Perch

I really enjoyed Perch, in fact I would say the only part I didn’t enjoy was the location.
They have a ton of vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options so it’s great for even your pickiest of friends. The staff were super laid back and friendly.
Great portion sizes, really fresh tasting ingredients and the food has that nice home made feel.

I was actually recommended this place by my hair dresser who is gluten free/​vegan. I like Walking Dead, however, the walk through Zombieland is a little discouraging for me to make a trip often for this. Kudos for businesses like this trying to clean up and do revamp the area. I made sure that I went and came in the day light just in case.
The first thing that you notice is that there is a very low key hipster feel to this place. a few double seaters and some booths. It looks like a hipster diner without the pretentiousness of trying too hard. Some might go as far as calling it a hole in the wall, however, a tidy hole in the wall.
I loved our waiter and appreciated having a chill, down to earth and friendly waiter. I am so over those stick up the ass servers. My girlfriend and I even joked with the waiter which was awesome and it felt more like talking to a friend than someone just giving you your food.
Of course there is the love of the Vinyl and I was stunned and amazed that tunes were spinned on the turn table. I wanted to look in the guys box of records, however, that is like looking in someone’s underwear drawer.
I had a large bowl of chilli with a side of gluten free toast which was amazingly filling. I couldn’t even finish my entire bowl.
The prices are very reasonable considering that it is gluten free and other eateries take advantage of this and charge stupid high prices for.
They played the Pixies while we ate which is an automatic additional star… if we could give 6 stars.

Perch is a dream come true for group dinners. A friend of mine had a going away party here on the weekend, and everyone left happy. I’ve never seen such an accommodating menu in my life. There are plenty of options (many of which are gluten free) for vegetarians, vegans and omnivores. You could take all the pickiest friends you have here and have a good time.
Lex B. and I split the Vegan Breakfast Sandwich and the Broccoli Pizza. The Sammich was DELICIOUS. It had Daiya, avocado, tomato, a «sausage» patty, lettuce, and I don’t remember what else but it was awesome. It comes with a huge plate of potatoes that are also good.
The Broccoli pizza was amazing because it had broccoli on it. You really can’t go wrong with broccoli. It had 3 cheeses and came on a gluten free crust. I think all the pizzas do, actually. Thankfully it wasn’t crumbly or shitty. It had a strange texture but it wasn’t anything I was bothered by. I also tried a slice of the Spinach and Brie pizza and I can’t decide which one I like more.
Everything was going so well that we actually ordered dessert too. I had a cheesecake cookie or something. It was cheesecake sandwiched between 2 peanut butter cookies. Delicious. My friend ordered the same but with Baileys ice cream in the middle. I think we each liked each others cookie filling better than the one we ordered. The baileys ice cream is strooooooong!
Decent beer selection too. I’ll be back for sure.

I’ve been in here a couple of times now, and since I intend to return I figure that everyone in the Unilocal universe ought to know why.
There is such a vast selection of food offerings and the staff have been helpful, cordial, and downright fun every time I’ve been in. There are gluten-​free, vegan, vegetarian, and fiercely omnivore options. I generally eat at vegan and raw food places because I find it easier to control my many food allergies/​sensitivities (gluten, tuna, chicken, lactose, and soy) but it was not a challenge to find a suitable meal here.
It’s also great comfort food. I love the SallyMae burger; something about beets and black beans always makes me happy. Most recently, I had the brocolli goat cheese pizza (goat cheese is only about 4% lactose per weight and I subbed Daiya for the mozzarella, so no scary lactose reactions). The two «cheeses» actually worked really well together, and I loved the thin crispy crust. There are also vegan, gluten-​free pizza options for those so inclined. I brought a friend the pulled pork sandwich, and this guy is mighty picky, but he loved it. Not overly saucy, which is his frequent complaint about pulled pork.
Definitely worth a look for anyone; food sensitives, vegetable lovers, and omnivores alike, you’ll find something you enjoy here.

