No need to ferry back to Nanaimo for eats - the range jumps from pizza and fish and chips to superb local product with global village accents.
Woodfire Pizza and Robert's Place do take-out and delivery. Buffet lunches and dinners at the Haven Resort garner praise from particular locals.
Silva Bay Pub Restaurant leaps above traditional pub fare with the likes of premium BC oysters, salt and pepper calamari and Penn Cove mussels. The restaurant holds its own with BC side-striped prawns, halibut, salmon and steaks. Great pub fare is also available at The Skol Pub, located conveniently at the ferry terminal.
Local Favourite
Insiders send outsiders to Robert's Place, which sustains islanders through breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's easy to love Robert's Place because it offers a traditional Canadian breakfast in three sizes, accommodating appetites from the bird-like to lumberjack. Eggs are farm-fresh, home fries don't come from a freezer package, and breakfasters fretting about carbs have an option on fresh or fried tomatoes instead of taters.
At dinner, Robert's sprawling menu runs the gastronomic gamut of pastas, fish and chips, burgers, chicken, ribs and steaks. Gourmands may jump at mango pesto salmon. And how 'bout those Fanny Bay oysters deep-fried in Japanese panko crumbs?
Open every day, Mad Rona's Coffee Bar serves great coffee but also delicious sandwiches and Panini, along with mouth-watering baked goods - all made in-house.
New on the Block
Gabriola's newest restaurant is Woodfire Pizza, which beckons foodies to savour gourmet, traditional wood-fired pizzas and fine Italian pastas. Ingredients are locally sourced when possible.
Head to the Gabriola Island Visitor Centre on Berry Point Road for information and brochures. Proceed cautiously because the turn-off after the ferry terminal is easy to miss.
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