Best restraint in Port Alberni. Love the schnitzel with jagger gravy, spaetzel and potatoes.read more

Where shall I begin? The name of the restaurant was intriguing. The interior was warm and cozy. The…read morestaff was pleasant. The ratings for this restaurant were high. We ordered chicken with Jägermeister gravy. The choice of potato was pan-fried or baked. I really wanted mashed, oh well. No bread or cabbage dish was included in the meal. I saw it on the menu, but maybe takeaway does not include the same as dine-in. The chicken cutlets were two huge breasts that were lightly breaded. The veggies were huge. The pan-fried potatoes reminded me of a baked potato cut into wedges. The sauce was a brown liquid with some overdone mushrooms. It consisted of water with some color from the mushrooms. Although the portions were huge, taste is very important when eating the meal. There was no seasoning at all. It was like hospital or nursing home food. If you don't season the food, maybe you could include some salt and pepper.

We had dinner at Woodstone Restaurant on a day trip to Galiano Island during the summer. They have…read morea nice patio with a view of the fields/meadows. You may spot a few horses during your dinner! The seafood chowder was highly recommended so I had that as my entree. The seafood was fresh and cooked perfectly. There were jumbo prawns, fish, mussels and clams. I enjoyed the taste of the broth as well. For dessert, they had a special Japanese style cheesecake which was light and fluffy and accompanied with ice cream, a sprinkle of nuts, and edible flowers. Great friendly service as well!

This restaurant has a beautiful patio nestled overlooking meadows and fields where horses roam in…read morethe distance. Very tranquil setting.. The staff are all very friendly and welcoming, and Anita in particular was awesome. We asked for recommendations and Anita recommended the Seafood Chowder to start which was to die for!!! Best one my Gf and I have ever had anywhere.. For the main dishes we had the Rack of Lamb, and the Beef Bourguignon and both very delicious and very tender. The owner Roxanne and Stephan came by and mingled with everyone and I have to say are incredible hosts and have done an amazing job with the place and the staff. Did I mention they have a 3-Michelin Star Chef?!! We will definitely be back and highly recommend this place to any and everyone to stay, relax, enjoy great dining and unwind. Michael and Teresa:)

Off the highway and up a hill, a restaurant with a great view and service…read more Only 3 beers on tap all of which were strange (grapefruit radler) but it was brunch so I ordered a shaft and then their signature coffee. My wife's burger and fries were awesome and my schnitzel was pretty good. Voted top 100 romantic restaurants in Canada.

We ate here for our 30th anniversary a couple weeks ago. the…read moresetting is 5 stars, amazing views of the valley & waters in the distance. the service however was painfully slow. we were there fairly early, definitely before any kind of dinner rush, and they were not busy at all, so no excuse for the slow service. the couple at the table next to us (who had reservations & looked to be rather well healed) were complaining that it took over an hour for their appetizers to arrive after ordering. ours wasn't quite that slow, but for the high prices I would expect faster & more attentive wait staff. the food was good, I had the seafood spaghetti. can't remember what my wife had so it must not have been remarkable. I do remember that her glass of white wine cost $30 & her dinner was less. A very nice place to visit for the views, but the slow service is what I remember most unfortunately.

At first glance it's an interesting corner joint next to a couple other businesses, but it turns…read moreout to be quite a fetching little spot! They have a pretty much perfect interior design and furnishing: very chill and simple but also very charming decor. Menu is very straightforward and simple and has pretty good pricing especially for a Bellingham spot. Service was great and not overstimulating like many places. Food was actually extremely well thought out and executed. Platings come in 2 sizes with simple choices of fillings/sauces, and the portion sizes were excellent- 1lb for me (a bigger guy) and 1/2 for the lady and we both were comfortably full after eating! Dessert deserves its own section in this review because holy mole: it was truly impeccable. I've had quite a few desserts in my time but these really "took the cake". Honey cake was beautiful and soft, it had a gentle sweetness and almost had a spiced undertone to it. Very light and very well executed, it sat perfectly with the dumplings. But the CRÈME BRÛLÉE :') I truly could weep over how beautiful this dish was, it was like I found the love of my life all over again. Gently centered on a plate half dusted with powdered sugar, topped with a small fresh strawberry and sprig of mint. Truly mind boggling how good it was, an incredible mix of sweet crème and gentle taste of black tea. I never expected this to be such a great combination but it was incredibly well executed. Whomever the mastermind was behind the creation of the menu and shop: I tip my hat to you, for this was a truly wonderful experience. Everything was obviously very thoughtfully planned out and perfected, I have mad respect for their work. 2 plates of dumplings, 2 drinks and 2 desserts was under 80$. An all time favorite date night spot at a much more reasonable price than other places near Barkley/Bellingham. 11/10 If I could give more than 5 stars I would

I was probably too excited to try out Russian style dumplings in the PNW…read more.. Place looks nice with pictures of kids enjoying dumplings. Perhaps owners kids? It was empty. I was the only one there. I always wonder when I go to any food establishments that are this slow. Either their food is not that good or they have bad service or overpriced. I ordered a whole LB and my girls got drinks from the cooler fridge. I guess I should have paid more attention, but the lady charged me for 2 orders. Only realized that after I sat down and was wondering why my bill was like $90. When I went to the counter, the assistant pretty much placed the blame on me... " sorry for the misunderstanding " But the thing is there was no misunderstanding, I was pretty clear on what I ordered, either she wasn't listening or paying attention... She did offer me a refund, but at the time the food was already at the table. I chose to just take the "extra" surprise order to go. Dumplings were mediocre at best. I have had my share of Russian dumplings all the way from Moscow to New York to Chicago and this was hands down was the loser of all. Sauces were not bad but not enough for me to come back or to recommend this place to anyone. I would go to Pelmeni downtown instead next time.

