Chickpea Downtown

SO GOOD! The perfect quick bite in the perfect location! The portions are generous and everything is so, so flavorful. Had the “shawarma” platter and it was absolutely delicious — highly exceeded my expectations! The chickpea fries are unlike anything I’ve ever had before and each of the sauces on the dish really stood out! The worker was also so sweet and walked me through a bit of the menu before ordering. I would highly recommend and cannot wait to come back!

- Natalia Reszka -

Had this food truck in front of the art gallery. We were staying at the Fairmont and saw the truck outside our window. Being a vegetarian I had to try. The food was amazing and unique. Vegetarian options can become boring and predictable, not this food. We will seek out this truck when we are over from Nanaimo again, yum, yum, yum!

- Kelly Nixon -

AMAZING Vegan food!! We ordered a hot dog, burger and fries and everything was amazing! The fries were especially delicious. Every sauce they use tastes like heaven. We rounded out the meal with some Baklava and DANG that was delicious. It was hot, sticky and melts in your mouth. Would not pass up on this place. Also the lady working was so sweet.

- Allison Shelleau -

Delicious! We took the plater, it gives you a chance to taste many items (houmous, fries, ...), and it was too much for two persons, we had some houmous leftover. Fries sauce is amazing!

- Simon Poulle -

FLAVOR BOMB -!!! Yusss! Super unique flavor and taste, absolutely just try, the chickpeas fries with zaatar was so different from the typical potato fries, tried the halloumi fried oyster mushroom burger with a heavy saucy dressing - omg it was cheesy, divine! Yes it can get messy but you know when you're ordering it but worth every bit of it, with happiness guaranteed at every little bite. It is expensive for a food truck grab and go, portion size is generous and very filling with all the protein! Must try! Think no more, just try it!

- Anj S -

The first time I ate this was close to 3-4 years ago when I think the founders / owners just started this hustle? Think they were actually the ones cooking with aprons on and everything. Saw the same truck and decided to grab a falafel to go. The hot sauce was too much. The chef/waiter should have asked what spice level I wanted. He wasn’t very talkative at all. Thank goodness the veggies were fresh though the falafel was sort of dry. Lone wolf operation here and a far cry from my first impressions of the biz. Took a glance inside the truck and thought it looked kind of dirty. Not too appetizing. It’s a shame when everything eventually gets outsourced to the lowest bidder. Founders maybe even sold and moved on.

- Stanley Yang -

The flavours you get from Chickpea are out of this world good! I’ve always wanted to try it and glad I finally did. I got the falafel platter and the portion was HUGE. I would share it with someone or take the rest home to eat the next day. The falafels were so flavourful and fresh. I wish I took a picture of what it looked inside: a beautiful bright green colour. The hummus was so creamy and delicious. The green herby sauce on top was incredible, added a nice acidity, and paired so nicely with it. Chickpea fries were as good as they say. Salad was refreshing. I highly recommend for you to give Chickpea a try! If you’ve never had a plant-based meal before, then this is a great place to start. Even my meat-loving husband enjoyed this meal! Chickpeas are extremely high in protein, and other nutrients like fibre that you can’t get from animal-based proteins. I enjoy my meats, but I like to add plant-based proteins regularly for that flavour and added nutrition.

- Sun Bun -

It was late at night and I needed to bring back food for my family to the hotel. I stumbled upon this spot and decided to give it a try—even though we’re not vegan. Overall, it was pretty good. The French fries weren’t warm, but I’m guessing that’s because I was the last customer before closing and they weren’t going to make a fresh batch. That said, I really appreciated how generous they were with the salad. I’d definitely go back, but next time I’ll be more specific about what I want. Ps. The prices were pretty high. Basically a sit down restaurant.

- Nazgol -