This place is really accommodating for big office lunch groups. Came here for a Friday lunch with a group of 14, and there was plenty of room. Took a while for the last meals to come out (my meal was last, obviously), but to be expected with one server and one cook, they don’t typically get very busy at lunch.
I had the green salad with blue cheese dressing and added pulled pork. Lots of avocado and tomatoes on top, mixed with pulled pork = yummy. Had the pizzas before too, gluten free, thin crust, mostly toppings.
A couple guys got the death burger, it’s like two patties of beef, and has an egg, pulled pork, and a chicken wing. Huh? They managed to finish it and said it was good.

I came here with my partner and 2 friends on a Sunday afternoon, following Hoppapalooza. We were a little tipsy and a lot hungry. The staff was warm and accommodating. I ordered the Thai Peanut Tofu Nuggets with hash-​browns and my partner ordered vegan pizza of some sort (I remember veggies and deliciousness, is all! The piece I was given did not last long on my plate). The tofu «nuggets» are triangles of tofu marinated in your choice of 4 sauces.
This place is so rad– they let you park your bike in the lobby– not theft proof but a better chance than locking it up on the street.
Tofu «nuggets» are hella spicy but my partner swears I was just drunk and that they weren’t that spicy. So you’ll have to try them and decide for yourself. The tofu was extremely flavourful and thoroughly sauced, though, so kudos there.

Oh Perch, i had such high hopes for you…
It was one of my regular haunts (in the old location) due to the tasty gluten free pizza, friendly servers and decent tunes. My mister and i decided to check out the new space and were hoping that little had changed other than the location.
We arrived with rumbling stomachs around 9pm on a Friday, there were three other tables occupied so it wasn’t very busy. Server with bleach blonde hair smiled and showed us to a table within a few minutes of us arriving, gave us menus and walked away without asking about drink orders. The service went downhill from there.
Server came back five minutes later to take our drink order. five minutes is a long time to sit at a table with no water or beer. When it came to ordering food, the dish my mister wanted to try was unavailable and his second choice was also a no go also due to there being no chicken left. Hmmm bummer and it would have been great if she could have mentioned this before we looked through the menu.
My pizza arrived about 20 minutes after we ordered which was fine but my guy’s order didn’t arrive with it. He spotted his plate being placed on the hatch area where it sat for another 5 minutes. The server was behind the bar going through paperwork or receipts and not paying attention to the tables/​kitchen.
Cue another 2 minutes of debating should we go get it ourselves? She eventually looked up and brought it over. After the first bite it was obviously lukewarm and i urged him to ask her to bring it back to heat it but at that point he was so annoyed (and hungry) by the service/​wait he ate and said that he wouldn’t return. I mentioned it upon paying and she gave a halfhearted sorry but didn’t offer to take any $ off the bill.
The food was the same as we’ve had previously (i.e. decent) but considering how lackluster the service was, we’d rather go to somewhere on the Drive or on Main. The new digs may be more spacious but that won’t do much for business if the service remains shoddy.

If I didn’t have to take a trip through zombieland to get to Perch I would likely return here more often. As it stands, it is out of the way and not mind-​blowingly good enough to entice me to dodge the strung-​out masses in this sad part of town.
What I do love and appreciate is the dedication to gluten-​free. It was a nice, safe place for my man and his mom to eat. And they can use Daiya cheese for those that can’t have dairy, too. So thank you for that!
There were four of us and we all tried a different pizza. We tried the pulled pork, spinach and brie, yam and tofu ricotta, and the Thai chicken. I loved the hit of spice in the Thai chicken, and the spinach and brie (which also had portobellos, mmm) was my favourite although the taste of brie didn’t really shine though. I do love brie, so if you are going to use it, I want to taste it. The crust was good for gluten free, though it was quite chewy and my jaw got a bit sore doing all that work. I would be delighted if they could manage a slightly fluffier crust, though I know that is difficult when baking GF. The flavour of the crust was nice, though.
Overall, the dinner was good, and we will likely return, but it won’t be a regular place simply because of the location. I would like to try a burger and see if their buns are as good as the bread at Wallflower.
I am tempted to come by on a Monday night for their Mix Tape battle. Just the idea of this makes me smile, and I am tempted to sort through old boxes of stuff from high school trying to find the mix tapes I made. I of course thought my mixes were the best, but looking back they were pretty generic. I don’t think I will be winning any prizes at Perch.

