Maggie's Seafood Market | Fish & Chips Eatery — Restaurant in Nanaimo

Came in for F&C and got quite surprised for a few reasons in that it's also a fish market with some freezers in the corner of the eatery. Ok. Menu is extensive when F&C, fried food, and chowder are concerned. They were out of clam chowder at 6pm, which either they ran out due to volume or didnt make enough.

The young man on the till seemed to not know half of what he's doing, often calling back to his parents who are busy preparing the different orders. I asked for ling cod (2 pieces) and my wife halibut (2 pieces) as well as a seafood chowder as they were out of clam (see above). The food came piping hot, the fries were clearly home cut and cooked well, but not crispy as I would have wanted. The fish came with a very generous batter, firm for the halibut, and flakey in the case of the cod, and surprisingly well seasoned. The chowder was well seasoned, full of seafood and some Manila clams which was a surprise. This is the good part.

The bathroom was horrendous. Seems like the young man didnt like to clean it periodically while there's a lull in customers. They served water, but sparingly like they were rationing it, and I had to pay an extra 25cents for a little plastic cup so my wife can pour malt vinegar despite us asking to skip her tartar sauce as she didnt use or need it. It all seems contradictory to me when you're all about disposable cutlery, condiments, etc and then you're charging for extras that seem... I dunno, common?

The price is right around where you'd expect for a F&C place but the facilities, service, and convenience needs to have a bit of an upgrade. Come for the food, not everything else. 3/5 for me.

What a nice reply to honest criticism. Not. First of all this was the first establishment that asked customers to pay for a small dipping dish so that my wife wont have to eat fries that are soggy with vinegar as she has no place to use it other than on her plate. She asked for an extra bowl so that our 2 year old daughter wont have to wait to eat very hot chowder, by adding a smaller portion to help it cool down. It obvious that toddlers cant really eat very hot food, but there you go. So why should I tip you?

Your washroom needed attention plain and simple. I was a paying customer and you didn't even have a sign or a lock on the door to explain that it's only for paying customers. This should be self explanatory. So why should I tip you?

Next, tipping is for the servers and workers of a restaurant establishment's and fir excellent service. As far I see it you're the owner and worker, you're not working and getting paid like someone who's hired. 100% of your work translates to 100% profit. So why should I tip you?

This is the major one. You made it about race. Generalising a whole population of people has got to be the most ignorant and racist reaction I've ever heard from a google review. You're beyond tipping now.

But since you're so keen on tips here's a few worth any dollar amount I could ever give you: clean your bathroom, you're a food service industry people will have requests and will be jilted when you stack on ridiculous and petty charges.

And lastly, learn to take criticism. Don't be petty, throwing racist remarks about a lukewarm review from one person. Learn from it...

replying to the long reply that I received on my previous feedback- Hence a low star rating. I was quite surprised and disappointed by the defensive and somewhat rude tone of your reply, as I was not expecting this from a business that values customer feedback. I had hoped for a more professional and understanding approach.

To clarify a few points from my experience: payment was taken well before we even sat at the table, and despite our repeated requests, it took a long time for someone to come and clean the table. We had to sit at a dirty table for quite some time, which clearly affected the quality of the service we received. This delay in service had nothing to do with my decision not to tip—it simply wasn’t up to standard. Additionally, expecting a tip before the food is even served is quite unusual and not something I’ve encountered in many places I’ve traveled. If tipping is expected as a prerequisite for good service, it should be clearly communicated.

Another detail I'd like to mention is that despite not tipping, we were charged for the takeaway box, which we gladly paid in order to take the leftover food with us. This felt unnecessary and perhaps punitive, as many places do not charge for something as simple as a box, regardless of whether a tip is left.

Regarding the food, yes, I did say at the time that the food was good, but that was because I was visiting with my family and wanted to avoid any potential conflict or awkwardness. My comment was meant to keep things peaceful during our visit. However, my honest opinion, which I shared in my review, is that the food was quite ordinary and lacked seasoning.

On the subject of tipping, I want to reiterate that tipping is a personal choice. I do not tip regardless of the country I’m in, and this is not uncommon in places like the UK, where tipping for fish and chips, in particular, is not part of the culture. I do not believe that tipping should be a prerequisite for good service. Service should be consistent and fair for all customers, whether or not they choose to leave a tip. If tipping is compulsory at your establishment and service is dependent on it, then it would be helpful to have a sign posted informing customers that service without tipping may be delayed or denied.

I also found it unnecessary to bring up the comparison with fast-food chains like McDonald’s. My review was solely about the food and service I received at your restaurant, and I feel that feedback, whether positive or negative, should be handled with more respect rather than defensiveness.

I hope this clarifies my perspective. While it’s unfortunate that my experience was not up to my expectations, I do wish you the best...

If you come in as a family of four to dine in, you can't order just 2 meals or appetizers to share otherwise they want to charge you extra money just for sitting down and using their forks, table and napkins. What a joke. Every single person is forced to order one meal otherwise you can't sit and eat. We just wanted to share and taste since we were passing by. Extremeley rude customer service. Do not go here. There are other better fish and chips options on the island.

EDIT TO OWNERS RACIST RESPONSE: Why are you mentioning other Indians and how they loved your food? We're not even Indian. Nice guess though. Why are you assuming our race? What does that have to do with anything? Oh I guess you're Chinese then! Well then I've been to other restaurants owned by Chinese people and they don't act like you.

We already had dinner somewhere else and were on the way back home so wanted to eat a light meal. At your so called dinner time, your whole restaurant was empty. Wow, we really took up space didn't we. There was only one family dining in. I've been to plenty of restaurants where you can go in for a drink, appetizer, share a meal amongst a friend and there is no issue. So your policy is made up. This place is just extremely stingy and will charge you for using a paper plate or fork. You don't even offer waiter service so stop acting like a high end restaurant. I've been here before and this rule wasn't in place and have shared a fish and chips meals with a friend. Don't talk about saving money. We could've ordered 4 more meals if we wanted too. Gladly had a better meal elsewhere and just wanted to sample a fish and chips meal. If you're this rude and stingy with customers, your business will shutdown soon. So glad we didn't spend a single dime here. Will be telling all our friends on the island about this place!

EDIT TO OWNER'S 2ND RESPONSE: Newsflash: There is no rule to how many restaurants you can dine in at. I can go to multiple restaurants and have multiple different cuisines in 1 day. I can eat 1 meal at a restaurant and want to eat something else while I'm on the road and dine in at the same time. No I'm not going to do take out when I'm far from my house and won't be able to finish 2 pieces of oily fish. So I'd rather share amongst my family so I don't waste your food and throw it in the garbage. This policy you have only applies to you and your restaurant. So stop trying to justify yourself on behalf of the WHOLE...