So... This is a bizarre review…read more.. The food, I have to say, was pretty good. Solid pub fare. The most enjoyable hot wings I've had at a pub in years. Nachos that were cheesy and loaded with toppings. Weird toppings maybe, and a very strange tasting salsa, but not bad... The ambiance on a Monday night is a little meh. Only about 6 tables seated in quite a large, voluminous space, made it feel a little vacuous. Maybe if they turned their lights down a bit the vibe might be a bit nicer. They sure like their decorative lights here.... The server was very nice. Pleasant, but could have come around to check on things a couple times more, especially since it was so quiet. Now, for the weird part... Toward the end of my nachos I lost my appetite when I saw a mouse scurrying on the floor. It was very daring and was exploring under tables right up to me. I notified my server and she said "oh we know, we try to catch them but it's difficult. I think we caught one a couple days ago. Yesterday I saw one run up the stairs. I'm sorry you had to see that. Would you like a box for your nachos?" Um, no thanks! I finished my drink while watching this mouse wander around a few more times, and ANOTHER mouse come out from the opposite side of the room. and decided it was time to leave. There was no other response from my server about this - I just paid my bill and left. I get that this is a port town close to water, but it seems like these folks probably need to get a bit more serious about pest control.

I got a "mango smoothie" which at first tasted like water. And then when I sent it back for them to…read moreremake, it just tasted like mango flavoured water. I also have a friend that got served raw frozen fish. How do you even do those things that bad?!

OMG this place was utterly fantastic in every way!! Sitting outside, then later strolling the…read moregarden/yard was delightful! The service was excellent! I had the chicken and vegetable pot pie, and it was the best pot pie that I've ever had in my life!! The bread topping was amazing, light and fluffy and tasty! The inside was cooked perfectly and all the flavors melded together -- I was rolling my eyes back into my head throughout!! The inside decor was also very cool!! Be warned, though, we saw families turned away in anger because they didn't know there is a strict age policy in place, no one under age 19 allowed!

We sat outside as they were all full inside already. The service was really friendly and when we…read morewanted to move tables they were super nice about it. We ordered some Guiness, seafood cakes, scotch egg, seafood chowder, beef dip and a pot pie. I'm not sure if it's because we waited 1 hour for the food. But everything tasted pretty good. The serving sizes are large so make sure to share. Tip: don't come here hungry because you will be waiting for awhile. It's also a bit far from the city and visited by lots of locals in the area.

Love the place very friendly and good serves the owner is a a hoot a great person I recommend it…read morehighly give it a try and tell her Leo says Hi

Had SO much fun!! Delicious cocktails, clean comfortable space, and the staff are the best. Thanks…read moreto Jason for taking care of us on our night out in Nanaimo! We had the best time! Love forever! ^_^

We came here for the Reuben and were not disappointed! Thankfully we decided to split the sandwich…read more(with fries) and added the Little Gem salad. Wow! What a great combination and great flavours! Plenty enough for lunch for two people. The meat on the Reuben was so juicy and flavourful and the Little Gem salad was amazing. We throughly enjoyed our meal. The service was great; quick, friendly and welcoming. I would definitely come here again when back in Nanaimo.

We had my mother's 96th Birthday lunch here. The food was excellent with a wide variety of choices…read moreeven for the vegetarians in the group. everyone was very happy with their meals. They happily accommodated our group of 12 with a reservation for lunch in a separated room and all the food came out at the same time which is often tricky with a larger group. As for the staff, our servers were terrific, efficient and friendly. Prior to the day Robert replied to emailed questions very quickly and made the whole event very stress free. I honestly can't recommend this restaurant enough.

Extremely dirty bathroom, can't be up to code. Open mike, unorganized, no sign up sheet, started…read moretoo late. Great idea, but make a few improvements.

Under new management. Brian and great staff deliver superior customer service in this small bar…read morein the heart of Nanaimo. Lovely place to rest and enjoy a beverage. No food sold yet but you can bring in your own or order from a great kiosk a couple doors down. Give them a try - you won't be disappointed.

We've stayed in the neighbourhood a number of times in downtown Nanaimo and have read about this…read moreplace a few times. Finally took the plunge, and really wish we hadn't, and certainly will not again. Our server was quick to seat us, took good care of us, gave us some insight into the menu items, and generally speaking was great. The view from the top floor part of the Lighthouse is great. Overlooking the marina and sea plane dock in downtown Nanaimo, there is plenty to see, and plenty to watch, it should be a licence to print money. Sadly to food was atrocious, in both taste and the visual. Looking at it as it was as delivered, we should have left right then. The salad that I chose with my beef dip was terrible. The mixed greens part had black ends, and black slime on it. I tried picking through it, and finally gave up and didn't touch it. The dip for the sandwich was thick, very dark and had what looked like the part that sticks to the pot while it's reducing. The meat colour looked a little off as well. K had the wings and clam chowder. The wings looked like they had been sitting for quite a few hours in a bowl on the counter prior to tossing them on the plate. The cut veggies had also been out for a while, she had to cut each end off the celery. The soup was hot, but had no flavour. I could go on, but you get the idea, don't go to this restaurant for food. Have a beer enjoy the view and eat elsewhere. The photos attached say a lot!

We lived this little pub on the ocean. First time sat in the restaurant, second time on the outside…read morepatio. Service could be better but the seafood risotto I had was delicious. Would go back!

