Popina Canteen

Tried popina while visiting Granville Island. My friend said she gets it every time she’s in the area, we both got the crispy free run chicken sandwich! The staff at the ordering window were friendly, sandwich was made fresh and came out stacked, really liked the honey hot sauce and the house made pickles.

Their soft serve ice cream is very nice. However, I believe that calling it anything close to a cream puff is slightly misleading. Overall, not bad. But it did not meet my expectation because I thought the crunchy top and bottom was going to be an actual puff pastry texture, which it was not. It was hard and crunchy.

Picked up a crispy chicken burger and it was not good. Not very crispy, pounded thin & mostly skin and fat. Could have been cooked another minute, also the oil tasted off, like seafood…

We went just for the ice cream, and were not disappointed! They had a fun variety of toppings/additives that they put into their house made vanilla soft serve. The soft serve itself is really creamy and not overly sweet, so it lends itself well to all the toppings. The workers and signage around warns of seagulls who are also fond of the ice cream, so we were lucky and aware enough to avoid an attack 😂

The fish and chips are good for what it is, nothing special. The batter was light and crispy, but on the oily side. 1 meal fed two of us.

I CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT THE BEE'S KNEES PUFF CREAM! This might be one of the best desserts I've had in a loooong time. Do yourself a favor and stop by to try one of their puff creams. The Bee's Knees is a wonderful combination of a Chicago Mix of popcorn and a honey drizzle all topped off with a cream puff! Simply delicious.

Amazing Casual Fresh Fast. That Hammers Hot Chicken Sandwich is Absolute Fire! The Lobster Rolls and Burgers are Uncecous. Customizable Cream Puff Custard Show Stopper

The hot chicken sandwich and the pickle was so flavorful and amazingly delicious, staff was cheerful and friendly. 200% would recommend. The spice was ON POINT!! As much as I loved the food itself, the actual eating experience did killed it for me. The bottom bread was soaked in grease and there was no practical way to eat it without making an absolute mess, and at the risk of ruining your shirt. I always try to eat my food the way it was intended by the person who made it, but had to take it apart and eat everything separately cause I couldn’t hold the sandwich without the grease dripping everything. And had to sadly let go of the bottom bread since it was soggy with grease. This is a take away food to eat while enjoying the stunning view of Granville island, but one has to risk getting drenched in grease to get a bite into this, it just seems not very thought out. I work on the island and will definitely come back to eat if the restaurant figures out a way to eat this amazing sandwich in a more practical way. Sorry for the long post I truly hope you guys strive and continue to slay!!

I've reviewed this place many times positively, but like many of my older reviews, they seem to have disappeared. I am not sure what Yelp is doing here. So I had their double cheeseburger and local sparkling wine. With a modest tip, it came to about $42. Seriously?!? I've now been here about 5 or 6 times, and twice the burgers been outstanding, and I gave enthusiastic reviews. The other times, it has been "ok" to mediocre. This time, I'd say it's in the middle. Decent flavour, but the bun was a few hours shy of being stale, the middle of the burger was almost raw/dark pink (hopefully it's in-house ground beef, not supermarket ground beef), and the cheese was a cold slab - since it's the type of cheese that melts at low temp, I can only presume the cook forgot about it until building the burger. Alas, at the time, there were no other patrons they were cooking for. So it's not like they were slammed and busy. Nope. So I must presume that they couldn't be bothered. I know times are tough for everyone, especially restaurants. But when you're not busy, and the best you can do is put out perfunctory food, can you blame people for not wanting to put their limited funds to restaurants who seem to have given up? However, the one thing they have going for them in spades is a quiet (ish) oasis away from the madness of the food court inside Granville Island, and they have a covered, heated sitting area. That's worth at least $10 of the price for me.

NOT IN THE FOOD MALL!! IT'S LOCATED OUTSIDE!!!!! It's a pink store, which makes it easy to find. Order outside at their register. They have "indoor seating" with heaters and such, so if you come on a cold day, don't worry. Also can take the food to eat inside the food mall. Arrived on a Monday afternoon, and they were not busy. I was recommended one item, the Fried Chicken Sandwich (not their desserts, which I found surprising). FRIED CHICKEN SANDWICH It was gigantic!!!!! They really give you plenty of chicken...like the entire thigh. Although it was like $17, it felt worth because the chicken is so much larger than the bun. They have slaw in it, plenty of sauce, which doesn't make it feel too dry. Breading sticks well to the chicken, super crispy, and stays crispy as you eat it. Definitely can share between 2 people! I was actually getting a little sick of all the chicken at the end...because they give so much!

