Duncan's best-kept secret just set the gold standard. From the moment we walked into the Old…read moreFirehouse, it felt like we were stepping into a vibe that hits that rare, perfect note: elevated but unpretentious, energetic but intimate. Huge shoutout to Owner-turned-Mixology-Mastermind Jeff, who absolutely crushed it behind the bar -- every cocktail and mocktail was a handcrafted work of art that could hold court in any top-tier city. We're talking serious flavour fireworks here. And April -- what can we say? Her service made us feel like VIPs who owned the joint. She read the room, anticipated every move, and wrapped the whole evening in the kind of hospitality you can't teach: pure instinct, heart, and grace. The food? Next level. Every bite was a flex of flavor and presentation. The kitchen is clearly playing in its own league, balancing creativity with pure culinary muscle. Combine that with an ambience that feels like cozy meets cool, and you've got an absolute home run. If you haven't experienced Firehouse Grill yet, fix that immediately.

Excellent eats and great service. Interesting specials, and a cozy vibe. No notes. Friendly and…read moreattentive staff.

Stopped in for a quick meal on our way up island so decided to go with a chain restaurant. Food was…read moresuper average but priced accordingly, it did its job for what we needed! Service was really good, our server was hilarious and very witty! Ambiance is nice, it's a clean restaurant. If you need a quick meal this is a good place to stop, it'll be consistent! If you have more time I'd do some research and find some of Duncan's more hidden gem restaurants!

Went for a Saturday evening meal. All the food was pretty good. Portions were slightly on the small…read moreside. The service was good. However a little bit of an attitude from the hostess taking reservations.

Had a great lunch. Fish tacos were great and the service quick and friendly. A cool spot in…read moreDowntown Duncan to stop at after checking out all the totem poles that are sprinkled throughout the core of the city. Oh yah.....check out the worlds largest hockey sick along side the arena while your in the area.

We were a table of 6. I ordered the prime rib daily special 8oz for $25. It was surprising…read moredelicious. The prime rib was over cooked. I asked for medium rare but I got well done. I didn't bring this up to our server because the restaurant was a full house. The kitchen was probably overwhelmed with lots of orders. Anyways the portion size was huge. The quality of the prime rib was spectacular. It was super tender but best part of all the prime rib was super flavourful. The au jus made up for the over cooked prime rib. If the prime rib was cooked to medium rare, I would have given it 5 stars. The prime rib also came with lots of veggies and a baked potato. The baked potato definitely needs more sour cream. It had a good amount of bacon in it which was nice. The Yorkshire pudding was huge. Not many restaurants serve a high quality cut of prime rib. I highly recommend coming over and trying it. It was super tasty. B ordered the southwest burger. It came with fries. I tried a few of his fries and was amazed at the crunchiness. B loved his food as well. Also in the basement there was a large party. Food took a long time to come because as mentioned before it was a full house. Our server did come over and apologized and to let us know that the large party downstairs placed their order before us. We didn't mind the wait. It was nice of her to let us know. Great atmosphere. There are lots of free parking. It is connected to Best Western hotel.

This is the restaurant to rave about for me. The food is out…read moreof this world. We went on Christmas and they were the only restaurant open in a Christmas day. So we were very thankful. On top of it, they had Christmas special Biryani, it was amazing and it was authentically cooked by an Indian cook. The flavours come beautifully come together and melt in your mouth. The regular orders as house burger, butter chicken or sea food chowder are always to go for me. For Christmas the inside of the restaurant looked amazing very cozy and mesmerizing vibes. The decorations also blended with the atmosphere very well. You sit surrounded by many Christmas colours Servers are always welcoming too, if I have any issues they fix it right away and make it a pleasing stay for me everytime. Always happy to come back!

