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Popina Canteen

3.3 (91 reviews)
Closed 12:00 pm - 6:00 PM

Popina Canteen Burgers Restaurant Photos

Business Info

POPINA CANTEEN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Outdoor seating
Good for groups
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Popina Canteen

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Unremarkable barely hot burger (note the unmelted cheese, and the burger inside was hot fully cooked).
Veronica V.

I've reviewed this place many times positively, but like many of my older reviews, they seem to have disappeared. I am not sure what Yelp is doing here. So I had their double cheeseburger and local sparkling wine. With a modest tip, it came to about $42. Seriously?!? I've now been here about 5 or 6 times, and twice the burgers been outstanding, and I gave enthusiastic reviews. The other times, it has been "ok" to mediocre. This time, I'd say it's in the middle. Decent flavour, but the bun was a few hours shy of being stale, the middle of the burger was almost raw/dark pink (hopefully it's in-house ground beef, not supermarket ground beef), and the cheese was a cold slab - since it's the type of cheese that melts at low temp, I can only presume the cook forgot about it until building the burger. Alas, at the time, there were no other patrons they were cooking for. So it's not like they were slammed and busy. Nope. So I must presume that they couldn't be bothered. I know times are tough for everyone, especially restaurants. But when you're not busy, and the best you can do is put out perfunctory food, can you blame people for not wanting to put their limited funds to restaurants who seem to have given up? However, the one thing they have going for them in spades is a quiet (ish) oasis away from the madness of the food court inside Granville Island, and they have a covered, heated sitting area. That's worth at least $10 of the price for me.

Fried Chicken Sandwich
Jonathan K.

NOT IN THE FOOD MALL!! IT'S LOCATED OUTSIDE!!!!! It's a pink store, which makes it easy to find. Order outside at their register. They have "indoor seating" with heaters and such, so if you come on a cold day, don't worry. Also can take the food to eat inside the food mall. Arrived on a Monday afternoon, and they were not busy. I was recommended one item, the Fried Chicken Sandwich (not their desserts, which I found surprising). FRIED CHICKEN SANDWICH It was gigantic!!!!! They really give you plenty of chicken...like the entire thigh. Although it was like $17, it felt worth because the chicken is so much larger than the bun. They have slaw in it, plenty of sauce, which doesn't make it feel too dry. Breading sticks well to the chicken, super crispy, and stays crispy as you eat it. Definitely can share between 2 people! I was actually getting a little sick of all the chicken at the end...because they give so much!

Amy Y.

Located right next to Granville Public Market. Known for their cream puff soft serve. They take only card. No cash. They also have a dining option for other food items. I came here after watching a bunch of videos recommending this place for the puff cream. Many options for the ice cream and prices varies. We ordered a Violet B (freeze dried blueberries with cornflake crunch) around $7-8 usd. The ice cream was very soft. The toppings were very crispy and not too sweet. Cream puff was very crispy. Not really on the soft side. Tasty treat though.

Menu
Armita P.

Popina is a Must try eatery when visiting Granville Island. The fried chicken sandwich is a must try it's juicy, crispy, and packed with flavour. I tried: Crispy Free Run Chicken Sandwich $17 Shiestring Fries $5.5 Barista Puffcream $9 They have their own seating area but they were quite busy when we went so we sat on the public benches.

Josephine M.

My daughter and I met up with some family for lunch on Granville Island at @popinacanteen . She and I shared an order of Fish and Chips together. We were too full to order the puffcream dessert that @popinacanteen is well known for, but her two cousins managed to make room for it. One of them had a Malteser puffcream and the other had a Nutzo puffcream. They looked really good so I will have to bring my girl back so we can try it ourselves sometime! The fish and chips were good though. Fries were crispy and there wasn't too much batter on the fish.  Those puffcreams get so much attention but the rest of their menu gets barely any attention. Type in "Popina Canteen" on Google, and lots of puffcream pictures pop up, but very few pictures of their other food appear. Popina Canteen is worth checking out for more than just their puffcreams. Aside from the fish and chips that my daughter and I shared they also have a Vegan salad, burgers, and sandwiches which include two different types of chicken sandwich, a lobster roll, a crispy cod sandwich, and a house made falafel sandwich for Vegetarians. Service: Good  Parking: Not free, but there's plenty of it. Granville Island does tend to be a busy place though, so despite the parking being plentiful you may have to circle around a bit before you find a spot. Just be patient! Location: It's on Granville Island so there's plenty to do there. There are shops to see, food to buy and eat, street performers to watch, ferry boats to ride...plenty of fun to be had at Granville Island!