I'd seen this place mentioned on Reddit so decided to check it out for a light lunch. It's dark…read moreinside, but then again that's pretty traditional remembering back to my time in the Balkans. Big tables, Serbian pop music playing, and attentive service. I ordered the cevapi with bread and a bowl of veal soup. Both were hearty and well seasoned. Thankfully the cevapi came with a nice heap of onions. If I had a complaint, it would be that the bread has a tougher crust than the Bosnian somun. Also I would have appreciated some kajmak (thick cream) along with the ajvar. But I think it's a place I will visit again to try other things on the menu

Balkan Platter meats were cooked perfectly, so tender and flavorful. Seasoned rice complemented the…read moremeal very nicely. It was meant for two but could honestly feed a patty of 4 very easily, took the rest of our meal back for lunch tomorrow!! Waitress was very sweet and efficient. Definitely would recommend grabbing a bite here!

Wow even though very expensive (around $250/person) , it's worth it for the quality of food we had…read more The pre-selected and made in front of our eyes menu was thoughtfully selected wow the food was incredible. Service was phenomenal, wine pairing was right on point, and organic was of the overall is the BEST that Whidbey offers. I like the feel of the community table, we ended up becoming friends with everyone at the table, and the intimate setting if having the chef to cook in front of you with the team. Will definitely be back next time that I'm in town. Note that you need reservations few days in advance and put a deposit when you reserve. That was unique but again for me who is an organic, farm to table goodie, it was all worth it.

This is a hard one for me to write. We have family on the Island, and have been wanting to come…read morehere since it first opened (back in 2015, but having a newborn made that hard). We FINALLY made it over after over 10 years. My husband and I have traveled all over the world and dined at some of the best restaurants (from 3 star Michelin to delicious food carts--we don't care if there are accolades behind the food--we just know what well prepared, good food tastes like). We may be picky and more particular than most guests dining here. Whidbey has never been known for amazing food. It's a hard place to have a restaurant as it tends to rely heavily on tourism during the summer months, and it's hard to get locals to spend $$$ on the regular. We've seen many restaurants come and go. While I am thrilled this place is still surviving and thriving, it didn't quite live up to all the high praise I've seen. Don't get me wrong, the food is tasty, but I wouldn't say it was something that would leave a memory. Most of the dishes seemed like there needed some work to be done, or some quality control. The salad we received was heavily dominated by the cheese, and you couldn't taste any of the fresh vegetables. My "surprise" course had Guanciale which both my husband and I looked at each other at the same time and said "this tastes like it was rendered in old bacon fat." My husband also received 6 pieces of gnocchi, while I only had 2. The main course was cooked technically well, but it was off balance in the elements they provided. Again, not a big deal--but some tinkering and adjusting of amount of the components on the dish would have benefited them. My husbands cheese dish came without one of the components--but it was minor and not a big deal. It was just another example of how extra time may be needed with the dishes. The gentleman sitting next to me had told the other guests that "this was the best meal he has ever had," and thats when my husband and I realized that perhaps we went into this with too high of expectations compared to those who may dine here. By no meals was it a bad meal, it just was not at the level that some of the other reviewers here have felt. Again, that may just because we have eaten out at so many wonderful places around the world, that perhaps we are a bit jaded. We came for the Thursday local dinner, and when we left, we were a bit relieved we weren't doing the longer and more expensive weekend menu, given our experience, as we don't think we would have left feeling like we got our money's worth. If you're traveling through, and come on a Thursday--I think it's a great option. Would I spend $165-$180 a person on their main menu--that would be a no from me. It's a fun experience dining at a communal table--but it made having one on one conversation with my husband a bit tricky and we felt the need to have to engage with others when we were really wanting to turn off for the day (my husband and I are both Clinical Psychologists and spend the days listing to others The staff were all amazing and very friendly and accommodating. 5 stars for them! I really wanted to be wowed and to have a place my husband and I could escape to while visiting family as its just down the road from them--but unfortunately I don't know if we would return.

We had a lovely evening at Avenue Bistro. It was a warm evening so we asked to sit out on the…read morepatio. We were the only customers on the patio so it was nice to relax and just enjoy the evening. We had a bottle of wine and shared a tomato mozarrela salad to start. It was very good. For entrees I had a special of the day - schnitzel with onion sauce and my husband had a pork dish in a mushroom sauce with noodles. My schnitzel was very good but my husband thought the pork in his dish was very dry. The service was good and it was a very enjoyable evening.

I was amazed and impressed with the service, food, ambiance, and my overall experience here at the…read moreAvenue Bistro!! I couldn't believe how delicious every single item here was! The clams and the soy garlic sauce was the BEST thing I've ever had! It was so good that I asked the waitress for the recipe lol. I still think about the clams and the broth. I would seriously fly to Comox just to come to this restaurant then come back home. Visit the Avenue Bistro. You won't be disappointed!