The Fat Badger

Our friends introduced us to this place and as we were all from England thought it would be fun. I would say the food was better than most British pubs back home, really enjoyed the food here. I had the sausage and mash and they also added pork crackling which was very good and unexpected. Will definitely come back here again.

What a treat this place is. After a long day sightseeing Seattle and then driving up to Vancouver in busy traffic, I was ready for a feast, not to mention it was an English feast. I couldn’t have felt more at home. The ambience, the atmosphere, the smells, the service, the décor and then the food itself, was terrific. I couldn’t stop talking about this place after I left and even the next day, I was still talking about it. Actually, I still find myself talking about this place a week later. I had a great evening and overall experience here.
Now onto the food; the menu with so many choices and great choices at that; Bangers & Mash, Roast Dinners, Pies, Scotch Eggs, Malteaser Ice Cream! Even if you’re not a fan of British food or have never even tried British food, this is worth a shot. I left wanting so much more. I started off by sharing a scotch egg with my friend. Truly amazing and with a curry scent/​taste to it… YUM. My entrée being Bangers & Mash, as I would put it, with a fantastic serving of creamy mash potato, several small juicy sausages and brilliant gravy. I say brilliant because it really was. Feeling stuffed (portions are generous), I shared the malteaser ice cream with my friend and was truly blown away. I’m not the biggest ice cream fan but I must say this was a real teaser, BEST ICE CREAM in years. !
My only negative comment about the place is that it’s so blooming far away from California that it may be some time before I return again! What a nice spot though.

This review is based solely on the laziest and most pathetic business move you can possibly make.
We came up from Seattle and this was one of several places that we made specific plans to try. We delayed our departure specifically to eat here on the weekend.
The front page of the website reads «Open 5pm to 11pm Daily. Brunch Saturdays and Sundays 11am to 3pm». We checked out of our hotel and drove to the restaurant. as 11am approached we saw 2 couples try the door with no luck. WE figured maybe they were just running late for opening so we waited. Saw another couple of people try the door with no luck. We noticed there were several people coming and going from the upstairs so we figured, maybe they are REALLY late opening. We went up and tried the door at the same time another couple did. Still closed. We waited a bit longer and noticed a male come from the upstairs and he was doing something with his car parked in front. The question was posed, «are you open», and he replied «No, at 5 o’clock». Seriously?
Can you not take 30 seconds to put the correct G-​D hours on your website? Obviously a significant number of people are looking at the website for information and are planning on it being open when you say it is. Even if you were closed for a weekend, you could post a sign up front that says so. By the way, we really enjoyed the extra hour it took us to get through downtown because of our delay and not staying the extra time to eat.
Poor form friend.

I read the reviews on here and elsewhere before chancing this establishment. As a British ex-​Pat, I was looking forward to familiar bites and beverages from home. Sadly it didn’t live up to my expectations.
The food is way overpriced, it’s good, but seriously not worth what you pay. It seems that most are mentioning this, so maybe management need to take note!
They do have a few good menu options, and some decent beers from across the pond. Service was a little frosty however.
Next time I’m in town I’ll be giving this place a miss.

Really tasty bar menu, however the main dishes were over complicated and devoid of carbs. The «boss» missed her potatoes and was surprised that a place purporting to serve English pub fare should not have potatoes with everything. The ambiance in the resto is very English pub’esque.

Lovely little place tucked away on the side of the road. We sat on the balcony for a few beers which has a great feel to it, with the flower pots lining the fence. Didn’t eat, but the menu looks great. Highly recommended for all Brits looking for a taste of home! Beers and food from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales :)

I’m rather torn on this review because the service was lackluster but the food and drinks were great. I always hate a place that treats you like a pauper until you reach the $ 80 – 100 mark and then they suddenly like you. This is that kind of place. I did really enjoy the cask beers they had on tap (Fuller’s London Pride and a honey beer) and the food was great. We got the fried zucchini flowers and the roast beef Yorkshire puddings. Absolutely delicious. Desserts were great too. But I still feel like the service was just meh and that would probably keep me from returning.

