Could not be happier that the Arbutus Lounge exists (and the distillery) in our town. This place…read morerivals the best quality cocktails I've had in major cities, and when you factor in the INCREDIBLY low price, it truly can't be beat. From the classic martini to the weird and wonderful Where the Wild Things Are, and everything in between, the drink list is unique and exciting with something for everyone. The mixologists are amazing, and they even have board games and snacks available. They also do a happy hour, but I can never get there in time so can't speak to it. By far the best kept secret in Nanaimo!

Just discovered this place! Awesome craft cocktails from a serious mixologist. Never even knew this…read moreplace was here, as it's kinda hiding out of sight on a bit of an industrial park road. Nice cozy eclectic atmosphere with herbs and flowers drying all around. The cocktail menu is lengthy and def has something for everyone. Each drink has a chart letting you know sweet, herbal, boozy, etc. Not very busy on a Friday night, I imagine people haven't discovered it just like we didn't! Check it out!

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.

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.

Delicious food and cocktails, both alcoholic and non. Every time I've been, I've tried something…read moredifferent and thoroughly enjoyed it. I love the old firehouse building. One of my favourite locations in Nanaimo.

Ambiance is a bit weird but it's eclectic for a Mexican restaurant. The restaurant's exterior looks…read morelike a church. Service was alright. Nothing special. The server we had was friendly but didn't really appear all too often until she noticed our water needed to be refilled. The food was good but I didn't think it was worth what it cost.

Omg!! First time ever being there. Service was great and our…read morewaiter answered all our questions about the menu, Food was phenomenal!! No wonder there is always a wait time to get on. I highly recommend this restaurant.

We have had many great Sunday Brunches. Staff are wonderful and so are the drinks and foodread more

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.

We lived this little pub on the ocean. First time sat in the restaurant, second time on the outside…read morepatio. Service could be better but the seafood risotto I had was delicious. Would go back!

We've stayed in the neighbourhood a number of times in downtown Nanaimo and have read about this…read moreplace a few times. Finally took the plunge, and really wish we hadn't, and certainly will not again. Our server was quick to seat us, took good care of us, gave us some insight into the menu items, and generally speaking was great. The view from the top floor part of the Lighthouse is great. Overlooking the marina and sea plane dock in downtown Nanaimo, there is plenty to see, and plenty to watch, it should be a licence to print money. Sadly to food was atrocious, in both taste and the visual. Looking at it as it was as delivered, we should have left right then. The salad that I chose with my beef dip was terrible. The mixed greens part had black ends, and black slime on it. I tried picking through it, and finally gave up and didn't touch it. The dip for the sandwich was thick, very dark and had what looked like the part that sticks to the pot while it's reducing. The meat colour looked a little off as well. K had the wings and clam chowder. The wings looked like they had been sitting for quite a few hours in a bowl on the counter prior to tossing them on the plate. The cut veggies had also been out for a while, she had to cut each end off the celery. The soup was hot, but had no flavour. I could go on, but you get the idea, don't go to this restaurant for food. Have a beer enjoy the view and eat elsewhere. The photos attached say a lot!

this place had amazing cocktails, delicious food and a bubbly atmosphere. they had a great prix fix…read moremenu when i was in, and every bite was amazing. i had the kimchi tuna, the bolognaise pasta, and the gelato. i was full! the service was amazing! both cocktails i had were crafted well :)

Had reservations for dinner Wednesday night and arrived early to enjoy happy hour before sitting…read more We were seated right away and informed that we could order happy hour anywhere in the restaurant which was pretty cool. The happy hour menu offered a few drink specials along with starters. The food listed was regular price, while a handful of their cocktails were discounted a few dollars. We decided to forgo happy hour and skip straight to dinner since. We started with the Dirty Jane and Hotel Georgia from the bar. We both really enjoyed the Hotel Georgia. The orange blossom water gave it a delightful flavor that danced across my tongue and left me eager to taste more. The Dirty Jane wasn't quite our flavor palate, but worth a try for its uniqueness. After receiving our drinks Lauren took our dinner order. We started with the frites and beet salad. The beet salad was beautiful and much larger than we anticipated with beautiful slices of beet, pickled shaved carrots, and whipped goat cheese balls. The frites were crisp and golden on the outside and soft on the inside. Shaved Parmesan cheese blanked the frites and a miso dipping sauce added dipable flavor. From there we each ordered the fall prix fixe menu which boasted a starter, a main dish, and a desert for $39.00 which was a total steal! There was also the option to add a wine paring onto the meal for $39.90. They were mainly white whines so I skipped the pairing and opted for a second cocktail. My prize fixe started out with the albacore tuna that arrived seared with a kimchi vegetable display on top. It was unique, flavorful, and fun! For dinner I enjoyed the pad Thai while my husband had the New York steak. He thoroughly enjoyed his meat, vegetables, and potatoes even saying that the outer was the best tasting baby food he's ever had. He nearly licked the plate! The pad Thai was unique- I wouldn't say it was a typical pad Thai dish for me it my husband who has spent a lot of time in Thailand, but it was flavorful and yummy. For desert we each had the vanilla gelato. It as another very unique dish that sent my tastebuds into a frenzy as they worked to piece the flavors together. Vanilla gelato was topped with a chunk of chocolate, sea salt, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. It was a fun ending. Wrapping up our meals my husband ordered the high mountain woody which was probably the best drink of the four we tried. Very unique and fun! I ended my night with the full Nelson which was delicious but a tad bitter. It does have whiskey bitters in it, which I appreciate just didn't overly love. Overall we enjoyed our meal and will definitely be back to try more items from the menu. The restaurant was not very crowded, but might fill more on the weekend. If you are in the neighborhood I highly recommend stopping by to give your tastebuds a treat! Parking is in the lot beside the restaurant or on the street. After dinner you can mosey a street over to peruse the darling main street shops.

The food was awesome, our waitress was awesome and only waited for our seat for a minute or 2…read more Loved the atmosphere there. Definitely will be going back

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!!!