I've been here twice in the past year, both during Happy Hour, and the food is not only very good…read morebut affordable. We did have one hiccup, but I've addressed that with the management of the hotel, and will look forward to visiting again and seeing if there's any improvement.

PATHETIC customer service! ! Stayed at the Dorchester Hotel (great service) my last night in…read moreNanaimo (Jun. 24) and stood at the entrance waiting for 1 of the 2 waitresses to acknowledge me. Neither of them did. After 10 minutes, the bartender (kudos to him) ended up seating me with the menus and brought up the extended Happy Hour. The "blond" waitress whose section was where I was seated, showed up with a glass of ice water and said "I'll be back". For the next 30 minutes, she repeated walked back and forth past my table, intentionally avoiding eye contact, and even thought it was more importance to wipe down 1 of her 2-seater pub tables than to return and take my order. After 30 minutes, I walked out, was provided the restaurant owner David P's personal email by the front desk (they apologized) and emailed him my experience on Jun. 26. He's never responded ! ! I can only presume that he's the one whose set the standard (or lack of) for how his waitstaff conduct themselves. I've had many breakfasts at Top Notch and the morning staff have always been fantastic. But after this experience, I'd strongly recommend that Dorchester guests and non-guests check out the better quality restaurants in the area (Modern Cafe, Gina's, Minnoz Restaurant in the Coast Bastion). The customer service and food are both far-superior and you'll never have the bottom-tier service experience at those options.

We had my mother's 96th Birthday lunch here. The food was excellent with a wide variety of choices…read moreeven for the vegetarians in the group. everyone was very happy with their meals. They happily accommodated our group of 12 with a reservation for lunch in a separated room and all the food came out at the same time which is often tricky with a larger group. As for the staff, our servers were terrific, efficient and friendly. Prior to the day Robert replied to emailed questions very quickly and made the whole event very stress free. I honestly can't recommend this restaurant enough.

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.

the perogies here used to be awesome in fact I would come in for them the new receipe is awful dill…read moredoes not belong on perogies please bring back the cheese

very rude and we were poorly treated by our server. We will not be back again, what a shame.read more

We ordered "Mrs. R's Famous Beef Dip" for take out 3 days ago and the meat was tender slow roasted…read moreAlberta AAA strips of PAPER TOWEL on one side of the sandwich. When I called they seemed rather nonchalant about the incident, told me I could come all the way back down there and get another sandwich (uh no! Maybe you should have offered to have one delivered) then said ok you can come get a refund. I went the next day after work with all the paper towel in a baggie, the lady at that front took it from me & went to the kitchen. I could see them checking it. She came back out told me someone would be with me in a moment. Finally a fellow came out handed me my 23.00 as he turned to walk away said sorry about that and left. I was appalled they weren't more apologetic and didn't really seem to care. I have ordered from here alot the last couple of years but will not anymore going forward

Would give five stars, and an extra five bucks, if they could just de-tail the shrimp in their…read moreotherwise wonderful Wor Wonton soup! So tired of burned fishy smelling fingers!

Another garbage burger joint run by scummy people who can't even be bothered to clean the place…read more This place is absolutely disgusting. It wasn't until after I ordered that I noticed the deep set grime in every visible corner and how sticky the floors are. This got me paying more attention and it was clear that they have NEVER cleaned under the tables. There was gum and dirt caked on the underside of every table. They also serve unpalatable food with the cheapest possible packaging and they don't even offer real bacon. I ordered the Compressor, which is supposed to be a triple cheeseburger. I asked for bacon. What I received was a double cheeseburger and, instead of bacon, they gave me some sort of mystery meat stick that was nearly burnt to a crisp. They called it beef bacon, which is utterly absurd. Bacon is made of pork which they don't serve because they only serve halal(pre-tortured)meat. I strongly recommend avoiding this disgusting place.

This place is incredibly over priced for bad food. The food takes quite some time to be made but is…read morenot worth while. Do not waste your time or money here! I am shocked this place has stayed afloat.

No wait time, easy to read menu, and great service. We order steak with mushrooms, fries, and…read moreveggies. Also a sushi pizza with the pulled pork. So yummy live the fried bread rice in the pizza and the steak was yum! Not very crowded so not very loud but it was great.

