I was only in town for three days, but ended up coming to this lovely restaurant twice during my…read morestay. Apparently the owner chef has been there for more than 10 years. The food quality was outstanding and service was top-notch. I highly recommend.

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

The waitress was so mean to a customer. Unprofessional…read moreand we left and will not be back. Management didn't stop at the waitress for belittling the customer.

Not really impressed. We ended up here due to the missing two ferries. We needed somewhere to pass…read moretime, have lunch (plus a drink) that was close enough walking distance to the ferry terminal. Out of the two pubs nearby, this one had more of a vibe going. Note to self, maybe that's not how I should make future food decisions... We were greeted and seated pretty quickly. But after that, it was like we had to wave done someone to place our order. They have a big cocktail menu, we ordered a Caesar and a Blue Hawaiian. To me, pub meals tend to be on the extra large portion size, so the two of us opted to share a Celtic Shepherds Pie with a Caesar salad. It took a while for the food to come out. Everything was just alright, the Shepherds Pie was definitely living on the salty side of life. If there wasn't an issue with the ferry schedules, I'd have no reason to be there. And I won't be making the same mistake twice.

This is my favorite after work pub in Nanaimo. The staff are…read morefantastic and provide a relaxed but entertaining environment. Wednesday and Friday are wings nights with Friday hosting a musical poker bingo that is very fun while having a good challenge, the host for this is fantastic at his job. Food is moderately priced with the best quality coming at night, from 3 pm to close. With daily specials. With a huge selection of local beers on tap this place will definitely quench your thirst for what ales you.

The Windward has a decent pub burger (comes with cheese, bacon, and sauteed mushrooms) for around…read more$12. Food is basic, and alright. I've never stayed in to eat because I felt slightly uncomfortable around the "regulars." They have frequent poker (?) nights and as someone that definitely looks gay/different, I've gotten a lot of looks.

So... This is a bizarre review…read more.. The food, I have to say, was pretty good. Solid pub fare. The most enjoyable hot wings I've had at a pub in years. Nachos that were cheesy and loaded with toppings. Weird toppings maybe, and a very strange tasting salsa, but not bad... The ambiance on a Monday night is a little meh. Only about 6 tables seated in quite a large, voluminous space, made it feel a little vacuous. Maybe if they turned their lights down a bit the vibe might be a bit nicer. They sure like their decorative lights here.... The server was very nice. Pleasant, but could have come around to check on things a couple times more, especially since it was so quiet. Now, for the weird part... Toward the end of my nachos I lost my appetite when I saw a mouse scurrying on the floor. It was very daring and was exploring under tables right up to me. I notified my server and she said "oh we know, we try to catch them but it's difficult. I think we caught one a couple days ago. Yesterday I saw one run up the stairs. I'm sorry you had to see that. Would you like a box for your nachos?" Um, no thanks! I finished my drink while watching this mouse wander around a few more times, and ANOTHER mouse come out from the opposite side of the room. and decided it was time to leave. There was no other response from my server about this - I just paid my bill and left. I get that this is a port town close to water, but it seems like these folks probably need to get a bit more serious about pest control.

I got a "mango smoothie" which at first tasted like water. And then when I sent it back for them to…read moreremake, it just tasted like mango flavoured water. I also have a friend that got served raw frozen fish. How do you even do those things that bad?!

Visiting the Dinghy Dock Pub is more about the experience than the pub itself. We took the ferry to…read moreProtection Island (cash only if you pay on the ferry, but you can pay by card at the pub), but saw many people arrive by boat and kayak. The interior of the pub was full of nautical decor - anchors, old diving equipment, wood carvings, etc. We ended up sitting on the patio, which had a beautiful view of the water. For drinks, I got a canned Mojito Mocktail - very tasty and refreshing. We also ordered the Classic Poutine to share. It wasn't the best poutine of my life, but still good and very filling. Service was fast and friendly, and the ambiance was excellent. Would return for the vibes alone!

Offers a unique experience for sure! The interior is decked out in the most charming nautical…read moredecor, with cozy, homey vibes that make you feel right at ease. I loved the quirky touch of salt shakers made from empty beer bottles--definitely adds to the pub's character. However, the food didn't quite live up to the atmosphere. The fish and chips were a bit dry, though the fries were crispy and tasty. The seafood poutine was okay, but nothing spectacular. Still, the coolest part was being on a floating pub--it's a fun setting that's hard to beat. While the food wasn't amazing, the overall experience makes it worth a visit if you're in the area!

