Jam Cafe — Restaurant in Vancouver

Location: 556 Beatty St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2L3

Jam Café is well-known for its indulgent breakfast offerings and cozy atmosphere, attracting both locals and visitors alike. While in the area, I noticed a relatively short lineup—an uncommon sight for this popular brunch spot—so I took the opportunity to dine at this location.

Food

Pork Belly Benny

This dish features thick-cut fried pork belly paired with red onion jam, served atop a toasted English muffin and finished with two perfectly poached eggs.

The flavors were familiar, consistent with other Jam Café locations. The pork belly had a satisfying crispiness, though it could have benefited from a touch more seasoning to enhance its depth. The red onion jam provided a subtle sweetness, complementing the richness of the dish. The eggs were well-executed, with a delicate, runny yolk, while the English muffin provided a sturdy yet tender base. Overall, a well-composed dish, though not particularly exceptional.

Rating: 8/10

Vanilla Shake

A classic vanilla shake, smooth and well-balanced in sweetness. While it didn’t stand out in any remarkable way, it was well-prepared and enjoyable.

Rating: 8/10

Ambiance

Like its sister locations, this Jam Café embraces a rustic, laid-back aesthetic, creating an inviting brunch setting. However, a lingering unpleasant odor in the restaurant detracted from the overall experience, making it difficult to fully enjoy the meal.

Rating: 6/10

Service

Unfortunately, service was the most disappointing aspect of the visit. The staff lacked attentiveness, failing to provide water refills or even basic acknowledgment. A lack of engagement from the service team can significantly impact the dining experience, and in this case, it left much to be desired.

Rating: 2/10

Price

Pricing remains reasonable for the portion sizes and overall quality, aligning with expectations for a casual brunch spot.

Verdict

Jam Café continues to offer a well-curated selection of breakfast and brunch dishes, maintaining the hearty and comforting flavors it’s known for. However, the experience at this particular location was undermined by poor service. While the food remained enjoyable, these shortcomings make it unlikely that I’ll return to this location...

Exceptional food let down by the service.

Our last brunch in Vancouver before heading home to the UK.

We had to wait for about 20 minutes which I think is fairly standard and on the whole acceptable for this wonderful small chain of eateries - have been before in Victoria and the newest addition in Kits - both phenomenal 😊

During our wait we were told that the table by the window would be free soon and my mother mentioned to the server that it would be great to have that naturally lit position on our last day to watch and enjoy the city fly by without feeling overwhelmed within the crowded restaurant. We were excited for a wonderful view and a wonderful last meal 😊

However, when we were led in, the server had instead made up a table squashed at the back by the bar area and when politely quizzed on why the change of heart, she coldly said that that table was reserved for larger groups - the people leaving the window table were a 3 and those that came in after were a couple - we were a group of 4...

... This change affected us, particularly my mother who's change in mental wellbeing was apparent 😢

Throughout the service we felt that the servers attitude towards us was offish and this was further displaced due to the couple on the adjacent table constantly complaining about the state of their food. This included a meal replacement which they were still not satisfied with.

That aside, we ordered 2 sweet and 2 savoury dishes which we shared between us. The food here is above par and relitivley good value for both the quality and quantity of food given.

We had the Waffle Board with cinnamon apples, the Fat Elvis Waffle, Salmon Avacado Egg Benny and buffalo chicken egg Benny (forgot actual name) - honestly they were all SOOOO GOOD!! 😁

I travel to Vancouver annually and will definitely come back to the Jam Cafe, but I will probs swerve on going back to the one in downtown due to the service and...

We are breakfast kinda people. It is my fave meal; I love to go out for breakfast. Today we chose Jam to be our brekkie place. Now, we knew that it is a busy place that DOES NOT TAKE RESERVATIONS. They suggest to call to see how long the wait will be. My daughter, K, called and there were open tables available. We left right away but it was a 12 min. walk and by the time we made it to the restaurant, there was a lineup. While there is a bar, which had available seating, we chose to wait for a table. It took about 15 min as there were two groups ahead of us.. When we got to the front of the line, we could read the menu pasted on the window. We made our choices. However, once we got inside and read the daily specials, we had some debate over what we were going to order. The daily special was incredibly special. It was a brioche French toast with coconut and pineapple cream. We saw the dish as it was ordered by quite a few people. It was HUGE and looked absolutely delish. But we stuck with our first decision. I am not sure about how responsible her parents were, but my daughter ordered a Lavender Lemonade Mimosa at 8:50 in the morning. I was relieved to hear the waitress say she would have to wait…until 9 am. LOL. She loved it. We shared a pork belly benny and an order of tater tots, The pork belly was so thick and crispy, it was out of the world. The eggs were cooked to perfection and the hollandaise sauce was AMAZING!! The shredded hash browns were crispy on the outside but fresh on the inside. The hash browns had a slice of fried tomato on it. Nice touch. There was also a slice each of orange and grapefruit. You can never go wrong with tater tots. And these did not disappoint. We picked at them until they were almost all gone. During our 4 day trip to Vancouver, this was one of our top restaurant picks for food. We will...