For its second location, Burnaby's Suren Café Restaurant has added a big menu twist, taking a cue from its new Vancouver space.
Suren took over the former Castaway Bar and Grill space in Kitsilano at 3293 W 4th Ave this spring and has been in a soft opening phase at the restaurant since mid-June.
Now, Suren has officially made its debut with a grand opening on Saturday, August 3.
"Eyes on Kitsilano, a new flavour is coming to town!" the restaurant's operators stated on Instagram back in June.
The new flavour, of course, is Suren's traditional Persian cuisine. There is a section of the Suren Kits menu devoted to its beautiful classic Persian dishes, like tachin, a mound of rice with a crispy exterior filled with saffron chicken served with yogurt sauce, or their line-up of kababs, including a must-try torch kabab, which is tender lamb loin marinated in a pomegranate-walnut paste, grilled to perfection.
Guests will find hints of Suren's Persian prowess in other items like a spinach salad with a pomegranate poppyseed dressing, loaded with bright and crunchy elements like walnuts and juicy pomegranate, or the smoky tomato and eggplant dip appetizer.
Suren Kits taps into location's legacy as local pub for mash-up menu
For its additional outpost in Vancouver, the Suren team opted to lean into the legacy of the space and its existing customer base, branching out to offer more typical pub fare, like nachos, wings, and fries.
The restaurant has brought on a new chef to head up the Vancouver location (leaving the heavy lifting for the Persian cuisine to its home base chef in Burnaby, commissary-style) and is doing things like a massive PB&J burger and soft tacos.
Both are tasty but a little awkward; for example, the Suren menu calls the tacos "locally-sourced shell tacos" but it's unclear what is locally-sourced. It's not the tortilla, which is a semi-toasted flour wrap and comes from a restaurant supplier. The fillings showcase some good flavours and a slight Persian touch with the sauces and herbs. The PB&J is, indeed, peanut butter and jam (our server guessed strawberry) which adds a rich-sweet touch to the bacon, cheese, and tangy pickle and the standard issue beef patty.
It's the Persian dishes that shine at Suren, giving the former longtime pub space a refreshed new identity it could easily lean into, joining the ranks of nearby spots like Taybeh, Sahel, and the award-winning Delara.
The original Suren in Burnaby hasn't been around that long; it opened in the spring of 2022.
Before the spot now home to Suren's Kits Bar & Grill concept was Castaway it had been several other concepts: The Blenheim, Displace, Nevermind, Fogg, N' Suds, and Steer and Stein.
Castaway shuttered near the end of 2023 after four years. Operators did not announce its closure.
The Vancouver location offers Suren a chance to draw folks in for its patio and bar program, which means cocktails as well as non-alcoholic bevs, and to expand the reach of Persian cuisine in Kitsilano.
Follow @surenrestaurant on Instagram for more info.
With files from Brendan Kergin
This article was originally published on June 19, 2024 and has been updated.
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