We ordered the Nutzo cream puff and we absolutely loved it. Enjoyed the hazelnut in the middle of the ice cream with every bite. The cream at the top was nice but my favorite was the cream puff at the bottom that soaked all the ice cream

We ordered the chicken sandwiches. They were $18 each and didn't come with fries, which we felt was over-priced. I ordered the spicy chicken sandwich, which in all fairness, the girl at the till did warn me was really spicy. I like spicy but this was too spicy to eat. Also, it was super messy. Just dripping sauce and so spicy that I had to bail halfway through. Not worth the money.

Located right next to Granville Public Market. Known for their cream puff soft serve. They take only card. No cash. They also have a dining option for other food items. I came here after watching a bunch of videos recommending this place for the puff cream. Many options for the ice cream and prices varies. We ordered a Violet B (freeze dried blueberries with cornflake crunch) around $7-8 usd. The ice cream was very soft. The toppings were very crispy and not too sweet. Cream puff was very crispy. Not really on the soft side. Tasty treat though.

Popina is a Must try eatery when visiting Granville Island. The fried chicken sandwich is a must try it's juicy, crispy, and packed with flavour. I tried: Crispy Free Run Chicken Sandwich $17 Shiestring Fries $5.5 Barista Puffcream $9 They have their own seating area but they were quite busy when we went so we sat on the public benches.

My daughter and I met up with some family for lunch on Granville Island at @popinacanteen . She and I shared an order of Fish and Chips together. We were too full to order the puffcream dessert that @popinacanteen is well known for, but her two cousins managed to make room for it. One of them had a Malteser puffcream and the other had a Nutzo puffcream. They looked really good so I will have to bring my girl back so we can try it ourselves sometime! The fish and chips were good though. Fries were crispy and there wasn't too much batter on the fish.  Those puffcreams get so much attention but the rest of their menu gets barely any attention. Type in "Popina Canteen" on Google, and lots of puffcream pictures pop up, but very few pictures of their other food appear. Popina Canteen is worth checking out for more than just their puffcreams. Aside from the fish and chips that my daughter and I shared they also have a Vegan salad, burgers, and sandwiches which include two different types of chicken sandwich, a lobster roll, a crispy cod sandwich, and a house made falafel sandwich for Vegetarians. Service: Good  Parking: Not free, but there's plenty of it. Granville Island does tend to be a busy place though, so despite the parking being plentiful you may have to circle around a bit before you find a spot. Just be patient! Location: It's on Granville Island so there's plenty to do there. There are shops to see, food to buy and eat, street performers to watch, ferry boats to ride...plenty of fun to be had at Granville Island!

Succulent ice cream and cone that doesn't wreak havoc on the system! Will definitely come back for more. We shared the Old Fashioned.

Just here for the delicious soft-served icecream. How can you hate it? 5/5 No cash! Credit only.

I often bike here during spring with my family to get the cream puffs. I used to get the lobster sandwich as well until a couple of years ago, when the prices raised absurdly. I still get the cream puffs, but their prices also increased greatly, while their quality dropped. Maybe it's the staff. The person making the cream puff took a minute or so looking for the Violet B toppings, by reading a label on the box. Maybe they haven't really gotten the hang of it yet... The prices used to be around $5 for a cream puff. It's $9.5 now. Probably cuz of inflation anyways. I love the Violet B, but these days I've been leaning more for the Nutzo, although both are delicious. What I have noticed today, though, is that the amount of Nutella in the Nutzo has decreased greatly. It used to reach the puff at the bottom, the entire icecream filled with Nutella. Today, I only received a tiny lump of Nutella, somewhere in the middle of the icecream, and extremely small too. The quality of the Violet B hasn't changed however. I think the topping lessened by a tablespoon or so, but it's not that big of a deal. On the other hand, the cups have changed. Before it was really easy to drop the icecream and the puff. Now, it's nice and the ledge is tall so your dessert is sure to stay inside. The cream puff is delicious as ever, perhaps even more so. The view is also great, although be careful of the seagulls; they steal your food. Might get the lobster sandwich someday.. Although it is way too overpriced. Sadly, too, because I like it far more than the cream puffs... Overall, it's pretty neat and nice, the staff is always friendly, and the food is very good. Can't say the same to the ever-increasing prices, but either way you should check it out when you are stopping by Granville Island. Especially if you are a tourist! Definitely stop by Granville Island in general. It is super cozy and there are so many locally owned craft stores that are sliiightly overpriced (the glass studio is underpriced). Even if you don't buy anything, it's a great place to stroll around.