Ridiculous rip-​off prices. Prices on the web-​site menu are on average 10.00 $ — 12.00 $ less than actual prices in the restaurant. This is dishonnest and false advertizing. We went in thinking we might have found a great neighbourhood pub. Cheapest bottle of wine in the mid 40 $ range. Ordered fish & chips. Tiny morsels of deep fried cod, probably weighing @ 100 grams. Chips had texture, cut and taste of boiled potatoes. Bleck!
My recommendation is walk one block down hill to Cardero’s on the water, where there is a water view, don’t come out hungry and pay much less for a classier place.
The Fat Badger reeks of greed.

Poutine = bomb. Scotch egg = bomb. Hangar steak = bomb. Bomb = awesome.
Really neat neighborhood place in an area of Vancouver that definitely doesn’t have a neighborhood vibe.
The drink selection is weak, but so is the rest of Vancouver. If you want a place that is not Robson or Denman in this part of town, I highly recommend. If you feel you must stick to Denman, try their sister place Espana.

Loving it.
Used to go to London a lot. This is definitely not your typical british pub. Food is better, service is friendly, and Love the variety.
There is always something new and interesting.
Keep it up!

Can’t say enough great stuff. Went there on Valentines, did not feel rushed, did not have to choose from a set menu and had someone hovering over us to order quickly for turnover. We had an amazing night and the food was fantastic. Heading back there soon and taking friends and family.
Thanks for the great night!

Visiting Vancouver on business and happened upon this place. Went in on Wed night and sat at the bar. All the staff very friendly and pleasant. The menu changes daily and they source locally. I ordered the beef cheek which came in a rich gravy with mash potatoes and sprouts, it was excellent and just enough. I left room for dessert as they also have Sticky Toffee Pudding which was as good as the best I have had in England. I will be back on my next trip to a Vancouver. They also have a good beer selection.

Went to the Fat Badger after a movie downtown. This English style pub is a trendy place and a bit nosey. We would agree with an earlier reviewer that it is more a restaurant than a pub. We ordered the «Sunday Roast» for $ 29. For the price, we were surprised by the portion size. The meat was two thin slices of roast beef. The kicker was that the meat was dry, much worse than the typical fare from KEG or any other of the local chains. It was a disappointment indeed.
The restaurant did serve «Innis and Gun» beer, so it was not a total loss.

I came here with some British friends for dinner and if the Brits love it, they’re onto a good thing. This is a great place to check out if you’re looking for some authentic British pub food that’s tasty and has the wood detailed classy pub atmosphere. I know classy and pub generally don’t go together, but this one’s the real deal. It does get rather toasty inside, with the fire place burning, so wear removable layers! My fellow diners compared the food to what they get in London, with fish and chips, a scotch egg and sticky toffee pudding on the menu, there’s plenty of English dishes to try out. As full as the meal will get you, don’t skip dessert, it’s delicious!

Nice vibe here once the place filled up but definitely more restaurant than pub. My friend and I felt a lot of pressure to order food with the server at our table every 10 minutes; we thought the atmosphere would be more relaxed & pub-​like. In any case we did enjoy a few different types of beer as well as pork cheek poutine with aged cheddar and mini yorkshire puddings all of which were delicious and nicely done. Finished it off with the incredible sticky toffee pudding.
Do not leave this place without trying the sticky toffee pudding! Also try the banana bread beer, a pleasant surprise!

Scotch egg, HP sauce $ 5 3.5÷5 — I really liked the rightness of the egg. It wasn’t hard-​boiled. The deep-​fried shell was very crunchy, even better than the zucchini and chips. The sauce was a little too salty for me.
Stuffed zucchini flowers with cream corn, cheddar, chives $ 12 3.5÷5
— very crispy batter. There was no corn until the middle of the very middle. Already one of the better dishes of the night.
Empire Poutine (chips, chicken tikka masala, paneer & curds) $ 10 ³⁄₅ — the chicken tikka masala tasted like a frozen package from a supermarket. Chips were the same as the ones served in Fish and Chips. Chips were very thick and a little dry.
mini Yorkshire puddings, roast beef, gravy & horseradish $ 10 2.5÷5 — worst dish of the night. The Yorkshirk puddings were warm and a little soggy. Not sure how long it had been sitting. The roast beef was a little dry and the horseradish was way too strong. This was everything we could taste.
Cumberland bangers & mash, onion gravy, crispy sage $ 21 ²⁄₅ — super creamy mash potatoes but could not taste any onions. The sausages was dry and I don’t think they were made in-​house.
Le Gavroche was much better (presentation, taste, and quality of the food). We didn’t even finish half of some dishes. Our server asked us was there something wrong with them. I explained it to her that the Yorkshire puddings were warm and mushy. She didn’t do anything about this. If you were not planning to do anything about this, why asked? I’m not sure if I went at a wrong time. Most of the other reviews were positive. The reviews recommended the Yorkshire puddings and bangers & mash but those two were the worst of the night.