Super messy chicken sandwich

We ordered the chicken sandwiches. They were $18 each and didn't come with fries, which we felt was over-priced. I ordered the spicy chicken sandwich, which in all fairness, the girl at the till did warn me was really spicy. I like spicy but this was too spicy to eat. Also, it was super messy. Just dripping sauce and so spicy that I had to bail halfway through. Not worth the money.

Food Menu
Mandy T.

Located by the water on Granville Island, outside the Public Market entrance, Popina's is located as a separate structure with a dine in section and a takeout window for those who want to eat outside on the public seats overlooking the water. I've seen their soft serve puffs on social media and wanted to try but we were too hungry to settle for just soft serve. So we got food instead and will have to try their soft serves another time. Hammer's Hot Chicken Sandwich ($13 - weekends only) is a pretty good deal considering the size (the crispy chicken piece was huge!). However the spiciness level is just too hot for either my hubby nor I to enjoy. All you can taste is the spicy sauce. Super messy to eat too so get a lot of napkins! Fish Crispy Sandwich ($14) is good with 1pc fried cod in the burger. A bit overpriced but we are paying tourist prices at these locations. Its also very saucy and juicy which is what makes it good, but also get extra napkins for this too!

Turkish Delight soft served
J T.

Just here for the delicious soft-served icecream. How can you hate it? 5/5 No cash! Credit only.

It's True!
Colin L.

Solid 3.75/5 Stars (one of these days YELP, you'll let us assign .25 stars and I'll be the one laughing!) The place is a bit hectic and I think it's because you can order food in three different ways. There is a service window outside, two kiosks next to that window and a counter inside their covered patio. High anxiety trying to figure out if the way I ordered was the most efficient, I chose the counter inside because my wonderful wife wanted a beer and we wanted a place to sit with our toddler that didn't directly involve battling an coordinated army of birds for our food. Food is a pricey but it's a tourist area so understandable. Waited maybe 15 minutes for our order, which was actually less than we thought based on how busy it was and said apprehension about which avenue to order food. I feel like you always need to try the Fish (Cod) and Chips when you're at a seaside shack. They did not disappoint with the large portions of batter heavy Cod but were surprisingly light on the amount of Fries in the serving. The Tartar sauce has dill and I believe Tarragon, just delightful, as was the coleslaw. Our daughter also loved this platter of food, which always makes it extra room in my heart. The other item we tried was the Hammer Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich. The previous warnings about how spicy this MFer is...are 100% real. I fancy myself a bit of spicehead and can handle my shit on the regular, I went with the standard Hot and not the Extreme and was thankful I showed restraint this once in my life. There is something that happens when the vinegar in the sauce meets the fried chicken oil that amplifies the heat by like eleven. Literally was tearing up and coughing like a novice while totally enjoying the massive piece that was served. Order extra pickles, grab 40 napkins and don't eat this handheld over your clothes cause it be sloppy delicious. You've been warned. The covered patio could have been looked after for cleanliness a bit better but the non-kitchen staffing level wasn't great.

Fried chicken sandwich
Patricia F.