These guys make one seriously stellar gluten-​free pizza. I stopped in for dinner with a few friends one Sunday night, and after deliberating over their delicious-​looking menu options I opted for the Thai Chicken. Topped with cashews, chicken, chilies and cilantro, it was easily one of the tastiest pizzas I have ever had. This was my first foray into GF pizza, and it certainly won’t be my last. The crisp, thin crust had nice texture that really allowed the flavours of the toppings to shine. Great stuff.
They also have a good selection of cheap cans of beer, and gluten-​free dessert options. Our server was attentive and cute-​as-​a-​button (us ladies were swooning about how he looked like «such a nice Canadian boy» prompting eye-​rolls from the foreign-​born husbands). Another big bonus: they have a few FREE classic arcade game-​tables which makes them all the more awesome in my books.
Their new location near Hastings and Main isn’t exactly the nicest neighbourhood in town, although with my best friend living only a few blocks away in neighbouring Gastown, I’m sure we’ll venture over again in the near future.

A welcome addition to an otherwise bleak stretch of Hastings.
The college-​kid Marxists will tell you this part of the vanguard of gentrification besetting the «troubled neighbourhood». Local old-​timers will tell you this is merely a reversal of the trend towards ghettoization over the last two decades. In any event, I found the place bright, clean and welcoming. On two separate visits, I observed a ‘local’ (clearly with mental illness), inside the restaurant –I’m pretty sure he wasn’t a paying customer and was something of a nuisance, but the staff took it all in stride, clearly knew him and showed compassionate kindness in how they handled him. He wasn’t kicked out, but dealt with respectfully. It showed to me that the staff and owners of Perch «get it» .
Nice selection of beers on tap, good food, gluten free and vegan options, sometimes DJs and otherwise decent soundscape, not too loud and a reasonable price-​point.

WHHHAAAAAATTTTT!!!
a place with vegan options (and gluten free — if your into that ;))
excellent.
music is great and the staff are the Bomb!
ok, gfrankly I am a bit stoked that these cats have moved closer to my place from whence they came.
good selection of beers and daily deals that aren’t too shabby either make this a new fave.

I have a habit of writing only good reviews on Unilocal,because I feel taking up time writing shitty reviews is a waste of my life. I prefer to give praise where praise is due. Like in the case of Perch.
I know they used to be in a much smaller space further eat, but have since relocated to a spot on East Hastings near Gore. Which is helpful if your planning on attending a show at the Rickshaw Theatre or Fortune Sound and you want something tasty before or after the show. Do NOT let the address be a deterrent (besides, nobody likes a coward).
Perch has gluten-​free options. Vegan options. Veggie-​friendly options. Meat lover’s options. And a combination of all of these things. In an effort not to price out the locals, they also offer specials so people in the neighbourhood don’t feel unwelcome. But as good as that is, it’s nowhere near as good as the food.
I have had the wings, the pizza, the burgers, and the nachos. I keep going there because I have a mild suspicion I’m addicted to the Maple wings. I’m comfortable with that. Surprisingly, I think I’ve ordered everything off of the menu at lease once. I’m going to try and pull a Noah/​Ark situation and order everything at least twice.
Also: local artist’s work up on the walls, which I like.
Anyways, the food: win. The people: win. Think the hipster-​ness of the Foundation with the added bonus you don’t have to wait forever and a day to get your food and order taken. ;)
… oops broke my own rule. Ah, fuck it. ^_^

