The Sardine Can

The food tastes good. Garlic prawns is a must do. It was just too small for groups. The bartender is super nice. The kitchen is actually just behind the bar so it was little bit weird to oversee they cook the food. But the food worths the price for sure

I came here on a Saturday night over memorial day weekend. I did not know that this small hip reasturant would produce some of the best food I have eaten in my entire life.
PROS:
+ Great service. The owner let us know that their would be a wait, but put our names on a chalkboard and encouraged us to come back in a half hour. He recommended bars around the area to kill time at, and was just genuinely kind hearted and helpful. Our waitress for the evening was phenomenal. She was attentive, easy going, and balanced giving us service and not being overbearing or hovering around. The place was packed when we went, and if she felt any stress we could not see it. Great service all around.
+ The drinks were so tasty and unique. The liquor that is available is all Spanish based, so all the wines and spirits are unique. I tried the wine mixed with orange soda, and it is fantastic, a must try when you visit. The next time I am here, I want to try more of their wine selection because it was out of this world good.
+ The ambiance is cozy, warm, and inviting. All the chairs in the restaurant are bar stool style and it lends itself to a more casual vibe. But it has a special ambiance that makes it feel like the perfect mixture of fancy but not pretentious, or trying to hard. I can see myself eating here in jeans, or celebrating an aniversary. Very unique feel that you have to experience first hand.
+ THE FOOD. Oh my goodness, the food. They have about 5 vegetarian tapas on the menu (woot woot!) and it was all delicious and gourmet. Everything tasted so fresh and was made with such care. All the veggies were marinated in a way that made them explode with flavor. I am going to have dreams about the food served here.
Overall, The Sardine Can is in my top 3 reasturants I’ve ever had the pleasure of trying. I look forward to having them again when I visit Vancouver next.

Went here for a first date, we ordered something like 5 of the little dishes and every single one of them was phenomenal! The restaurant is pretty tiny, but it feels cozy and it has a cool feel to it. Service was fast and the dishes came out fast and sizzling. Loved it, will definitely be going again!

Best Spanish tapas in town as far as I’m concerned. Very delicate, skilled cooking with fantastic flavours. Excellent service, not pushy like many restaurants in the Vancouver food scene but kind and generous. Been here twice, got consistent beautiful and delicious food and fantastic service. Definitely a favourite.

Absolutely delicious! However, it is not a place to go if you want big portion and cheap price. The quality matters, I was here for a «snack» and it was very good!

A total rip off, $ 7 beer comes in 4oz cup, $ 15 food has a total of four pieces of meat, probably something like 80grams total, no vegetables, no side, no salad, no bread, nothing comes with it. This is not a fine dining restaurent, the food doesn’t taste any special. They don’t even have a proper kitchen, some countertop stove and oven. To top it off, It has a total of three tables close to each other with barstools around, if you lean back, you gonna be leaning on someone’s back. Anywhere else in gas town is better than this place.

My friend invited me to meet him here. He’s a regular, so thought I would finally take him up on his offer
It’s a cozy place, think lolita’s in the westend.
Anyway, I ordered the smoked sardines on toast. not really what I was expecting, but not bad
I should have ordered the paella. so willing to give them another try
Beer selection isn’t great, but it’s more of a wine bar

This has been my go to dinner place for 3 yrs now when I go to Vancouver for my annual spa convention. It’s the perfect place to go to as a lone traveler! The dishes are made in an open kitchen. If you sit at the counter bar, the cook will serve you himself! The sardine toast and spicy shrimp are my favorites. Soooo good!
I already posted a review, however I feel bad I didn’t also mention how amazing the staff always is! The chef has remained the same — which I appreciate (thanks Chris!), but even though the rest of the staff comes and goes, they all have been very friendly and provided great service!

3.0 stars
Tapas that we ordered: Para picar was a miss, no need to ever order this again. Gambas al ajillo were good, cooked properly, I like em spicy. Favourite dish was Atun crudo, delicious! Over all review — one of those places that if were in the area and craving tapas, I might stop in for a quick drink and bite to eat. I don’t think I’d make plans to go there specifically. Nice location on Powell.

