Choppers Diner

Sorry to report that Choppers is, indeed, gone. Overnight, really. A new brazilian place has opened in that spot which I have yet to try. We’re very sad to see our favourite breakfast place go. Boo!

5 stars for being great while you lasted. Sorry to see you go.

Let me preface this by saying that I like diners and dives. Seriously, look at the places i’ve reviewed, I’m all over this stuff.
But, chopper’s diner fell short. We wanted to go yesterday (weds), and the website hours said they were open. We arrived, and they were closed. So we went today, after calling and confirming.
The menu was sparse, some breakfast, 3 burgers, 3 sandwiches (of which one was a grilled cheese, plain-​and-​simple), and a salad.
We got the burgers, which were really greasy, and took more than 30 minutes to come out. I went and reached for the mustard container (each table has a red bottle for ketchup, a yellow bottle for presumably mustard, and a dark brown one with HP sauce). I dumped what I expected to be mustard on my plate for my fries. It wasn’t mustard, it was hotsauce.
WHO THE HELL PUTS HOT SAUCE IN A MUSTARD BOTTLE? I wonder how many people just poured that onto their burgers expecting mustard. NOT COOL.
When we went to pay (and we had to stand up and go find the waitress), she said they had no change. ITS A CASH ONLY ESTABLISHMENT! what kind of a place that forces you to pay in cash doesn’t carry change?
So — slow service, greasy food, unreliable hours, cash-​only without change and deceiving mustard-​but-​really-​hotsauce bottles. methinks not!

Always slow, greasy, depressing. Fodder for a TV makeover show.
On the plus side, our last meal there was comped for the slowness– it took an hour and a half to be served after ordering, no joke– and because of the curly beard hair in my partner’s sandwich. The server looked defeated, apologized, wadded up the bill, and said that never happens, but I know better.
I’ve been there for brunch maybe 10 times because I’m lazy– it’s close to my house and friends’. But frankly, I could get up, go shopping, make a better and less greasy meal, in about half the time it takes at Choppers.
That gives lots of time to take in the dark grey and red décor, old random motorcycle nick knacks, dangling wires, and all the other sad customers hoping for a meal. Don’t look too carefully around you, and good luck finding your way into the bathroom. Our table was wiped down with a dry napkin, leaving the grease and dried on bits from some prior meal.
The payoff our wait is always a very bland and slippery meal. The veggie «hash» served with many items is so greasy that it crushes any health benefit of eating vegetables. Heavily buttered breads for sandwiches, and grease pools in the eggs are normal, but they don’t make anything taste better. Just greasy.
I really want Choppers to be a 4 star place. The menu reads like it should be, but the execution suffers from lethargy, inattention, and a pathetic setting. They moved from the 1^st and Rupert location, but didn’t revamp how they make or serve food. It’s time for a makeover.

good food nice people and vegi friendly

It is closed again. Too bad. It had a good vibe.

Why we love the east side.
Great food, great service, great people, comfortable yet cool décor.
Unpretentious. Awesome.
Way to go Choppers.

Other well-​known diners in the Nanaimo and Broadway area look out because Choppers is open and offering great food, friendly service and generous portions. This breakfast and brunch spot elevates greasy spoon fare to something divine.

This diner attempts to recreate the feel of a biker bar, even though there’s never any motorcycles in the parking lot. With framed magazine cut-​outs of antique Harley Davidsons and even a small plastic motorcycle for children to play on, it definitely pulls off a certain motif, but judging by the emptiness of the place that might not be a good thing.
That lack of popularity might have something to do with its location as well, a block away from the highway on 1^st Avenue and Rupert. But it definitely has nothing to do with the food, which is both cheap and delicious. Serving mostly breakfasts and hamburgers, the hash browns are perfectly tender and the burger patty is homemade and juicy.
Conspicuous and bizarre, the flames on the wall, the classic rock, and the quiet empty space do make the biker gang theme almost believable, but the only people inside with tattoos are aging generation-​Xers eating brunch with their common-​law wife and toddlers.
It’s the best chance you have in Vancouver of simulating a Twilight Zone episode, especially when time stands still as you wait for your food.