Solid 3.75/5 Stars (one of these days YELP, you'll let us assign .25 stars and I'll be the one laughing!) The place is a bit hectic and I think it's because you can order food in three different ways. There is a service window outside, two kiosks next to that window and a counter inside their covered patio. High anxiety trying to figure out if the way I ordered was the most efficient, I chose the counter inside because my wonderful wife wanted a beer and we wanted a place to sit with our toddler that didn't directly involve battling an coordinated army of birds for our food. Food is a pricey but it's a tourist area so understandable. Waited maybe 15 minutes for our order, which was actually less than we thought based on how busy it was and said apprehension about which avenue to order food. I feel like you always need to try the Fish (Cod) and Chips when you're at a seaside shack. They did not disappoint with the large portions of batter heavy Cod but were surprisingly light on the amount of Fries in the serving. The Tartar sauce has dill and I believe Tarragon, just delightful, as was the coleslaw. Our daughter also loved this platter of food, which always makes it extra room in my heart. The other item we tried was the Hammer Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich. The previous warnings about how spicy this MFer is...are 100% real. I fancy myself a bit of spicehead and can handle my shit on the regular, I went with the standard Hot and not the Extreme and was thankful I showed restraint this once in my life. There is something that happens when the vinegar in the sauce meets the fried chicken oil that amplifies the heat by like eleven. Literally was tearing up and coughing like a novice while totally enjoying the massive piece that was served. Order extra pickles, grab 40 napkins and don't eat this handheld over your clothes cause it be sloppy delicious. You've been warned. The covered patio could have been looked after for cleanliness a bit better but the non-kitchen staffing level wasn't great.

Located by the water on Granville Island, outside the Public Market entrance, Popina's is located as a separate structure with a dine in section and a takeout window for those who want to eat outside on the public seats overlooking the water. I've seen their soft serve puffs on social media and wanted to try but we were too hungry to settle for just soft serve. So we got food instead and will have to try their soft serves another time. Hammer's Hot Chicken Sandwich ($13 - weekends only) is a pretty good deal considering the size (the crispy chicken piece was huge!). However the spiciness level is just too hot for either my hubby nor I to enjoy. All you can taste is the spicy sauce. Super messy to eat too so get a lot of napkins! Fish Crispy Sandwich ($14) is good with 1pc fried cod in the burger. A bit overpriced but we are paying tourist prices at these locations. Its also very saucy and juicy which is what makes it good, but also get extra napkins for this too!

We only tried the puffcream at this establishment and it was so creamy and delicious. The soft serve ice cream was so smooth and refreshing. They put plenty of toppings and covered the ice cream from the very bottom to top so each bite will have the topping. Genius! We ordered the Turkish Delight & Nutso. Turkish Delight had an addicting pistachio crumble... soo good. It was also supposed to have saffron but didn't see any at all. The Nutso was chocolate heaven and we watched them squirt Nutella at the center of the soft serve ice cream. I think they can improve on the texture of the pastry puff. It was so plain and no crunch to it, didn't taste like anything and it was kind of an afterthought when they place it on top. Other than that, I would definitely get this again and want to try their other flavors.

@jasonsalwayshungry 3x a charm I really do enjoy this spot every time! Great staff some of the best views in the city the "mild" Hammer Nashville chicken was 8.5/10shout out to the @the.real.beef.buddies for coming thru with the contest win!! Stay hungry #vancouver #granvilleisland #britishcolumbia #canada #nashvillehot #alwayshungry #foodcritic #foodie #staycation

They are a nice covered heated patio for diners to enjoy their food if you get there early enough. We wanted to try the DOV menu but the pos system that you order from didn't have that choice which is a bit of a bummer. I also am allergic to onions and wanted no onions on my sandwich but anytime I tried to hit the no onion option on the pos, it would give me an error. A little frustrating. Once you make an order via the pos or on your phone, you have to wait for your number to be called. And let me tell you that the numbers are not in order and they don't yell it out so instead they just run around asking what number your order is. I think they really need to figure out a better system. Maybe one of those old style deli counter take a ticket dispensers would even work better. Onto the food- I had the fried chicken sandwich and I thought it was only ok. I love sauce but the sandwich was drenched so it was really really messy and my fried chicken wasn't crunchy. The fries are over priced and wasn't even warm when we got them. It didn't even fill the small paper bag it came in and looked really sad. All in all, I'd probably not come back. There's better fried chicken places and many more better tasting food on Granville island

One-word review: Solid. We went here on the recommendation of a reliable friend, who highly recommended the chicken sandwich. We thought about indulging in a puffcream as well but thought better of it as we had already purchased donuts at a well-known spot nearby. The free run chicken sandwich was a winner. We spiced ours up with some hot sauce we had brought, but it already tasted good. The only complaint was that the bun did not stand up to the sauce/wetter ingredients, and it was noticeably soggy very quickly. But the portion and quality were good. We parked for free on the street a couple of blocks from Granville Island and walked around on a cool but sunny day. Very pleasant. Bottom line: I would eat this again and wouldn't mind trying some of their other offerings.

