Aioli Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Parksville

Excellently prepared and beautifully presented! At first glance my friend and I weren't sure if it was more diner or elegant establishment, but the food and presentation were definitely the latter. The menu is mostly seafood - a couple of salads and chicken dishes are what's on offer otherwise. But for fish-lovers, they have 6 different seafood choices for fish and chips, plus a wide selection ranging from chowders and fish burgers to dinner features like maple glazed salmon and almond crusted lingcod. My friend ordered the grilled shrimp and chose mashed potatoes and asparagus tempura for the sides. The shrimp on the 2 skewers were large, plump and juicy, drizzled with garlic butter, and the asparagus was delightful in a crisp tempura crust. I had baked red snapper topped with spinach, crab and 3-cheese gratin, accompanied by an inspired butternut squash/potato mash and asparagus tempura (yum). The crab meat gave a complimentary richness to the snapper, and the cheese flavours accented nicely. The sweet chili sauce drizzled decoratively over top was a final, perfect touch for both taste and eye. For dessert we shared a sticky toffee pudding which, again, was beautifully presented and a nice finish to an excellent dinner. The server was friendly and attentive, and seemed to know several of the other guests, which suggests that there are repeat customers. We hope to soon be among them - we're going back for...

We went to this place as it looked good with good reviews but unfortunately the food is not good. I ordered the halibut with the salads and steamed vegetables as side dishes and first time that I had halibut that I have to force myself to finish. It is dry fish and i mean really dry even though it is not overcooked. The fish is definitely not fresh most probably frozen. My husband also tried the Red Snapper with crabs on top and it was not enjoyable as well. Quality of fish served is not good. We discussed it with our AirBnB host and she said she should have warned us not to have gone to that place as the food is not really good. I do hope that this restaurant change for the better because tourist like us came all the way to places to enjoy local food on a short visit and disappointing to not enjoy the experience. The only best part of this place is the young cheerful lady who is extremely nice, very helpful and extend a very fast service. I am sending this review not to destroy the reputation of this restaurant but to make sure they improve their food because other tourist hopefully will have a better experience....specifically because the location...

I ordered one piece ling cod and chips for something like $19.50. I got a piece of fish 1 cm thick and about 4x4 in. I've had fish and chips from fort McNeil all the way to Duncan BC in my summer holiday this year and that was probably the most expensive and least quality I've had so far. The chips were dry like they were baked out of a frozen chip bag, The coleslaw came in the smallest cup I've ever seen. It was more like a sauce dipping dish, The tartar sauce was something like mayonnaise in a tiny little paper cup. By comparison I went to I think it's called the Old Oak in Duncan BC and I could barely finish the 2 piece fish dish for $22. That's like $2.50 more. I got two enormous pieces of cod. No, this is an Asian run Western seafood restaurant and none of them, including the cook, looked older than about 23 years old. Skip this place. It wasn't my first choice. 4.2 is a very low rating. I complained at the till and she just kept on smiling and asked me to tap. Asked me if I wanted the receipt. What for, what do I need a receipt for? A refund? I finished the food in 10 minutes. It didn't...