Cedars Restaurant & Lounge — Restaurant in Parksville

We made a reservation for 8pm, but when we got there they seemed a little confused and didn't know which table to put us at.

Drinks: After we were seated it took awhile for a server to come and take our drink orders and even longer for the drinks to come. However, the server did come back to tell us that the bar was a little backed up with drink orders. I ordered the Gin Lemonade and I thought it was pretty average, nothing special. I may be able to whip up something like this easily at home but their description of it sounded so much better than it tasted. I wouldn't order it again.

Appetizer: We ordered the cheese plate to share among the three of us as an appetizer. It came with some bread, three types of cheeses (brie, aged cheddar, and blue cheese), two spreads, olives, marinated artichokes, and figs. I really enjoyed this dish but the bread to spread ratio was really off. We ordered more bread for it after but they didn't tell us there was a charge for it, so that was annoying. Even after we got more bread it still wasn't enough for all The cheese and spreads. The brie was super soft and they had this hummus mustard type spread and a sweet tomato spread which I really enjoyed.

Entrees: For our mains, two of us ordered the Peppercorn Steak and the other ordered the Rib Eye Steak. My peppercorn steak was a 6 oz. piece of meat that came with peppercorn sauce, a scoop of mashed potatoes, tempura onion rings, carrots, and green beans. The mashed potatoes were dry, but I believe that's how some people prefer it. I, on the otherhand, prefer it to be creamier. The tempura onion rings were hard and crunchy. I wasn't pleased because I couldn't really find any onions in there. It was almost all batter. I usually ask for my steak to be medium rare but I know places usually overcook it a little, so this time I asked for it rare. My friend asked for it to be medium. When it finally came (service was really slow) and I cut into it, it was a medium steak. I thought they may have switched ours up, so we traded. I cut into the other one and it was medium well. (How do they mess it up to this degree?) Anyhow, the server came back to ask us how our food was and I told her it was severely overcooked. She offered me a new steak, or a complementary drink or dessert. I didn't want the piece of meat to go to waste so I settled with it and chose the complementary dessert. In hindsight though, I should have gotten the new steak because I was bitter for the rest of the meal. Due to that, I didn't feel like having dessert in the end because they screwed up my main course and I didn't believe that their dessert could make up for it and I didn't want to witness anymore failures. In the end, I opted for the complementary drink instead.

TLDR: Overall, service is slow and food/drinks are mediocre at best. Their cheese plate appetizer is pretty good though, but not worth the price they...

Adding 16 hours later……. On top of all the below one us ended up with what looks like food poisoning from the beef dip in the middle of the night, totally added salt to the injury. All in all, spa and resort is great, the regular staff are great, but stay AWAY from cedars restaurant at all costs!!!! Management does not seem to care and obviously there are some quality/safety issues with food handling.

The resort is great, spa is good. All the staff for the most part are good and helpful. I stay often, but I have an issue with management.

My issue; we had reservations for 5:00 pm for dinner. We arrived 15 min early and the hostess seated us right away. The server was good and took our order pretty quickly. We noticed the restaurant was pretty much empty (it was still a bit early for dinner). We were served our drinks and then our food pretty quickly. Food was ok, nothing great, but ok. We decided to skip desert and come back later in the evening after our spa visit to order it. We paid our bill and were viewing some of the paintings they sell in the restaurant by a local artist, considering purchasing a couple of them. Then a woman i believe by the name Leslie (i have to assume a manager or head server) came to our table within a few minutes of paying our bill and asked us to move to the lounge as our table was reserved by other guests. It was 5:35 (35 minutes after our reservation time) she told us we were welcome to sit in the lounge. The restaurant was mostly empty. We were taken off guard and were planning to leave within 5-10 min anyways, so we got up and left. I decided as this was not the way customer service should be and so i decided to make a formal complaint at front desk. Gentleman was apologetic and very understanding, he left a message for a manager to contact us. Later that night we got back to our room only to see an email message from a manager justifying what this sub manager had done. This place needs an overhaul of managers! Never in my life have i seen such poor dealings with a customer complaint. This is completely unacceptable and i expect more from this place. I am somewhat local and spend much time here but will reconsider for next time! If that specific table was reserved for other guests they should have sat us at any of the other 50 tables in the place. The biggest issue is management has no understanding on what or how customer service works!

Update 5 days later: Whats sad about this is we come here all the time. On the day we checked out, they credited us the last day since we were leaving early and checking out at 11:00 am. They made promises that they were going to investigate and get back to us. Its been 5 days and I’ve heard nothing. Im not expecting any sorts of compensation as i told the manager on the day we left. I do want an apology from the kitchen mgr that started this whole fiasco. I am...

I had the extreme pleasure of visiting Cedars for dinner last night. What a magnificent experience. I am from Vancouver and I have been in the restaurant industry for 35 plus years and I was IMPRESSED IMMENSELY. From the minute you arrive ALL the staff are happy, smiling, having a good time, giving great guest experience while being incredibly busy. Wow. Wow. I sat at the bar in the Lounge. This was by far the best food and service I have had in 4 days touring the island from Victoria to Qualicum Beach. And I have eaten at many different restaurants while here, and have been disappointed by most. My last meal on the island was a smash hit. I ordered a classic cocktail not on the list and it was made to perfection. I started with the Baked Brie with Pecans. It was so delicious with cripy seeds crackers. Then I had the steak with peppercorn sauce and skinny fries. Steak was cooked to a perfect medium. Peppercorn sauce was hot, smooth, creamy and not to spicy, just perfect. And finally a place that knows how to cook skinny fries right, crisp (not burnt) and hot. I paired it with a great BC Cabernet. ( I was torn between 2 options and without batting an eye Jadelyn the bartender said "well lets taste them both so you can make a choice for your taste preference", so I did, and I'm glad, I got to choose the perfect pairing for me. Nice move Jadelyn, very smooth.) I finished with the Carrot Cake. The raspberry sauce was a perfect match, tart and fresh, never had it with carrot cake before, and it was just the right balance. And It was so nice to have a very large comfortable coffee cup, instead of tiny one always needing refill. Nice touch Cedars.

I do want to do a huge shout out to Jadelyn the Bartender. This young lady is the most incredible bartender I have experienced in a very long time. (And I am an incredible bartender at a top Vancouver Restaurant, so I Know what counts.) Super Professional, Happy, Energetic, went above and beyond Customer Service Expectations. Wow. Watching her work and make an incredible array of cocktails, all from memory, and the huge number of drinks made was mind blowing. She is A ROCKSTAR. Thank you Jadelyn for an evening I will never forget, and will be telling everyone all about. If you want great service and a fantastic show, sit at the bar when Jadelyn is working. Thank you Cedars, what a delightful experience. Anytime I'm back on the Island Ill be...