I have been here a few times always getting their fried chicken sandwich and fries. Owned by well known chefs/restauranteurs in the city, I keep getting suckered in by iG posts/stories that make it look so appealing. I have never had their cream puff icecream dessert until today when I had the dine out menu: Fried chicken & fries (surprise, surprise) Cream puff malteser For $15 it was a steal! But I think I over hyped it in my head. The fried chicken sandwich is decent. I've gone a couple of times and I find that the sandwich isn't consistent. Their chicken sandwich appears to be generous in size (it looks big but it's essentially almost like flattened chicken schnitzels battered heavily). If you look on social media of different food influencers they most of them are more generous in portion size. My pet peeve was that the shredded lettuce and pickles made the sandwich too wet. I don't enjoy soggy lettuce (especially when it's shredded). It's also a bit difficult to eat with 2 hands when u make the sandwich with 2 pieces of chicken. I am pretty sure in the past I've had it in one piece. I also have an issue with their fries. I should enjoy them Cos I like shoestring fries; however this is the 3rd time where they weren't hot. They are warm but there is no reason why they shouldn't be out of the fryer hot. I came at a time where there was one couple eating their meal already so I would have expected the fries to be piping hot considering I was the only customer.... I had my popina buzzer on me so I could wander outside and I even came back to the cantina before it buzzed. I noticed they were under the heat lamp along with my sandwich. I almost suspect they made my fries first....This isn't just a one time thing either...forget the fries. Dessert. I enjoyed it. They make a good cream puff. Vanilla Soft serve icecream is added to it with toppings. I had grounded malteasers as a topping. I would not pay $8 for it (I only got it Cos it was part of dine out). Go to beta5 for your cream puff fix and get a McDonald's soft serve (both are better and cheaper combined!). Service here has never been amazing. I rarely get a cheery greeting and often have to patiently wait until I get anyone's attention (this happens when literally there are no customers). It seems like there is no insight from their staff to be more aware of their customers. It's a beautiful spot on Granville island but I think I'll save my calories elsewhere...

I came during a holiday weekend and Popina (a pop up shop) didn't have much of a wait at all. My friends and I came here specifically for dessert and we got the soft serve ice cream in the cream puff shells. At $8 each, it was kinda pricey, but we shared it among the three of us. We ordered the Barista, and though it was fun to watch them make it, it was SO messy to eat!! I wasn't a huge fan of the soft serve though - it reminded me of a very thick whipped cream. I would've been happy with McDonald's soft serve honestly. It's right on the pier, with seating outside (and inside). Because it was a nice day, we sat outside people watching as we ate the ice cream. Though it was cool to try, I'd consider it a novelty, but I don't think I'll be back for it again.

saw the graphic of their puffcream pasted on the wall and it looked so interesting! i had pretty high expectations, but it was tasted subpar to me. - notes - both cash and card are accepted! - overall experience - located next to granville island public market, we stopped by the shop's walk-up window at around 12:15 pm on a wednesday afternoon. i asked the worker if she had any recommendations, and she told us that the nutzo was the most popular but she personally liked the turkish delight puffcream the most. after ordering and paying, we waited less than 10 minutes before our order number was called. there's plenty of benches near the shop where you can eat! 8/24/22 -nutzo puffcream: this puffcream has crushed oreo cookies on the outside and nutella in the center of the soft serve. the soft serve is also sandwiched between two halves of a cream puff. the soft serve here is supposedly supposed to be more naturally soft than your traditional ice cream tuck soft serve. i only noticed a subtle difference; while it did taste a bit more soft, it seemed less creamy? the consistency of the nutella was a bit too clumpy and messy to eat at times. i liked the crushed oreos since they added some texture in every bite, but it was just too sweet combined with the nutella. my biggest complaint was that the cream puff tasted pretty bland and stale. although $8 is pretty fair of a price given how big the portion is, i personally felt like the puffcream looked a lot more appetizing than it actually was.

We weren't planning on stopping here. We weren't hungry or desiring another bite of anything after the morning at the market. In fact, we were on our way OFF the island when it happened. We stumbled upon Popina and the word cream puff first lured us in. Then, after watching an employee put the finishing touches on one of the ice cream cream puffs...we were sold. She looked up and smiled at us as if she knew what she was doing. It was cold outside but so warm inside, to order the ice cream you have to go in. It was a tough decision with all the amazing concoctions but the choice was made. The Nutzo was our choice and just plain vanilla for our daughter. The nutzo was covered in Oreo crumbs with a Nutella center. The ice cream was actually soft serve. It was stacked high and easily shared. It was amazing and perfect and I wanted another. After ordering our dessert I began to watch others who ordered food and suddenly regretted not ordering a meal as well. The food looked and smelled soo good. Next time I will be trying something more.

