I just had one of the most satisfying lunches ever at Simba’s Grill. I regret not visiting this restaurant sooner. I went to this restaurant out of pure interest in African food. I’ve had Ethiopian food once before, but other than that I’ve never had anything African.

Lunch time was pretty quiet at this place, but there was always a couple tables occupied. It was good for us because that means we get seats right away. The lunch menu was short and simple, consisted mostly barbecue meat, with saffron rice or fries. The lunch special was any lunch plate with a choice of soft drink for $10.99 dollars, except for the daily special.

I got a Mishkaki lunch plate with saffron rice. My friends got the Lamb Kabob with Rice, and their daily special Basa Fish with Coconut Curry Sauce and Saffron Rice ($12.99).

The Mishkaki had 3 beef kabobs, saffron rice, and salad. It was a big plate, it was hard cutting the beef without pushing the rice over my plate at first. The beef had really great charcoal flavor, however, it was a bit over cooked for me. They were a little hard to cut and a little chewy.

On the table, the waitress gave us a plate of 3 different kinds of sauces. One of them was their barbecue sauce, it was really good. It was sweet, and it was great with my beef. I poured quite a bit of it on my beef after the first try because the beef tasted dry and boring without it. The red sauce was their spicy sauce. The white stuff, I had to do a double take. I had no idea of what it was, so I ate it with the beef first, but I still couldn’t taste it. So, I ate some of it alone after, and by the time I realized what it was, my mind almost exploded. Oh my god, it’s coconut! It’s coconut chutney, with a hint of cilantro in it. 2 of my favorite things, together! It didn’t add much to my beef, but it was soo good with my saffron rice. I loved it, a lot.

The Basa Fish with curry sauce was also really good. The curry was rich and very flavorful, but that also covered up the taste of the fish. Be careful when you ask for the curry to be spicy, because it does get spicy. The Lamb kabob was a little weird, aesthetic wise. It looked more like lamb sausages than kabobs. The sausages had good flavors, they had all kinds of spices in them, and they weren’t dry. My friend enjoyed it too.

The overall quality of the meal was good. I found some the rice was a bit clumpy, and without the sauces, the whole meal could be really dry if you didn’t get the curry. I think it was mostly the coconut chutney and the barbecue sauce, I truly enjoyed my lunch here, and I was very satisfied.

Note: Street Parking

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Simba’s Grill
7413 Edmonds St
Burnaby, BC V3N
(604) 525-8904
www.simbasgrill.com