Came in for dinner with my fiancé on a Saturday night and the place was full. We were able to put our names and number down and they called us to let us know when a table was available. We had the mussels, the tuna tartar, the roasted Brussel sprouts and shared a bottle of wine. The food was amazing. Everything tasted great, so packed full of flavour. My favourite was the tuna tartar. I couldn’t get enough of it. Service was great and welcoming. I’m definitely coming back to try more items on their menu. The restaurant isn’t very big so expect to wait a bit during rush hour.

Sardine Can is such a friendly little cozy restaurant. I wish it was in my neighbourhood.
We had sardine on toast, grilled king mushroom and large paella between two people. That was just enough food for us (mind you that we weren’t starving coming into the restaurant). Most plates are tapas, so don’t expect large plates of food.
We had a very friendly staff serving us and she explained the food well. We’d come back again and try other dishes.

Love the service, staff was great. Food is amazing as well. I had the special octopus salad to start, followed by the lamb, and finished with the chocolate terrine, such a happy camper. I will definitely go back for seconds!!!

The Sardine Can isn’t a restaurant per se. It serves appetizer plates at horrific prices if you are hell bent on putting together a dinner together with them. And it looks like a lot of people do try it.
Don’t try it. Eat a light (cheap) meal elsewhere, then just try a few things at The Sardine Can that piqué your interest. Treat them as snacks to go with a drink. Price for portion, even looking at them as appetizers, is very high.
Gambas al ajillo ($ 13.75) Spicy garlic prawns
–Didn’t taste particularly spicy or garlicky.
–Tasty enough and quite a few prawns (10?)
Estufado de pulpo ($ 11) Octopus, potato and chorizo casserole
–This tasted like olives in tomato soup. If you got a bite of olive in your mouth, it dominated any other flavour.
Tostas de sardinas ($ 8.25 for five) Smoked sardines on toast
–Very crunchy thin slices of baguette generously topped with sardine.
–Tastes like sardine (not the in-​tomato-​sauce canned ones) on toast. Pass.
Paella de la casa ($ 11 small or $ 22 large) House paella made with real Valencia rice
–Dry — All liquid apparently having evaporated, and it’s seared onto the pan at the bottom and sides.
–Generous with the non-​rice items (chorizo, prawns, fish).
–We saved the sauce from the Spicy Garlic Prawns to go with the rather dry rice.
Champiñones ($ 8.25) Mushrooms in sherry cream sauce
–Really tasty sauce!
–Mushrooms are mushrooms. I think they could be cut into smaller chunks so you get less boring mushroom taste and more sauce coating the mushrooms.
Special of the Day — Pata Negra wrapped Halibut Fillet with chanterelle mushrooms and truffle ($ 16)
–Halibut portion approximately the volume of a pack of cigarettes.
–Not shy with the truffle — such that it almost overpowered everything else.
–At first I couldn’t find the cured ham around the fish. Not a good sign.
Overall, I felt that most of the plates I tried ended up having one over-​dominant flavour squashing other flavours, so you end up paying for quite a bit more than you really taste.
TIP: Single washroom with a red door is labelled «4U2P».
TIP: Go on hockey night. Usually it’s really busy with a line-​up even late a night, so go earlier on a hockey night when everyone is basically elsewhere. And when you’re done and you’ve paid the bill, be considerate and vamoose because other people are waiting out in the cold for a seat.

This place was my favorite of gas town… (And I went to at least 15 different places, when I visited…) Everything was just AWESOME… Every dish was better than the previous one, and they were all just amazing… My favorite one, was probably the tuna… It was delicious!.. But everything else was great… In addition, the service was super, super friendly, and the wine spectacular… It is Absolutely a must go in gas town… I can’t wait to go back… I Recommend it 100%

What an awesome discovery! I’ve been looking for a tapas place and the Sardine Can definitely delivered. For a restaurant without a full kitchen I was pretty impressed with what they were able to pull off.
We ordered a number of dishes: the smoked sardines on toast, tostas de queso fresco (cheese on toast), patatas bravas (potatoes), paella and one of their specials of the day which was a pâté with toast, gherkins and jam. I really enjoyed the sardines, potatoes and the pâté. The paella was a bit lackluster and for the price I paid, I wish there was more of it. The cheese toast was nothing special. I would probably order something else instead.
The interior is tiny with only 3 bar tables and seating at the bar. I would guess only about 15ish seats in total in the restaurant. Service was quick and polite. If I’m ever in the area and looking for a small bite, I’ll be back.

