I've been having an odd craving for buffet Chinese food and kept wanting to try this new place out!…read moreDriftwood is a chain buffet restaurant on Vancouver Island with Nanaimo being it's 4th location. It opened earlier this year and I've heard many great things about it... So here we are! We got here shortly after they opened for lunch on a snowy Sunday. It was half full of people and after we sat down, more people streamed in. A nice spacious seating area. Onto the food! They had a good selection of food, but refilling the items was a bit delayed. Food was fresh and above average quality for buffets, I was surprised. The lunch buffet is $19.95 for ages 13+, and included dim sum. Dim sum was as expected, but not bad for being in a steamer for a long time. I really enjoyed the Singaporean rice noodles, chicken wings, and butter shrimp. Jello was a bit bland, but I like how the portions for dessert are bite-sized, easier to gauge how much I can eat after stuffing myself on the main food items! Overall the food tasted authentic, although a bit salty. Staff were friendly and helpful.

I am writing this review to share a very concerning experience that took place on June 17th between…read more12:00-2:00 PM at Driftwood Chinese Food in the Rutherford area of Nanaimo, BC. Two individuals I support attended the restaurant with staff, as they do regularly for a monthly outing. Unfortunately, from the moment they arrived, it was clear they were not being treated the same as other customers. Staff present reported that the servers seemed disengaged and reluctant to serve them. After the individuals went through the buffet line, staff at the restaurant immediately followed behind them and wiped down all the utensils, handles, and serving areas they had touched. While cleanliness is expected, this level of targeted cleaning did not occur for other patrons during the two hours they remained there, making it feel very intentional and directed specifically at these two individuals, both of whom use wheelchairs. Throughout the visit, they were not offered drink refills, despite witnessing other tables being checked on repeatedly. Their plates were never cleared, even as surrounding tables were consistently serviced. The difference in treatment was noticeable and deeply concerning. At the end of the visit, one individual had a single dessert tart remaining and politely asked if she could take it to go. The response from staff was unnecessarily harsh, stating that if they allowed that, "everyone would expect free food." This was especially upsetting given that the item could not be reused and would simply be discarded. Overall, the experience left both the individuals and staff feeling singled out and unwelcome. The treatment appeared discriminatory, particularly toward individuals using wheelchairs. One of the individuals has since expressed that she does not want to return, as she felt judged and treated differently because of her disability. I am sharing this review so others--especially those supporting individuals with diverse abilities--are aware of this experience. All customers deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Based on this experience, I cannot recommend this restaurant.

We went for lunch on Sunday. Food was delicious! My husband…read morehad the baked lasagna which came with pita bread. It was so much that he had to bring home leftovers. I had the veal cutlets served with vegetables and lemon roasted potatoes. The mushroom gravy had a bit of red wine in it which made it extra delicious! We will definitely be back to try their dinner menu.

Had lunch, veal & the seafood pasta... excellent Staff very…read moregood & friendly The Caesar was spicy, so be careful... and the Long Isand was strong, also be careful... lol Lots of people coming in for the brunch, which also looked very good

Great food/great service!!! As always!!…read moreOne of their best plates is butternut squash ravioli with prawns!!! Don't forget to ask for extra lemon sauce!!!

Good food, nice cocktails, great sunny deck made for a nice visit. Great service from everyone.read more

Craving BBQ? Montana's BBQ & Bar in Nanaimo delivers big on smoky, juicy comfort food! From their…read morefall-off-the-bone pork back ribs to the loaded smoked brisket potato skins, this place has everything for a delicious, laid-back meal. We also tried the BBQ chicken fajitas, four-cheese spinach dip, and the Austin cheesesteak sandwich--so good! Plus, they've got daily deals and a happy hour that makes it even better. Perfect for catching the game and unwinding with friends. It's easily a top 3 spot for me! Fun fact: they know you will be a messy eater so they put a paper sheet as the table cloth as soon as you sit down. Service 5/5 Food 5/5 Portions 5/5 Ambiance 5/5 Parking 5/5

Two for lunch and we have been looking forward to see what BBQ was like this far from Montana…read more We order the BBQ Lunch Trio consisting of a the chicken club wrap, pot roast soup and salad. A very nice combination for the palette and price. All fresh ingredients and unique presentation. A BBQ Brisket Burger with a salad side. The sandwich was overbearing with meat. A fresh burger topped with BBQ beef brisket, cheese and crispy onions with a nice chipotle sauce. Was looking forward to a BBQ 1/2 chicken but appears beef is the headliner. The restaurant decor nicely in touch with the western flair, and washrooms were for messy face eaters. Great service by the staff.