A GORDON RAMSAY NIGHTMARE! - Way overpriced for mediocre pub…read morefood - The rubbish looking outdoor exterior is your first clue to go elsewhere - arrived at their accepted reservation time - 30 minute wait to be seated, no apology or welcome offered - showed to a nasty table, moved to another - took 40 minutes to get a round of drinks - took food over an hour to show up - food served barely hot on cold plates - dirty washroom Never again. There are many better competing pubs in the area. We went to one the next day. It was glorious. Now you know.

Pretty bad experience here. The chalk board in the foyer…read morelisted a Belgian Ale as the special of the day, and my friend and I both ordered it. Unfortunately, we were served two Mexican Lagers instead. After patron at a neighboring table also ordered the same beer, but was given something entirely different, not a lager, but also not the expected ale. Both the server and the bartender were friendly but totally incompetent. The bartender said she never even looks at the specials chalk board in the foyer, which is actually a necessity for her job, and that they were out of the ale and were given the new revolving beer. The lager I was given had soured a bit as well. Whenever I'm traveling and find fish and chips made with cod I get the plate, as I did at this establishment. Both me and one other person who ordered the fish and chips agreed that it was not cod at all. It had none of the characteristics of cod, and the beer batter was not flakey but overcooked, hard and crunchy. Nice ambiance however.

Novelty floating dock pub on Protection Island with decor from the 1980s. Came with friends for a…read moredrink and bite. Prices were ridiculously overpriced for what was on offer. Had the Skiff Chips (fries with toppings) for $15, tasted decent but too expensive for what it is. A draught house beer was also $9 for 16oz, again way too expensive. Service was fairly basic. Overall felt a bit like a tourist trap. Anyway, factoring in the $15 return ferry ride + very high food/drink prices here, it's a one-time only affair for me and won't be returning.

I gently went to the Dingy Dock pub with a group for lunch…read more I ordered the Spinach Elote Fusion Salad as it sounded very tasty. It was the worst salad I have ever had from a restaurant. There was a small amount of baby spinach leaves, 12 kernels of corn that had no spice or any flavoring to it, 7 black beans, NO edamame, a miniscule amount of feta cheese that you could hardly see, one small sliver of pickled onion and 2 drizzled of some kind of flavorless creme. The dressing was more like oil than a citrus vinaigrette. This cost $20 !!! It was tasteless and greasy. My colleague had the same salad, took 2 bites from it and left it, as it was that bad. Others in the group had the dock chowder, that was reported as really bad, with nothing identifiable in it. Some people didn't finish their chowder. I certainly won't be returning and will let family and friends know of my experience. Dingy Dock owners, if you are going to run a restaurant, please take pride in serving enticing and tasty food, that people enjoy and will want to come back again for.

The Oxy is a classic! Although they sold the pool table to make it through Covid :( great staff,…read moreand great patrons full of stories! Food menu is good, but if you're over 50 and get the poutine, have some tums ready...

My First Friend and I decided to check out Oxy last night. It used to be a venerable watering hole…read morein a hotel called the Occidental. We'd heard it had been renovated recently and wanted to see what it was like. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful, and got my FF's drink order spot on. We ordered a couple of half-price appys - onion rings and vegetable samosas - and a couple of entrees - a Reuben sandwich and a rib-eye steak sandwich. Everything that was deep-fried was a little too soggy with oil for my taste, and the Reuben could have used some real Swiss cheese instead of processed, but the steak was tasty and the fries were good. Standard pub fare, really, but that's not what folks come to the Oxy for. What they *do* come for is the atmosphere and camaraderie. There was a good mix of younger college folks with more mature types like ourselves, all very friendly and looking to have a good time. We specifically came for the karaoke and were not disappointed; the DJ was friendly and never overbearing, only singing one song himself, and his selection was the best I'd seen in Nanaimo so far. All in all, a fine time. Highly recommended, especially if you're looking for some karaoke on a Friday night. We'll be back.

I went here with a friend for NYE. We had to wait an hour at the door to get tickets the day if as…read morethe bar was closed the day before and we are not local so couldnt just wander by whenever to get them. We also overheard people talking in the line and saying that theres always issues with trying to get tickets ahead of time. That being said, the guy who answered the phone when I called earlier in the day was super nice. Service here is pretty good for a bar. The waitress was attentive and checked on our drinks regularly. The bartenders are quick and we never had to wait more than 5 minutes for drinks. The process are better than average. A double costs about $9, a single just under $6. The band, the Big Shiny Dudes, was decent for the cover charge of $25. The dance floor was a good size -- it never seemed empty nor too crowded. However, the seating could have been a lot more efficient and it would be better if they had more stools and high top tables instead of restaurant style tables that do not optimize seating. It would also be nice to have hooks to hang purses/jackets under tables, etc. The bathroom ran out of soap very early on and was never replenished although the paper towel eventually was. Location is ok, although definitely not in the nicest part of town. The kitchen closed before we even got in the doors, it would be nice to have the kitchen hours posted online so we would have known to get food beforehand. Or, for the kitchen to at least serve chips and salsa or fries, snacky things.

Don't let the outside deceive you. The inside is charming and friendly. Staff are incredibly nice!…read moreService was great. They have food. We left before the band started, but the music selection was rocking. Cheers!!