Oh. Hell. Yes. Ohhellyes.
Cue the rain, cue the typical dark, Vancouver evening at Gore and Hastings. Cue hunger.
I will be leaving Vancouver soon for good and I have made a point of trying all the places that I’ve heard of but never tried before I do and Perch naturally, as a gluten free person, was top on that list.
My friend and I arrived, after not being totally sure where we were going and walked into a great big space, empty at 9pm on a Monday. Sitting right over the heater to dry off and warm up we ordered some beers.
The service was okay, there were clearly friends of the servers at the bar chit chatting and so our service was slower than it could have been given that the place was empty, but I wont hold it against them.
We had our beer and ordered, I had the Chicken Parm Sam’ich which includes: slow cooked pulled chicken, caramelized onions, tomato sauce, parmesan, asiago, and arugula on a toasted Kaiser bun. Instead of the kaiser I had myself a gluten free bun. Gluten free yum! My friend had the burger burger and added brie for fun.
We both LOVED our meals. The food was really good, fresh, tasty just what the Dr ordered on a cold wintery Vancouver night.
We sat and chatted for a while and then headed back into the rain.
With the exception of a man who decided to play with the jukebox and put a little deathmetal screamo on at one point, we thoroughly enjoyed our evening. Thanks Perch!

Sunday brunch at the new location. The space is lovely featuring some rad artwork from some artists at Gastown Tattoo. The birds errywhere. Mirror along the bar is a nice touch.
The place was pretty dead this afternoon, but I assume that is because none of the peeps really know where they went? It’s like they ninja moved.
Our server was really friendly and just the right amount of attentive. Almond milk instead of soy for your beverages.
I had the Vegan Sammich and was pretty satisfied. It was a lot of soy but I was living on the wild side this morning. Avocado. Tomato. Y’ves patty. It was a tasty sausagey indulgence. Hash browns were pretty oily but that didn’t stop me from eating most of them. My dining partner had the Pulled Pork Hash and gobbled it down happily.
I like the new location. You no longer have to walk through a disgusting cloud coming from the chicken rendering plant place and feel revolted.
¹⁴⁄₃₀

Group of us walks in at 10:30pm on a Friday.
Me: «Hi, table for 10 please?»
Server: «Sorry, we close at 11.»
Me: «Oh! Bummer. On Unilocal it says you close at midnight.»
Server: «Weird, no sorry…»
As we walk out,
Chef (loudly from the kitchen): «Oh, ‘Yelp’ says we close at midnight? What the fuck is Unilocal?Why the fuck would they look there? Pffffffft.»
Well, sir. This the fuck is Unilocal.And you can go Unilocal yourself.

Who knew that GF pizza could be so good? I had the chicken/​cashew/​chili pizza, which comes as a deal on Fridays for $ 14 with a pint of R&B beer. Put leftovers in the fridge when I got home, and the leftover elves had gobbled it by morning, with a note that said, «Buuurrrp.»
The restaurant is small, the décor is unadorned industrial, and it’s a bit noisy, but service is super laid-​back, and the atmosphere is chill. It’s the restaurant equivalent of an all-​ages show. They don’t bring the bill until you absolutely ask for it. So we stayed and stayed, watching the hip kids come and go.
Apparently they were having some issues with a tenant in the building above that might have forced the shutdown of the Perch, but according to their Facebook page, the issue has been resolved, and the restaurant can stay open. Yay!

