My wife’s brother was in town for a blitz visit, and we had to decide what to do for dinner. We ended up settling for Indian take out, and ordered from one of our favourites: Akbar’s Own (1905 West Broadway @ Cypress).
When we first arrived in Kits, one of my wife’s colleagues recommended Akbar’s Own and we are still grateful to him. We used to go there somewhat regularly, but haven’t been in a while. They are not necessarily a toddler/baby kind of place, they don’t deliver, and take-out waits can be a little long at times. But if you are in the mood for some great Indian food that is a step above some of the run-of-the-mill stuff, you should definitely consider Akbar’s Own.
They have most of the classic dishes, and all the ones we have tasted over time have been great. We especially like some of their specialty rices, as well as their fantastic breads. Try the vegetable pratha, an incredibly tasty whole wheat bread, stuffed with potato, onion, carrot, and green pea.
Although I haven’t been there yet, I would imagine Akbar’s Own is easily on par with Jolly’s Bistro, another Kitsilano.ca favourite.
Last modified: January 28, 2009
Akbar’s is light years beyond Jolly’s, the food is delicious and grounded in ancient culinary traditions, Kashmiri and Mughali.
A bit dark inside/compact~cozy/service is decent not outstanding and I really wish they’d get their website back up/put a menu up outside.
Who knows maybe they don’t need the business.
I think they actually changed their url. Urbanspoon had the old one listed until this morning, but now changed it to the correct one: http://www.akbarsvancouver.com.
The website has definitely been updated from what I remember, and looks nice and clean.
And thanks for the feedback on Jolly’s. I guess it’s Jolly’s for value and Akbar’s for quality.
Akbars Own was the single worst Indian meal I’ve had in Vancouver. I ordered the Matter Paneer and the Eggplant Bhurta. These two dishes (which are typically very different) were the exact same colour, had the exact same mild seasoning and were such a disappointment. I couldn’t even eat the Eggplant as is (the onions weren’t even fully cooked, and ended up cooking it myself and added seasonings and additional ingredients at home.
Whoever said Akbars Own is in the same league as Jolly’s is so far off. I have eaten at Jolly’s once every 2 months for the past 5 years. Yes the service is slow, the ambiance is so-so, but the food is exceptional!!! If anyone has not tried Jolly’s I strongly suggest that you do.