Simbas Grill - The Road to Kenya starts here...
Many readers phoned me and emailed to say I missed Vancouver's finest authentic East African eatery that Ismailis also love to frequent. Kurshid and Yasmin Khan have created and simply own this concept (E. African style) ever since they opened their first location in Burnaby on Edmonds in Burnaby - not far from the very first Burnaby JK that opened in the early 1970's. You could almost say the Khan's have brought Ismailis back to their Burnaby and African roots in more ways than simply opening an award winning restaurant. This 30 seater proved to be so popular that another one followed in downtown Vancouver on Denman St.While the menu has been what brings people back for more you also get the personal charm of the hosts and their kids Shezmin and Nabil in this family run business. I have had the pleasure of being in both locations and every single time I take away the memory of Yasmin (Burnaby) and Kurshid (Denman) joining our table for a few minutes to make sure we had a good time. The other amazing thing they have done is to install Karaoke systems and their daughter Shezmin belts out a few tunes on the weekends - guests are also welcome to join in to make the night one to cherish. A few weeks ago we were at the Denman spot with some Edmontonion auto dealers in town for the Auto Show and well you can imagine - take it from me Albertans can party on a world class level
Yasmin and Kurshid Khan
8 comments:
Thank You! for finally recognizing this restaurant their owners and the food! I am a persian but love this cusine, and most of all the warmth and hospitality shown to me and friends who are ismaili and cocasian whenever we visit Simba's in Burnaby or Vancouver. I personally thank you for writing about them, you have done a wonderful job expressing your experience(s) when you visit this restaurant.
I love going to this restaurant, the one on Denman Street is very well decorated, it gives you a feel of being in Kenya. Once in a while the Chef (i guess the owner)comes around the table to ask if everything is fine with meal, you dont feel pressured by being asked over and over again if all is well, i like that. The food is excellent, and wellworth the $ you pay for.
I am a non ismaili spouse and my first date out with my girl-friend (my wife now) was Simba's Grill in Burnaby, we celebrate our first date anniversary every year at Simba's - we love the food, especially the kuku choma & ribs which cannot be compared to any other restaurant. Thank you for allowing us to write our comments on morning chai, Simba's Grill deserves the praise.
Simba's! Yummmmmmmmmmmmm
My seven year old doesn't ask for mcdonalds or chucky cheese...she likes to go to Simbas! Everytime we drive by Simbas on Edmonds, she says can we go, please? please? Please!!!!, she loves the specail attention she gets from Simba aunty. The food is amazing,always consistent and the service is superb and every customer feels specials cause simba aunty treats every order with TLC. Keep up the great service YASMIN!
I have been to both locations and personally feel that this write-up should have been done a long time ago, i know Simba's have been recognised by non-ismaili's and has received various awards, but we as ismaili's also need to recognise and appreciate people like Yasmin & Kurshid, who not only give this special treatment to people they know but to even those who are first timers. I am also a receipient of their various generous donations given to support the community for various events - A BIG THANK YOU TO YOU MR KARIM - for recognising and appreciating this couple and their restaurant, thank you from my family, friends and the community as i am one of the leaders as well.
I was told i could put my comments here regarding this restaurant. I have only been to the Burnaby restaurant and was there with my family and out of town friends this past weekend. If people really read this, i hope they do, i would have give hats off to Yasmin (the owner) who handled certain difficult customers and some very unappreciative customers that were out of town attending the games. They had booked a table for 12 people and only 1 person showed up at the time and eventually 4 people showed and then nobody else. Th restaurant was very busy and Yasmin was turning away people, some people who had not booked and some who had to wait for their bookings as people who finished their meal would not leave knowing that there were other's waiting. PLEASE VANCOUVER AND ALL OTHERS APPRECIATE THE WARM WELCOME AND SMILE YOU GET AND DONT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A GOOD HOSTESS! Yasmin, keep up the good work, the good food and smile - A Damji & Family, West Vancouver, BC
My comments for Mother's Day - 7413 Edmond's Street, Burnaby. The restaurant was house full, i had not made a reservation, i was in a bad mood because the restaurant i had made a reservation with kept me waiting for 45 mins, and the owner who is also an ismaili located on Kingsway thinks he was dong me a favour by giving me a table in first place - so i ended up at Simba's Grill on Edmond's Street, now here's the difference, a lady walks up to me with a smile, and asks if had made a reservation, and i said no, but my wife, my children and grandchildren are very hungry, and we have been disappointed at the restaurant we had made a reservation with can you fit us in. She said she was house full and she was closing in 15 minutes (it was almost 10:30pm)BUT with a very warm and welcoming smile she told us, if we ordered now and waited for 15 minutes, she would have us seated and have the meal ready in front of us! This was our first experience at Simba's Grill in Burnaby! The sigh of relief and smiles i saw on my family's face made me think why didnt i think of coming to this restaurant before. I will tell you why, i play golf and overheard some people say that the price was steep, and i also heard that they only took reservations...i would like to share this with all readers, please dont listen to people and go and experience a delightful dinner with your family. The owner not only made sure we had a table and our food was redy as promised, but we noticed she also cleaned the tables, worked hand in hand with her workers, and at the same time made sure we were comfortable,that we had everything we wanted. What i liked the most, she didnt over-sell us, since we were so hungry we wanted to order everything on the menu, and she cut off 4 items and i amglad she did. NO SIMABA'S IS NOT EXPENSIVE IT IS WORTH THE VALUE OF THE FOOD, TASTE, WARM WELCOME AND ATMOSPHERE! TWO THUMBS UP SIMBA
I don't know why people say Simba is expensive. It's not a fast food joint. And for the quality, size of servings, and excellent hospitality (especially at Edmonds), I think it is good value for money.
Every guest that I have taken there has been pleased with the experience.
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