Buoy's Eatery & TakeOut — Restaurant in Gore Bay

Our hosts at the Twin Peaks B&B recommended Buoy’s Eatery and TakeOut in Gore Bay and since all their recommendations were spot-on so far we made a dinner reservation on Buoy’s patio.

As we checked out the many glowing reviews it became apparent that our choice for dinner was already made. Almost without exception reviewers recommended the pizza. All that was left for us to do was decide which of the pizzas we were going to order. See below for our choices.

Service: Another thing most reviewers commented on consistently was the service at Buoy’s, with an emphasis on friendly and helpful. And we can offer the same rave reviews on that front. Our server was excellent: relaxed but efficient; effortlessly funny; and, knowledgeable and honest about the menu. You couldn’t really ask for more.

Ambience: The patio overlooks the Gore Bay marina, and also provides a beautiful view of a portion of Gore Bay itself. Combined with the relaxed service, and the stunning weather we enjoyed for our visit, this made for a fabulous outdoor dining experience. And, an after dinner stroll out onto the marina’s breakwater is highly recommended. You get a stunning view of the Bay’s outlet to the North Channel, and a beautiful panoramic view of the town and the marina.

Food: When we arrived the patio was busy and almost without exception people had ordered pizza. So, with the reviews’ recommendations confirmed we sat down to agonize over which pizzas to choose. In the end we settled on two 12” pizzas (we’d been hiking all day and were famished). The Bonnyville (double pepperoni, extra cheese, tomatoes, green olives and bacon) and The Max (shaved roast beef, garlic butter, fried mushrooms, red onion, marble cheese and steak spice). We also ordered two side salads: a Caesar and a Greek. The salads were good, with in-house made, delicious dressings and fresh ingredients (with the exception of the canned black olives on the Greek). But each one was missing just a little something. In the case of the Caesar we missed having more, and larger, croutons. And in the case of the Greek there could have been more Feta cheese - and real olives would have gone a long way.

The pizzas are really good. To be clear, if you’re looking for Neopolitan or artisanal style pizza you’ll be disappointed. But if you’re looking for straight ahead Canadian-style pizza with quality toppings cooked to perfection (and quickly - we were amazed at how quickly our pizzas came out) then Buoy’s is going to make you happy - and full. With our side salads we were stuffed (we could have easily settled for two 8” pizzas but sometimes we just have to overindulge now and again).

Price: Two 12” pizzas, two side salads, two tall cans of Okanagan Cider, HST and a healthy tip totalled just shy of $100. Money well spent; we’ll definitely be back the next time we visit...

Buoy's Gore Bay Review – One of the Best Eateries in Northern Ontario? (Hint, Yes!)

Preface:

Do yourself, your spouse, and your family a big favor by going to say hi to Richard and the amazing staff at Buoy's, and having a fantastic outdoor summer meal on a beautiful day!

Review:

My last review was stupid. Richard probably goes through the exact same issues every other business does on this island – no staff available. But between Thursday and Sunday, you can grab yourself one of the best-tasting meals on this island, and probably in the whole of Northern Ontario.

With delicious recipes to choose from like fish, pizza, and awesome sandwiches, and a beautiful, atmospheric, and super-friendly outdoor patio setup, you, your spouse, and your entire family is sure to have an amazing experience.

But best of all: Richard is a really great guy, and really prides himself in providing stellar food and service. I know he must get tired of operating this place by himself, but the staff he employs are always awesome, and friendly like I mentioned.

Richard, if you're reading this, sorry for my poor review before. 3/5 was not fair. Now that I know how things work on this island, I give a 5/5 simply because of all the BS that goes on with staff shortages, etc. Not that I pretend to know anything about your business.

Do yourself, your spouse, and your family a big favor by going to say hi to Richard, and having a fantastic outdoor summer meal on a...

Edit: Dropping the star rating because of the disappointment before leaving. I asked for a few napkins, and the woman who took the order at the front commented to me "Are you leaving soon? You've been here for 4 hours. We got busy and you were sitting here." LOL WOW. First of all, it was just under 3 hours. We ordered an appetizer, 2 mains, a dessert, and two rounds of drinks. Yes, it got busy, but we were mindful of that, and there was always one table available, and if it wasn't, there was only a few min wait.

We intended to order food for take out for later in the evening, and wanted to come back another couple of times (for shorter visits lol), but we've decided to spend our money elsewhere. Limited number of restaurants and a small town, so they can get away with it. But it's not the ONLY restaurant so we're good.

Also, if we had to tip, we tip really well, so maybe they wouldn't have cared. I left a small cash tip on the table and the attitude seemed to change when she saw that. Interesting...

Original review: Amazing little Marina side spot. Food was delicious and service was friendly. Catch of the day was whitefish, and the Cajun seasoning is so yum. Chicken club was tasty. And the cold artichoke dip to start was really nice. Oh, and the cheesecake was good also. Pricing is fair; they do not prompt for tipping.

The patio is dog...