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!

A great little place out of the way. This is our favourite lunch spot. Always fresh food and…read morefriendly atmosphere

Visited Mon July 11, 2016 for dinner…read more Remember the Thirsty Camel? That place closed and Nana Sushi just opened a few days ago. Wow the food here is amazing and deserves 5 stars! Pro - Spider roll - deep fried soft shell crab, avocado and cucumber. Amazing taste and fresh $13 - The 2 chefs pictured here have worked for over 15 years - House salad - amazing and big enough to share $5.50 Con -The patio is nice, but there are unsavoury 'characters' that walk between downtown along China steps. We were interrupted by someone asking for change and someone swearing on the phone better to sit inside. - Tuna and Salman sashimi - the tuna was still frozen, 8 pieces for $10.25 - Not sure I like the name Playboy roll it sounded offensive and didn't order it. Protip Lion King roll - prawn, cucumber, spicy tuna, spicy salmon - wow this tasted amazing $13 Agedasi tofu - 8 pieces of fluffy deep fried tofu, crispy and flavourful only $3.50 Damage 4 items for only $35 pre-tip

Review: Nana Sushi, Nanaimo…read more Nestled in downtown Nanaimo, Nana Sushi is a cozy gem that serves up comforting Japanese fare with a friendly vibe. I stopped in for a casual meal and left feeling satisfied and warm--especially thanks to their standout udon. The broth was rich and flavorful, the noodles perfectly chewy, and the portion generous enough to make it a go-to comfort dish. While the sushi was solid, it's the udon that stole the show for me. Service was prompt and welcoming, and the atmosphere had a laid-back charm. It's not flashy, but it's the kind of place you return to when you want something reliably tasty and reasonably priced. Located at 14 Victoria Crescent, Nanaimo, BC (250) 591-0755 Visit their website Overall: Pretty good! I'd definitely come back--especially for the udon.

Stopped in on our latest trip to Parksville.Apple Maps was bit confusing to find place, but we…read morepersevered and walked through the small little mall to the other side and found it on the left. The owners were welcoming and very nice and seated us right away.. the place wasn't that busy as it was 2 o'clock in the afternoon. My husband ordered the special and I ordered the stirfry pork.... but they made it a little milder for me. I've been eating at Korean in Vietnamese and Asian restaurants for years and this one is by far at the top of my list. The stirfry had lots of added vegetables, and the side salad was incredible. The chef even came out and thanked us for a business because we were leaving. Great place not to be missed when you go to Parksville we'll be back.

Incredible food! I had the pork rice with Kimchi, the kids had Udon noodles and the wife had…read morechicken rice bowl. Everything was delicious. The host was welcoming and friendly. We had bad luck with food in Tofino so we were so happy to find this place in Parksville!

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

What an amazing experience at Mekong River. The food was absolutely delicious and the service is…read moreoutstanding.

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 ‍

All aspects are wonderful. The food is exceptional and service and ambiance are perfectread more

Absolutely delicious sushi - the rice and fish were both so soft, fresh and well-seasoned. The…read moreservice was excellent and prompt and the chef and servers were polite, friendly and efficient. I've eaten a lot of sushi in my day, and Bistro Taiyo was by far one of the best!

I was happy with the bento box special and tempura sweet potato! My son frequents Japan and we…read morewanted a little taste of Japan while he visited the island . It's a good bang for your buck. Food was tasty and I will go back for my fix of Japan tastes and Bento.

We stopped in here for lunch and ordered the supreme banh-mi. The sandwiches were excellent! Crusty…read morebread, fresh pickle, tasty marinade on the meat. They were served slightly warm. The water was nicely flavoured with lemon. Service by was also friendly and attentive. Would definitely go back!

We were in town for a long weekend. Came for some hot food/soup type meal as it was raining when…read morewe arrived. The service is quick, and food was good and there were plenty of seats when we came. We had ordered the lemongrass beef pho and pho sate with chicken. Both had good flavor and the meat was tender. We would come back if we're in Parksville again or driving through.

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.