We have always enjoyed our suppers at Gateway! Excellent food, friendly service and great ambiance. Tonight we started with the mixed veg platter - delicious! Next up was a classic chicken vindaloo and mixed veg curry with rice, mango chutney and excellent naan bread. We go back often! read more

Waited there for a long time and no one served us. We left!!!! No wonder they have so many poor reviews.

Food was not great but service was pathetic. We had 8 people(east Indians) there for lunch. We were so hyped to find an Indian restaurant in Nanaimo. The lady(seems like the owner) was the only one serving with a rude attitude. Felt like she was in no mood to serve & was openly argumentative. She also asked us to decide at once & was not impressed by us ordering more food.!!! While billing she did not offer a split. Moreover, she added 26% tip herself. All in all the restaurant did not make us feel welcome instead they were disappointed to serve us. read more

We visited in mid September and the experience was similar to our past visits. It was a slow night, so it was difficult to see how the effects of Covid were handled here. Service was prompt and friendly, the food arrived in a reasonable time, hot and as ordered. The food quality was excellent - mutter paneer, chili prawns and aloo gobi, all well spiced and delicious. If pressured for a negative, I would say that the garlic naan was a bit bland and rubbery, but the tasty salted roti more than made up for that. We have always liked the quiet, slightly elegant ambience of this restaurant, and the excellent food will keep us coming back. read more

We are new to Nanaimo and have been craving Indian, so thought why not give Gateway a try! We ordered take out. Upon arrival for pickup I was pleasantly surprised at the decor, lovely restaurant! Waited almost 10 minutes before someone came out to greet me which was a bit annoying but no big deal. We ordered 2 portions of butter chicken, aloo gobi, mango prawn curry, rice and garlic naan. The food is really good and spice level is pretty on par (we got medium), BUT I must say I've had better. I was disappointed that the garlic naan isn't brushed with a garlic butter but rather sprinkled with garlic salt and the butter chicken just wasn't as flavourful as I'd expect. The portions are HUGE garlic naan is massive! Overall good experience and we'd give them another chance, would love to have a sit down dinner inside the restaurant. read more

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An off night? This experience was not good, and it's difficult to know where to start. The service. It was beyond slow, and the restaurant was virtually empty. After placing our order for three beers, one came, but the other two didn't appear for close to ten minutes. After our initial order of vegetable pakoras arrived, our server disappeared and did not take the rest of our order for at least fifteen minutes. Once we finally placed the order, the food took at least another thirty minutes to arrive, and then we had to wait another five minutes for two items to be delivered. No apology. No sign that anything was wrong. All the while, people were coming in the front door for pickup orders with little wait time. Business as usual? The food. The veggie pakoras were excellent. As far as the rest of the meal goes, one has to wonder if the cook had to leave for an emergency while one of our servers subbed in. The vegetable biryani was overly moist and had the consistency of paella; the tandoori chicken was not whole pieces of slightly charred chicken with bones, but cubes cooked in a spicy sauce with crisp peppers and onions; and the eggplant-based bengan bhartha was basically sautéed eggplant with peas and onions, and totally lacked any flavour or spice. I've often had these items through the years, both in restaurants and cooked from well-known Indian cookbooks, and these were nowhere near anything I'd had before. While somewhat tasty, they were not authentic. The prices. Average, but the portions of chicken and eggplant were small. The verdict. There appeared to be no one in charge. No manager. No owner. A couple of young servers, and that was it. Not sure who was out back... Sorry, but we won't ever return to this place. read more

Visited Fri July 8 for dinner You know when I give a 5 star that this is the real deal! ' Pros - Veggie samosa $6 for 3 pieces, deelicious! - Pakoras panneed - it's 9 pieces of cheese that is deep fried, I finished the whole plate before my main arrived! - Paalak goshi - Chicken with pureed spinach, honestly it didn't look very appetizing but tasted amazing! Cons - Service was slow, the place had only 4 tables and I still waited 30 min for my appetizers to come. They are quite busy with take-out orders, they do not deliver. - $3.50 for a side of rice, I am biased and think all places should offer rice for free or cheaper - Only about 5 spots for parking - The place does not have much curb appeal, and does not look like a fine dining restaurant from the outside. They should install more glass to make it visually appealing. Protip - Best indian food in Nanaimo! Damage $35 for 4 dishes pre-tip read more

