Surf Lodge and Pub in Nanaimo

Was kind of nervous ordering here due to bad reviews, so just ordered two drinks and fries. Fries were fresh so that was nice, but wasnt special. Well get a real dish next time to actually give the food a chance. But the reason for 5 stars were for the service alone. The server was amazing and very polite. We felt bad for not ordering much but he was willing to learn to make the drinks we wanted. He also taught us that there was a song about our home town. On a different note, the view does help the place, the view is wonderful.

Good food with large portions, The fish and chips was nice and crispy and the chowder is flavorful.

Tasty! Great first class restaurant. I wish dogs were allowed on the outside patio - my only "complaint"

Perfect location, wonderful staff. Room very warm, one window without screen and fans need updating. Its old building with few quirks. I would stay again 👍

Cozy and rustic and right on the water. What more could you ask for from an island lodge.

Great room, great food and wonderfully helpful, friendly staff. I had a five night stay and was sorry to leave! I look forward to returning next summer.

Gluten alert! This is a location with great views. 4 of us lunched at the pub August 17, 2022 - one of us has celiac disease which was explained to the server who checked with the kitchen. A veggie burger and salad was ordered with a GF bun. Within a couple of hours, the person with celiac experienced extreme sickness and was ill for a couple of days. So, either the burger was not gluten free or the veggie burger had gluten in it. Be warned, people who need to be gluten free!

This is a lovely place, but they need more staff. We had to wait two hours for food. The staff are friendly, but simply overwhelmed and cannot keep up with the amount of customers.Edit: Even though it took two hours for food to come, the restaurant replied to my original post that they had excellent service. How can you make that rebuttal when a customer states they had to wait two hours…not even an apology, just a defensive statement. I am now downgrading my review further. Also, they made a claim that we were probably walk-in’s, when in fact we had reserved a table and were told to be there 10 minutes before our reservation time, just to have to wait for two hours. This isn’t an acceptable way to treat a customer.

Amazing location, such flexible and accommodating staff, and great food :)

Stopped in for a drink while touring around the island. The bartender/waitress was amazing!!

Bad food. Bad service.Great view. Ordered three plates. Average 1 hour 20 minutes for first plate to arrive 15 minutes later second / third plate arrived. ... Burger was overcooked to death, seafood pasta was literally missing the seafood. Chowder looked like chunky in a can. Fries were of a quality that said they were reheated from the day before. I get it if you dont have staff that can cook or serve but to continue as though the view is worth more than the price and lack of services is a joke and frankly an insult to your patrons.

We rented one of the cabins for a night after camping on the island, so it seemed like luxury in comparison. The cabin had a shabby charm, with random decor and furnishings from decades past. The beds were very comfortable; they seemed to have been updated, and the bedding was crisp and clean.The location is simply unparalleled. We watched the sunset from the beach across the road for a couple of hours. Magical!

The food was amazing. I enjoyed the baked macaroni and cheese and found it absolutely awesome.It took a while to order since they only had 1 waiter but it was definitely worth the wait and the waiter seemed very nice. I will go back next time I am on the island and I recommend you go there too

If you stay as a guest, note there is a boil water advisory. Bottled water only..

Went for lunch last week for fish and chips. Waited forever to get lunch and then the worst fries ever. The fries were leftover from at least the previous day and not even warmed throughout. When I complained to server she said she couldn’t do anything about it. When I didn’t leave a tip she accosted us. I suppose when you are the only restaurant on an island you can serve terrible food and get away with it. Save your money and go elsewhere. Worst lunch ever.

worst service ever. bar keep/server guy with a ponytail... never been sworn at by a server. 20 min wait for a drink.

We ate at the restaurant and the location and view were fabulous! We enjoyed the birds flying around and we’re having a good time.The outside impression was very sad as the lovely gardens had been let go for a good while and the weeds were overtaking the gardens.Our waitress was friendly and checked for us that the seafood was all brought in frozen at the moment. My husband ordered the fish and chips anyway.After quite a long wait lunch arrived. Have you ever had fish and chips leftover and tried them the next day and not eaten them because they were no where near as good as fresh? That’s what we felt the chips were like. Warmed up leftovers and not heated through. Very disappointing.How awkward when the kind waitress asked if everything was ok and we were speechless for a moment. After explaining our problem the waitress was not able to address our concerns.I bet it can be great there, but we would not recommend it at present.It was awkward also as we did not tip as we always do, and the waitress came running out to say if we did not tip she had to come up with five percent of our bill so she was losing money...All in all an unpleasant and expensive, distressing experience.

Stopped of a snack and beverage. Carl was on its best pour Ive had in "cant remember the last time". Had the wings on special. Cajun over Jerk this time. Will definitely go again.

