Came to this market to pick up some fruits for the road. BC Peaches are not sweet. Plums were…read moreokay. We got some oranges from South Africa.

I have been shopping here for about five years, and I love it and could not go anywhere else! When…read moreI had a very serious injury when I broke my foot in two places, the staff were so helpful with helping with groceries into the car, and have always been super friendly. Some of those young students staff were especially so kind to me when I was so badly injured. They have a good selection and I especially love the convenience of their fabulous organic and health section that beats all the other stores. I love it when they bring in the fresh dandelion leaves and so did my naturopath who cured a patient of a serious health issue when I told their office that the leaves were available at Country Grocer! I actually love this store due to its organized aisles and cleanliness, too. (We won't be mentioning the problems at other stores...) Listen - they even sell organic soil and pretty flowers!!! Love it! Would never go anywhere else. xo

Save on foods is the worst grocery store for prices and deals in town. Anything you can get here…read moreyou can get anywhere else cheaper.

Sav-on Foods is the best! My hubs and I were staying in Nanaimo for a 4-day vacation from Seattle…read moreand taking day trips to seaside towns on the island's east coast. Since we like to eat out once or twice a day and make our own sandwiches for the other meal, we stopped by Sav-on Foods early on to get some provisions. The folks that work at the deli counter are so nice. We tried several different cold cuts before we found the one we liked. One trip it was roasted turkey breast and another time it was the Montreal-style smoked beef. Both were great and made tasty sandwiches. When we checked out in the self-serve line, the friendly cashier let us use his Sav-on Card so we could take advantage of any store discounts. Including our receipt from our shopping trip so you can see the prices. $55.56 CAD turned out to be $40.85 USD. Great deal for us! This store has super nice staff and good prices. I highly recommend Sav-on Foods!

On April 6th, 2011, my wife purchased almond butter on sale at this store. My wife checked the best…read morebefore date before she went to open the product, and it was September 28th, 2010. When she called to voice the issue, she was told that the product was fine, we should eat it, and they would not take it back. When she explained due to medical advice, I cannot consume a product that is beyond its best before date or aged and that the consequences could be fatal, they offered to take the product back. However, they showed no intention to alter their policy to knowingly sell expired merchandise. When we asked to escalate our issue to a manager, we were told our only option was to email the owner. We find this unacceptable. Our business was sacrificed over an item worth only a few dollars. Customers clearly are not important to this business. We strongly recommend you avoid dealing with this business.

Love this place! I am shocked they don't have more reviews, let alone any good ones. Great prices…read moreon most things. Love the variety. Friendly workers. Love it! :)

The staff at the Chemainus 49th parallel grocery are awesome. They have steeped up their awesome…read moregame to stupendous through this pandemic. I really can not say enough about their front line work. Going above and beyond for our community. The shelves are stocked and ready every day. The staff tirelessly putting together delivery orders and getting them out to our community members.

We love this place. It is our go-to grocery store with really high-end products and produce at a…read morereasonable price. It is super clean, and everyone who works there is over the top friendly and helpful. Plus, they give a LOT back to the community in charity support and employment. The 49th Parallel is an absolute gem in Chemainus, and an important player in making Chemainus a great place to live.

I would give Eat Fresh 5 stars were it not for the salads. I LOVE the salads and that's my…read moredownfall. I live a 20 minute drive away from the store but I drive there 3-4 times a week to grab a salad. 2-3 times there either are no salads at all made that day or they have the one kind (chef salad) which I don't care for. It's a waste of an hour for me to drive there only to find..... nada. I guess I'm going to have to start making my own salads because I'm tired of the disappointment. Sigh.

If you like your carrot cake with a side of gaslighting…read more.. EatFresh came highly recommended, and I was genuinely looking forward to supporting a local business with a 'good reputation'. But I ended up in what I can only describe as a full-blown carrot cake standoff. I purchased a slice of carrot cake, only to discover, once home, that it contained shredded coconut. I loathe coconut. The texture is unmistakable to anyone who's ever had it (and hates it). So I drove back the next day and politely asked if I could swap it for something else, not a refund, just a coconut-free treat. What followed was like something out of a sitcom. The staff convened a mini tribunal. The cake was taken behind closed doors and inspected. I was assured that the recipe ONLY contained walnuts (and was not to believe my own eyes - and taste buds). I was even handed a new slice and told, confidently, "No coconut here." I opened the box and pointed right at the flecks of the offending ingredient. Still - the manager insisted: "That's walnut." Spoiler alert: it wasn't. The level of denial was surreal. What could've been a simple, friendly interaction instead turned defensive and weirdly authoritarian. No accountability. No flexibility. Just "take it or leave it" and I left with less respect for a business I truly wanted to support. This isn't just about taste. It's about trust. If staff don't know what's in their own products (or worse, deny what's clearly there), it raises concerns for anyone with dietary sensitivities or allergies. I've attached photos of the cake slices for reference. If you love coconut and confrontation, this might be your jam. If not....well, you've been warned.