The server working was hard to understand at times she looked annoyed that we had to ask her for a 3rd time what she was talking about. I don't know we were all confused. This place is pretty average. We tried their 26 dollar lobster roll and burger. The lobster roll came out on a nice piece of bread it tasted alright it wasn't anything special... did I think it was worth 26 dollars... No not really. What I did not like is that they only sell bottled water they don't have any tap water. If I'm sitting at a restaurant on their patio like come on give me free water. I paid 3.00 for water. I needed to drink something and I didn't want pop or alcohol. I'm a thirsty person I drink a lot of water while I dine in a restaurant. Unfortunately I think this restaurant is a one time try for me.

Popina Canteen is located right outside the food court and by the water. Tried their lobster roll and it was delicious, juicy and fresh. I do think the price is pretty high but mostly because you're paying for the waterfront view. Still enjoyed the meal and had a great time.

Popina was on my radar for a while, I finally caught eye of it during dine out and decided to stop by for lunch. I was a bit disappointed they didn't have the sweet potato fries or the chicken sandwich left, but the server was so sweet and nice that I immediately dropped my disappointment. Overall I thought this place was A-okay, but the prices are a little steep for 'fast food' My impressions: -good atmosphere, there is plenty of room with tables inside the 'patio' or if it's a nice day you can take your food outside and wander around the dock -better than the white spot at a comparable price -great service -really solid dessert! I had the Maltesers cream puff (flavour of the day) and found that it was the perfect combo of sweet and crunchy -service was slow. I came a bit early to avoid the lunch time rush but still waited a bit. This place has a weekend brunch kind of pace to it Overall: prices are a bit steep for be food, good to try once for the experience.

I'd read that Popina was the idea of several "top" chefs in Vancouver who wanted to do takeout the way THEY thought takeout should be. I even think there's a sign stating this at the canteen. So I don't think I could be faulted for expecting quality goods, but that was far from what I got. I will say I only ordered chips because I wanted a snack kind of thing and also because I was horrified at the outrageous prices for food items on Granville Island. It has gotten ridiculous, and I'm not paying close to $20 for a sandwich (or similar) when I then have to wander around trying to find somewhere to sit down to eat it. So I decided to check out Popina and am now trying to forgive myself for wasting $5.60 (or whatever it was) on the worst chips (French fries) I have ever had. I mean they were so bad I ate half a dozen and threw them out. It was not worth the caloric toll it would take on me to eat what was clearly cheap, frozen, pulpy, unpleasant and pretty much inedible. For the life of me I cannot imagine what these fine "top chefs" are thinking to serve chips this bad. If I opened a supermarket bag of frozen chips and heated them in the oven at home they would not be any worse than these. The best and only good thing about the experience (which gets the place its single star) was the friendliness of the counter person (female) who served me. Otherwise this was a big mistake I'll never make again. It's about $20 for one piece of fish and chips at this place and I pity the fool who orders it and gets those chips. I can only imagine how awful the fish must be. C'mon, "top chefs", smarten up and do better!

I'd really struggle whether to give this spot a 3 or 4 star. I have tried their puffcream and the spicy fried chicken sandwich which were all good but the service and 45 minute wait time brought their rating down. I don't think it is worth driving all the way for it but if you are on Granville Island and the line up isn't bad, then sure, and try them out! Food: Cream puffs - super Instagramable. The soft serve was not mind -blowing goos, like McDondalds (which is still yummy). The different flavours could be more prominent (ie. I only got one Turkish delish in my whole ice cream) Awkward to eat. You don't actually get as much ice cream as you think because it is hollow in the middle. Spicy fried chicken sandwich - super messy to eat, the sauce was dripping everywhere. You should eat right away or else it will get soggy. The size of the sandwich varies by day. My friend came and she showed me how huge her was and when I came mine was average and not big as hers. Medium spice level was Tabasco level so I could have gone up a level. Overall thoughts: Food is awkward to eat Service: They are overworked and understaff. The staff are trying their best but they cannot handle the demand. I wasn't the only one waiting for 45 minutes of their food. They were also handling dine in customers. I feel for Granville Island you kind of need to be ready for it but I get it is COVID times. Overall thoughts: Prepare to wait and the staff are not bad they are just overworked.

Just recently made a return to Popina for their DOVF menu and I was just as happy as I was with their food the first time I visited and possibly more! This year their DOVF menu no longer have the shoe string fries included that crispy free run chicken burger and the Nutzo cream puff was all I needed! It's the best fried chicken burger out the! The chicken is extremely tender and juicy and the batter is just unlike any other! Their puff cream was a nice treat as well to end the meal! I really enjoy fill the cream puff they have with the ice cream. But the highlight is definitely the burger it is worth the visit!

