Bambo Café in Vancouver, BC

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Telephone:	+1 604-681-4323
Website:	www.bambocafe.com
Address:	301 W Cordova Street, Vancouver, BC, V6B 1E5 Downtown, Gastown
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:	60 ft50036 330 ft50188 520 ft50962
Categories:	Coffee & Tea Sandwiches Bagels

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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations	Yes
Delivery	Yes
Take-out	Yes
Accepted Cards	Credit, Debit
Good For	Lunch
Parking	Street
Bike Parking	Yes
Wheelchair Accessible	Yes
Good for Kids	Yes
Good for Groups	No

Attire	Casual
Ambience	Casual
Noise Level	Average
Alcohol	No
Outdoor Seating	Yes
Wi-Fi	Free
Has TV	No
Waiter Service	No
Caters	Yes
Good for Working	Yes

Today

Today	7:00 am – 7:00 pm Open now
Local time (Vancouver)	3:48 PM Friday, November 29, 2024

Business hours

Monday	7:00 am – 7:00 pm
Tuesday	7:00 am – 7:00 pm
Wednesday	7:00 am – 7:00 pm
Thursday	7:00 am – 7:00 pm
Friday	7:00 am – 7:00 pm
Saturday	9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday	9:00 am – 6:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Bambo Café is best known for comfort food with hints of world spices. The freshly made when ordered focaccia sandwiches and delicious soups have been favorites since 1999. All the soups, except the obvious, like chicken and noodle, are gluten free and vegan.

The Coffee is 100% Organic and fairly traded so you can peacefully enjoy a fresh cup. Also, tons of smoothie and juice options!

History

Established in 1999.

Owners, Azzi and Jeff’s love for Gastown along with their dedication to quality food has kept Bambo Café around for over 11 years.

Back in 99, the couple realized that historic Gastown lacked eateries that provided some good ol’ home cooking. They found a location that reminded them of the café they visited daily when they lived in Spain. Combining their memories of Europe and their love for coffee and food, they created a café that fits right in with Gastown’s eclectic mix of people.

Today Bambo is known for its 100% Organic Fairly-traded coffee and freshly squeezed juices. Along with, delicious toasted Focaccia Sandwiches and Azzi’s amazing soups.

Meet the Manager

Azzi N.

Manager

Married couple, Azzi & Jeff brought their love of food to Gastown when they opened Bambo Café in 1999. Today, the café remains a family run operation and is Gastown’s longest existing café.

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22 reviews of Bambo Café

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Christina Y.

Place rating: 4
Ann Arbor, MI

The café is located on the corner of the block. I visited this café twice while I was in Vancouver, and both times my experience was great.
On my first visit, I tried their lemon pepper chicken + pesto sauce sandwich, and this was delectable. Absolutely fantastic. Not too heavy, not too light with delicious pesto sauce– just what I needed on a chilly November day. Plus their focaccia bread is on point. This would definitely be a go-to sandwich if I lived in the area.
Both days I got their chai latte, and this I was slightly less satisfied with. The actual latte itself is pretty stellar, but it’s coated by a THICK layer of foam. I love cinnamon on my latte, but whoever is sprinkling the cinnamon has a habit of doing it asymmetrically. And by asymmetrical, I mean a mountain on one side of the cup. Whaa.
They have pretty limited seating (I think I saw 6 small tables that accommodates two each plus the bar?), which is unfortunate, since I saw many customers being forced to take their stuff to-go after scanning the café for any open tables.
The service was okay– they were nice, but nothing too over the top.

Ryan B.

Place rating: 5
Tustin, CA

Great place. Had a fresh juice, apple turnover and eggplant omlette. The potatoes were amazing as well. Super crisp and flavorful. Wanted to come back but ran out of time.

Jürgen S.

Place rating: 4
Darmstadt, Hessen

Das Bambo Café bietet verschiedene Sandwiches, Frühstücke, sowie Muffins und andere süße Stückchen, der Kaffee war hier recht gut.
Der Service ist sehr freundlich, für einen kleinen Snack gut geeignet.

