We don’t know if you knew it, but Nanaimo is home to a big food truck scene. Like, BIG. We’re talking “you’ll need a bingo card to keep track of them all” big. Turns out, we seriously love a restaurant on wheels.

From fully loaded hot dogs to New Zealand–style ice cream, authentic Caribbean plates to gourmet sliders, these trucks are serving flavours from around the globe, with a Harbour City twist. Craving something sweet? There’s a waffle on a stick or a build-your-own ice cream sandwich with your name on it. Feeling savoury? Go classic with poutine, bold with donairz, or adventurous with handcrafted samosas and Turkish coffee strong enough to fuel your whole day.

The best part? Food trucks in Nanaimo aren’t just about the food (though, wow). They’re about where you take it. Grab your eats and wander down to the waterfront, claim a bench in Maffeo Sutton Park, haul your burger up Sugarloaf Mountain for the view, or stretch out on the sand at Westwood Lake. This is walk-and-eat territory, and we’ve got the scenery to back it up.

So yeah, no matter your vibe (sweet tooth, spice chaser, comfort-food purist, or “I’ll try anything once”), Nanaimo’s food trucks have your back. All you have to do is pick your flavour, find your spot, and dig in.

The Sweet Deets

Alright, we’ve kept you waiting long enough. Here’s the deets on some of Nanaimo’s Food Trucks. Grab your appetite and maybe a few extra napkins. These food trucks are keeping Nanaimo delicious, one parking spot at a time.

• AJ’s Drinks N Dogs
  • Hot dogs, fresh-squeezed lemonade, snow cones, and waffles on a stick… basically your childhood fair day, on wheels.
• Antioch Foods
  • Turkish and Mediterranean eats so good you’ll wonder why you ever settled for plain ol’ pita.
• Brazilian Delicacies
  • Hot dogs, burgers, cheese puffs… Brazilian style. Bring napkins.
• Canada Crepe and More Food Truck
  • Crepes? Say less. Sweet, savoury, and everything in between.
• Dasamosa Punjabio Kitchen
  • Hand-rolled samosas and walking chaat bags made for snacking while you wander.
• Dinks Hot Dogs
  • The classic. No frills, just good dogs.
• Donairnutz
  • The Island’s best donairs + extreme mini donuts = double trouble.
• Hojo’s Eats
  • Asian flavours, Caribbean flair, and a whole lot of delicious in between.
• Mizu Real Fruit Ice Cream
  • New Zealand-style ice cream whipped up with real fruit. It’s as photogenic as it is tasty.
• One Cool Cookie
  • Pick your cookies, pick your ice cream, boom. The ultimate custom ice cream sandwich.
• Pepper Pot
  • Caribbean heat meets West Coast cool. Your taste buds won’t know what hit them.
• Sip and Sliders
  • Mini burgers with max flavour. Fries cut fresh. Milkshakes you’ll dream about.
• Snap Dawg’s
  • New York–style hot dogs without the plane ticket.
• Tacomania
  • Authentic Mexican tacos, from fish to pork to veggie, all begging for a squeeze of lime.
• Tahn Tahn’s Smoothies
  • Smoothies and power balls out of the cutest green trailer you ever did see.
• The Funky Lemon Shack
  • The funkiest lemonade on Vancouver Island. Sip it. Believe it.
• The Spud Barn
  • Baked potatoes loaded to the nines, unique desserts, and Turkish coffee strong enough to keep you dancing.
• Thrill O Grill
  • Sizzling, smoky, straight-off-the-grill goodness.
• Unleashed Hot Dogs
  • Gourmet dogs gone wild. From Chicago-style classics to chili-cheese overload.

Let’s Get Eating.

Of course, you can always try your luck at the usual food truck hunt, Departure Bay Centennial Park, Diana Krall Plaza, Maffeo Sutton Park, Merle Logan Field, Pipers Lagoon Park, and Westwood Lake Park are all tried-and-true favourites. Picture it: tacos by the ocean, lemonade after a dip in the lake, or a burger break mid-soccer game. Not bad, right?

But if guessing games aren’t your thing, we’ve got you. The City of Nanaimo has a brand-new Food Truck App, and it’s basically a treasure map for your taste buds. Open it up, and boom. You’ll know exactly where your favourite truck is parked, whether you’re downtown, lakeside, or somewhere in between.

No wandering. No “did we miss them?” moments. Just straight to the good stuff, fries still hot and ice cream not yet melting.