We walked into Firehouse Grill with no prior information and had the absolutely best meal in weeks!…read moreThe menu is surprising--including cornbread muffins and jambalaya! We ordered burgers--best burgers we've eaten in a long time. Amazing food, prepared and quickly out of the kitchen. Beautiful presentation. Service was perfect. Chef (owner?) came out to meet us and we learned his history, including time spent in New Orleans where he learned how to prepare cornbread and jambalaya. Interesting note--we'd asked for restaurant recommendations and this one had not been mentioned by anyone. Honestly, don't know how the other places could beat Firehouse Grill for service, selection, and taste. Next day, sitting in Vancouver, we talked about riding the ferry back to Nanaimo to eat here for a second time.

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

Yes, this is the place to eat. I had the hash, which did not appeal in writing but it was popular…read moreso....... Well, I loved it! In fact I spread it out more on the plate just for a good look to try and duplicate it. It was more attractive at serving but I had already dived into it

Service was great and so was the food!! We experienced the truck at the night market and we would…read moredefinitely come back.

Delicious gluten free burgers and fries! We tried out the bbq and dill burgers with regular fries…read more Nice portions, great gf bun, good tasting beef and fast service. The ocean views aren't bad either!

Discovering another gem in downtown Nanaimo Modern café is nestled in a heritage site built in…read more1910. They bring a fresh twist to classic comfort food using locally sourced ingredients. We stopped by for brunch and indulged in the Modern Acai Berry Bowl ($16) and the Modern Breakfast ($18). Whether you're in the mood for brunch, lunch, or dinner, this all-day dining lounge has something for everyone. Don't miss out on this unique spot! The Modern Cafe 221 Commercial St, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5GB 11:30-9pm (open till 10 on weekends) Food Parking 4.5/5 Service 4/5 Ambiance 5/5

I was visiting Nanaimo for the first time and had brunch here with a large group, it wasn't super…read morebusy and I appreciated the service. I thought it was a decent brunch place however felt that the dish was a bit heavy -- big portion though. The duck while there was a decent amount in the hash, didn't have anything special to it and tasted like a regular pulled meat. I did like the addition of pineapple as that was something I hadn't seen before and the potatoes were pretty good! Overall, for the price point ($26), it's definitely not a go-to for me if I lived in the area however it's a nice spot to visit if you're on the island for a getaway.

Let's start with the ambiance, it was fine. It was nice and clean…read more Service was also fine. Took a little bit of time to get menus and water. The food took quite a while to come out considering there were no more than 14 people in the restaurant. Server was nice and answered the questions we had. BBQ ribs: 3.5/5 tender and fall off the bone. The flavour was ok. The sauce was good but the meat itself wasn't flavored well without the sauce. Chicken liver parfait: 5/5 this was my highlight. Generous portion of liver. Beautifully plated with sweet, savoury, components including different textures. Bread was soft, fluffy and warm. Jamaican jerk chicken rice ice bowl: 2/5 Came a bit confusing. We had to clarify with the sever that this was indeed the jerk chicken bowl. Nothing screamed Jamaican. It was more Taiwanese fried chicken with a kicked up Tabasco sauce on top of Chinese fried rice with a bit of dry jerk seasoning sprinkled into it. Flavor wise, it wasn't bad but Jamaican jerk flavours it was not. For $26 I wanted full Jamaican flavours. Would I come back? Probably not. Would I stop people from going? Also probably not.

We came on a Friday night and got seated right away. But it took quite a long long before we got…read moreany water. We ordered BBQ ribs, Brioche with chicken liver parfait and the Jamaican jerk chicken rice bowl. The BBQ ribs and chicken liver parfait were played nicely and tasted decently good. The ribs were tender, though they could have used a bit more seasoning. Unfortunately, the jerk chicken rice bowl was disappointing. When it arrived I was confused, as it looks like a Taiwanese chicken fried rice. I confirmed with the waitress that it indeed was the jerk chicken rice bowl, but it looked nothing like what I expected from that dish. The rice bowl tasted like Taiwanese-style fried chicken rice with a lot of added spiciness. Spiciness alone does not make something Jamaican jerk chicken. Since I didn't get what I ordered...I have to give a relatively low score. My recommendation is to stick with the Western-style dishes here and avoid anything that seems "exotic".