It's a restaurant that serves some sandwiches, salads, and desserts. This review is strictly from my experience and the dessert I got here. I got the barista puffcream ice cream dessert that comes with a cream puff at the bottom and top. The barista is $8 and it comes with ice cream dipped in espresso, turbinado sugar crumbs, and ecuadorian cocoa. So why am I giving this place a bad review? My girlfriend and I got mauled by seagulls and took our dessert. No picture? Yeah because the seagulls took it! -_- The worker was hard to understand but she said she told me to watch out for the seagulls but I heard watch out for the glass and it might tip over... she said I can get a free kiddie size without the cream puff or buy a new one so I chose the free kiddie size of course. The flavor and texture of the ice cream and toppings were great! I suggest them to make a big sign that says watch out for seagulls or make sure they let us know clearly that there are seagulls. Overall, wouldn't come again as there are a lot of other better places in Granville island and I don't want to get attacked by seagulls again.

Hello everyone it's been a while. I finally got a chance to try something new (and outside) on our very own Granville Island haha We went to Popina to try out their puff creams ($8) and boy, they were refreshing! We got the Violet B and the Malteser. One was fruitier with a tartness that came from blueberries whereas the malteser one had the richness of chocolate goodness. It definitely hit the spot on a hot Sunday :) Would definitely recommend giving it a try if you're there. Also, they've got some tantalizing looking fried chicken sandwiches - might give that a shot next time!

This was my second time - the first time I had the fried chicken sandwich and today I had the cheeseburger (with fries and a puff cream). The food itself is good (although I agree with other reviewers that nothing comes out hot and there are def other spots with better burgs and fried chicken). Not great value but ya know what you're getting into going into it. My rating is downgraded to two stars because the service is utter chaos: 40 min food wait on a Sat lunch (why so long for a burger and fries??), woefully understaffed, no staff cleaning the tables, wrong food orders and tables complaining all around us. In the winter it's also very cold inside as the cold air leaks through the make shift building. I usually can get over poor service but in this case the food is unfortunately not good enough to make me ignore it.

Stumbled upon Popina while visiting Granville Island and we had to try one of their puff creams. They have a variety of flavours and we chose the Barista (espresso, turbinado sugar crumb and ecuadorian cocoa). They partner with Birchwood Dairy and use Fraser Valley Milk and the result was a very creamy and thick soft serve! There is a cream puff at the base which was a bit crispy in texture. The toppings are crushed and smothered onto the soft serve so it can get a bit messy to eat since they fall off while you're eating. It reminded me a lot of Sweet Jesus! The crumb mixture was similar to Oreo but with a mild espresso flavour. Was it worth $8 though? Not too sure about that.

Recently a pop-up ad came up for Popina on one of my feeds, and omg it looked amazing, depicting a New England-esque clam/seafood bake platter, and a legit looking lobster roll. And I told my kid, we MUST visit this place! (I didn't exactly have to twist her arm....). So the other day, the weather was perfectly alma and summery, so we slathered on sunblock and walked 'round the seawall to Granville Island, specifically to visit Poplina. It is the cutest place, situated by the yellow Bridges restaurant on the northern tip of Granville, right on the pier. The cantina is comprised of shipping containers, with clearly designated counters where to order your food, and where to pick it up. There's a self-service ordering area with wall-mounted monitors (smart!), and if you don't want to eat outside on the many benches and sitting areas on the pier, there's an enclosed dining area, too (small, but cute. Helpful if the weather is inclement). We were so tempted to order the seafood bake platter (man, it looked good!), but at $45, I just didn't think I was that hungry. Instead we opted for the lobster roll. It was pricey - $26, - and didn't come with fries or any sides or drinks. Yikes. But it claimed to be an authentic New England lobster rolls and, after living in Boston for many years in my 20's (and I still visit that city semi-frequently), I KNOW my MA lobster rolls and I LOVE them! So we chose to share one here. The good news? The lobster was super fresh and the portion of lobster meat was generous. And the bread roll was PERFECTLY grilled: chewy, warm, crisp on the outside and soft within, with a golden buttery surface. Absolutely delicious! My kid went crazy for this lobster roll. And I personally liked it. A lot. More than a lot, perhaps. But it wasn't a "real" New England lobster roll. They used some sort of slightly zingy condiment or spice or sauce in the roll and it added a taste that, while good, was not "real Massachusetts lobster roll". So if you're expecting a genuine Cape Cod or Boston lobsta roll, this ain't it. But if you're wanting a very fresh and tasty lobster roll in an incredible bread roll, this is it for sure. Just expect to pay a hefty price for it. My kid and I still had room for dessert so we decided to splurge (again) on their soft serve ice cream concoctions in cream puff shells. I've posted a photo of the menu of choices for these concoctions; suffice it to say, we could barely decide as they ALL looked and sounded amazing! Again, these are pricey ($8 each) but an order is large enough for 2-4 people, easy. We had the "Nutzo" order with the core of Nutella and cookie crumb coating and it was everything we hoped it would be. And more! (I liked how, despite being a hefty portion, it was light and easily digested. Unlike gelato which is so rich and heavy). We are already planning our return visit here.