Nicole R.

Place rating: 4
Frederick, MD

Yum. The Spanish omelette was just wonderful; perfect portion with a small side of breakfast potatoes and fruit. It wasn’t too greasy and had the right amount of vegetables. Muffins are scrumptious too. Very inviting atmosphere; perfect place to stop for a healthy traditional-style breakfast.
FYI — You need a key to use the shared bathroom (towards the back of the building, which is shared with other businesses).

Hanna M.

Place rating: 4
New Westminster, Canada

The people are so nice here! Its a bit too warm in the building and the washroom is hard to get to, as you have to follow a rly long hallway at the back. Their mochas r off the chain tho seriously get them

Felicia A.

Place rating: 2
Los Angeles, CA

Be prepared to wait. Took 20 minutes to get my coffee and 30 for food and it’s not even a busy day. Several customers walked in and out since I’ve been here because of the lack of service/slow service. It’s not a bad place in terms of food, but I wouldn’t come here again.

Atul M.

Place rating: 4
Red Bank, NJ

Good food. Why no Airconditioning ?? Self service. Would come again! Loved the food. I’d come here in a heartbeat!

Andrea W.

Place rating: 3
San Jose, CA

We came on a Saturday morning, and the shop was somewhat full. There’s not much seating, but it’s nice and cozy. I ordered the eggplant omelet which had pesto and tomatoes in it too, and it was really good. I’ve never had an omelet with eggplant in it before, and it was better than I thought it would be. When I ordered it, I was afraid that the eggplant wouldn’t be thoroughly cooked, but I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor and the taste of the entire omelet. It was great. The egg was a bit overlooked I think, and it was smaller than I thought it would be. The omelet, potatoes, and toast totaled $ 11.24 post-tax. It was also quite watery, probably from the eggplant and/or the tomatoes. The potatoes were good too, although a bit more oily than I would have liked. The toast was good; they didn’t slather butter on title before serving it, so that was good. Perfectly toasted. Our food took a bit long to come out as well. If I lived here, I may come here occasionally but not too often because I think I can find more filling meals for the price, but it’s not a bad place. I give this place 3.5 stars!

Harrison H.

Place rating: 4
Vancouver, Canada

I’ve been here a couple times for meetings over coffee and it has worked well. There seems to always be seats available, probably because the seating in here is old, and needs to be freshened up and updated.
With the weird /ratchet seating out of the way this café is quite good. They have a lot of good food options, breakfast bagels, sammiches, soups and more. As well as all the coffee options you’d normally get. They’re coffee doesn’t compare to revolver or Timbertrain both within a blocks distance but this place is when you want a guaranteed place to sit for a meeting, or if you want food as the food options here are much better than revolver /timbertrain.
I used their 50% breakfast bagel or wrap Unilocal coupon which is a great bonus. I got a cream cheese bagel and a cappuccino and the lady said the coupon is only for the #4 or 5 bagel option but used the 50% on the cream cheese one for me anyway which was very pleasant of her.
Great little spot on the corner of Cordova /Cambie. Right across from Versace ! Haha!
Atmosphere in here is older which has its own charm as well. Check it out.

Jennifer S.

Place rating: 3
Victoria, Canada

The food was good and we had a nice street view from our seats. The lattes were delicious!

Vicki C.

Place rating: 4
University City, Philadelphia, PA

Chill and a good atmosphere to relax and continue to work after a busy day. I didn’t not get to eat their food but tea and coffee was good in general.

Deborah D.

Place rating: 4
Seattle, WA

The omelette and mocha are great.

Nina S.

Place rating: 3
San Francisco, CA

Great sandwiches that are huge. I usually get them to go for a beach or pool day in the summer since their sandwiches beat subway anytime and the focaccia bread won’t break apart…
They also have great vegetarian options…
Value ³⁄₅
Atmosphere ³⁄₅
Service ⁴⁄₅
Quality 3.5÷5
13.5÷20

Dollie S.

