Harbour City Highlights

Culinary

Dining in the Harbour and Under the Stars

Sitting on the outdoor deck at Nanaimo’s Lighthouse Bistro you can see the Gabriola Island ferry working the inner harbour as float planes land with their cargo of day trippers. Down below on the docks, amid the fishing boats and pleasure craft, you can see other outdoor diners enjoying the blissfully blue sky and sea on this fine summer day. Some, in the floating Mexican cantina, Penny’s Palapa, are sipping lime margaritas and dipping cheesy nachos while others are sampling the fresh fare at Nanaimo’s most popular fish and chip stand, Troller’s Fish & Chips, open summers on the city wharf.

Nanaimo’s culinary scene offers everything from homestyle pub fare to four-course meals on the waterfront to a diverse mix of international flavours from Middle Eastern to Coast Salish. Here’s a sampling of what not to miss on your own wine and dine tour of Nanaimo.

The new owners of Basque have taken one of Nanaimo’s most nostalgic dining spots and years after the iconic Rendezvous closed its doors, have re-opened this elegant salute to Spanish and French cuisine, complete with a recreation of the former restaurant’s dining under the stars experience. Enjoy the Bodega Chef’s table and an authentic tapas bar.

The chic downtown Drift with its ultra-modern and artful interior is a recent and welcome addition to the Nanaimo dining scene offering a new level of sophistication to the city. Chef owner Will Wilgress earned his chops cooking in Vancouver and has come home to the city he loves. He calls his adventurous menus “traditional cuisine reinvented.”

The Wesley Street in the Old City Quarter was named one of the “Top Five Restaurants on Vancouver Island” by Vancouver magazine in 2007. This intimate fine dining spot’s extensive list of hard-to-find BC wines is impressive.

For a true Nanaimo waterfront dining experience, take the Protection Island ferry to the Dinghy Dock Pub, Canada’s only floating pub, and enjoy their tasty take on pub grub including the basket of calamari that you’ll crave again and again.

For a listing of where to dine in Nanaimo, from casual fare to gourmet flair, go to www.tourismnanaimo/visitors/dining.ph