Driftwood Restaurant Courtenay — Restaurant in Courtenay

This review came about because I had never ordered from Driftwood before. I had had the buffet at the Campbell River location but had not ordered take out since they opened here in Courtenay.

We have been disappointed in the Chinese food offerings in this tri-town, after our move here five years ago from Vancouver. Not surprising - fair enough. But we had come to rely on QF, who aren’t terrible honestly, in lieu of other options, most of whom we have tried.

When I rang Driftwood tonight after deciding our choices from the online menu, I had my call answered by Allisha. The only question I had for her was whether the hot and sour soup was good. She admitted that she had never tasted it. Thanks for her honesty but I decided to try it anyway, with some trepidation as we have been very let down by all of the versions of this dish locally ordered in the past!

Bottom line. The hot and sour was the best we have had here. Not East Van good, but quite acceptable. It is a touch too sweet and creamy (see photo) but darn tasty!

The rest of the meal was well prepared and very fresh. A little mild but I purposely ordered conservatively. We...

Prior to reading all the horrible reviews online, I attempted to order via Skip. My order for $70 worth of food placed successfully, restaurant shown preparing dinner, driver on way to restaurant. After watching the driver parked at the restaurant for 45 minutes I started to wonder at the delivery time kept getting pushed back. Finally, 1.5 hours after I placed the order, order was cancelled by the restaurant. Not impressed. Needless to say I will never be ordering from these clowns and in hindsight, glad I did not receive the order after reading all the terrible reviews. Sounds like this restaurant should not exist. Really sad that the restaurant they replaced (East Kitchen) was superb and is sadly missed. Do not shop here! Update**Due to the sad lack of Western Chinese food in the CV, I succumbed and gave the restaurant another chance. What a disappointment. The worst Chinese food I’ve tasted anywhere. They only reason they exist is because they have no competition. Thanks but I’ll make my...

There was an entire tray of moldy cake in the dessert buffet. I went back to take a picture, but the customers who pointed it out to me also let the staff know, and they replaced it with one with no mold. My 7 year old took a piece of fresh looking cake but said it didn't taste good and only ate one bite. The jello was popular with my two kids. It was more firm than jiggly. The vegetables were cooked well - not crunchy, but not mushy, either. The sauces on the breaded meats were good, and made up for the soggy breading. The variety of shrimps were good. The squid was nicely done, and the wings were crunchy. The server replenished our water often, and plates were cleared regularly. Due to the extensively moldy cake, we will not return. If that is left out long enough to get moldy (on nearly all the pieces) who knows what kind of food safery guidelines they're following for...