Vancouver, BC V6Z 1L5
(604) 678-1049
Type of cuisine: Asian Fusion
Date of Review: May, 2010
Overall Quality Ranking: Good
Cost: Moderate
Gluten-Free Menu Options: Reasonable
Gluten Free Diner Comfort ranking: Cautiously Comfortable
Description: A fusion restaurant with a heavier weighting on Indian and Middle-Eastern cuisine, Sanafir provided good food and reasonable entertainment on this Thursday evening. The menu is divided into trios and meals for one. The trios will take one foodstuff—prawns, lamb, or the like—and serve it three ways. So, for example, chicken may come on a kebob, as a mild Asian dish, and as butter chicken. The dishes were good, if not stellar. Our little trio ran four Sanafir trios, including lamb, chicken, prawns, and sablefish. There is sufficient variety on the menu for the gluten-free eater, although not all dishes in each trio were safe. The drink menu includes several entertainingly named beverages such as the pink samurai and memories of a geisha, the latter having a nice ginger buzz.
The wait staff was friendly and patient. Gluten knowledge was incomplete, and there was a few moments of anxiety as we sorted out that the papadums did not contain wheat flour but rather only “might contain traces of wheat” as per the typical informative label. But as dishes came out, the danger dishes were pointed out.
The décor is fun and funky. With a ceiling over three stories high, this might have been part of an old theatre. Long dramatic light fixtures hung down, with candles set high up the wall. We were able to sit right along the opened front of the restaurant, and dined enjoying the fresh spring air. Upstairs, for a minimal table charge, are several large platform couches that can be enjoyed by a party of lounging diners; think of a picnic in a club-like atmosphere.
Overall, Sanafir offers good food and an entertaining environment. You might just enjoy the clubby feeling without the pretense.
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