Love The Perch, been here a few times just to have their gluten free, vegan pizzas. All pizzas have a gluten free crust and the vegan cheese (Daiya) is optional but available for all the pizzas if desired (no extra charge).
Pizzas, $ 11 each or $ 19 for 2: Thin and crispy gluten free crust topped with lots of cheese. Although I’m lactose intolerant and the daiya cheese is better for me — I like the regular cheese better. Lots of options including vegetarian, steak with mushrooms/​peppers/​caramelized onions, pulled pork, thai chicken, etc. My favorite is the margarita pizza (v. good, a little light on the basil but it’s usually like that anywhere you go — I just love basil). Good portions, about 10−11″. Comes out hot!
All their meals have gluten free or vegan options. Their breakfast/​brunch menu looks fantastic but I haven’t had the opportunity to give it a try.
Tofu Nuggets with peanut sauce, $ 8 (~10 pieces): I was skeptical at first because I don’t like tofu but it was actually quite tasty. The peanut sauce wasn’t drippy, but dried onto the nuggets and had some spice. They were shaped like dog biscuits which I thought was unappetizing at first but it was surprising good and we ate the whole thing.
The restaurant is small and casual. The main floor has seating for about 18 — it’s bright and airy and faces Powell St. The windows are also big glass sliding doors so it can be a little nosy. Seating upstairs is nice (~20 ppl) but very it warm with poor air circulation (mostly, I think because the kitchen/​pizza oven is right below). Also some seating outside on the patio. NOTE: It’s close to a processing plant so can sometimes smell a little fishy outside. However, the smells inside make you hungry.
Service is friendly. It’s very casual and relaxed. A great place off the beaten track to enjoy a casual meal with a wide variety of dietary preferences: meat, vegetarian, gluten free, vegan, lactose intolerant, etc.
Prices: Very reasonable and includes HST!

There’s something so comfortable about the mismatch cushions and the old school décor. There’s a table top arcade machine downstairs for your entertainment that we took full advantage of after our dinner.
This little restaurant is located… well, in the middle of no where. I don’t see any other cafes around and there only seem to be warehouses. A great find thanks to my friend who decided to have his birthday here.
We sat upstairs, which was just big enough to accommodate our party of 14 people. It was cozy, a little too hot, but allowed us to be as loud as we wanted.
I tried the pulled pork sandwich, which was a little too sweet for my liking, but the meat was perfectly cooked with the right amount of sauce. The brie, spinach and portebello mushroom pizza was delicious. I could barely put it down and it was the perfect compliment to my beer. The pizza wasn’t too heavy, but left me extremely satisfied.
If I’m in the area again, I wouldn’t mind dropping in again.

Belly bliss!
Pulled pork and onion pizza on gf crust with Daiya vegan cheese.
Yes, you read that right. Pulled pork on pizza, and It was so satisfying. I’m stuffed like I haven’t felt in such a long time and it’s a good feeling. The Perch is like a vegan & Celiac’s Oasis, with gluten free beer and even a gluten free desert! I didn’t have any room for it, but there’s always a next time.
Winter 2012 update:
New location. Great for Halloween, especially if you scare easily. After running a gauntlet of junkies and prostitutes you might be feeling guilty for even thinking of dining out, but when and if you get over it, the Gfree ‘zza is there to make it all better.

This brand-​new restaurant took over the old unsuccessful Hell café spot at The Arc, the live/​work studio building at Powell and Commercial. Situated between the port, the highway, and the chicken abattoir, this little place is a haven of funky décor and delicious food. The only other food offering in the area is JJ Bean, and it suffers from having to support an entire neighbourhood of artists and musicians.
The Perch has a menu filled with sandwiches, nachos, and pizzas like you’ve never tasted before. Their pizza crust is gluten-​free and they offer dairy and non-​dairy cheese. Try the rosemary and grape pizza — seriously — it’s incredible in a way that you’d never expect.
I do wish the pizza crust was a bit fluffier but I know this is hard with gluten-​free baking. I really appreciate that they offer gluten-​free, though. Even though I’m not gluten-​free myself, I am a vegan so I understand diet limitations and how frustrating they can be.
They also offer espresso and drip coffee, beer, and wine. I’m not sure whether they have WiFi but I think they probably should, since JJ Bean down the road doesn’t — there needs to be a good place to work for the residents in the area.
Edited to add: they DO have WiFi!