Longwood Brew Pub & Restaurant — Restaurant in Nanaimo

Having just moved to Nanaimo yesterday, my partner and I ended up in this area of town actually looking for a different restaurant which turned out to be permanently closed. Not wanting to adventure much further, we decided to pop in to Longwood Brew Pub because it was right there, and we sure are glad we did. It was a Sunday evening, and there were maybe 4 or 5 tables in the restaurant level where we were seated - the pub area downstairs sounded a bit busier, but as the menus were the same we went with the quieter option.

We started with an order of the appetizer BBQ Chicken Tacos (3x) which could very easily be a main course for someone, as they are a substantial serving. The BBQ sauce has a bit of heat to it but nothing crazy, and the chicken tastes great. The pineapple slaw/salsa on them is also wonderful.

For mains, I had the (large) Brewmaster Salad, and it was... substantial. Almost too substantial, in fact. An exceedingly healthy portion of greens, accompanied by a pile of tender shrimp, some good herbed chicken, and some very tasty smoked salmon, along with carrots, cucumbers and cheese - I had it with the house balsamic vinaigrette which was pretty tasty as far as vinaigrette go, but was in no way revolutionary. It really didn't need to be, though, as the quality of everything on the plate was top shelf. My only criticism of the dish itself was that because it's such a large quantity of everything, that it was very hard to mix successfully/thoroughly. I lost more than a few pieces over the side of my plate/bowl because the salad would not be contained.

My partner had the one piece cod and chips, which was a decent portion size, especially for those who have smaller appetites (or had an appetizer before dinner). The cod was very tasty, though the batter was a bit thick for our tastes. Certainly not enough to take away from the dish more than a sliver. The in house cut (I think, they sure looked it) fries were terrific. The right amount of salt and crunch and they played very nicely with the tartar sauce. The coleslaw was bland enough to be completely unremarkable, but that's a better criticism than I would offer most coleslaws, because generally they aren't good at all. This was just.. fine.

The dessert menu called our names but our stomachs yelled at us not to listen, so I have nothing to report there, other than we will definitely be going back to try the Nanaimo cheesecake because it sounds delicious.

For an appetizer, two mains, two soda pops and a small sampler of the rotating tap cider, our bill came to $53 before tip.

TL;DR: 4.5/5

Pros: Huge portion sizes (especially for the cost. Value is out of this world.), you're not going to leave hungry. Menu has lots of options. Tasting/sampler size for their beers/ciders. Free refills on soda pop. Their patio looks off the hook - can't wait to come back and enjoy that view when it's a bit warmer out.

Cons: The space is a bit cavernous, so I can imagine that during a busy dinner service it gets very loud.

Would we go back? In a heartbeat. Sarah took very good care of us and...

I booked this restaurant weeks in advance for my mothers 80th birthday and I specifically spoke to the owner manager for the booking, there were 12 in our party and we booked for 7 o'clock. We arrived at the restaurant just before 7 only to be told our table was not ready, so the 12 of us waited at the front door for almost 20 minutes for our table, so much for booking a reservation and it's not that they had forgotten as they called that morning to confirm. 10 minutes after we sat down our waitress decided to take our drink order. Sometime later we got our drinks and placed our appetizer and main order. Just before our mains arrived the amateur live loud entertainment started setting up directly behind the fireplace where we were sitting. It was loud and very little talent. I had no idea this was a regular Thursday night thing and why should I? who would put a one man band in the restaurant, one would think if they had to have this it would be downstairs in the pub. You think the manager/owner would have mentioned they start a one man band at 8 so loud you can not hear yourself think? I guess the large check clouded his judgement? I will say the food was good, but the rest failed. The waitress was rude to my brother who incidentally was the one paying the bill, she took offence when he asked her when the band would take a break. The area we sat in was so cold our guests had to put their jackets on. Two of our guests left early with headaches. Wow Long Wood way to go! not the experience I wanted for my mothers 80th birthday but not to worry I'm sure she'll have another 80th...

So we have really tried to like this place. We have been here at least a dozen times in the past 2 years which I feel makes me a bit of a glutton for punishment. I realize during COVID times everyone is trying the best they can but there service and quality has gone downhill steadily for some time now. We will not be returning unless they really make an effort to reflect the Island more. Pros: Great space and the staff are lovely people. Cons: I think it is the ownership. For a place that states it is brew pub, their beer is on par with Budweiser or Molson. It is the blandest most flavourless beer I have ever had in a brew pub. We ordered IPA's and they were sweet with no taste of hops. I asked the server if she got the order right and she confirmed we had their IPA's. Their menu is one of these places that tries to do cover way too much instead of focusing on doing a small number of things really well. Most of their menu items seem to be from Spectra Foods, Yeung Brosthers or one of the many manufactured "food" companies which is such a shame as so many restaurants on the Island feature fresh ingredients and support local farmers. This ends up with everything being bland, lacking any originality and prepackaged. Why they don't invite some local food trucks or local chefs to showcase their work is beyond me? You have the perfect space to showcase the island but they seem more interested in doing what is easy and it isn't even cheap. You pay through the teeth for this experience. I really hope one of the owners sees this and actually wants to improve the place as it has soooo...