Walking down Denman Street in Vancouver’s West End, you wouldn’t expect to find this hidden jungle oasis. The Jungle Room is Vancouver’s first jungle-inspired restaurant and cocktail lounge and they are serving up elevated Indonesian and Japanese street food offered alongside a selection of innovative libations. The inspiration behind Jungle Room’s new food menu stems from Chef Krisyanto’s Indonesian heritage and Chef Foster’s Japanese roots. There are so many delicious dishes to choose from and I had such a wonderful night sampling all the different offerings and cocktails. Check out my full review of Jungle Room below!
Jungle Room – Starters
Jungle Room has a variety of snacks, salads, small plates and raw dishes to choose from. It was hard to narrow it down but we went with:
- Hokkaido Scallop ($22.00)
- Lumpia Spring Rolls ($14.00)
- Laksa Bombs ($16.00)
The Hokkaido Scallops feature Granny smith apple, cucumber yuzu broth, pickled mustard, shiso, wasabi, and crispy capers. The scallops were delicate and refreshing with the apples and the cucumber yuzu broth was light and not overwhelming of the delicate scallop flavour. This dish reminds me of the scallop dish I had at Bar Bravo.
The Lumpia Spring Rolls feature a pork & mushroom filling (or mixed vegetable), Crying tiger sauce, lettuce, cilantro, rice paper wrap. The rice paper gets really crispy and the pork and mushroom filling was really flavourful. The fresh lettuce pairs really well with the crispiness of the roll. The sauce, however was the star of this dish. It was spicy, bright and flavourful.
The Laksa Bombs feature prawn & truffle dumplings, lobster laksa broth, and scallion. This was one of my favourite dishes of the night and an absolute must order dish here. The dumplings were well made and generous with the filling. However, it was the lobster laksa broth that I kept coming back for more. It was so flavourful and delicious. I highly recommend ordering a side of their House-made Milk Bread to get every last drop of this delicious broth.
Jungle Room – Mains
For our mains we went with:
- Uni soba ($26.00)
- Miso-braised squash ($19.00)
- Seared spring salmon ($35.00)
One dish I absolutely wanted to try was the Uni Soba. This dish features buckwheat noodles, local sea urchin & lobster dashi butter, sambal oelek and ikura. The sauce was so flavourful with just a hint of spice from the sambal oelek. This dish was the perfect combination of Indonesian and Japanese flavours. The only thing was I felt that the noodles were a bit soft and overcooked.
The Miso-braised Squash features charred shallot, roasted hakurei turnips & sautéed greens, wasabi chimichurri and a curried squash purée. All the vegetables had a great char flavour and the wasabi chimichurri adds a nice bit of heat.
The Seared Spring Salmon features Javanese opor sauce, pearl couscous, caramelized cabbage, chili oil, sambal matah, toasted coconut. This was another table favourite. The salmon was moist and flakey with a crispy skin. The Javanese opor sauce was so flavourful (do you see a reoccuring theme here?) and it pairs so well with the pearl couscous and salmon.
Jungle Room – Cocktails
The Jungle Room has an extensive cocktail lineup with innovative takes on classic favourites like the Daiquiri, New Toronto, Pegu Club, and La Louisiane. The Jungle Room will also be donating a portion of proceeds from cocktail sales to Pacific Wild, an initiative dedicated to preserving British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest. Every cocktail we had was delicious but standouts for us were:
- Maracujà Gimlet ($17.00) – Milk-clarified Chilean pisco, lychee, passionfruit, lime, dark chocolate passionfruit bonbon
- Misty Mountain Minds ($16.00) – Tanqueray gin, Père Magloire calvados, basil, lime, mezcal mist, herb ash-infused oil
- Jungle Boogie ($16.00) – Flor de Caña 4 Yr rum, Campari, house-churned pineapple sorbet, lime, cava
- Clouds in the Forest ($16.00) – Cazadores Reposado tequila, Ancho Reyes liqueur, cacao, House of Funk espresso, salt
Worth a Try?
Yes! Everything we ate and drank was fantastic. The service was also spectacular and incredibly welcoming and friendly. We came for dinner on a weekday and the space was still very busy but with a laid back vibe. There was also a live DJ mixing up some upbeat music to really set the mood. Jungle Room is also a great option for Happy Hour! They have a regular daily Happy Hour from 3 to 6 p.m. and a Late Night Happy Hour from 10:30 p.m. until last call. Word on the street is that a brunch menu is also coming soon – I’ll definitely be checking that out!
Jungle Room
Address: 961 Denman St Vancouver, BC V6G 2M3
Website: https://jungleroom.ca