I took my partner here for his birthday. He had never had French food before (I eat it OFTEN) and…read morewanted to try the steak especially. We ordered quite a few items, the beef tartare, the French onion soup, the chicken liver pate, he got the rib eye and I got the duck confit. The tartare and French onion soup were both out standing. Delicious. The chicken liver pate was a good portion and also quite tasty. The steak was good but not phenomenal and for 96 dollars it should have been. The duck confit was bad. Too salty and so dry. I had one bite, took it to go and threw it in the trash. We had a cocktail each and two beers each. The service was pretty slow and not super attentive and missed things. The bill came to 400 dollars. I personally wouldn't go back, I live in Vancouver and there are so many better restaurants. Maybe this place is good for Victoria? My partner had a good time still and that's what mattered And finally we didn't order dessert but it was my partners birthday and they gave him a candle that was just on a little plate... most places will have a small dessert or something that they provide for birthdays. It was really tacky and made the whole evening seem a little cheap and odd.

There's a certain romance people expect when they step into a French brasserie--the low hum of…read moreconversation, the clink of glasses, a dimly lit room that whispers rather than shouts. Brasserie L'Ecole leans hard into that mood. Maybe a little too hard. Look, I get it. Lighting can be seductive. It can soften edges, blur imperfections, make everyone feel like they're in on something intimate and vaguely cinematic. But there's a fine line between ambiance and obscurity, and this place crosses it with confidence. When the room is dark enough that you're squinting to make out what's on your plate--when you can't even appreciate the color of the food you're about to eat--you start to wonder who this is really for. Diners? Or vampires? And then the food arrives. Let's talk about the French onion soup gratinée--the kind of dish that should feel like a warm, savory embrace. Deep, rich broth. Sweet, slow-cooked onions. That molten cap of cheese pulling apart in long, indulgent strands. Instead, what lands in front of you is a salt delivery system disguised as comfort food. A few spoonfuls in and your palate is already waving the white flag. It's not nuanced, not layered--just aggressively, relentlessly salty. A blunt instrument where a scalpel should be. You start thinking about wine. You *want* wine. But then reality kicks in: what's the point? Pairing anything with this level of salinity feels like pouring a decent bottle straight into the ocean. Whatever subtlety, whatever character the wine might have had--it doesn't stand a chance. Then comes the brasserie burger. In theory, a reliable fallback. In practice? More of the same. Heavy-handed seasoning that bulldozes everything else on the plate. After the soup, it's not just overkill--it's a slog. Each bite feels like work. Finishing it becomes less about enjoyment and more about stubbornness. By the end of the meal, you're not lingering over dessert or debating another glass. You're reaching for water. Lots of it. The kind of deep, desperate hydration that feels less like refreshment and more like recovery. Like you've just spent an afternoon face down on the shores of the Dead Sea. There's a good restaurant hiding in here somewhere; since the service is spot on, buried beneath the darkness, buried beneath the salt. But as it stands, the experience feels less like a Parisian escape and more like a test of endurance. Cheers or Jeers.. .up to you.

This is for the owner. The food was very good. The service was very good. But ...we had 4 of us for…read morea special night out ... $750. And the table next to us was so exceptionally loud that we couldn't hear each other for most of the dinner. That shouldn't happen at such a special restaurant and situation - and if it does - the GM should take action to resolve the situation. No one did - but a lot of people were also affected. Thought you should know - Doug

Wow what a great experience. Would go all the time if I lived closer. It's a must stop and…read moreexperience. Reservation required.

A quaint and quiet place to enjoy and excellent meal. The…read moreScallops and Pork belly are incredible as well as the duck. Very reasonable prices for the food quality and taste.

I was invited to a continuing education event and was grateful to be given the opportunity to…read moresample a 3 course meal. Our group had a beautiful brightly lit private dining room in the back. The ceiling heaters kept me warm and toasty from the cold drizzly weather. Salad had a good mix of greens and shredded carrot. The dressing was slightly tangy and very delicious Main course was a chicken dish, which was quite alright. I especially liked the potatoes that complemented the chicken with its perfectly tender texture. Chocolate mousse was for dessert. The coconut whipped cream was a welcome addition to the mousse and paired well. The portion of the mousse could be smaller, though, as I and many others did not finish it. The service and ambience definitely deserve a 5 stars! The menu is extensive and I hope to come back to try something else.

Despite not having a great experience with the fish offerings at this restaurants, I'd still go…read moreahead and say that Stage is amazing and has some potential to make changes to the menu! Love the European Wine Bar/French Bistro vibes they have going and it's located in the cute Fernwood neighbourhood. Love their approach on French-inspired foods and showcasing seasonal local fresh veggies and plating it differently. The food is fresh and light, which is always nice for a French restaurant. We got the local crudités served with the eggplant roasted dip and it was a delight. The tomatoes were fresh and I appreciated the various textures, depth and flavours. The dishes are great for sharing. Love the pomme frites. The BBQ shishitos were a treat! The bread and butter were phenomenal. I believe that it is freshly baked. The service was amazing! They have a great ever-changing wine list from Europe as well as different parts of Canada. In addition, they have amazing cocktails. Unfortunately, Stage fell a little short for us. We had sent an email in advance mentioning that we are pescatarians and do not eat meat. We were very excited to try their fish offerings (Halibut and Rockfish) off the menu that night but our waitress informed us that the kitchen wouldn't be able to make any changes to the dishes and that some meat products were used in both fish options. We were very disappointed, especially since the food is so good. I recommend and advise that if you have two fish offerings, at least leave one completely pescatarian and free of meat products. We also didn't want to opt for the warm potato salad with mackerel since we had already had the pomme frites. As a result, we did not have a suitable protein option that night. This was the only thing that ticked us off, considering the level of care and pride they take with the food in their restaurant.

