Qualicum Beach Cafe

To be honest I was just on the beach. I had no clue there was a cafe here. The view is fire though! (Quite literally, qualicum was on fire when I visited)

Always good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I love ❤️ this place and so did my family. We went in for brunch and enjoyed it so much that we came back the next evening to try their dinner menu. An impressive wine list and alcohol selection. Definitely a little pricey but worth the money. Definitely recommend this place.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great cheerful service, very accommodating, delicious prime rib Mondays! Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all enjoyable and great presentation and taste.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We were guests at the Inn at the end of July...had a long day of touring the area and was quite tired and hungry so it was a late meal. 7pm possibly...strange that we were told by the waitress straight off that the service may be slow but we did not have much choice. It was also our anniversary and we so appreciated the bubbly that the waitress suggested. I had the fresh gnocchi which was indeed fresh. Mushroom sauce good.,..maybe could use a bit more kick or flavour but good. My husband had the salmon. Fortunately the food did not take long. Only disappointment was that the salmon was cold. Potatoes very hot so it was a matter of plating the salmon first while awaiting the potatoes to be done. Otherwise view to the sunset over the water was lovely and the service staff were kind.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 4

It was excellent

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

First time here. Visiting from LML. Expensive and disappointing.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Perfect brunch and perfect service!

DO NOT EAT SEAFOOD HERE!
Our first experience happened a few months back, where one of our oysters came out on the plate rancid. We notified our server and they sent us one new oyster on a plate. This was sufficient enough at the time not to raise major red flags.

We returned a few months later, my fiancé ordered a clam meal and he became very ill afterwards. When we contacted the restaurant, they were apologetic and gave us a $50 gift card. Again, sufficient for us at the time, as we loved this restaurant.

However, after our return on Sunday to use this gift card for rancid seafood… we ordered oysters. Again, an oyster on the plate came to the table bad, smelly, cloudy, and rancid again. We notified the waiter and we received a new plate of oysters. Less than 24 hours later, both my fiancé and I fell extremely ill with food poisoning.

The seafood prep here is HORRIBLE and we know it’s not just our experience, as we can see from other reviews and acquaintances who have also fell ill from the shellfish. My fiancé called this morning to tell them about our experience, they offered us another gift card. We declined the card, as after 3 separate instances we will not be back.

Proper education on safe food prep needs to be gone over with staff here, or perhaps taking seafood off your menu until staff are confident of the health and safety procedures when dealing with shellfish/seafood. I don’t think this restaurant understands the severity of food-borne illness, it frightens me for the older population of Qualicum beach, who could potentially be effected 10x worse than a young healthy couple.

Food: 1

What a venue. So beautiful on the patio in the summer. A stone's thrown from the sea. Food is excellent all round. Great wine selection and cocktails. Service and staff are consistently awesome. Attached to a great hotel. We love to stay in the hotel, each here for family dinner and crash steps from the venue. Great design, a night spent at QBC can be a night in a classy bar, a romantic date, a fine dining family dinner, or a patio summer evening experience. Best of all the local spots.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The dine out menu was a great choice here. I got a fresh, crisp Caesar salad and a chicken Parmesan sandwich. Also got a blackberry lemonade. The view on a sunny day is amazing. Staff is super friendly. The food was top tier. Only complaint was the food took a bit to come out but it was full so it was understandable.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Caesar Salad

We are extremely disappointed with the lack of professionalism that is expected from such a highly rated establishment. I wrote an email over a week ago to inform this business that both my partner and I had become ill clearly and unmistakably from oysters eaten here, but have not heard back at all. This has been our favourite restaurant since moving to the island, so we are sad to say that we will not be back for some time.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 3

I came for lunch with my sister and loved every minute of my visit. I have been wanting to try your restaurant for some time now and was not disappointed. The service was extremely good, with happy, attentive, and knowledgeable servers, delicious food, and beautiful venue. I loved that we were not rushed, the venue was packed with lunchtime customers, and there was an overall happy vibe. Can’t wait to come back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We met with friends for brunch, they were offering a dine around menu so we took advantage of the great deal. Everything was beyond amazing. The homemade breads, the eggs Benny everything was fantastic. Hands down the best brunch we have all had . The desserts are a must !

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Review:

We recently visited this restaurant on a Saturday afternoon around 3 PM, and unfortunately, it was one of the most disappointing dining experiences we’ve had in a long time. Despite the restaurant being three-quarters empty, the service was slow and dismissive from the moment we arrived.

As we waited at the front, a waitress briefly acknowledged us, saying she’d be with us in a minute, but she never returned. Eventually, an older male waiter approached us abruptly, making us feel like an inconvenience rather than valued customers. When we asked for a window seat, he seemed irritated that we didn’t have a reservation, even though the restaurant was clearly not busy. After several minutes of studying the seating chart and walking around, he seated us—not at the requested window table but at one of the noisiest spots in the restaurant, crowded next to other diners.

When we expressed that the noise was bothering us, we were offered a seat in the lounge, which seemed even louder. We ended up moving to a different table ourselves. Unfortunately, the experience only worsened when we tried to order the chicken burger, which was the main reason we came to this restaurant. We were told it was only available on the lunch menu, which had just ended moments before we arrived. Despite it being just after 3 PM, no effort was made to accommodate our request, even though the kitchen likely could have prepared it.

Feeling ignored and unwelcome, we decided to leave and dine elsewhere, where we had a much better experience. The staff didn’t seem to care that they lost our business, and we left feeling judged, disrespected, and unappreciated.

This restaurant clearly prioritizes convenience for the staff over customer service. The lack of flexibility, dismissive attitude, and failure to accommodate reasonable requests were incredibly disappointing. We won’t be returning and would not recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking a welcoming and enjoyable dining experience.

Atmosphere: 1

Service: 1