This was my first time having Indian food from a proper sit down restaurant. I had the chicken vindaloo and it was delicious. Only topped by the deliciousness of the garlic naan bread. I'm not sure if our waitress is an owner of this place or not but she was super friendly and extremely knowledgeable. Way more engaged than your typical server. I will definitely be coming back! read more

While the food is pretty good, the woman with the blond hair during the two times we've eaten here was so incredibly rude that we probably won't return until we know that she doesn't work there any longer. The restaurant closed at 9:00 and when we arrived at 8:00, she discouraged us from getting a table. Also, at 8:30 pm, she turned the lights up in the dining room while yelling at us across the room while we are our dinner that she was going to turn up the lights. Her overall piss poor attitude was polluting the entire place. read more

Sign on door said open and hours of operation stated that they were open, yet guy came out said"no I have paper work to do , come back in an hour?" We went somewhere else and witnessed them letting other people in., with open sign still on Will not be recommending and I will not return read more

If you've never had Indian food outside of Nanaimo you might rate this place 5 stars. But it's kind of borderline mediocre. The food is ok - flavors are decent, portions not very big, priced very high for what you're getting. Indian food is very cheap to make. The service is not great either. The decor is very nice. Location is terrible. I rarely go here but I do enjoy picking up their Samosas and pakoras from Costco as they are tasty and much better price than in the restaurant. read more

My brother recommended this restaurant in Nanaimo to me. I had take out from there before but when I went inside I was very pleasantly surprised, so was my daughter. It is nicely decorated and comfortable. We told the very friendly waitress that we were pressed for time and our food came very quickly. Delicious too! read more

I had a very poor experience going to this restaurant. It was not cheap, and for the price I was expecting a superior level of service. Instead, I felt like I was basically invisible, when I went there on a very average Thursday night. Walking in, we were not greeted or attended to by anyone, so we decided to wait at the door. After an awkwardly long time, with the girl behind the bar looking directly at us but making no move to welcome us in, we walked to the back ourselves to grab a table. A gentleman who looked like the manager, wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and a ball cap, let us take a seat. We ordered promptly, but the food took quite a long time to arrive - I'd estimate 35 - 40 minutes. This was with about 7 or 8 other people in the restaurant, tops. We were served our food, which was reasonably tasty, but not fantastic. However, the portions were quite small, especially considering the price. I'm a skinny guy, and if I pay $40 for two, eat my meal and half the other person's, and I still don't feel full, that's a pretty small meal. During the whole meal, we maybe got our water wordlessly refilled once. After we were done, we waited something like 30 minutes for somebody to take our plates away, while we watched another couple get candles lit at their table. We just decided to stand up and go pay ourselves at this point, and just walk ourselves to the counter. Unsure of where we're supposed to pay (nobody has talked to us for quite a while), we begin to walk past the main bar. The girl there WHIPS around and demands to know if we've payed already. This was the last straw. Needless to say, I did not leave a tip, and I will not be returning to this restaurant with shitty service and overpriced food.We didn't even see a single smile that evening, by a single employee or whoever the manager was. Thanks for the rip off, jerks. I hope you enjoy your negative publicity, as I'll be sure to steer my friends away from your establishment. read more

Great tasting Indian Food. Staff was very friendly and the restaurant was very clean. I will definitely be back

Went here the other night because of the great reviews. I don't always agree with such high reviews. as everyone's taste is different. This time, I certainly do agree with the super reviews that this restaurant deserves! Great Indian food! Every dish we tried was spot on! Excellent food, perfect level of seasoning, good service. We shared four dishes and every dish was tasty. I'd order every dish again. I plan on coming back every time I'm in town. Can't wait to sample the entire menu. You won't be disappointed. Prepare to be be delighted! read more

