For a small city, Courtenay boasts a surprising contingent of international restaurants. Will that be Greek, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Thai or Middle Eastern? Or that bold new wave BC cuisine?
"Locals" is more than a slogan: It's a local restaurant serving local ingredients to local people and lucky visitors. Chef Ronald St. Pierre decorates with large-scale food images. He salutes local producers throughout his menu and delivers the goods with panache.
Seared albacore tuna dances in with fresh, locally grown wasabi and sushi vegetable roll. Juicy bison tournedos come wrapped in Tannadice Farms bacon and atop French lentils.
And get this: Eight kinds of fresh local fish from sablefish to spotted prawns can be ordered in 5 different ways from charbroiled to stir-fried. To drink, discover superior suds from Surgenor, the Comox Valley Brewery, and luscious wines from the award-winning Beaufort Winery.
Resort Dining
Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa sits by the sea, so the kitchen rightly focuses on fish and seafood. The kickline includes seafood chowder with clams; panko-crusted pan fried oysters; wild salmon rubbed with Indian tandoori spices; Qualicum Bay scallops on skewers; and sublimely, a house steamer basket of fish and shellfish with veggies, pot stickers and a lime sesame glaze. Check with the resort for Gala Seafood Buffet dates and a spread encompassing just about everything that swims.
The Crown Isle Resort & Golf Community is 7.4km/4mi from nearby Comox, a 336ha/831a complex of Platinum-rated championship course and golf community. The club's Silverado Steak House provides an airy conservatory setting and a menu highlighting such regional fare as local Miyagi oysters and buffalo strip loin.
Cafes and Bistros
Hip cafes and bistros abound: The ultra-popular Atlas Cafe gallivants from Mexico to the Pacific Northwest and from Italy to India with gastronomic aplomb. Breakfast offers five kinds of eggs Benny. For lunch, it's hard to beat salmon and halibut cake crusted in crackling cornmeal. Dinner goes global.
The restaurant Bisque goes off the beaten track with prawns stuffed with spinach and escargots, Dungeness and king crab ravioli and sensationally, scallops in a nest of deep-fried potato. The Old House taps the taste buds with pan-fried Fanny Bay oysters, venison carpaccio and bison burger.
Middle Eastern
For profoundly healthy, exciting fare, there's no beating Middle Eastern. Zizi's offers an exhaustive slate with the expected standards - creamy Baba Ganoush, humous, falafel with tahini, shawarma - plus panini wraps and pizzas with exotic tendencies. The Jerusalem is a wrap of grilled house-made pita around red pepper, eggplant, spinach and feta cheese.
Authentic Thai
Visitors seeking a hit of Southeast Asian fire can try Kinaree, an outstanding Thai restaurant serving authentic Bangkok fare roaring with sweet basil, lemongrass, chillies, garlic and coconut milk. Red and green curries dance across the stations of the palate. Try fish apple salad, with chunks of deep-fried fish, crunchy green apple and toasted cashews. And maybe deep-fried ice cream for dessert.
Raw Realm Juice & Smoothie Bar
The Raw Realm Juice & Smoothie Bar offers a variety of juices and smoothies to tickle the palate and boost body energy at the same time. Go for a power smoothie, maybe the Cocoa Crusher of banana, pineapple, coconut butter, cacao nibs, hemp seeds and cashews. Or maybe a straight shot of aloe vera, loaded with everybody's favourite, mucoplysaccharides, to detoxify the body and cleanse that colon.
For more information on eating out in Courtenay, check with the Visitor Centre.
Show Less