Black Bear Pub Ltd — Restaurant in Nanaimo

I went with my dad and brother. When we walked in the girl who greeted us was friendly and said hello, told us the patio was open and our server would be there shortly. We waited almost 20 minutes before our server Nicole came to our table. When she finally arrived we immediately felt like we were interrupting her day! We ordered our drinks and appy. Finally after several more minutes waiting she arrived. We asked for coasters, which are generally standard in any pub especially with glass tables. She turned to the dirty table behind us and grabbed a few dirty ines and threw them on our table... I noticed they had food and rings on them and asked if we could please have clean ones. (They are one time use and not to be reused) she grabbed them off our table and threw them very aggressively back into the dirty table... one even bounced off onto the floor . She huffed off and slapped 3 fresh ones on the table and took off before we could place our order... so we waited several more minutes before she came back to our table to get our order. She was not friendly and her answers were short and abrupt. She mostly just backed "yup" at us to every question or order. Finally our food arrived and it was good. Fresh veggies and burgers were nicely done!! The ladies room was just gross! If I went here again I would ask for a different server and would not use the bathroom! Overall we were pretty disappointed... Oh yes my brother a beer conisour and fine dining expert found his beer to be flat and not good at all. He was also served a pale ale that was definitely not a pale ale. Haha we also found the emergency exit locked up good and tight! Not cool! However we did find it amusing. Music and view were great! There are better pubs than this in the area that are...

🌟 Black Bear Pub: A Refreshing Dive with a Twist! 🐻🍺

As a teacher at Hunan Normal University Primary School in Changsha, I cherish my summers in Nanaimo, where I switch my classroom for a rooftop. After a grueling day of roofing, I walked into the Black Bear Pub looking like I'd been through a tornado — dirt-covered, with a rip in my pants that had me considering a new career in fashion 😅.

Upon entering, I did catch a bit of a cold shoulder from the female server, who seemed more suited for a snooty art gallery than a welcoming pub. But fear not! Our hero of the night was the male bartender, whose charm and professionalism turned the tide.

Being the designated driver (because safety first, kids my co-workers🚗💨), I opted for a non-alcoholic beer. Here’s where the Black Bear Pub truly shone: no judgment, no side-eye, just a frosty, alcohol-free brew that let me enjoy the evening without compromising my duties. In a world where ordering a non-alcoholic beer often gets you looks that could curdle milk, this was a breath of fresh air. 🌬️

Despite the initial hiccup, the ambiance was cozy, the food hearty, and the service (thanks to our bartender) commendable. If you’re ever in Nanaimo and don’t mind a few quirky stares (or if you can wait for the bartender’s shift), the Black Bear Pub is worth the visit. Just maybe wear pants without holes next time. 😉

Overall, Black Bear Pub gets a thumbs up from this hardworking, beer-sipping, kid-teaching, roof-climbing summer vagabond. Cheers to good times and great...

I'm not gonna full on 1 star then because they kinda tried eventually but good god this was super disorganized. In 2022 you'd expect them to be able to at least tell you their french fries or chips and salsa were vegan but the kitchen, "was busy," so it took an hour and me going to the bar to figure out I could eat edamame. They do technically have vegan options but don't go here for the food as a vegan for sure, they have no clue, they say the boxes come from the manufacturer so they don't know the ingredients but like you would think they'd try to at least have allergen information or something with these things?

The Singo was fun so I will give them that but in 2022 you kinda expect servers to know what on the menu is vegan nowadays or AT LEAST ask the kitchen. I've literally been in SUPER RURAL parts of Canada and the US and been able to find vegan options faster. It's not like I was asking for some super duper special vegan masterpiece I just wanted something. I would have settled for french fries and tequila. I got a, "this isn't Cactus Club," but almost every fast food joint has vegan options at this point, it's not like plant based meals are weird or niche anymore. I'd expect better from...