Arrived late, could only get take-out, but WOW was it good! Peas & cheese was delicious, and eggplant was super, lamb tender and spicy.

had to update this review because just had a bad experience recently. went in with my grandma and boyfriend. she ordered a coke and was served a diet coke by a snickering waitress, who obviously thought it was funny to serve a plus sized person a diet drink. they also brought us the wrong dish and took no money off the bill. i am not thrilled by their food and disappointed in their ever rotating staff. have heard many strange things, and almost always hear other patrons complaining when i come in. hopefully i won't be back! read more

Soooo good, everything was absolutely amazing. Fabulous food, amazing service and some of the best Naan bread I've ever had! It's also just around the corner, so I can stuff my stomach and my wife can roll me home in a wheel barrow. I will never stop coming back here!!!!!! read more

The food was great! Very tasty and not too spicy, though I would have preferred more spice. I will ask for more than medium spice next time. The atmosphere was good and the washrooms were clean. The service was good. My only complaint about the service was that they brought out our main courses before we had finished our appetizers. All in all a good dining experience and I would definitely go back and would recommend this place. read more

This is my favorite Indian food in Nanaimo. Their dishes are much more authentic than a lot of the other places in town and I had a very positive dining experience here as a vegetarian. They have wonderful tandoori Naan, eggplant bharta, and dal. Don't let the exterior fool you! This place is fancy inside! A very beautiful atmosphere. My only negative would be the waitstaff, some of the young ladies they have working there are a little clueless and took about 20 minutes to make some drinks but the food makes up for it read more

We are both Indian food lovers. The spicier the better. You might easily pass this place by because it is nothing to behold from the outside. However, you would be making a big mistake. The inside is open concept and has nice decor. The food is exceptionally fresh and tasty. We have travelled and eaten in some of the best Indian restaurants in Canada and internationally and this rivals them. We've eaten there four or five times and tried various dishes and they are all good. The only reason we didn't give this place a 5 was that when you pick up rather than dine in, the food is never ready when they say it will be. It seems as if they don't start to cook it until they see you. We've had to wait half an hour more. read more

Visited this restaurant on the Thursday the 20th August and was pleasantly surprised , My food consisted of chicken tikka for my starter Lamb bhuna and lamb Popsicles ( lamb chops ) Pilau rice and potato paratha It was excellent , something that Bradford would be proud of read more

This place is a gem! Gateway epitomizes the saying "don't judge a book by its cover". The atmosphere, front of house and food are all great, not quite as cheap as you'd expect from the outside looking in but it's worth it. read more

Building looks awful but decoration inside is amazing, food is fantastic, and staff are even better!

Phenomenal food! This would be an easy 5/5 except both times I've been for lunch, requests for more water or food felt like an inconvenience to the serving staff (even though the restaurant was visibly quite slow). read more

Fk`n amazing!! This is the only restaurant in Nanaimo that offers flavor... Love love absolutely love this place...

The food is incredible, absolutely phenomenal. The service can be good at times but considering the restaurant is nearly empty most of the time you'd expect it to be better. I had an incident not long ago where my family and I were the only ones in the restaurant and we left about 30 minutes until closing and when we got home we realized we forgot our boxed up food, when we get there its not quite 9 o'clock about 10 minutes to and we knock on the door only to find out half of our meal had been thrown away. The prices are pretty high as well. read more

Great tasting spicy food in Nanaimo. The waitress was very courteous. We enjoyed the evening. The food has been consistently great for the last couple of years. Every outing to Gateway starts with the amazing tastes from different parts of India. Keep up the good work...you are very much appreciated in Nanaimo. read more

very poor and worse hospitality, the lady was so rude she doesn't know how to treat with customers. such a bad experience. never recommended. read more