Ammerose Internet Cafe

I walked by this place on the way to another meet up and decided to book mark this for future reference on October 13^th.
Décor is homely, nothing that screams too out of the pot (no pun intended).
The guy working here is super friendly and loves people. Very sociable and happy which is what I look for. He is passionate about his job, people and food.
The food was great and it felt that it was home made with love but his attitude and friendliness is what really sold the place with me.
I haven’t had a lot of exposure to Jamaican food but this was a great introduction to.
Very reasonable prices and huge portions.

What a shocking and wonderful surprise to bump into this place.
While staying at the Best Western Plus Downtown (just across the street around the corner), I set off to look for a market. I found this spot not long after, it was a 2 minute walk from the hotel.
I am glad I went inside. It is an Internet café and Jamaican restaurant.
The first thing you see is a glass case with Jamaican patties in it. That’s the first thing I ordered. Looking at the menu on the wall, I wanted to try 100% blue mountain coffee. My wife wanted to try the homemade soup.
I also grabbed a Ting (Jamaica’s national grapefruit soda. Think Squirt, but better).
The patties were great, the Ting awesome as always. The coffee was disappointing. Blue mountain is consistently ranked the best in the world. I will have to try again somewhere else.
The owner is very talkative and very very friendly. He was so nice, and we ended up talking story for quite some time. He started bringing out dishes for me to try, starting with a plate of salad (simple tossed), then a plate of curry goat.
The food was so good. He makes everything homemade, from scratch. He bakes everything, so does not use oil.
My wife fell in love with the soup, so much that we ended up here three days in a row for that soup. I brought the rest of my family the next day, and they were also converted.
One thing to watch out for is the bill at the end. Although Harris (owner) is very nice and maybe even too giving with the extras, the charges are somewhat inconsistent. The first day seemed like he definitely undercharged a bit because he brought out so much food.
The next day with the family in tow, the bill ended up
being more than twice what it should have been. I did not want to make a scene in front of everyone, so let it slide for the time being.
Of course I went back again later that night for more food and at that point asked about the charges. He explained he gave extra food for more people. This was nice and all, but I never asked for any extras, so being charged for them was not very cool.
So just a heads up– be careful what your order versus don’t order, as you actually may end up getting charged for it.
I really really like the owner a lot though. We talked for quite a long time. I enjoyed hearing his stories about Jamaica. For any reggae fans out there, he is a first cousin to the infamous Claudie Massop. Yes, he shares the same last name, their fathers were siblings. Very very interesting stuff.
When I am back in Vancouver again, I will definitely go see Harris again. His food is amazing. I’ll be careful to order what I want and let him know I don’t need extras. If you are in town, I highly recommend trying it. It may be the best soup you’ve ever had, as my wife proclaims.

I called ahead to see if I could print something there, guy said yes, I went there and the printer didn’t work, he blamed me and said I should pay to have used his computer. I refused so he swore at me. He later called me to tell me all of my sheets had printed and that he was going to «F me up».

The jerk chicken is amazing, it falls off the bone, and the rice is so flavourful. Even if that weren’t the case, I’d go back for the staff alone!

I came by to use the internet. The owner is really nice and laid back. The interior design leaves mich to be desired but dont be in a hurry to judge the book by its cover. I tried beef stew and a bit of curry chicken stew with rice and a salad. It was absolitely delicious! The owner also gave me a complimentary dairy free absolutely amazing blueberry/​rasberry/​banana smoothie to try! I recommend.

Best Jamaican patties and soup! Such a great owner. Thx so much!

I’ve been going to this café for going on three years now. The customer service is amazing. The owner is always entertaining and we always have great conversations about everything under the sun. He often gives me an extra patty, cup of soup of plate of homemade Jamaican curry chicken.
To the person who said th patties were «passable» I’m sure you’ve never had a real Jamaican patty. Those nasty dried out yellow things you see in other stores are mass produced crap.

****THREE AND A HALF STARS****
Spice cake. Honey buns. No, this time I am not referring to the boyfriend.
Jamaican food: treats, curry, patties, beverages. Jamaican owner: like a lot of «island» people, he is very outgoing, eager to please, and loves to befriend his customers.
Hot coffee or cool berry smoothies. Also an Internet café.
Don’t come here if you’re in a mega rush. This is a sit down and relax and enjoy kind of place.
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*Review ⁴⁰⁴⁄₃₆₅ personal challenge

Ok, so I stroll by this place numerous times a month on my way to/​from Fitness World and everytime I do the energetic owner is always waving and wishing me a good day.
So today I come out of the gym and he’s strolling by on his way to open up his store and we start chatting and he invites me in to try some of his Jerk Chicken he’s been baking in the oven overnight (along with goat stew). One word, delicious! This is coming from someone who considers himself somewhat of a food connoisseur (everyone’s a foodie these days so I’ll skip that label), I eat out a lot, cook a lot myself, and worked on-​line in Yaletown kitchens while at UBC. In short, the chicken was amazing and I’ll be back again as a paying customer.
To follow up on the previous review. I suggest anyone that visits the café chats with the owner. His name is Harris and you’d be hard pressed to meet a more welcoming, friendly, and engaging character. He also owns the two neighbouring stores (a dog spa and barber shop). Take a moment and ask him about his café, his other stores next door, his family, and the 30 years he’s been in Canada and sample this homemade dishes. Meeting Harris was a welcome addition to my day and if you take a moment to stop by and meet him you won’t be disappointed.

Some things about the WestEnd perplex me. For example, just what is a «smootie» as advertised by a Davie Street café? Is that a blended drink with
a touch of snobism? Why would I want to buy «germ tomatoes», sold at a produce store on Bute? Also why are people willing to line up in the rain or snow just to eat mediocre Greek food at prices that are not markedly cheaper than other comparible places? Ammerose café can be added to that list of local mysteries if for no other reason than that it is perhaps the only downtown café which has existed for quite some time but has never been Unilocaled about until now. The condo building which has been under scaffolding for at least a year, where this café is located, has a spray painted sign on a big piece of wood which incites us to «Walk This Way» in order to get people away from the sidewalk which has been partly closed off. Unfortunately that sign has failed to get customers to the dog spa, hairdresser and café which are all associated with the café and which are usually empty. And the food?
An odd mixture of passable Jamaican patties, average coffee, a selection of ginger beers, Peek Freen type cookies packaged in plastic wrap, and Life brand soft drinks next to brands like Coke and Sprite. If not for food and drink we can’t get at home and a nice environment in which to sit with others, why go to a café? There are computers here for rent by the hour and the owner likes to chat, particularly with women.