Terrible service at the pub. Upon entering the pub on a quiet Sunday afternoon our server did not greet us for a good 15 minutes. Two other sets of customers were not as patient and left after never even being acknowledged by staff. Our server never returned to the table once the food had been delivered, leaving me to eat with nothing to drink. All the tables were filthy and the place smelled of stale beer. The food was decent, but I wont be back for more.

Great service at lunch from Ellen and excellent food as well. Great views and clean inside. Not great looking from the outside, but will not disappoint. Did not stay here, only stopped for lunch.Check it out!

Went to pub..no food because of no staff in kitchen. One gal working..can guarantee she wouldnt be working for me!! Owner needs to hire some motivated staff. Not impressed.

So beautiful to eat meals here and see the sunset, watch the water. Food was excellent, staff was very courteous.

A good place to have an evening meal and a few quick games of pool. Good food and beer.

The atmosphere is nice and some of the food is good (e.g , fish and chips); however, their tacos are possibly the worst tacos I have ever had. Soggy and hard at the same time, with a small amount of chewy meat inside and not much else.

Food is consistently good and the view is fantastic. Great spot. Have never been disappointed.

Great food, but the waiting time for dinner service from the kitchen can be unbearable; I have been here twice in the last 6 months and the food took about 1 hour; and I am a chef, so I dont understand why!!

We ate at the restaurant twice. The food was fresh, well-executed and the portions were large. The dining room is exactly what youd expect from a lodge: Cozy, warm and comfortable with gorgeous ocean views.

We stayed in one of the upstairs rooms with a full view of the water. Was a nice spot to stay for a few days. Waited a little bit for our food but only because they lacked a little bit of staff. Overall. Great place with great food.

100% would love to return one day, it was just so restful on our long trip! Food was delicious, staff are so lovely, and the room was just so fun (I mean theres a bottle opener by the toilet 😅and its such a stunning area for a walk.The room was rustic and cozy, the little perch area was fun to sit on and watch the sea as we settled in, and then we just listened to the waves as we fell asleep. Beautiful escape from city noises!We found this place accidentally when there were zero options elsewhere between Nanaimo and Victoria last minute over the long weekend! We would have never found it otherwise.It could use some minor maintenance as room 8 door was very hard to open with the key and the shower head might need a soak in CLR. But we have only praises for this place and the staff, and have definitely told others about it already.Thank you guys for the restful stay!

It was only a short stay for my partners birthday. The staff was helpful and the pub had a great view of the shoreline. A small walk down the road towards a lighthouse during sunset was the highlight of our stay.

The lodge was great for staying over but the food in their restaurant was unfortunately overpriced and mediocre. $19 for a tiny bowl of seafood chowder is ludicrous. They’re very understaffed so very long waits but the staff were great. Chicken wings were good but way too much honey garlic was applied.

Great little lodge. Nice location.Ate at the pub one night and restaurant the next. Believe it is the same or similar menu. Very good food.Short staffed during our visit so wait times were high, and the walls are very thin, so easy to hear your neighbors conversations.Other than that had a great stay and would definitely go back.

Tried to dine at the restaurant. Took 30 mins for 2 drinks. Took two hours for 4 meals. Meals came cold. Chicken was dry. Pasta had so much white pepper in it we threw it out. Server was rude when I asked why other tables that came after us were getting their meals before ours, I was told its because they ordered appetizers. They were eating burgers. The server lied to our faces. We had the same slow service last year too. Thought we would try again. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY.

Incredible spot, the service here is more helpful than Ive ever experienced. I had a pretty specific issue and they helped accommodate in a way that actually took away from their own revenue.Even if I had to stay over night in Nanaimo, Id rather take the ferry and stay here. It is that great.

Terrible!!! Waited over 2hours for our dinners and they subbed our french fries for yam fries without asking if that was ok as I dont eat yam fries it was a massive let down. Our drinks took forever to get and the overall speed was lack luster. . . Would definitely skip this restaurant next time

They have chairs and tables set up outside on the lawn with a great view of the straight. I had a steak sandwich and it was okay but for $22 I would expect a little more. Maybe some fried onions or mushrooms included.

We stayed two different nights at SurfLodge and no pub tho due to covid. The rooms were rustic but clean and comfortable. Ocean views were great and the food was excellent would recommend it to all. The cabins looked great too but we stayed in the Lodge rooms

Were locals... We live on Gabriola. Weve been coming to The Surf for some years now and were always happy with the service and the excellent food here. It usually takes so little time to decide what to eat because their seafood chowder is SO GOOD. Its a must try if youre visiting the island! The view is fantastic too. (Excellent job keeping things safe during Covid-19).

Stayed for a week and was happy with cozy room facing the sea, but only from a small window reached after clambering up a high sofa! I appreciated the quietness but wish the food on offer was better. However, its hard to find decent food or coffee in Gabriola. But there should be more choice than the rather limited heavy pub type thats on offer, since visitors have nowhere close by as an alternative. And why isnt breakfast on offer? It would have garnered more stars if it had been. Would I stay there again? Only when I can bring in what I need for breakfast that I could prepare in my room, but for that Id need a kettle, a toaster, and some basic cutlery and crockery.