They are a nice covered heated patio for diners to enjoy their food if you get there early enough. We wanted to try the DOV menu but the pos system that you order from didn't have that choice which is a bit of a bummer. I also am allergic to onions and wanted no onions on my sandwich but anytime I tried to hit the no onion option on the pos, it would give me an error. A little frustrating. Once you make an order via the pos or on your phone, you have to wait for your number to be called. And let me tell you that the numbers are not in order and they don't yell it out so instead they just run around asking what number your order is. I think they really need to figure out a better system. Maybe one of those old style deli counter take a ticket dispensers would even work better. Onto the food- I had the fried chicken sandwich and I thought it was only ok. I love sauce but the sandwich was drenched so it was really really messy and my fried chicken wasn't crunchy. The fries are over priced and wasn't even warm when we got them. It didn't even fill the small paper bag it came in and looked really sad. All in all, I'd probably not come back. There's better fried chicken places and many more better tasting food on Granville island

Barry W.

One-word review: Solid. We went here on the recommendation of a reliable friend, who highly recommended the chicken sandwich. We thought about indulging in a puffcream as well but thought better of it as we had already purchased donuts at a well-known spot nearby. The free run chicken sandwich was a winner. We spiced ours up with some hot sauce we had brought, but it already tasted good. The only complaint was that the bun did not stand up to the sauce/wetter ingredients, and it was noticeably soggy very quickly. But the portion and quality were good. We parked for free on the street a couple of blocks from Granville Island and walked around on a cool but sunny day. Very pleasant. Bottom line: I would eat this again and wouldn't mind trying some of their other offerings.

Luke warm fries
Natalie T.

I have been here a few times always getting their fried chicken sandwich and fries. Owned by well known chefs/restauranteurs in the city, I keep getting suckered in by iG posts/stories that make it look so appealing. I have never had their cream puff icecream dessert until today when I had the dine out menu: Fried chicken & fries (surprise, surprise) Cream puff malteser For $15 it was a steal! But I think I over hyped it in my head. The fried chicken sandwich is decent. I've gone a couple of times and I find that the sandwich isn't consistent. Their chicken sandwich appears to be generous in size (it looks big but it's essentially almost like flattened chicken schnitzels battered heavily). If you look on social media of different food influencers they most of them are more generous in portion size. My pet peeve was that the shredded lettuce and pickles made the sandwich too wet. I don't enjoy soggy lettuce (especially when it's shredded). It's also a bit difficult to eat with 2 hands when u make the sandwich with 2 pieces of chicken. I am pretty sure in the past I've had it in one piece. I also have an issue with their fries. I should enjoy them Cos I like shoestring fries; however this is the 3rd time where they weren't hot. They are warm but there is no reason why they shouldn't be out of the fryer hot. I came at a time where there was one couple eating their meal already so I would have expected the fries to be piping hot considering I was the only customer.... I had my popina buzzer on me so I could wander outside and I even came back to the cantina before it buzzed. I noticed they were under the heat lamp along with my sandwich. I almost suspect they made my fries first....This isn't just a one time thing either...forget the fries. Dessert. I enjoyed it. They make a good cream puff. Vanilla Soft serve icecream is added to it with toppings. I had grounded malteasers as a topping. I would not pay $8 for it (I only got it Cos it was part of dine out). Go to beta5 for your cream puff fix and get a McDonald's soft serve (both are better and cheaper combined!). Service here has never been amazing. I rarely get a cheery greeting and often have to patiently wait until I get anyone's attention (this happens when literally there are no customers). It seems like there is no insight from their staff to be more aware of their customers. It's a beautiful spot on Granville island but I think I'll save my calories elsewhere...

Barista
Julie L.

I came during a holiday weekend and Popina (a pop up shop) didn't have much of a wait at all. My friends and I came here specifically for dessert and we got the soft serve ice cream in the cream puff shells. At $8 each, it was kinda pricey, but we shared it among the three of us. We ordered the Barista, and though it was fun to watch them make it, it was SO messy to eat!! I wasn't a huge fan of the soft serve though - it reminded me of a very thick whipped cream. I would've been happy with McDonald's soft serve honestly. It's right on the pier, with seating outside (and inside). Because it was a nice day, we sat outside people watching as we ate the ice cream. Though it was cool to try, I'd consider it a novelty, but I don't think I'll be back for it again.

Turkish Delight Puffcream. It was delicious!

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2 years ago

Succulent ice cream and cone that doesn't wreak havoc on the system! Will definitely come back for more. We shared the Old Fashioned.

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