Nanaimo Culinary Guide
I knew spending a day in Nanaimo eating with Sarah Au-Yeung from NanaimoNoms was going to be epic, but I wasn’t quite ready for what transpired that rainy day in March. I asked Sarah to recommend her top 10 favorite places to eat, and she did not disappoint with her choices. They were a great mixture of fine dining, well-known classics and new hidden gems. It was eight hours of pure eating joy and Sarah’s enthusiasm for the local restaurant industry was infectious.
Sarah’s family moved to the mainland from Hong Kong when she was a year old, and her time in Richmond (along with having a family that loves to cook) ingrained a passion for dinning out and appreciating good cuisine. She moved to Nanaimo in 2015 after graduating from UBC and works full-time as a clinical pharmacist at the hospital. After moving to Nanaimo, she started to explore the local culinary scene and created her Instagram handle in 2018 to share her finds with friends.
Here is the culinary guide to Nanaimo, as recommended by local food blogger Sarah Au-Yeung.
Gabriels Café: 39 Commercial Street, Nanaimo
We started our culinary journey here, a well-established brunch hot-spot with an extensive and admirable farm-to-table menu in the downtown core, which opened over eight years ago byowners Gemma Martin and her husband, Chef Gabriel Schacher. Sarah has a few recommendations here (including The Jinglepot and When Pigs Fly), but we tackled The Benson Stack, coconut milk pancakes topped with roasted apples, seasonal fruit and yogurt, all smothered in maple syrup. Over this decadent breakfast, I got to know Sarah and chatted more about how NanaimoNoms turned from a hobby into a full-time passion. I knew I was dealing with a serious foodie when I found out she had brought a cooler in her car for the inevitable leftovers. Clearly this was not her first rodeo.
Piccadilly Bistro: 2367 Arbot Road, Nanaimo
This is by far one of the best kept secrets in town, featuring a beautiful dining room brimming with natural light and a spectacular view of Westwood Lake. The white linen tablecloths and gorgeous antique china create the illusion of a pricy fine-dining tearoom, but their afternoon tea is only $40, the china is thrifted, and the service is incredibly friendly. Sarah highly recommends their famous mushroom caps, stuffed to the brim with seafood and topped with cheese, grilled to golden perfection. However, owner and chef Tracy Brandsma wanted us to try their signature afternoon tea, a service they are becoming known for. Filled with all the classics including finger sandwiches, delicate pastries, flaky croissants and lovely jams. It’s a place you want to dress up for, bring you mom for tea and spend a Sunday enjoying the view.
Nori Sushi: 6750 North Island Highway, Nanaimo
This is the spot that made Sarah fall in love with the Nanaimo restaurant scene, and it’s evident as soon as we walk in the door that she has been here before. In fact, she dines here on average twice a week, she admits sheepishly, and we are greeted with a booming “hello Sarah” from the kitchen when we arrive. Sarah swears this is the best sushi she has ever had, comparable to (if not better than) her favourites in Vancouver, the sushi capital of Canada. Chef John pulls out all the stops as soon as we are seated, and the dishes just keep on coming. There was such a whirlwind of food being placed in front of us, from decadent oysters topped with gold flake, to a giant platter of extremely fresh ashimi, I didn’t have time to fully document what exactly was consumed. I do know the sake flights that arrived were well received, my favourite being the Momokawa Pearl, a Nigori-style sake that had notes of melon, banana and coconut. As for Sarah’s favourites, she mentions the garlic crusted salmon, the BBQ tuna Yakimono and the Dino Roll. I honestly can’t believe I’d never heard of this place before—it sure seemed like half of the city was lined up outside waiting to get in at lunch. It’s a complete hidden gem tucked away in a non-descript strip mall just off the old highway, and if you manage to get in, you will be treated to some of the best sushi on the Island, hands down.
Burnt Honey: 96-3200 North Island Highway, Nanaimo
This was a place on Sarah’s list that I had visited before, a stop last summer on a quest to find the best Vancouver Island ice cream. I was thrilled to see it added to the roster, and I was curious what Sarah’s favourites were. I was a bit surprised she went with the classic Burnt Honey option, but there is a reason this is their flagship flavour! They cook down local honey until it’s deeply caramelized and a little smoky before adding it to their ice cream base, a twist on a classic French Vanilla. I opted for the Espresso Flake, another classic flavour that contains espresso from Regard Coffee Roasters, a local coffee company, dotted with dark chocolate flakes. Don’t forget to throw a macaron on top of your scoop. Last year I went with the Nanaimo bar macaron but this time I chose a whiskey ripple with ruffle chips. Pure ecstasy.
