An absolute gem in Nanaimo!…read more upon the recommendation of a very good buddy, on my way to tofino, i passed by nanaimo for a hearty lunch in this family owned Vietnamese restaurant. Staff and owner very hospitable and welcoming! never in my wildest imagination did i expect to find excellent Vietnamese food the city of Nanaimo. this restaurant puts many Vancouver restaurants to shame. Their level of dedication to their craft is admirable and impressive. For appys...We started with fried wontons and the beef roll. My on my, the wontons were crispy-liciously goood! They were not your typical chinese fried wontons...the wrapper is paper thin and had a yellowish colour. And its because they used the spring roll wrapper to make It, making it super extra crispy. The pork filling was hot and juicy. Seasoned perfextly With a touch of cumin. One bite, and you will be in wonton heaven. the beef roll was truly a unique masterpiece. Whoever thought of putting a friend spring roll inside a salad roll and enveloping it with grill beef is a total genius!! You get a plethora of different textures and flavour profiles. With every bite, you get crunchiness of the spring roll, smokiness of the grilled beef, green leafy vegetables, and juiciness of the pork filling...all rolled into 1 roll! How could you possibly go wrong? Its a masterpiece like that of the mona lisa! We also tried the beef curry. Succulent pieces of beef slowly simmered rich thai curry sauce, Complimented by soft jasmine rice. Not a vietnamese dish, but executed with perfection. Curry was rich and robust. Quality coconut Milk and curry paste was used. Now..unto the pho!!! the ultimate test of an excellent Vietnamese restaurant is the PHO. More specifically, the PHO Broth! the PHo here is nothing short of spectacular! You can tell bec of 3 important factors. One, the aroma. Two, the clarity of the soup ( aka i how clear is it). And three, the taste! ( how deep the beef essence is!) This place exceeded expectations and passed with full flying colours! One sip of the broth, reminded me of vietnam. It was absolutely amazing! Head and shoulders above many restaurants in vancouver. Plus, no msg was used. We never felt Thirsty or craving tea. I could tell there was a lot of time, labour, and love invested into making the broth. No shortcuts! Just sheer excellence from chef. I feel very blessed to have been a patron of such fine vietnamese cuisine. Definitely a must try when in the city of Nanaimo. Service was quick and efficient. Will i repeat? As many times as i can! ;) Cheers! Happy eating!

The food is so nourishing. Service was fast and friendly. Restaurant set up was quite friendly…read morefor dining conversation as well as clean and tidy. 2 thumbs up. I will definitely go again.

This place was so good, we went two days in a row. I will keep saying it, Nanaimo... you have some…read moreof the best Korean food I have ever had. Another one of those Yelp finds, needed a place, didn't know where to go, this one was glaring at me, so I took my wife in tow and went. This one on the outside is odd, as it is attached to a motel, and yes.... the parking is on the motel side. The main door to the restaurant is also next to the motel, and when you come in it's got this newage wooden feel, and you know you are here. We saw many seasonal food pictures up of things that are not on the menu, yet for the first night we went for the menu and ordered a pork rib dish and also their steamed egg. When the banchan came, I knew we were in for a great meal. There is this mixed salad with some sort of bean sauce they use as salad sauce.... this dish alone was a solid win. All the banchan was good, and our server would come by and asked if we needed any more. When the ribs came they were on a hot plate, just sizzling away with the white onions under the meat just caramalizing hard waiting for you to get in there and eat everything. A few minutes later the steamed egg came in a stone bowl, and our server used a spoon to separate the sides of the egg from the bowl, the steam was intense, it was a cold night, this was exactly what we needed and wanted for a meal. There was a lot of food, and we had to pack most of it to go, and I thanked our server, and asked him if we were to come back.... what would you recommend, and he pointed to the chicken noodle soup they only do for winter.... you can guess what we ordered the following day... and yes we came back for lunch. The chicken noodle soup was amazingly deep, and it is cliche to say, but very homey, comforting, clean, hearty, it had it all.... we were as happy as we were the day before, and I can't wait to come back to Nanaimo and come back to this place. Also.. if you like popular Korean-pop music.. don't worry you'll listen to it on the loop as I think I heard APT three times!

Best food in Nanaimo!…read more I dined in on my lunch break having seen the good reviews online. I was not disappointed! The quiet establishment (on Friday around 2:00) had a pleasant and clean atmosphere with some K-Pop music playing on a TV situated in a corner. The menu is clear and easy to order from. If you struggle with pronunciations, each order has a corresponding number and an image of each dish. I ordered the SO BULGOGI DEOP-BAP. It was phenomenal! The beef and rice were cooked perfectly had a slight sweetness to it, the kimchi had a perfect spiciness, the bean sprouts and cabbage were fresh, and the romaine lettuce with the chili dressing was delicious and sweet. In addition to the atmosphere and the food, the prices I considered very fair for the quality and quantity of the food. Lastly, the service was good. This will definitely be one of my #1 spots to eat on Vancouver Island! I am so pleased to have finally been introduced to this culinary gem. Incredible!