I’ve been to the Fat Badger almost 13 times now, and I’ve never once been disappointed.
Some highlights on the regular and changing menu for me include:
Yorkshire puddings: three fluffy puddings, drowned in gravy with beef and horse radish. Amazing.
Rabbit and bacon terrine
Fish and Chips, with proper thick cut chips
Zucchini flowers stufffed with black pudding, mushrooms and fried. A generous portion too for an appetizer.
The food and atmosphere are very comforting for rainy Vancouver evenings and the service is always very prompt and friendly.
Expect waits for a cozy table, even on weekdays.
Note: half pints are available for exactly the half price of the full pint, so you can sample their large selection of beers and not feel like you’re getting ripped off with the smaller size.

Went here again and still liked it although they do seem to change their menu up. The shepherd’s pie was not available and I was looking forward to having it again, but I did go for the fish and chips which was good. A bit overbattered for my liking but they do give you a really large portion with 3 pieces of fish. The flat iron steak was delicious and cooked perfectly medium rare with mashed potatoes underneath, I would definitely order that again.
For appies, the zucchini stuffed with goat cheese and beets was something different and delicious. Unfortunately too full for the sticky toffee pudding but I’ll be back again for that one!
To note: There are no high chairs for kids and it is not a baby-​friendly place. Very loud and the table that you can make a reservation for is higher up so you won’t be at the same level as the stroller. Space is also a bit tight so it feels like you’re always in the way.
To note #2: They do not do ‘to go’ at all. A friend wanting to order something to bring home to eat and they couldn’t do it so I’m not sure if you have leftovers if you can actually bring them home with you?

I went to the Fat Badger a few weeks ago with a few friends after some P&P at Stanley Park. The first think I loved about it was the location, it is on Alberni a few blocks from Denman and has replaced La Gavroche (a popular French place back in the day). When I think of English pubs I think of quiet spots away from the churning masses and for a location so close to Denman it achieves a very close approximation to that quiet idyll.
We walked in and were greeted by Oasis (the band!) and a room bathed in light and shadow with a primarily wood based décor and green leather seating, definite pub vibe for sure! Oh and our server was a total jerk but more of that later…
There were five of us, we had two beers each which were pretty standard Irish fayre (!), Guiness, Smithwicks and Kilkenny along with some British beer that was great but no idea (hic) what it was. We tried many different things on the menu, I won’t list them all but my understanding is that they will change up the menu items frequently which in my view is always a plus. We had welsh rarebit which was delicious if a little non traditional, apparently they mixed Guinness in with the bechamel and cheese, I was thinking Worcestershire but I really enjoyed it. The leek, cheddar, and thyme tart was fantastic as was the pork belly & black pudding. Fish and chips were solid and I would be very keen to try there Sunday roasts which can never be bad, I hope!
I’m not going to besmirch a restaurant because of a bad waitress, I feel bad for any establishment that is new and has someone on the inside dragging them down. We never complained to her because we collectively, were in shock. She ping ponged between being excessively pleasant to scorching us with her eyes for asking innocuous questions like «Can I ask you about the beer», the answer: scorchy death eyes «LOOK AT THE MENU»,. She didn’t ruin our meal but she was close to getting flung from the balcony (obviously we would have put a giant yorkshire pudding on the ground to cushion her fall).
In the end I bought a beer for everyone in the kitchen and left her no tip. In the words of the Soup Nazi, «NO TIP FOR YOU». I can guarantee we did nothing to create her negativity towards us, I only hope she has learned some small lesson in humility, but that is a rare thing indeed. Either way we will be back, the food was great, the locale relaxed and it seems busy enough that more then one server will be present on our next visit.

Delicious food, friendly service, but boy is it hot in there. I’ll definitely go back, and hopefully they will have sorted something out with air conditioning or working out some air flow.
Best bangers and mash in town. Their fish and chips looked great too