Nanaimo is a picturesque, harbour-side city that is often seen as a gateway to Vancouver Island. While some people merely pass through en route elsewhere, Nanaimo deserves to be a destination in and of itself. Nanaimo is easily traversable on foot, with many options for food in close proximity to the beautiful harbour. Given the range of transportation available, its easier than ever to make a quick trip to Nanaimo and explore with or without a vehicle.
Transportation by Land or Sea
Nanaimo is a harbour city so accessing it from the water is easy. BC Ferries has long provided transport to and from Nanaimo. More recently for Vancouverites, Hullo ferries is a new car-free option. Another car-free option is seaplane. Harbour Air flies from Vancouver’s to Nanaimo’s harbour half a dozen times a day.
As well as being known as ‘Harbour City’, Nanaimo is also known as ‘Hub City’ because of the way that its streets radiate out from its harbour. This makes Nanaimo fantastically walkable for anyone arriving in the harbour.
Just a few minutes from the Harbourfront Walkway is downtown, with shopping and eats along Commercial Street. From downtown, it’s easy to venture to the Old Quarter on foot.
Where to Eat in Nanaimo
Milk Jam Donuts
These donut-makers nail the basics and still play with inventive flavours. Milk Jam’s 24 hour brioche donuts are light and delightfully fluffy. Their pillowy texture is rich and buttery on its own, but also makes it a delicious sponge for different glazes. Those spacious, airy brioche donuts can also easily be filled with delectable house-made fillings like jam, curd, or cream. For an even more extravagant option, the cronuts combine the flakey, buttery, delicate layers of laminated dough with flavoured fillings.
White Rabbit Coffee Co/Black Rabbit Kitchen
White Rabbit Coffee Co was first. It opened in 2019, and then Black Rabbit Kitchen, its sister restaurant, followed in 2022. The two rabbits occupy a space that was once a train station in Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter. Growing into the Black Rabbit space meant that the team finally had their own kitchen space, and now all of the baked goods at White Rabbit are made from scratch. They also source some treats from local producers like the bonbons by Kinsu Chocolates.
Black Rabbit Kitchen makes use of its spacious home. It has a comfortable yet stylish, modern dining room and sunny patio. They do brunch on weekends and a cheeky and creative dinner menu from Wednesday to Sunday that changes seasonally, think experimental pickles and innovative dips to go with the house-made, vinegar powder dusted waffle chips. Of course, there are also longtime favourites like the Burger that have been on the menu since the beginning.
The Vault Cafe
The colour scheme at The Vault Cafe is giving Wes Anderson vibes with its eye-catching, bright pink exterior and multi-textured, green interior. This fully-licensed coffee shop sells all day breakfast and is especially known for its tasty and satisfying vegan options. The Vault, located on Wallace St in downtown Nanaimo, is so called because the space used to be a bank. Since 2014, The Vault has been serving coffee and heartfelt, house-made eats alongside live music. They’ve also added the Bazaar upstairs with different shops and studio spaces.
Bar Luna
For a Mexican fiesta with fusion flair, Bar Luna checks all the boxes. They have all the classics in this restored 1890’s fire hall in downtown Nanaimo, from Guac & Chips to Tacos, and Quesadillas. Additionally, Bar Luna also has some fun fusion dishes like Korean Chicken Thighs with kimchi, as well as braised beef Birria Ramen. The dining room is up a flight of stairs and so offers an elevated view of the Nanaimo Harbour.
Kinsu Chocolates
For small-batch chocolates made using the finest European chocolate and fresh ingredients, Kinsu is a rich, dessert resource for Nanaimo. They first got their start at local farmers’ markets and have since moved into their new cafe space at Cedar Ridge Place. The cafe allows the team more space to creative sweet treats, and also room to serve sit-down cocoa-based dishes like their Drinking Chocolate with house-made whipped cream and rich caramel. They’ve also newly launched an original pairing concept in partnership with Old City Cheese & Market. At Kinsu, or at the Old City Market, guests can taste their way through three chocolate and cheese pairings, discovering new flavour parallels.
Where to Stay
For harbour-side proximity, Coast Bastion Hotel is the best choice. The harbour views from the rooms are breathtaking and will make it hard to close the curtains at night. All of the comfortable rooms at the Coast Bastion are modern and newly updated. Plus, the hotel is pet-friendly, has on-site dining, and provides filtered water to all guests.
