Lighthouse Bistro & Pub — Restaurant in Nanaimo

One of my most favorite restaurants when I grew up on the Island.

I moved away. Started a new life. Got married yadda yadda yadda.

I brought my husband back to the Island for a vacation and of course I had to take him to Lighthouse :)

Unfortunately is was an awful experience. The servers ignored us and were really rude. It was a 1/2 hour before someone stopped and asked if we had been helped.

Our food took an hour and 20 minutes to come and it was undercooked and soggy and it took forever to get our bill.

I made a mediocre review and the owner (Thom McCann) personally got in touch with me and wanted to make everything right.

On our next vacation to the Island I was told to make a reservation and come back for a redeption dinner with 2 free entrees; so we did.

When we tried checking in, the hostess didn't know who we were and said there was no reservation... Even though I had made one through the owner.

Anyhoo.. She sat us outside. The food was absolutely delicious this time around. We ordered our entrees and several appetizers.

The server we had was a bubbly blonde, extremely nice and always smiling and attentive. I think her name was Rhiannon.

When the bill came we were charged for the entire meal. I inquired about our 2 free entrees and she went and got the owner.

Turns out the owner (Thom) had set up a beautiful table inside for us, with flowers and everything and was waiting for us.. Having not known we had been there the whole time. The hostess dropped the ball.

Thom felt terrible (again) and paid for our entire meal and a take home meal for my Dad.. Who was at home with Cancer complications and was too sick to come with us.

Thom cares deeply for his business and customers.. It really shows :)

It's just too bad that one cannot rely on some staff to care as much as you do.

I highly recommend Lighthouse! Thank you :)

The picture is of the view from the table we...

Legitimate question for the ownership of this prime waterfront restaurant: Why is it being driven into the ground through lack of any care, attention or quality? Waterfront patio is a juvenile disaster of beer kegs, trash cans, traffic pylons!! and other carelessly stored detritus. I am in the heavily government regulated housing industry where we are capped to 2% increase every year REGARDLESS of any investment or improvements we make - there is nothing I can do to grow my business or the returns. YOU however have limitless profit potential and an incredible location and foot traffic ( a literal pinch point for all tourists, locals and customers from the seaplane terminal ) I can only assume you are holding the property for its eventual sale (for your own enrichment) all the while passing up on the opportunity to provide a great experience and increase your current bottom line. I guess its just a crying shame that you have no immediate competition and choose not to be a star in the Nanaimo Harbour area. I appreciate the business has gone through several managers and faces the same labour issues other local hospitality business. That aside, there is really no excuse for leaving your business in an abandoned state to be run by rookie seasonal servers who try their hardest under very poor conditions.

wish I could say this was true..... Solid fresh menu executed consistently. Amazing views and a wide selection of spirits wines and...

Disappointing Experience

We were seated fairly promptly by a lovely server, but service quickly went downhill from there. There was a noticeable wait before our drink order was even taken.

My portobello mushroom burger was okay, but it came with just a thin, wilted slice of lettuce and—oddly—no tomato, which wasn’t offered even after I had to decline the avocado due to an allergy. There was no price adjustment either.

My partner’s Cobb salad was underwhelming. It featured ordinary mixed greens (not Tuscan as described), paper-thin shavings of chicken, and barely a sprinkle of feta. There was a “concept” of cucumber, but to be fair, it did include decent avocado and bacon pieces with a nice dressing.

We had mentioned our time constraints to the server at the outset and asked for the bill in advance while finishing our meal. She said she would bring it after serving drinks to another table—but then disappeared entirely. We waited, finished eating, and when we finally flagged her down again, she vanished once more to ring up the bill and fetch the payment machine.

The outdoor patio also leaves a lot to be desired. It could use a thorough cleaning; we saw trash near the bar area. And being in a working harbour, the occasional waft of gas or diesel fumes was not pleasant.

Disappointing overall. With such a great location, it’s unfortunate there isn’t a better waterfront patio restaurant option...