The absolute nicest staff I have ever dealt with in the hospitality industry! Koodos to you guys!! the best vegetarian quinoa burger I have ever found across Canada, and the deadliest resting place that can be found south of Valhalla itself. Ran into a small issue during my stay, and the staff went above and beyond to accommodate. only rated 5 stars because there isnt an option for TEN

The comfortable ambiance of the Surf Lodge and Pub is by far the best youll find on gabriola Island. The relaxed vibes of the staff are infectious making for a very pleasant experience weather youre looking for food (good pub grubor just a drink. A wide range of good beers are on offer with new guest offerings occasionally. The servers really are the stars of the show though, theyre all attentive, patient and accommodating.

I went to Gabriola on Labour Day for a day trip and had the pleasure of stopping at this restaurant for a drink. I was blown away by the view as well as the excellent service and vegan options on their menu! I accidentally left my purse on our way out and the kind people who work here were able to mail it back to me in Vancouver. If that doesn’t scream excellent service and caring staff I don’t know what does. Thank you again for the awesome experience, I will definitely be back on my next visit.

The Surf Lodge and pub was a terrific stay. The staff were kind and helpful and the lodge has the perfect remote cabin feeling to it. The view from the front of the lodge is fantastic as well, as it is only a few feet from the beach. I highly recommend it.

The view from the patio is amazing. I would suggest to get some food from somewhere else and eat on the beach.I had a disappointing experience last week.I ordered a burger with yams and the waiter didnt tell me the kitchen ran out of crispy onions (that was the highlight of the burgerand that +3$ would be charged for the yam. I received a regular burger with fresh red onions (bad taste), nobody showed up to ask us if the food was good and I was charged 22$ +tx for that burger. I would not recommend this place for dinner.

Delicious food, great staff, wonderful ambiance, amazing view! Even with their current reduced menu there is a wide variety of choices. Best seafood chowder I have EVER had, and it is Gluten Friendly to boot.

Location. Beautiful view of the ocean. Live band outside. Kitchen was fast and food was delicious. Our server was very attentive. Large parking lot. Basic covid protocols in place. No concerns.Not sure how but they ran out of water at one point and our server told us the kitchen couldnt make our dinner. The server immediately comped our wine. Suddenly the food appeared and all was well.Food was basic pub food, tasty and well portioned.

Great food and felt very comfortable with the social distancing. Service was also fabulous! Had the calamari which was seasoned and cooked to perfection, the LOADED chowder...so many goodies along with the halibut fish and chips. AMAZING!!! Cant wait to come back! ❤️

We booked the Surf Lodge and hosted our relatives and friends for our daughters wedding this past August 2020. Everything was amazing, the food for the event delicious! The staff so pleasant and accommodating from the planning phase months ahead to the wedding weekend, the rooms were comfortable for our guests and the location of the Surf on the waterfront is simply unbeatable! We had a great time, cant thank Diane and Matt and the team enough for all the hard work that went into making our wedding weekend wonderful.WE apologize as this review is months late but we didnt want to miss out on expressing our thanks publicly and to give our review about our experience to any future wedding planners.If you want an inside/out waterfront rustic wedding experience with an incredible sunset, the Surf Lodge is the best to book! We are sending all best wishes to everybody at the Surf especially during this COVID 19 pandemic. Stay safe, we are thinking about you and will be back for a visit and to enjoy the restaurant for dinner as soon as its safe to travel and dine out again.

I dislike writing negative reviews however, in this case it is deserving. We heard there was a new chef and so we called to reserve a table for dinner. The table was excellent and the service perfect. The waiter did his best to satisfy us but, the food was disgusting. We ordered the chicken from the FEATURE menu & the mussels from the regular menu. The chicken was dry and tasteless - potatoes were reheated & the carrot was a grey colour. The mussel broth was far better with the original chef. If it wasnt for poor taste - the broth would have had no taste at all. I cant believe that people eat here & write reviews saying they enjoyed the food. How pathetic ! I am begging all of you who dont know food from garbage to please stop writing reviews. Potential patrons rely on your reviews to make decisions. The only thing I can favourably say about the food here are the wings - fish + chips + the fried apple turnover. By the way, if there is a new chef - where is the new menu ?

Had the pleasure of dinner on Wednesday with life long friends. The food was superb—-fish and chips—batter and snapper was wonderful, seafood soup delicious. Becky our server was probably one of the best servers we have ever had. And we have enjoyed many restaurant meals over the years. Becky is friendly, knowledgeable of menu items and down right sweet!She is a good ambassador for your restaurant. Looking forward to another outstanding experience.