Cod burger was better with each bite - then came the lemon chicken wings which were not as tasty as…read morethey were slightly over cooked to my liking. They went back to the kitchen and a fresh plate was delivered. The server was friendly, efficient and ever helpful. She checked with us but was never in our space unless we asked. There is no finer place to look over the ocean than Maple Bay

A decent place to grab something if you're in the Maple Bay area. A very large pub with a ton of…read moreseating options. Lovely views over the docks. There's a parking lot on the lower part of hill, if you're not lucky to snag the few spots up front. I went here on a night that I just didn't feel like cooking supper & to enjoy the bay views before it got too dark. There was some larger groups eating/celebrating plus a smattering of smaller tables. I didn't notice more than one waitress & occasionally what I think was a manager on the floor serving. I wasn't in a huge rush to order but I do think the was some very long waiting periods to get a menu, get my a non-alcoholic drink and even much longer to be noticed I just wanted to get the bill to leave. I did appreciate that it was delivered warm. It wasn't a slammed place, but I do also understand when a waitress is running on fumes. So perhaps the bartender & manager could step in when when gaps need to be filled (as I noticed there was more tables awkwardly waiting to pay than me). Food was decent helping but nothing I would say was at a wow factor. I only had one meal here but my friends that have stopped here several times had good remarks about their meals. So maybe another stop by when I'm in the area is worth a second shot & enjoy a view to the water.

Very cool place. Food and service were great. I had fish and chips which were awesome.read more

As always.. Great service with a smile. Excellent Seafood…read moreChowder. Never been disappointed with menu choices!

Skip the fish & chips. $35 and the breading is so thick, it's like a fish donut. You are paying for…read morethe view, so pick something simple and cheaper

Delicious meal, perfect weather to sit outside, and excellent service. The fish and chips and…read morebutter chicken curry poutine were stand outs. So good!

This was an amazing experience. The fish was top quality and the rolls were amazing . 10/10 will be…read moreback. The hot an sour soup is also amazing

Vey nice restaurant.. the sushi was great and well made. Great flavour. Staff very attentive and…read morechecked on us frequently. Definitely recommend going here

A very cute and small neighbourhood restaurant. I loved the atmosphere walking in here and they had…read morelive music playing. The crowd is a little older, I'd say mostly in their late 40s to 50s. At one point in the night, there was a table celebrating a birthday and the whole restaurant joined in on the happy birthday song which was very cute. Prices are similar to the Keg. I ordered the scallops, a Caesar salad and the masthead steak. Everything was very well made and they were very accommodating to substitutions. I did expect a bigger and more elaborate "show" for the Caesar salad since it was made at the table but there was no announcement for it nor was there anything special. We skipped on desert because the portions were so generous. Will definitely come back another time I'm in town.

We have dined at The Masthead a couple of years ago, and at that time it was regarded as one of the…read morebest restaurants on Vancouver Island. At the time, it certainly lived up to its reputation. Would that still be the case on our return visit? Read on... THE ROSES: Lovely ambiance. The dining room is spacious, classy, and peaceful. They also have a very large deck overlooking the marina for outside dining on nice days. The staff is efficient, accommodating, and gracious. THE THORNS: Staffing issues in the kitchen meant rather long waits for food to come out. To their credit, the server did let us know when we came in that this was the case. We weren't in a hurry, so it wasn't an issue. The dinner menu was somewhat more limited than I would've expected, and I was very surprised to see my first choice (Bison Bolognese) run out at a rather early in the evening (6:30), leaving me with rather humdrum choices to pick from. WHY ONLY THREE STARS? After our first visit in 2023, I would've given The Masthead a solid 5-star review. Unfortunately the chef they had at the time has moved on, and the current chef, while competent, doesn't have the came creative flair in entree design and execution that their predecessor did. My steak was just fine, but the presentation was rather uninspired, and my wife's chicken was a bit 'over'. THE VERDICT: Considered on its own merits, The Masthead is an OK fine dining restaurant, but it suffers in comparison to how it was two years ago with a different chef. That said, The Masthead has been around a long time, and restaurants like this do have their ups and downs. Perhaps they'll be different in a couple more years?