Place rating: 5
Vancouver, Canada

I can not express how happy I am that I discovered this place today from my class mates ! I have been living downtown for years specially in gastown and have never stepped foot in this place. I ordered a roast beef sandwich it was amazing so healthy and yummy! I will be coming here for lunch every day !

David F.

Place rating: 2
Vancouver, Canada

I work in Gastown and go to Bambo when the line at Smart Mouth is too long. The food is not bad but not great. Normally the food is served fairly quickly, mainly because it never is that busy. Was there a couple of days ago, there were 4 customers ahead of me. It seemed as though they couldn’t figure out what anyone had ordered and were serving the wrong food to the customers. A customer that arrived 5 minutes after me got served before me. It was quite sad, actually.

Jason H.

Place rating: 5
Manhattan Beach, CA

One of my stopover list if I am in Vancouver.
Great coffee, piping hot and always fresh, served with a smile and never a long wait to get your cup and be on your way.

Lauren L.

Place rating: 5
Savannah, GA

We stumbled into this place upon arriving in downtown Vancouver… disheveled and exhausted and hot and sweaty. Even though the décor was simple, the tables weren’t clean (a pet peeve of mine) and there wasn’t any air conditioning (which seems to be the norm) we had such a fabulous experience we have to give it five stars! Absolutely exceptional food and the woman who served us, whom I suspect was the owner, was really sweet and helpful. She suggested an iced tea (since we were tired and confused) and made a delicious orange spiced tea with fresh mint and a splash of honey. I had the lentil soup and vegetable sandwich and my husband has the tortellini. Everything was exceptional and we plan on returning!

Kenneth N.

Place rating: 4
Vancouver, Canada

Is it just me but I always think Bambi or Bamboo… but i digress.
Their chicken sandwich is their signature sandwich, recommended.
And they have Mighty Leaf tea, yay.
a few seats, cozy environment.
friendly owner.
Offer catering to DT only.

Sean O.

Place rating: 5
Vancouver, Canada

Humble little Bambo has survived an onslaught of trendy coffee shops invading Gastown: Revolver, Bean Around the World, JJ Bean, Trees, and now Timbertrain. It defies the norm– tacky maximalist décor, an overwhelming menu with way too many items, and sometimes very slow. Why has it lasted so long? Charm. The persian family that own it are some of the nicest people on the planet. I was expecting Unilocalers to stomp all over them, what with most people’s sense of entitlement (ie the washroom is 5 minutes away). I’ve been going to Bambo for 6 years and Jeff and Azar make me feel like I am their son. LONG LIVE BAMBO!

Matthew E.

Place rating: 3
London, United Kingdom

Good flavor, but sandwiches /salads (even premade ones) take forever! And, when I ordered a chicken wrap, which was heated, they crammed it into the take out box w/the cold lettuce salad. Hm. Also I just realized the ‘chicken veggie wrap’ that I received was their vegetarian rice wrap w/small slices of chicken on top… I guess they ran out and didn’t want to tell me?
Otherwise, if you have time for a decent lunch (not take out), their menu is very good and the service is exceedingly friendly.

Magdalena K.

Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA

5 stars for their house blend coffee. I’ve tried many highlighted on Unilocal coffee houses on our Vancouver trip, but just a sip here made me wonder… about so many beautiful things.
Simple interior. Nothing too special. Blends well with industrial Gastown vibe. They also offers basic breakfast menu with some omelettes. Be prepared for a tour of this city’s interior basement architecture on a long hike to their washroom, through the back doors and corridors, steps and turns.

Monica M.

Place rating: 5
Vancouver, Canada

I recently stopped working fulltime downtown, so I haven’t been able to go to Bambo as regularly. I went on Friday while I was downtown for a Conference and I was sooo happy and satisfied. Full belly of healthy food for a reasonable price.
P. S. The website has been revamped! It looks incredible with lots of great food photos!