Crushed Oreos with Nutella centre Had this awhile back and the ice cream was very milky. I'm lactose so I was afraid that my stomach would react badly but it didn't so yey me? I liked the milkyness of this tho. Also love the cream puff on top and on the bottom Been wanting to try Popina for a long time but just haven't had the chance to go to Granville Island.

Not worth it if you're looking for a dessert treat. It is basically soft-serve with toppings, but dressed up in good advertising. If you just want soft-serve, it is fine. If you want a different dessert to try, this isn't anything special.

Old Fashion puffcream. Ice cream covered with almonds between a puff. . $8 do good.

The chicken sandwiches, while seemingly tasty at first are all deep fried, fatty skin with the teeniest bit of chicken. So little, in fact, that when I tried to break off the batter to offer my one year old a piece, I could barely find an actual piece of chicken! It was so disappointing, that I asked for another piece, and again, no chicken! It made me wonder if I would have ordered a piece of batter dressed in sauce and a delicious bun if it would have tasted the same! On the plus side, the batter and sauce were excellent, and since I could compare it to the numerous new chicken places that have popped up in SoCal, that part was quite impressive! I was disappointed as the place is cute, with a great view and the fries (both regular and sweet potato) were quite tasty, like a medium sized fries from MacDonalds. For three people, without a single drink and sharing two fries it will cost you almost $60! You pay for the view here, of course, and since we were the first to arrive our tables were clean. The falafel sandwich was good, and had there been actual chicken for kids this could have been a four. No kids menu was offered and my battered skin for kids was $5.60 I believe. The chicken wasn't organic so they could have offered a bit more which would more than cover their costs--especially for kids--and this place could have the potential to be one of Granville Island's best for food and view! (Truthfully, most places on the water here are tourist traps that are not representative of the great food to be found in the city). I wish this place would step it up to overcome that! The Whistler water (small size) was almost $4 a bottle which I just couldn't justify paying, but you can't expect much more for Granville island nowadays, which is especially sad if you grew up here.

* Sloppy second visit * I visited again, and this time tried the free range crispy chicken sandwich ($13). The chicken was definitely the highlight of this. It was freshly fried, with a perfectly rendered skin with juicy meat inside the two large pieces. The lettuce was simple iceberg, and there were some nice pickles that were a step above typical fast food pickles. The sauce was generously applied (too generously if you ask me as it was making the lettuce and bun a bit gloopy) and had a strong spice kick to it. The bun was light and fluffy, while being slightly toasted. But the sauce was really too much and just dripped all over the place unnecessarily. Overall the chicken was the highlight, and I would actually prefer to get that without the lettuce - perhaps in a chicken tender format with a dipping sauce you can apply more delicately with the pickles on the side. I would order it again, but likely will ask for the sauce on the side.

Very nice location, right on the water. View was amazing. Fried chicken sandwich was pretty good but as you can see from my pic, looked a _little_ overdone. If I go again and the fried chicken is in a better state I would up this to a 4 star rating. Drinks felt a _little_ expensive for what they were. Also, chilled red wine = ‍ The many not-so-good reviews had me skeptical going in, but I had a good time there and would go again.

Going to this place, I was already mentally prepared to pay higher prices than usual for this kind of set up. Their burger is priced competitively with the other burger stall in the market, but it was my birthday, so I splurged for the $26 lobster roll. I also ordered some yam fries ($6) with it. Their drinks were too expensive, so I ordered a fruit iced tea from the market. As to seating, it's a small area, but it was't full due to the higher prices. Service was slower than usual, as they only had one cashier open. It looks like they're experiencing staff shortages already. The lobster roll was good. There was a lot of lobster and only a little filler. I liked the buttery toasted bread it was served in. The yam fries were nice but I couldn't finish them. I would treat myself again with the lobster roll on my birthday. Otherwise, I will probably order the burger when I'm visiting the market.

Really wanted to try out their puff cream and had the chance today. I didn't know the price of it until we arrived. It's $8 for the puff cream. A pretty hefty price for ice cream. Today, the topping was freeze dried blueberries. This was the one I was looking forward to trying. It was raining, so they weren't busy at all. They took our order and made the puff creams quickly. It's essentially soft serve in the bottom half a cream puff, then rolled in the toppings and the top half is placed on the top. It looked cool. However, the second one we ordered, the blueberries didn't look as good and just looked like powder all over the ice cream. Overall, the soft serve tasted good, and I liked the texture of the blueberries with it, but the cream puff was just ok. I don't think it was worth the price.

