Looking for a good Donair place in Vancouver

Does anyone know of a good place for Donair in the Vancouver/Richmond area? I used to live in Edmonton and was addicted to this place called the Queen's donairs. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything in Vancouver that could nearly match the ones I've had back home.

[Georgia Strait]

i've always been fascinated by Donair - but being a westerner, i don't know the Halifax version - i would have thought yogurt taste is the "right" taste --- in any event - what is the big lump of "meat" that circles around for hours (days?) --- is it like a bologna / wiener product (ie pressed together something) or is there actual meat in the "real" donair.

i look fwd to reading more about where to get a "real" one (with yogurt, please) - somewhere downtown or north shore

[LotusRapper]

Well, define "meat" [wink]

Seriously:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doner_kebab

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doner_ke...

[quddous]

on the topic of middle eastern wraps - Though not a donair perse, I really like the wrap at Daddy's Pizza in Richmond. It's located on 5 and Cambie..

The wrap reminds me of the one at Anatolia's Gate but much better (I'm not a fan of Anatolia).
The wrap is a Persian ground beef kebab wrapped in a fresh made flat bread. You can also get the chicken ("jujeh" - saffron lemon) which is just as delicious.

[quddous]

My two favourite places for donair are Canteen Mitra and Babylon (Babylon now opening their 5th location somewhere downtown). I quite like the donair plate at Babylon with the "brown" rice as they mix some spices and beans into the rice for this one.

I also go to Abdul BBQ quite often. He has a very salty/spicy sauce that he adds - a little too spice filled for me (don't get me wrong. I'm middle eastern and I love spices and spicy food but this one is just overkill). I always get the mild version which I like quite a bit.

I also like Donair spot though their chicken is not flavourful (less spices) as the other three mentioned.

The only place with sweet sauce that I have encountered is Donair Dude. I want to like them but their meat and sandwich overall taste very mediocre. It's not bad tasting but there is no real "middle eastern" flavour to it.

[JayDK]

Clue me in to the names please.
If the meat is ground, what is it called?
If the meat is individual slices stacked on the spit, what is that called?

[sylvesterhan]

Just came back from edmonton and just want to know if there is a donair place in vancouver that has the sweet sauce???

[kinnickinnik]

See above for references to Halifax style donairs - that should be with sweet sauce.

I think Donair Dude on Davie & Bute will have them.

[LotusRapper]

Abdul's BBQ in Crystal Mall (storefront faces Kingsway) is pretty good for shawarma and falafels. But the ventilation (or lack of it) is a minus for me:

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/180012...

Ah but if you are looking for *pure* donair a la Halifax ....... well that's a whole different story altogether (r..e..s..i..s..t getting into old debate of shawarma vs. donair vs. gyro). Canteen Mitra on (3034) Main St just south of 14th Ave has good donairs. Actually I like their falafel better than most places ...... light, fluffy, not greasy nor too salty.

Also a chain called Donair Town throughout Vancouver and suburbs is supposedly good, according to a friend of ours who works at Vera's Burgers at UBC Village Mall, where that particular Donair Town is quite well liked.

[Florentine]

What about the Atlantic Trap & Gill? They advertise an "authentic Halifax Donair" on their menus. Has anybody been brave enough to try it?

[thewitt]

Great place to hang - But not a Halifax Donair in sight. Small portion, packaged meat, open-face... It couldn't be more wrong.

Anyone know what happened to Beaver on Cornwall after the fire a while ago? That was a REAL donair.

[nilrem]

Its in a strip mall at the corner of 108 Avenue and 148 Street in Surrey. Superb. I became a donair fan immediately. Now I am looking for one closer to home in Vancouver proper

-----
Angelo's Pizza & Donairs
, Sechelt, BC V0N, CA

[islandgirl]

Again, not the sweet sauce, but the Falafully Good on the corner of Oak & 16th is pretty good.

[LotusRapper]

I concur.

I live awfully close to Falafully Good ;-)

[yuyu]

I like the donair place at granville and 70th next to the 7-11. They have a really yummy sweet sauce but I have no clue whether or not it is authentic?

[akipling]

Try Poppa's Pizza in Parksville. Like the back home donair with sweet sauce. Also have tzi.
Website www.poppaspizza.com

Man do I ever understand.

As a former Edmontonian, I love Queen's Donair (especially after a few pints) but haven't been able to find a shop here that measures up. I think it is something to do with the sweet Halifax style sauce that Queen Donair used. Shops here in Vancouver seem to stick to the classic tzatziki sauce.... There was one place in Kits called Beaver's that advertised the sweet sauce but I believe it has closed down.

Anyone have any idea?

Just wanted to extend my sympathies - I lived in Halifax for a while and got to know the "real donair". Anyone I've spoken to also from the east coast also misses donairs and spends a lifetime searching for something close to the Halifax style.

Good luck! please post up if you find anything...

I know what your saying bud im out here to and simon kings donair on the south side I thought was the best, I miss them

there are donair shops out west now? wow man , i was thinking it was still an east coast thing , i'm from sydney nova scotia , in cape breton , and i'll tell ya , the best , BEST donair is island greek donair on charlotte st. in sydney . i've lived in haliax and had donairs from umpteen places , including the lesser known "cubby hole leb shops" and none of them compete with island greek . CONGRATS tho to the western half of the country on recieving our regions best junk-food , i hope you can all truely appreciate it for what it is , junk-food-perfection!
PEACE!

[John Manzo]

There are too many donair places to count in Calgary. Edmonton too, I hear.

Vancouver is hell for donair- but just to say you've had the WORST, I recommend anybody to go to the place on the street that is directly west of the law courts- the absolute most disgusting excuse for a donair I have ever tasted: Pre-packaged, like luncheon meat, "donair" meat that the owner heated in a microwave- and he placed TWO SLICES of this cat food garbage on a STALE whole-wheat pita with lettuce (ICK) and tomatoes and "sauce" that was a sort of thousand island dressing- wrapped the COLD piece of crap up in waxed paper and handed it to me. It was unreal, just epic bad, really a great story. I should have taken pictures.

I dropped it in the garbage after a cursory bite to see how bad "bad" is and then headed to Gyoza King for one of the best meals of my life.

[lunchslut]

After year's of listening to my husband's complaints about superiority of the Halifax donair, I had the opportunity to try one of the "masterpieces" in Halifax. I was surprised at the benchmark sweet sauce. The sweet sauce was a mixture of condensed milk, vinegar, garlic salt and dried herbs. The sweet flavours of his youth would have my Middle Eastern ancestors turning in their graves. I am guessing that the sauce was an attempt to imitate the yogurt of the tzatziki sauce at a time when yogurt was not a common ingredient in Canadian grocery stores and the tradition continued even though the ingredients are now available. My personal favourites in Vancouver are Mac Falafal near UBC and Nuba which has a few locations downtown. Their sauces are not similr to the Halifax style sauce. "Real" unfortunately is relative.

[fmed]

Sugar seems to be a common theme when certain foods become Westernized (as in Canadianized or Americanized)....look at all the sweet sauces in American/Canadian Chinese cuisine.

I guess the Halifax donair is like BC's Whitespot Triple-O....I wont get it unless I grew up with it. (I feel the same way about poutine....)

[delys77]

I believe Donair Dude on Davie at Jervis advertises Halifax style sauce. I've been a few times and have found their offerings ok, but I have never tried the Halifax style as I generally am not one for sweet sauces with meat.