SERVICE To start…read morethings off, the service was amazing! Me and the other ten people i came with were seated immediately and were given our orders from the menue within ten minutes of ordering. Our waiter was a very kind woman named Ashleigh who worked very hard to get our food out as quick as possible, and was lovely. Overall service: 10/10 FOOD The food our group ordered was well made and cooked to perfection. Four of us ordered the fish and chips, which were well cooked, and the general consensus was that the fish itself was pretty good. It was a tad bit to doughy, but overall was pretty good. The fries were great, however, the tartar sauce was very un- consista t and was served steaming hot, rather than cold. Overall, the fish and chips was a 8/10. The linguini was also well recived by the two people who ordered it, and there were no complaints from their end of the table. Overall, the linguini was a 7.5/10. The chicken tenders were some of the best chicken tenders ordered by the party member. The plum sauce was amazing and the chicken wasent too flakey or too Hard. Overall, the chicken tenders were a 9.5/10 The light house burger had very good sauce, and one of the best patties that our party member had ever had. It was the right amount of chewy and flavour, and was a overall 8/10 The nachos had a wide variety of sauces to select from including guacamole and salsa. However, the sour cream was quite bland, and tasted like you average Walmart sour cream. Overall, the nacho plate was a 8.5/10 RESTROOMS The mens room was well maintained and in fairly good condition. The laidies room however, was in poor condition, with the toilet missing the seat, and the stall duct taped off. The restrooms were in a separate area from the restaurant entirely, and required a pin on the door to access the hall in which the restrooms were located in, giving it a "restricted area" feel. The overall restroom experience was a 6.5/10 Some other last minute things to add include: Decent wifi access A lovely view of the harbour A Comfortable seating area Minimal wait time for seating FINAL SCORES Service: 10/10 Atmosphere: 9/10 Food: 8.5/10 Presentation: 8.5/10 OVERALL SCORE: 8.5/10 Recommend? YES

What is going on!! Now a deep fried Cisco quality wing costs as much as an exclusive bc oyster!!…read more Theres more to the story, but that alone should give food for thought. Oh, and in the time we were there, over 1.5 hours, nobody came to fill the seats we were not allowed to sit in. -Totally understaffed. -worse than vancouver pricing.....its Nanaimo!! - Absolutely no interest in providing value for your$$ -I feel sorry for the staff but I absolutely recommend NOT going here - what a waste of a great space Oh, and I've watched it come to this ive 20+ years

The Oxy is a classic! Although they sold the pool table to make it through Covid :( great staff,…read moreand great patrons full of stories! Food menu is good, but if you're over 50 and get the poutine, have some tums ready...

My First Friend and I decided to check out Oxy last night. It used to be a venerable watering hole…read morein a hotel called the Occidental. We'd heard it had been renovated recently and wanted to see what it was like. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful, and got my FF's drink order spot on. We ordered a couple of half-price appys - onion rings and vegetable samosas - and a couple of entrees - a Reuben sandwich and a rib-eye steak sandwich. Everything that was deep-fried was a little too soggy with oil for my taste, and the Reuben could have used some real Swiss cheese instead of processed, but the steak was tasty and the fries were good. Standard pub fare, really, but that's not what folks come to the Oxy for. What they *do* come for is the atmosphere and camaraderie. There was a good mix of younger college folks with more mature types like ourselves, all very friendly and looking to have a good time. We specifically came for the karaoke and were not disappointed; the DJ was friendly and never overbearing, only singing one song himself, and his selection was the best I'd seen in Nanaimo so far. All in all, a fine time. Highly recommended, especially if you're looking for some karaoke on a Friday night. We'll be back.

A terrific place, with great people and food. My go to place to relax and enjoy the environmentread more

This neighborhood pub that also serves food will not let an almost 19 years old eat lunch with his…read moredad. Very unfriendly. A family group wanted to go here. But because one family member wasn't allowed, we went somewhere else.

This place is so cute!! The owner Kenner is adorable!! He was actually running to and from the bar…read moreto bring drinks. Best service and very quaint. We only ordered the Poutine since we had lunch before but it was great. Beer was cold and drinks are hand poured. So fun!

Nice little pub by the ferry to Nanaimo! Waitress was very nice and got us an umbrella in case it…read morestarted sprinkling rain.

Love the place very friendly and good serves the owner is a a hoot a great person I recommend it…read morehighly give it a try and tell her Leo says Hi

Had SO much fun!! Delicious cocktails, clean comfortable space, and the staff are the best. Thanks…read moreto Jason for taking care of us on our night out in Nanaimo! We had the best time! Love forever! ^_^