Craffles — Restaurant in Vancouver

A small and beautifully decorated cafe/brunch spot with lots of instagram worthy spots, including the beautiful eyes mural on one wall, “I feel like Craffles” light fixture, detailed trimmings on the walls, and even the bathroom hallway has beautiful monstera leaf wallpaper. One thing with the decor is that they use fake plants; as a plant lover and having recently visited the lovely Garden Strathcona cafe, I really really hope this restaurant changes their fake plants to real plants. Fake plants aren’t bad, but large real plants would elevate the already beautiful decor even more (if you’re looking, Devans and Cambie Canadian Tire location has inexpensive large plants)!

You can order pre-made waffles to go and coffee at the front. Staff and owners were AMAZING. 100/10 for service. I had 5 people come by my table to check up on me and everyone seemed genuinely concerned about how I was doing and whether the food was to my liking (it definitely was). Great service, highly recommended!

We ordered a milk and it came with the cutest striped paper straw. We also ordered the chicken and waffles and it came with a very large and fluffy waffle, three smaller pieces of juicy chicken and a side of syrup. This was tasty and just enough syrup. Next time I will order the waffles Benedict that the table next to me ordered; it came topped with soft poached runny eggs and looked super amazing. We also ordered the cheese balls and these were fluffy and were pretty good, with shredded cheese mixed in; however what would’ve made these cheese balls from pretty good to amazing would be adding a ball/chunk of fresh cheese inside the middle so that when cooked and opened, the chunk of cheese in the middle can ooze out. Again the cheese balls are good, but even more cheese especially oozing out like a popper (but not cream cheese, using real cheese) would’ve been over the top amazing for cheese lovers (just my opinion). I was really loving the South American influences (tapioca instead of waffles as a base) and will be back to try that next.

**Please note thought that the restaurant is small and cozy; it can get a little loud inside so just a heads up for those that are noise sensitive (we are not but could be for some younger kids). Where I was sitting, the spots were very tight and so close that there were only 2-3 inches between me and the table next to me and this happened to all of the four tables against the wall. Tables were split apart into two-person tables to accommodate all the people waiting in line outside; I appreciate that gesture and understand but it was very tight and I think one table less would’ve been better. The last photo I posted shows exactly how close we were. This would be one thing the restaurant could improve in the future because everything else was amazing! Thanks for a great time, we’ll be...

Oh gosh what do I even say. This place excels in some aspects, and fails gloriously in others. So it gets an average score, on average. First: I wouldn't consider $20 for brunch particularly good "value" (which this place claims to serve). It's fine for the price and quality. Service was slow but it was very busy. There was a queue outside but they do not provide any estimated waiting time, etc. They just let you stand outside in line with minimal interaction until you reach the door. At one point a staff member did come outside and take group sizes, but said nothing else. Mind you this was more than halfway through a 30-minute wait. If this isn't just a freak occurrence in terms of how busy they get, they should really reconsider how they handle queues. Decor is pleasant but I got the counter seat facing the wall while the seats beside me faced a window. It's unfortunate but understandable since I was dining alone. Service initially got my food mixed up with another group nearby, but to their credit were able to figure it out fairly quickly after checking with the kitchen (did not take my word for it on what I ordered, but to be fair I would not recognize their entire menu so I could've been wrong). I had the french toast with honey garlic chicken. The chicken was wonderfully crisp, and the french toast was nice and moist in the centre. Oooh boy were those toasts chonkers. However, the chicken was piled rather precariously on top of the french toast. The top piece totally wobbled concerningly when the server placed the plate down on the counter (kudos that it didn't - though you can see how it rolled off centre), but then I proceeded to knock it off the plate trying to remove it with the fork and knife. Awkward 😅 Not sure if worth improving presentation for clumsy people like me? The main downside of this dish is that it was SO SWEET. The amount of syrup is like a swimming pool. And I like my sweets, but whoa, it overwhelmed other flavours. The toast actually had cinnamon swirls in it, but the syrup just....yeah....... Also, the menu said it was maple syrup, but frankly I couldn't taste the maple either. So my suggestion is less syrup, but darker for stronger flavour. You can see it's a light syrup in the photo. This was very filling. I would not recommend ordering anything else on the side, though I'm not gonna lie, I was tempted by the monster shakes. Service was once again on the slow side in bringing the bill. They were...

We decided to try this spot on a whim, while on the way through Vancouver to our Sunshine Coast destination, and we are glad we did. It's a cute little spot located across a beautiful city park. Being seated outside, gave us a great urban vibe, we felt the energy of Vancouver, but at the same time, didn't feel overwhelmed by how busy the city is.

It took a little bit of time to get a table, the establishment isn't too big, and it located on a busy walkway, so it is understandable. But it was worth the wait in the end.

We ordered the smoked salmon Benny, a buttermilk fried chicken Benny, a smoked salmon tapioca crepe and sunrise pancake. We also tried a London fog and a few milkshakes. Everything was delicious and prepared/presented well. The Benny's were super tasty, perfectly soft poached eggs set atop a good helping of smoked salmon/buttermilk chicken and placed on top of a croffle, which added an great layer of flavour and texture to the Benny. The croffles were excellent, not as dense and cakey as a regular waffle, but not as chewy as an English muffin. Just a great combo.

The tapioca crepe was another highlight. Having never tried it before, it was a nest experience. The tapioca style crepe adds a good crunchy texture to a crepe, and the flavour is quite subtle. It paired well with the smoked salmon, however I believe a more saucey protein like the Tex Mex or pulled pork would do it more justice.

The sunrise pancakes were also very well done. Not dense, and pretty light and fluffy. Great portions as well.

I will also mention that the milkshakes are exceptional and I wish they were larger! The Biscoff shake was very good, but the barista was able to add coffee to my vanilla shake and it was out of this world.

The facilities are quite clean, and parking is paid street, and could be tricky to find as this area seems to be very busy.

And while the wait was a bit slow for my liking, the food and service made up for it. The servers and barista were ultra friendly, especially towards my kids, and that made the experience even...