Nana Sushi: 14 Victoria Crescent, Nanaimo
Admittedly, after our insane feasting at Nori, I was not super keen on diving back into another sushi platter, but I am so glad we visited. Yes, the sushi was very good, notably the Lion King Roll and the Jekyll and Hyde Roll. However, Sarah and most of the locals come here for two specific dishes: the Ramen and the Champon. Their Tonkotsu ramen is very well known and some of the best in Nanaimo—a creamy decadent pork and chicken broth with handmade chewy noodles, lightly seared pork and a perfectly cooked egg. But if you really want to experience the very best this restaurant has to offer you have to order the Spicy Shrimp Champon. Champon is a regional dish from Nagasaki Japan, a lesser-known variant of Ramen that is based on Chinese cuisine. I truly can’t describe just how incredible this dish was. Spicy but not overwhelming, loaded with tons of seafood, heaps of handmade noodles (they get them from a noodle maker in Vancouver), shredded cabbage and an assortment of vegetables. The dish is huge, so I ended up taking it home and having it for two other meals.
La Stella Trattoria: 321 Wesley Street #1, Nanaimo
Along with following Sarah on Instagram, I am also a member of the very popular Facebook page Eat Local Nanaimo, a page for foodies to post about the local dining scene. It’s another example of the passionate following this small city has for their restaurants, and this is where I first kept hearing about La Stella Trattoria. Owner and veteran chef Ryan Zuvich graciously allowed us to visit during their dinner prep time, so we had the restaurant to ourselves. Executive chef Jordan White, a born-and-raised local, had his young daughter with him, and the whole team seemed like one big family. The food was incredible and the room was welcoming and bright, tucked away in the Old City Quarter. We started with their Antipasti platter paired with their house bread, baked fresh every day and served with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. We then tried the Mafalda, a house-made pasta served with pomodoro sauce and finished with parmesan and basil. And then there was the pizza, their signature dish and now a whole new separate restaurant, Pizzeria La Stella in the North end of the city. We were treated to the Potato, a relatively new addition that includes local fingerling potatoes, caramelized onions, rosemary cream with aged mozzarella, parmesan, shaved onion and garlic confit. We also tried a classic pizza, the Funghi with kale pesto, fresh kale, roasted local shimeji mushrooms, confit garlic, aged mozzarella and parmesan. At this point I was about to explode so the decadent cannoli that was brought to the table was packed up and eaten at a later date.
Camas Restaurant: 7143 Caillet Rd, Lantzville
All I can say is, thank goodness for small plates. On the drive to Lantzville, the North end of the Nanaimo, I had unbuttoned my pants and was praying for something light, and owners and chefs Sarah Wallbank and Takashi Ohya did not disappoint. Sarah had visited here with her mom and was blown away, specifically by a beef tartar dish that Sarah fondly recalled. Needless to say, she was thrilled to hear Wallbank mention she was treating us to that same tartar dish, albeit slightly tweaked. We also sampled a delightful Peruvian grilled octopus dish and a delicate beet salad with vegan cashew cheese and caper berries. Wallbank and Ohya, a husband and wife duo, moved to Nanaimo in 2007 from Vancouver and worked in various kitchens before taking over this space in 2020. The menu is very creative, with influences from all over the world but with a strong focus on locally farmed and foraged ingredients. Wallbank, a pastry chef by trade, also included an extensive dessert menu that includes house-made gelato and macarons, and a classic carrot cake that is a cult favorite. If you plan to visit, be sure to make a reservation; they are only open Friday–Sunday evening and they are often fully booked.
What a day! I learned so much about Nanaimo and I was very impressed with the restaurants we visited. I truly think this is a city worth exploring through food. Sarah had a few more recommendations, giving me a great excuse to visit again.
Ironwork Café & Creperie: A fast-growing company that now has three locations. Favourites include the savoury seafood crepe or the sweet s’more crepe.
Bhodhi’s Bakery: A popular local bakery, the Danish, croissants and cinnamon buns are a must-try.
Nanda Chicken: Korean fried chicken joint kitty corner to Nana Sushi. The Crispy Chicken is a classic and Sarah recommends the Yangyeom Chicken.
Asteras: A traditional Greek restaurant not far from La Stella Trattoria. Sarah recommends the #1 Platter that has roasted lamb, moussaka, spanakopita, dolmades, calamari and more. A feast for a big group.
