Long awaited Popina has opened on Granville Island. You can find it right on the northwest wharf. That’s between the western end of the market (where much of the food service is) and False Creek Ferries. I hopped a ferry myself to get there one recent, gloriously sunny day. I’ve always enjoyed False Creek Ferries. But I’d forgotten just how truly spectacular that few minutes’ trip can be.
False Creek Ferries, a cool way to reach Popina on Granville Island
It’s a great way to get to Granville Island. Plus, you don’t have to worry about looking for parking …
Popina is a collaboration between four of Vancouver’s top chefs. Angus An (Maenam, Sen Pad Thai, Fat Mao); Hamid Salimian (Chef consultant, head instructor VCC); Joêl Watanabe (Kissa Tanto, Bao Bei); and Robert Belcham (Campagnolo, Monarch Burger). Not only are they all top tier practitioners. They also represent a true cross-section of the city’s ever-vibrant food scene.
l-r: Robert Belcham, Angus An, Joêl Watanabe and Hamid Salimian
Aside from the container clad kitchen, Popina is entirely open-air. But does offer a covered, soon to be licensed area. It’s “a counter service restaurant, serving gourmet fast food in colourful, repurposed shipping containers.” (From the release.) Think Go Fish on steroids, but with (no offense to GF) 40 times the kitchen talent.
Right now the menu is in preview, with plans to launch in full later this month. In case you’re wondering, the name Popina dates from Roman times. Popinae were market-style eating and drinking spots for the plebeians (commoners) … that also just happened to offer ‘other’ services.
How Come Popina?
Robert Belcham explains the idea behind Pepina
I went by the day the restaurant opened for preview. And I wound up chatting with Robert Belcham.
I asked him how the idea for Popina came together.
“Angus, myself, Joël and Hamid have been looking for a while to do something together. We wanted somewhere to do our individual thing but in a large space,” he said.
“Then it was, like, why don’t we share a commissary. And then, why don’t we share staff? … We’ve been looking for about four years and had a couple spaces fell through.”
He says Angus An’s success with Sen Pad Thai (now in the Market) got them thinking differently. A couple of leases were coming up for renewal. The four approached Granville Island about a possible project.
“We’d love to have you aboard,” said the market.
“Granville Island came back a few months later and said: “We have this 2040 vision plan. We want to do a shipping container concept. Would you be interested? We said ‘Sure!’”
A unique approach
Belcham says the process took about nine months. It was helped along by Granville Island’s purchase of repurposed shipping containers. They were built for North Vancouver’s failed Hawkers’ Wharf project.
“So they had all these containers and we had to figure out how to make it happen,” he adds.
“We asked the Market to help us out; and come up with a vision for Popina. I think they hit it out of the park,” says the chef.
“We wanted it to be big and fun—super fun—because the concept of food for us is always to reach more people. We all have fine dining backgrounds. But we also want to be able to reach reach the masses. We want to take our integrity and know-how to make great fast food. (Although I don’t like calling it fast food!) However, you could take any one of these Popina take out dishes and put it on plates served at any one of our restaurants.”
Menu with a view
“We each have a sandwich. I did a burger,” says Belcham. “Hamid is doing a chicken sandwich—because he makes the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Angus is doing a lobster roll. And Joel is doing falafel—which is kind of funny because you’d think Hamid would do that.”
Popina whole Dungeness crab with parsley chervil butter
And the focus? “It had to be seafood. We’re right on the water at Granville Island,” says Belcham. “So, we decided, let’s have a really good focus on seafood. That means simple steamed crab, steamed lobster, and big seafood trays with lots of different flavours going on. And then we all have our own sauces.”
Popina shrimp toast with lettuce and tarragon
“The toasts are really different. And we also want to do a lot of salads, super fresh grab ‘n go, something quick for people working on the island. So we used our know-how for making salads. All these salads, we all have them in our restaurants,” says Belcham.
Popina salmon salad
“We also wanted to do something cool with drinks,” he adds. The fourth container is licensed (or will be any moment).
“We partnered up with JoieFarm because we all have a good relationship with them.” the chef says he likes to work with Powell Street (Brewing) and they’ve collaborated on a lager. There are also seasonal cocktails, again with input from each of four different bartenders. And the capper is the soft serve cream puff.
The Popina seafood tray (for four), whole lobster, Dungeness crab, pink scallops, shrimp ceviche and tuna crudo, with sauces to match: essentially ‘the works’. Think horizontal tower.
Popina will be open from 11 in the morning to 10 at night. Belcham says it just makes sense. “Besides, with so much parking available at night, why would we close?”
A Gamechanger?
What’s next for Granville Island and for the market in particular? There’s no disputing the Market’s phenomenal success. Yet, I’ve sometimes felt it hasn’t kept pace with Vancouver’s food culture as a whole. It turns out I’m not alone.
Consider this, from the 2040 vision plan:
“Research shows that as much as the Public Market is a major draw, visitors believe that it needs higher quality foods, more local and sustainable products, and more public seating and other amenities.”
So, here (again from the report) are the ‘Key Actions’ planned for the Market:
• Expand the Public Market to create space for new food stalls and public amenities
• Create a Market District by providing more Market uses in adjacent buildings and sites
• Expand the Market offerings in areas such as sustainable food, local food production and processing, and innovative culinary arts and programming
• Activate the Market in the evenings
Lisbon’s Time Out Market
Last year, when in Lisbon, I was struck by the immense popularity of that city’s Time Out Market. It’s more upscale food court than market. Mainly indoors, even though close to the water, it doesn’t enjoy scenic views. But it’s very well located and packed with people lured by an astonishing array of tempting flavours. Not to mention fully licensed.
Granville Island Public Market enjoys a more interesting setting, with plenty of view potential. Plus, the working produce market, fishmongers, butchers, delis and more add up to an appealing assortment of foods. They also offer chefs instant access to fresh ingredients.
The plan afoot
What’s missing is a wider selection of eating options, which is now being addressed. My hunch is, once Popina settles in—that there’ll be other chefs drawn to the market.
Popina is part of a major plan to expand and improve the Market’s eating options
If you go digging around that vision plan you’ll find some interesting ideas. One will turn the entire access between the net loft and trailblazing Edible Canada into an outdoor plaza. Plus, have a close look at the area that’s home to Popina. You’ll see there are two more container style installations and plenty of outdoor seating.
And that’s just the start…
Stay tuned.
Fantastic write-up Tim! Wowza….Dean
Thanks, Dean! See you soon..
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