Really nice wine bar. Great wine and atmosphere. A bit pricy but very nice wine selection.read more

Delicious food, piping hot. A really enjoyable experience for the family. My husband had the…read moreBiryani, I had the daily Khatch with salmon, and my kiddo had the fish and chips.

The food was exceptional with flavor and taste. Our server Raju went above and beyond to make our…read moreexperience memorable. The salmon biryani, shrimp curry were so unique that we wanna come back sometime to eat here.

The food is nice, esp all the Benny, I ordered bacon Benny and my son salmon Benny, both are nice…read more My friends ordered sandwiches, they said it's nice as well, and it's really huge size! But the coffee could be improved, too dark roasted and too diluted

Didn't expect much from the food here as the servers seem hot and annoyed... BUT…read moreOrdered tomato soup which was absolutely fantastic tasty spicy beautiful served with great baquette. Ordered salad Nicole's - another rave! Lovingly chopped potatoes,cucumber,boiled egg,tuna, with a lovely lemon dressing. Best food ate all weekend in Nanaimo.

Had lunch there and it was fantastic! The chef really knows his stuff and created two great meals…read more One with clams and another with mussels. The one with clams had smoked tomatoes in the broth. The other had fennel in the broth. Both were unique and tasted outstanding. Our waiter Moe added to the time we were there. We will definitely go back.

Adorable setting just up the street from the water. Very kind and knowledgeable staff with lovely…read moreservice. We had oysters and clams and they were very good especially accompanied with the homemade bread.

Came here for a romantic anniversary dinner and it was amazing! Cocktails are tasty and I loved…read moretheir comments to them. We had a good laugh at The Kinky's comment: "so dirty that you might seek god afterwards." All the food was great, and the oeuf mayonnaise was the best tasting deviled egg I ever had in my life! Would also recommend the beef tartar, escargot, oysters, and steak frites. We sat at the bar (via reservations), but our bartender Troy was still very attentive and great at recommending the food! I was also impressed they wished us happy anniversary and gave us some complimentary stuff because I usually feel no one reads those comments, but they did!!

birthday dinner with the parents at this cozy, french bistro that's semi-tucked away. it can get a…read morelittle tight inside the restaurant but i think that's what adds to the homeyness vibe. my parents arrived early and were seated RIGHT by the window so i couldn't miss them when i got to the place. there's 2 entrances so make sure you enter in the right one - nbd if you didn't tho. our server was wonderful and attentive - there was a little hiccup with my wine order, and he was able to fix it right away (i wanted the bottle not the glass). this was also my parents' first time trying french cuisine and safe to say - they enjoyed it! we started with the classic french onion soup - the gooey cheese made it a little hard to share but the soup was one of the best ones that i've had. the onions were caramelized to perfection to the point where they were essentially pureed in the bowl. that was devoured rather quickly. we also had escargots - the parsley garlic butter that they were sitting in, i wanted to drink it - and tarte flambe alsacienne (flakiest tart base ever). then we're onto the mains! the standouts were the clams and mussels (daily feature - the sauce/soup that was on the bottom, my parents drank that up!), and the canard confit (the meat fell off the bone). steak frites were a little too well-done but not bad - the other two dishes just shone too much! finally dessert - my mother HAD to get the creme brulee as that's her fav and i snuck a bite - the vanilla shone right through! the chocolate terrine was great as well - i loved the salted, candied pecans that added a nice crunch to the dish. my mother has already said that we need to go back again LOL

We discovered this spot on our recent trip and it was INCREDIBLE! What we loved:…read more- Our waiter was very cool & great to talk to - The cocktails (a lot of which our waiter had invented I believe) were amazing including my husband's Canadian Tuxedo whisky drink that included a red wine foam. I also loved my frozen espresso martini - The wine list was great and reasonably priced - The food was delicious and a great price for the quality. The brown sugar tart dessert, for example, was so good and tasted a bit like an amazing cheesecake. All the appetizers and mains were perfect too! As we were finishing dinner around 8:30 pm-ish on Friday night, new guests arrived for their Happy Hour which included great food options (that we skipped since we were full from dinner) and specialty cocktails were around $13. Such a great price for such delicious and fun drinks! We'd hoped to come back the following night again but ended up getting tied up with kids' bedtime and missed it. We were bummed since we really wanted to go back to try the Happy Hour and more cocktails!

Amazing doesn't even begin to describe my experience at Atelier in Sidney…read more The service by Cade was beyond anything I've experienced - his brilliant demeanour and knowledge of all the dishes and drinks were top notch. The food we had were the following; freshly made bread + whipped butter, the decadent prawns , chicken pot pie and 3-course tasting menu (pork belly, stunning scallops and he best chocolate torte I have ever tasted. I can't say enough about this food and service. Our only hiccup was the cold draft coming in - but the food and service was so good, that we can overlook. We can't wait to come back!! Thank you for an amazing experience!!