Great food,great service, would recommend if you want authentic food…read more It was amazing

I love this restaurant! It is definitely one of my favourite restaurants to go to…read more I enjoy the food so much and the people are lovely.

We finally had to find out what all the hype was about!…read more We kept seeing this Japanese restaurant get top ratings and heard it was really popular in Nanaimo, so we decided to try it for ourselves. Was it actually worth all the hype? We ordered the Sora Omakase Sashimi (8 types, chef's choice) along with a few other special rolls, and the sashimi was the real star of the show. The fish was incredibly fresh and generously thick-cut, with a great variety of premium sashimi. We were impressed by the creativity, generous portions, and presentation. Compared to other sushi places we've tried in the city, the quality and attention to detail here really made a difference. The prices are a bit higher than some other restaurants on the island, but after tasting the food, we thought the quality made it worth it. If you love sashimi, we especially recommend trying their sashimi options. There are plenty of premium choices. The restaurant itself has a modern-chic atmosphere, and it was BUSY. We saw a mix of locals, visitors, and a steady stream of takeout orders. Despite the crowd, our food came out surprisingly quickly, and the quality stayed top-notch. Whether you want a casual sushi night for two or a place to celebrate with a group, the menu has enough variety to please everyone. We came in wondering if the hype was real, and left understanding exactly why it's so popular. Honestly, Nori deserves the 5 stars from us. We're not the Michelin Guide, but we can definitely see why people are talking about it. Food: 5/5 Must Try! Service: 5/5 Kids: 4/5 Presentation: 4/5 Parking: 3/5 Tips: * Reservations are highly recommended. * Walk-ins are accepted, but be prepared for a potentially long wait during busy times. * The menu is extensive, so take your time deciding. * Great option for everything from date night to group celebrations. Would I Return: Yes ‍

Great service and the food is excellent. Our best meal in the 5 days we were on Vancr Island.read more

We found a great brunch spot before starting our trip!…read more We were in Nanaimo looking for a nice brunch spot before starting our Vancouver Island road trip, and Gabriel's Gourmet Cafe really hit the spot! We liked how easy the ordering system was. You pick up a menu, choose a table, decide what you want, and then order and pay at the counter. They give you a number, and they bring your food and drinks to your table. It's straightforward. The fresh, local ingredients stood out, and we would recommend this place if you want a tasty and filling meal. The portions were just right for our big appetites. The atmosphere was so relaxed we almost wanted to stay longer. We'd recommend starting the Nanaimo road trip here. Food: 5/5 Must Try! Service: 5/5 (hybrid-service) Kids: 3/5 Presentation: 2/5 Parking: Metered street parking is available throughout the surrounding neighbourhood. Tips: * Inside & outdoor seating available. * Great stop before heading out to explore Vancouver Island. * They have G/F and Vegan options. Would I Return: Yes

Awesome fresh food with great service. Probably my favourite place to get brunch in Nanaimo.read more

An absolute gem of a restaurant!! We only go once a year if it's a special occasion but every time…read morewe've left raving about how good the food was and how we want to eat here more often! Great location right beside the ocean, friendly service, an overall excellent experience!

The food was amazing. The service was fabulous. Would definitely recommend this restaurant to…read moreanybody that's in Gibsons.

Food is great ! Better by that little extra touch ! Service especially why we go . Is very chill…read moreand casual! With a beautiful view on Qualicum Beach ocean

Great restaurant with very good Chinese food. Their Singapore vermicelli was the best we've had in…read moreyears! It's a family run affair and they do a wonderful job. We highly recommend it!!

Before ending our camping trip, we stopped by this cute Japanese restaurant before our ferry. The…read morerestaurant is very spacious and clean with modern decor. There wasn't a lineup when we got there, so we were seated right away. Their menu has lots of options of different rolls, udon, sashimi etc. Because it was lunch time, we ordered some bento box. I ordered bento box A with California roll for my daughter, and chicken udon for myself. My hubby ordered some sushi taco, and a Ubuild bento box. The food came pretty slow, which was strange. There wasn't a lot of customers when we got there. The bento boxes were pretty fresh with good portion. The sushi taco was a little yummy, however, the deep fried seaweed is on the greasy side with lots of batter. I was a little disappointed with the chicken udon, it was pretty standard and the chicken was pretty soggy. However, nothing beats a hot bowl of soup in a rainy day. Overall, we still enjoyed our meal. Not sure if I will go back, but I'm glad we got to experience it.

This was our second time eating here, we had mid expectations. We ordered two bento boxes to share…read more The deep fried components tasted like old fryer oil. Which was 90% of the bento box. When we told the waitress we didn't like it she took it away and just brought us our bill without offering us anything else. There was no discount or compensation. We left hungry and sad.