Best food in Nanaimo!…read more I dined in on my lunch break having seen the good reviews online. I was not disappointed! The quiet establishment (on Friday around 2:00) had a pleasant and clean atmosphere with some K-Pop music playing on a TV situated in a corner. The menu is clear and easy to order from. If you struggle with pronunciations, each order has a corresponding number and an image of each dish. I ordered the SO BULGOGI DEOP-BAP. It was phenomenal! The beef and rice were cooked perfectly had a slight sweetness to it, the kimchi had a perfect spiciness, the bean sprouts and cabbage were fresh, and the romaine lettuce with the chili dressing was delicious and sweet. In addition to the atmosphere and the food, the prices I considered very fair for the quality and quantity of the food. Lastly, the service was good. This will definitely be one of my #1 spots to eat on Vancouver Island! I am so pleased to have finally been introduced to this culinary gem. Incredible!

This place was so good, we went two days in a row. I will keep saying it, Nanaimo... you have some…read moreof the best Korean food I have ever had. Another one of those Yelp finds, needed a place, didn't know where to go, this one was glaring at me, so I took my wife in tow and went. This one on the outside is odd, as it is attached to a motel, and yes.... the parking is on the motel side. The main door to the restaurant is also next to the motel, and when you come in it's got this newage wooden feel, and you know you are here. We saw many seasonal food pictures up of things that are not on the menu, yet for the first night we went for the menu and ordered a pork rib dish and also their steamed egg. When the banchan came, I knew we were in for a great meal. There is this mixed salad with some sort of bean sauce they use as salad sauce.... this dish alone was a solid win. All the banchan was good, and our server would come by and asked if we needed any more. When the ribs came they were on a hot plate, just sizzling away with the white onions under the meat just caramalizing hard waiting for you to get in there and eat everything. A few minutes later the steamed egg came in a stone bowl, and our server used a spoon to separate the sides of the egg from the bowl, the steam was intense, it was a cold night, this was exactly what we needed and wanted for a meal. There was a lot of food, and we had to pack most of it to go, and I thanked our server, and asked him if we were to come back.... what would you recommend, and he pointed to the chicken noodle soup they only do for winter.... you can guess what we ordered the following day... and yes we came back for lunch. The chicken noodle soup was amazingly deep, and it is cliche to say, but very homey, comforting, clean, hearty, it had it all.... we were as happy as we were the day before, and I can't wait to come back to Nanaimo and come back to this place. Also.. if you like popular Korean-pop music.. don't worry you'll listen to it on the loop as I think I heard APT three times!

Ordered the west coast bowl which was very delicious and I appreciated that they support local…read morevendors and source organic whenever possible. It is situated in a very cute space and loved that it was dairy free with a creamy dressing. Good balance of veggies and rice made me feel very healthy with my meal choices :) My friends shared the grilled cheese and chicken sandwich and said both were very delicious, but the grilled cheese just barely edged out the chicken sandwich as the more delicious option. However, personally I think the sandwich portions seemed a bit small for my appetite and I would probably have needed to add a soup on the side to feel full. Order at the counter, grab a number and table and your food will be brought to you. Water is self serve and they also sell coffee beans to go.

Amazing fresh unfussy yet complex flavors. The beet ginger aioli was amazing!! It reminded me of a…read more70's restaurant done up in mid century beach style. Very glad we found this spot.

A cute cafe during a day trip to Nanaimo! The vibes are immaculate and felt so cozy. There was even…read morea live piano player and singer who started up in the afternoon. For brunch, I got eggs Benny with tomato and bacon. The texture of the eggs were pretty good! A little overcooked though. The side of potato wedges were really good for me. The London fog was delicious and had the perfect amount of sweetness! I'd come back :)

Such a cool, eclectic spot to enjoy breakfast and a coffee! The decor was spectacular and I loved…read morelooking around the cafe while we waited for our food. Service was extremely friendly, and although the food took quite a while because they were extremely busy, they were very transparent as to why. The homemade granola was delicious. If you're looking for a vibrant way to start your day, this is it!

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!

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.

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

Why do they put coconut in every damn thing. Everything tastes like coconut. If you love coconut…read moreplease go here. I had the rice bowl and the broth was the sweetest coconut milk ever.

We visited Bocca Cafe as our second stop out of three for Nainaimo Bars. This is a pretty cozy…read morecafe, with only a couple of tables and seats for people to relax in. When we visited on a rainy Monday afternoon and there were a couple of people inside, sipping on coffee and working. Traditional Nanaimo ($5.99) - This Nanaimo Bar is very thin, about half the height as compared to Bar 1. It shears while cutting, causing pieces to break off in chunks rather than cleaning going through. This happens to both the icing in the middle and the top and I'm not sure what causes it. The top layer has a nice rich chocolatety taste. The bottom layer has finer coconut shreds and a nice cocoa flavor, mixed with crushed silvered almonds for nuttiness and crunch. The layer is able to easily shatter. It's dry and almost powdery in texture. The middle icing isn't that noteworthy other than being sweet. As a whole, the bar is hefty, hard and very dense. It's very sweet. (3/5) Salted Caramel Nanaimo ($5.99) - This is similar in texture to the traditional with the same shattering grittiness. The middle layer is caramel icing and top layer has some flaky salt sprinkled on top. Otherwise again it's very sweet and crumbly. (3/5) I can't say I was a huge fan of these Nanaimo bars. They are definitely higher quality than the last bakery we visited, but they are a bit too dry, gritty, and powdery for my tastes. Based on my enjoyment of the food, I would normally give Bocca Cafe a 3 star rating, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and raise them to a 4, especially because the employees were very nice. Maybe i just don't like Nanaimo bars that much! Washrooms - One unisex room.

Bocca Cafe was pretty empty when we stopped in, but the ambiance was cozy. The interior had…read morecolorful walls, covered in art for sale. They also had some cute holiday decorations. I ordered a Matcha Latte and my boyfriend got a Dirty Chai Latte, which were both tasty and came in large mugs. We also ordered a Caramel Brownie to share. The brownie was super decadent and rich, but delicious. I was glad we only ordered one for two people. Service was friendly and reasonably fast. Overall, cute cafe - would return!

Food is authentic and tastes great! Owners are nice and friendly too. We ordered the pork belly…read morewith salted veggies and the meet was very tender and well seasoned.

Ordered 2 meals for 1 for myself and my partner. Well let me just say, I didn't expect a restaurant…read morecould mess up chicken chow mein and sweet and sour pork so badly but they did. It was so disgusting, I had to throw it away as I was worried i would get ill. Do yourself a favor, and go somewhere else to spend your money.

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.