The food is great. The service is attentive. The room is the right mix of funky and arty. The cocktails and wine list are worthy of attention. Its already a great restaurant, but how about this... East of Main Cafe donates 100 per cent of its profits to Project Limelight.
Project Limelight is a free theatre program for youth in Downtown Eastside and Strathcona. Its located above the café and this spring it was in the centre of a media frenzy when Sir Richard Branson and actor Cory Monteith dropped by.
For the first month of a four-month program, the young participants build the skills to put on a full-length theatre production. The next three months are devoted to rehearsals. The kids become a tight-knit group more than excited to perform under the big lights of a community stage.
Projects founders Maureen Webb and her sister Donalda Weaver grew up on the Eastside. They know the importance of creating a place where kids feel supported and free to have fun.
Although theyve never opened a restaurant before, their determination to give back to their community and create an ongoing support system for Project Limelight was unstoppable.
We just knew that bringing together the perfect team, all professionals, all dedicated to the bigger picture, would be the key to making the cafe happen. In that way its a lot like producing a play or a movie, says Webb.
When Chef Jenny Patusla joined the team, the vision for a tasty lunch spot, vibrant after-work hang-out and delectable dinner and cocktail space really started to take shape. I had been working in catering for years and wanted to try something new, Patsula says. One taste of her fattoush with zaatar, a bright Mediterranean salad with toasted flatbread and lemony dressing, is very convincing.
Her menu is tight a great selection from land and sea, with distinctive Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences. Dinner encourages sharing, with a diverse tapas menu, the popular Catalonian flatbread and charcuterie platters. Lunch offers hearty sandwiches and quiche and not surprising, a sophisticated kids menu without, luckily, an age limit.
223 East Georgia | 604-899-2777
Open Monday to Saturday, 11am to late