Popina Canteen "popped" up on my radar earlier this year when I saw pictures of lobster rolls and seafood trays show up in my social media feeds. Lobster roll in Vancouver? Yes, please! Located at the Ferry dock in Granville Island, Popina Canteen's industrial-chic look owes heavily to the repurposed shipping containers that they use for their kitchen and patio. Overlooking the Burrard Street Bridge, the view is astounding to say the least. On our visit in mid-September, we were treated to a beautifully sunny day which just added to the ambiance. The limited menu focuses on seafood but is a bit eclectic and tends to the expensive end of the spectrum. "High-end fast-food" - is that a thing? We wound up ordering the Chicken Fried Humboldt Squid ($12) and the East Coast Lobster Roll ($26). The squid was really good (and didn't break the bank) - it was served with a spicy dipping sauce that went well with the crispy fried squid pieces. Biting into the lobster roll, you could taste how fresh it was. The toasted bun had a delicate crispness to the exterior and held up fairly well to the filling. Honestly, though, I don't think it was worth the $26 (current price for live lobster in Vancouver is about $20/lb). I would have liked to try their soft serve ice cream in a cream puff but I wasn't interested in their daily flavour that was available on our visit. They also offer up various seafood trays that sounded interesting but ranged between $120-$180.

Lobster roll was alright, not as flavourful as I expected, but the fried chicken sandwich was really good. The chicken was lightly battered, crispy and juicy, and it was a pretty big piece. Puffcream was good especially the malteser flavour is rare.

Cute little place on Granville island. If you not into the food fair vibe. This is a nice alternative. Food was quite tasty. Bit on the pricey side but not for Granville Island as a whole. My only complaint was the food took about 25 minutes to be made. Which is quite long to just wait around.

We wandered onto Granville Island in the early evening when most of the stores were closed but we were fortunate to find that Popina Canteen was still open. We decided to grab a snack and opted for the puff cream with dried blueberries. It was so much better than what we had in mind. The ice cream was creamy and just the right amount of sweetness and the dried blueberries added a nice and tasty crunch to the ice cream. I definitely recommend coming here to try their puff creams!

As your partner is waiting at Lee's Doughnuts or Oyama Meats, order a chicken sandwich then go to Bread Affair for a loaf of bread for your parents, and some homemade ginger ale and lemonade. Then your Popina sandwich will be ready and worth it for the 15-20 mins wait - crispy, juicy, with a kick of spice and pickles on a chewy soft bun.

Food was barely warm. Cheese wasn't even melted on cheeseburger. Fish from fish and chips had strange donut tasting coating and was barely cooked. Fries would have been good if they had been hot. Will not be coming again.

It's clear that all the bad reviews are financial based which isn't fair to the food, you knew what the prices were before you ordered so if you can't afford a $26 lobster roll don't take it out on the establishment. Let's talk food. Being from LA, Im blessed to understand fried chicken, and this one not only gives LA a run for it's money but it rivals what I've tasted in New Orleans and Atlanta. True the sizing for the price doesn't scream "value" but I wasn't left hungry. Every bite felt well orchestrated and currated with precision, I can't tell you how happy I am to have stubled across this gem.

I occasionally visit some of the reviews I write on google, see what others have thought about places I've visited in the past. With hopes they will have improved, but all I see are more snarky replies from the owner at people who rate three stars or lower. I can understand protecting your employees, but the attitude isn't going to help the business nor reflect the truly friendly and genuine hard working employees in any positive way.

Dine Out 2019 menu was very good and worth it! We got the fried chicken sandwich, the shoestring fries with tomato spice and the daily cream puff. The fried chicken was very tender, moist and cooked perfectly. The sauce is creamy and spicy with a nice kick to it. I wish there was more lettuce to balance out the chicken as it was kind of heavy, but there were some pickles to balance out the sandwich which was nice. The fries were seasoned well but not super crispy. Pretty average in my opinion but still good. The daily cream puff was corn flakes and pecans and they added a nice crunch to the soft serve. The soft serve ice cream was pretty good. Be careful from getting attacked by seagulls. You order your food and pick it up at the window inside. For the creampuff we had to go back to the order window to pick it up and I almost got attacked by a seagull. Watch out!

This place is a joke. Order food and they say ready in 10-15 minutes, no worries. 30 minutes later they say 10 minutes, WTF? Finally get our food, lobster roll, shrimp roll and fries. Decent fries, wouldn't call them shoestring fries, hit decent nonetheless. Shrimp roll was not bad. Lobster roll= rip off. Barely any lobster in the sandwich and not that tasty. Good thing it only costs $26 with no sides. Yeah, that's sarcasm. Pretty sure I'll never go back. Well maybe for $4 fries.