A vegetarian and a gluten-​avoider walk into a bar… ok don’t have a good punch line for that one, but nevertheless we were very pleasantly surprised to find a number of menu choices that we could share featuring fresh seasonal veggies.
Friendly service sitting at the bar and it was fun to watch all the small plates being assembled efficiently and artfully by the staff.
I enjoyed the tinto de verano (red wine with orange soda) — I may never bother making sangria again and left feeling inspired to get out my mandolin and make my own zucchini carpaccio.
Are you a gluten-​free foodie heading to Vancouver? I share a few more restaurants we loved on my blog —

We went to this place on a beautiful Saturday night and I was impress with the atmosphere when we arrived. It was a small revue hidden in the streets of Gastown decorated with simple European décor, which was inviting and cozy for us to enjoy. We were seated at the back of the restaurant, which was a little warm for me with the enclosed window (Luckily, it’s the beginning f the summer and it might get hotter by July). On that night we ordered the Smoke Sardine on Toast, The Tuna Tartare, the Lobster Tail Special, House Paella and Mushroom in Sherry Cream. The Smoke Sardine on Toast and Tuna Tartare were great. Both dishes have well– balanced of salt and acidity, which were refreshing in taste and great pairs with a chill glass of white wine. The Paella was one the best paella since my Spanish friend (as a chef) left Vancouver. The Valencia rice was perfectly and it was a great pair with the shrimp and chorizo sausage. The sauce was great, not too spicy in taste, but a perfect complement with other ingredients. I do recommend to order the half portion of the Paella because it can be a bit rich for some people. The Mushroom in sherry cream dish is good, but lacks of the «Wow» factor compare to the other dishes on the menu. However, it could be a good side dish if you really love mushrooms. The service for the night was great. Our waitress was tentative with great attitude to us. I will definitely come back for dinner and try our great dishes on the menu

Great little place in Gastown. I enjoyed the food a lot with the exception the smoked sardines. Just not to my liking.
Everything else was great! Spicy shrimp and the wine were perfect.
What really set this place apart was the service. Best in town so far!

Food: 3
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
I had high expectations coming to the Sardine Can after our positive experience at The Abbey (sister restaurant). Each dish fell short, hard to distinguish and the sauces seemed to be repeated amongst a few of them.
Food:
Pork Belly — The skin was crispy and delicious but the meat was tough. It came in a slab — would have been nice if it was cut up for us already (first world problems, sorry).
Chicken with paella — It was overcooked for me, it seemed it had been stewing for more than a day — everything just seemed soggy.
Clams — Very salty. It came with a complementary side of bread.
Stuffed Peppers — Again it seemed very overcooked — similar sauce as the pork belly.
Diablos Espagnoles (Smoked ham wrapped prunes stuffed with Mahon cheese) — This was probably my favourite dish that night. The prunes were not too sweet, the smoked ham was crispy and tasty, while the Mahon cheese did not overpower the entire dish.
Service: Good service, however our server did forget one of our ordered dishes. We didn’t mind though, we were already stuffed. She was attentive to our water and drinks, and plates were cleared in a timely fashion.
Ambiance: Cute little space with communal shared high tables — it’s apparent where they get their name from as you get to know your foodie neighbours quite quickly. I appreciate anywhere that has the little hooks under the table to hang your hand bag rather than having to eat with it in your lap, so thank you for that!
Overall, I was very disappointed with the food. None of the dishes stood out for me — a bit bland, boring, and overpriced. Unfortunately, I don’t see myself coming back for more.

I finished work late, and needed some food, and a glass of red wine. The sardine can, on my way home was the perfect place for that. Chris cooked up delicious gambas to start, then some veal cheeks. Both were cooked to perfection.
Daniel has great wine and sherry knowledge, and he and Chris made the perfect hosts. Even a local called Wesley provided great conversation.
An amazing accomplishment, considering their space. In the words of Arnie, I’ll be back!