Visiting for a Monday lunch at around 1PM, we had no idea Horang would be that popular. At the…read moretime, the place was completely full and we were advised there would be a 30 minute wait for bar seating. We wandered over to the attached Horang Market, a little grocery store filled with Korean goods, to browse while waiting. In our case, we were lucky to be at the tail end of the lunch rush. It actually took only 15 minutes and we managed to get a table! Korean Fried Chicken, Yangyum Glaze, Half ($21) - A half order of the fried chicken consists of eight pieces. I thought going into the restaurant it would be only four pieces and was planning to order another dish as well, but thankfully I asked the waitress and she explained everything. As a surprise, we actually got nine pieces of chicken since two pieces had stuck together! The pieces are all boneless thighs, with the dark meat allowing the meat to remain juicy through the frying process. It's kept skin on, and the skin is rendered out excellently. They simply salt and pepper the skin, then dip into the batter. The fried coating is applied evenly, resulting in a consistent bite that remains somewhat crisp even through being dipped in the yangnyeom glaze. I'd say the crispness isn't as robust as other KFCs I've eaten, but it's still pleasing nonetheless. The sauce is of course the draw. It's extremely viscous, basically to the consistency of caramel due to the amount of sugar added. It's slightly funky with a faint heat that's barely felt in the mouth. The dish comes with one dipping sauce that isn't required at all given how flavorful the chicken is. We got the garlic aioli anyways, which is surprisingly strong in garlic flavor with the mayo completely eliminating the garlic pungency. It's actually much stronger than a toum that we had from a Middle-Eastern place the day before. (5/5) Charred Daeji Galbi Soban ($23) - This order comes with a variety of different banchan: Mandu - Two pieces. I'm not sure if these are made in house, but I'm leaning towards these being commercial. They have very uniformly thin wrappers housing a mix of savory and very salty ground pork, mushrooms, and vermicelli noodles. The wrappers are dried out and kind of leathery in chew. They are served in a sauce that I think is a combination of vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar, making it sweet, tangy, savory, and salty. I think they precook these and let them sit in an open warmer, which explains why they are so dry. Japchae - The japchae is very salty like too much soy sauce was added, yet also feels very dry and missing the fragrant and oily sesame sheen. The noodles feel undercooked in some portions, being very firm, different from the bouncy texture I normally associate with sweet potato noodles. This isn't a very good japchae. Napa Denjang Soup - Includes napa and tofu. Pretty standard miso taste, not particularly strong or funky. Prawn Twigim - Two pieces. Tender, sweet shrimp, covered with tempura batter and fried. This gives a light crisp coating. They add the same soy/vinegar dipping sauce on the bottom of the serving container, soggifying the ends of the tempura a bit. Kimbap - Two pieces. They are filled with plenty of chopped carrot, a piece of pickled daikon, some avocado and tofu skin in rice and seaweed. Simple, but fresh and tasty. Salad - Greens in a very sweet and citrusy dressing. Lightly dressed, no dressing pools on the bottom. The main dish includes perfectly cooked medium grain rice with great texture and mouthfeel. On top, they have a couple pieces of charred galbi with a thick sweet sauce glazed on top. The taste of the char actually penetrates into the rice, creating a flavorful bite. The galbi is fatty, tender, not too chewy and generally tastes quite nice especially due to the glaze. (3/5) I really enjoyed the Korean fried chicken served at Horang. For the Charred Daeji Galbi Soban, while the main dish was good, I found the banchan to only be subpar to average. Then again, I wasn't expecting to find good Korean food in Nanaimo in the first place, so it was still a pleasant surprise. Washrooms - Three rooms, one for men, one for women, last one accessible.

I tried this restaurant a year later and am happy to report it was just as good! I look forward to…read morecoming back again.

Food was delicious here! Definitely one of the better BBQ's I've had in the west coast. We did…read moretheir regular feast and I thought the sausages, brisket, pulled pork and chicken were absolutely delicious. The rack of ribs unfortunately for us was dry and was my least fave even though I prefer ribs. The cornbread and French fries were really good and our friend ordered their special corn ribs that day and those were unique and top notch! Side of Mac & cheese was also Definitely worth the stop! I'd pass on the ribs though unless the batch we got that day happened to just be a meh batch.

Food tasty Service is getting your food…read more Ambiance 50/50 you get what you pay for. There is food.

We came here for the Reuben and were not disappointed! Thankfully we decided to split the sandwich…read more(with fries) and added the Little Gem salad. Wow! What a great combination and great flavours! Plenty enough for lunch for two people. The meat on the Reuben was so juicy and flavourful and the Little Gem salad was amazing. We throughly enjoyed our meal. The service was great; quick, friendly and welcoming. I would definitely come here again when back in Nanaimo.

Great ambiance and delicious food. Service was great Kelly I believe was our server and was super…read morefriendly.

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.

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!