving curry, but for some reason when we got there, the grill plate looked yummy to me. It has grilled kabob, pilli pilli chicken, and ribs with fries, naan and a salad and a kind of tzatziki dipping sauce for I think $23 and it was enough for both of us. The highlight of the meal were the ribs. They were super flavourful and spicy. Ditto the chicken. I enjoyed the kabob but they weren't the best I'd ever had. The fries were just ok, and the salad was just iceberg with a couple slices of veg on top, it's saving grace was an interesting sweet dressing (is that mango I taste?) but we didn't finish that little pile of iceberg. My boyfriend had the naan since I don't eat wheat I didn't. He said it was ok. The menu is borderline overwhelming. So much to choose from- which to pick? Update: Second time I ate here I got a chicken naan wrap and it was delicious! I remember there being mint in it- so yummy! Highly recommend. read more

The meat is amazing - anything with meat. I like the African dishes better than the Indian dishes. The service is consistently terrible. read more

Like other reviewers, the showcase of this restaurant is the endless Masala Chai. We always have to be careful not to go overboard and drink too much, as we end up not being able to sleep later! Apart from the Chai, this unique blend of African and Indian food makes this restaurant stand out in Vancouver's dining scene. They have the staples, like Butter Chicken, but they are flavoured distinctly making them one of a kind. The servers are also very friendly and you can tell they take pride in their restaurant, definitely worth a visit! read more

Went with a group of friends for my friends birthday. Dinner was pretty good, it was pretty much a mix of Indian and African food but it mostly all looked like Indian to me. The dishes were tasty, good portions and if you check in you get either a free chai tea or if you're with a group of 6+ you get an appy for free. The appy was actually pretty good and I enjoyed the tea as well even if I'm not a big fan of chai. The service was good, they checked on us regularly, food came at a good pace and they can accommodate big groups because there was about 11 of us. Overall the food was pretty good but didn't blow me away, if the prices were $ vs. $$ I'd probably go more often and try a few other dishes. read more

The menu has a great selection of Indian and African dishes. We took the chicken 64 which was a delight ......just spicy enough and full of flavors. Then we followed by the It was delicious and very filling. The price was acceptable and the service super friendly. I use YELP to find that place and as usual YELP didn't let me down. I got a free Chai Latter by check in there. The owner came to serve us and was able to explain me which dish I could eat ( as I have a gluten intolerance). My BF is a huge fan and we will go back for sure !!!!!!!! read more

As far as taste goes, this is far and away the best tasting Indian food in Vancouver. Best naan. Best lamb curry. Best kebabs. Best samosas. Beyond that, many incredible dishes unique to my taste buds as a result of the African influence. Items like jungle ribs, pili pili wings and mishkaki-all sit on the top of my list. And don't forget to wash it all down with an ice cold Kinkgfisher lager. Service is slower admittedly, however, you are forewarned by the owner as it does take time to make the food so damn good. That said, worth the wait. read more

I love this place. It has completely ruined me for any other Indian restaurant in Vancouver. The North African style of Indian food is so flavourful and spicy - even the butter chicken is spicy - and I just can't eat the sweet ketchupy tasting stuff anymore. I've only had one bad experience regarding the service here and we had a party of 20+ people at the time and they were most certainly understaffed. Most of the time the food is prompt and hot and delicious. We are often served directly by the owner who remembers the names of my kids even though we aren't in for long stretches of time. My personal favourites: the butter chicken, the fish pakora, the nylon bhajia (sp?), the lamb curry and the chicken tikka salad. The chicken samosas are amazing - no potato! Just filled with ground meat and spices and fried to perfection. Order the chai and you won't be disappointed. Tasty and non stop. If you want to try a bunch of different things, go on a Thursday night for their version of buffet style Indian. Nothing is sitting under a heat lamp, it's all brought around fresh to each table and includes a lassi. read more

Service is horrible... Waiters have no sense of customer service. All they do is sit behind the bar and clean glasses. Making eye contact with them is close to impossible since they don't really care to serve you. Never going back... read more

This Indian/African fusion restaurant is one of the regular places my halal-bound friend and I frequent. It's a bit far from home, located at the very East of Vancouver (Joyce-Collingwood area, bordering Burnaby) but it tastes great and the atmosphere is cozy and warm. The furnishes are true to its theme with photographs of Africa adorning the walls and wooden African-styled sculptures lined against the edges of the wall. The owner is indeed very friendly; he goes around the restaurant greeting the diners and asking how they are. The menu is fairly diverse-- Indian food with an African twist. My most recent visit included Masala Steak while my friend had their Tandoori chicken platter (which says 3 pieces but they gave her 4~ she was very happy). The steak was sooo good~ I'm very picky with steak because I can't chew them very well but the masala steak was so tender (medium-rare) and seasoned so well that additional seasoning was not required. I think the fries were over seasoned though. Mind you, the platters are not as big as one would find at premium casual dining restaurants. The washrooms (actually, there was only one per gender) were clean enough but smelled too strongly of disinfectant. And as a previous reviewer had commented, they are pretty slow at getting the food and bill out but I've never been to this place while it was packed or busy so the servers seem very relaxed. read more

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Painfully delicious. Meaning that there's no way I've discovered to keep from overeating here - it's just too delicious. Try the Lolipop Shrimp with an extra order or Garlic Naan. Bliss. Also prices are pretty good. read more

The lamb curry was quite delicious - I ordered it extra spicy and it was simply delicious - especially when paired with the naan. My husband ordered the chicken tikka with a side of chicken curry and the chicken tasted juicy and was very appetizing. We also had rice - which I especially enjoyed with the lamb curry. I also liked the free chai - always a yummy drink with Indian food. This place also has wi-fi, just ask the owner for the password. My husband and I had a leisurely lunch while also using the internet. All in all - I really enjoyed this place! read more

This is my third visit to Jambo Grill and really enjoyed the East African and Indian Fusion Dishes. We ordered Mohogo (Fried Cassava), Nylon Bhajiya as appetizer and mini Grill as main dish. read more

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was at the jambo grill the other night...and while it wasn't horrible, I've had better. We walked in around 9pm, and waited for 5 minutes to get noticed at the door. We were seated promptly after however without menu's. The service was a little scattered, one guy came and set down empty glasses and one plate, another person removed those two glasses and brought two glasses with water and plates. A little random...and funny actually We had the butter chicken, mogo, and ribs...mogo was fantastic and fresh. I've had better ribs and butter chicken - see my review on Simba's and Saffron The drink selections were fantastic - you can get a Litre of Lassi or Pop, just fantastic. Overall, not a bad place to get your fix but can't give it top marks. read more