Had everything we needed. Rib eye steaks sweet corn, and salad mix. Got in , shopped and got out…read more Lots of parking too

It's a good market for a small town. Found everything we…read morewere looking for quickly. Veggy department is good. All the staples there Pricing is fairly reasonable for peak of the summer tourism season. Parking is available. Good to find a supermarket of this quality in Parksville

I did not see any Goats on the Roof. It may be too hot. The shop has plenty of goodies from…read morepastries to sandwiches. There were also home goods and kids toys that were sold here. It was super busy inside and there is back area for parking. Protip - buy some cheese and sandwiches and eat on the grassy area by the parking area.

This place is absolutely a tourist trap, and that's okay, because if you are here, and you know…read morethat it is, and yes, there are Goats on the Roof, then you are going to love this place. Firstly, if you come here "late" like after 10am, then it might be a messy bit to find parking, but there is both parking behind and down along the drive into the property, or across the street also. Once you park, I recommend just heading to the Old Country Market itself, find a space a few meters back, and look on the roof, The roof has a rotating set of goats, which live up top. They are the attraction, and that is it. You got a place with Goats... on... the... roof. Once you have accomplished that, time to head inside and check out the offerings. First, if you are just rushing through, it's just going to feel like some random grocery market. Yes, lots of things are mass market, but when you SLOW down, and look around, you may start to find some lesser known, and okay, still Made in China, but local flair nevertheless. I recommend heading to the meat counter (assuming you like meat) and getting some Jerky, or other items.. because those are made locally. Then as you meander through the trinkets, you are going to find a mix between local and imported things. As you wonder back toward the baked products, you are going to see piles of loves of bread. I didn't try them, so can't recommend, however head past that, and you will find delicious case of based goods, including their house made Sausage Rolls, which are darn tasty. Go with their original one, then branch out. Again, meat lovers here. As you slowly, go around the store, being bumped by everyone around you, because there are too many people here, in this little shop, take in the fact that ABOVE YOUR HEAD, on the roof, are up there. So look, it's a trap, to be sure, and don't doubt it's going to be a mass of people, but honestly, you came here because it was a tourist trap, so go early, and take your time. Also, highly recommend the used book store nearby, once you free yourself of the money you are going to spend here in the market.

Best selection of cheese and specialty deli goods, hands down. Wonderful shop, helpful and…read moreinformative staff. My favourite store in town for gourmet snacks and nibbles (for everyday!). Special shout-out to the heavenly cheese selection and the cute and clean premises. They also have an Italian pork jowl that I can't find anywhere else in town. Considering the rising price of eating out (and junk food), I will get myself some fancy treats here every week instead.

Although the staff at McLean's was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and I did get hooked by…read morethe nostalgic story of the place, I was kind of unimpressed with McLean's. We got a LOT of stuff there, including crackers, pate, cheeses, jams, and a bunch of other items, all of which sort of flatlined. Now, in McLean's defense, the pate and cheeses were the only things they brought in specifically under their name. And the place was EXTREMELY cute, and they served sandwiches, and the owner was friendly and on premesis, and they'd let you bring wine if you wanted... ...but really, everything flatlined. The fig crackers tasted like prunes. The sheep's brie was overly strong in flavor, almost off-tasting. The porter cheddar tasted like...plain cheddar. The pate was bland. One standout was a cheese (I forget the name) which had a line of gorgonzola down the centre. Really, of everything we bought, this is the only thing I'd consider re-purchasing. Now I don't want to rule this place out based on one trip, but it *was* expensive (some of the crackers and jams were way over-priced) and I *was* disappointed, considering how it's touted around town as being wonderful. I like to support local businesses, so I will be back to purchase a significantly smaller portion of cheese. Till then...