Modern Café

The worst! 8 of us went to try it for dine in Nanaimo the server had a bad attitude they didn’t Have 1 of theonly 2 entrees and asked if they had a different options we were told ya you have one and that’s the fish we had to ask if they were willing to substitute a similar option she didn’t know but came back and said no too bad so sad. So terrible service and only getting 1 option on a advertised event bad bad also the fish was terrible and dry will never go back. Go to Rewsters next door great fresh food and good service.

The food here was just okay for two people in our party. But my french toast was flat, chewy, & burnt! Why would the kitchen send out such a dish, esp. burnt! Also, two piddly pieces for twelve dollars?! Our server did not apologize, she just lamely asked if she could get me another piece… when everyone else was done. She then outdid herself racing over to take over our bill payment from the other server. Nice attempt at a comeback sweetie, but no go. Don’t care about the customer? They won’t care back!

Visited Wed Nov 11, 2015 party of 2.
Pros
The only place open on Remembrance Day so it was packed!
Spinach salad — It’s a warm salad which was interesting.
Beef Dip — good as well, no problem.
Fish and chips — you get 2 pieces of fish which were good.
Cons
Another review mentioned a wet dog odour in the left side when you face the kitchen. If they can figure out why it smells, they would have gotten a better star.
Service was a bit slow, but hey it was busy.
Protip — A stop on the Nanaimo Bar trial, home of the Nanaimo bar martini! Did not get to try it but it sounds interesting.
Damage — $ 45 tip included.

Where do I start? From the server indicating that we should’ve seen the special board outside instead of telling us, to forgetting a drink, lipstick on water glass, forgetting cutlery, and sub par food. There was a hockey team in for a buffet lunch and once they arrived we were totally ignored. If the server has asked how the food was, I would’ve told her not good. The beef in the beef dip was tough, the bun cold and dry. The dog loved the leftovers. The best part of the meal was the mint lifesaver. Thankfully I don’t live here and won’t have the option to go back.

Good food, but the service is not paying much attention. Napkins And cutlery were missing and were only delivered on request, refill of beverages worked only once the second refill was forgotten,

Optisch ein sehr schöner Laden, das Essen jedoch mäßig bis schlecht.
Suche den Fehler: Habe einen Veggieburger mit Salat bestellt, auf diesem befand sich jedoch Speck. Also, soweit sollte man in der Küche denken und wenn es dazu nicht reicht, dann sollte es Aufgabe der Kellnerin sein, dies zu hinterfragen! Mag sein, das auch ein Fleischesser mal Lust auf einen Veggieburger hat, aber sind wir mal ehrlich, das ist i.d. Regel eher die Ausnahme.
Also, liebes Modern Café; merke, NIEMALS einen Veggieburger mit totem Tier servieren!
35 $ für einen Ginger Ale und zwei Veggieburgern die nicht schmeckten, happig! Zumal man uns am Schluss regelrecht aus dem Laden «kehrte» und mit ebenso dieser Lustlosigkeit oder auch Lust auf Feierabend war der Burger zubereitet!

Solid cocktails. They do them right. The warm spinach salad is not to be missed. Fresh, flavorful, and unique. The loaded poutine was blah. No sundries tomatoes like the menu said and too much sour cream. Decent just not noteworthy. I’d try something else next time. Staff was super friendly, helpful, and not intrusive. Free wifi too. Would definitely eat here again.

We dined at the modern Café this past trip to Nanaimo. The service was pretty good however the food left quite a bit to be desired. Their menu was very small and didn’t have a lot to choose from. I had the burger and my wife had a steak.
Both (for the price) were quite small. I don’t quite get the restaurant and their experience they are going for. As a customer I was confused whether it was a casual upper class restaurant or trying to be a high class meal. Regardless I will struggle to return.
Quite expensive for the value of food you get.

Pretty average food. Didn’t feel remotely healthy, lots cream/​butter/​mayo ingredients to make the meal taste richer. Basically pub food.
I had the special BLT wrap (excessive mayo) with red pepper soup (too sweet for me).

A few years ago the food and martinis were really tasty. Been here recently and it’s been lame. Dry bland boring food as opposed to flavorful inspired food. Not great service. I used to go for drinks here with girlfriends cuz they had a variety of martinis but it didn’t seem to be the case anymore. Of my party of 4, 0 of us enjoyed our meal. Plus you have to pay for parking on the street most of the time too. Bummer.

I’ve always enjoyed the food here. Everyone I brings has thoroughly enjoyed the food and great setting. Top notch!

attention tourists coming in on cruise day — don’t!
owner did not hire more people, manager came in at 1pm, please someone tell him two floor people cannot handle the place & what the heck is the manager coming in when lunch is almost over… tells you something right there! place is a zoo… customers are made to wait & wait & wait & the employees still want to be tipped for the slow service
do not go on cruise days !!!
owner, please close your doors on cruise days as you cannot handle the business coming in your door. employees walk around like zombies, as they cannot handle what is going on… a cook comes out to help at the bar (shouldnt he be cooking, food is scarce there)
otherwise, if it is not a cruise ship day, i bet it would be nice to visit.

The food was very good but the service was unimpressive. We had a snooty waiter, way too pretentious, forceful upselling and made us wait at the end while he was chatting at the bar. The other waitress seemed much more attentive to her tables so we might have just gotten the bad apple.

Not a bad spot for dinner in nanaimo. Friendly staff, decent menu– but a little pricey for the area

I was on my way to Vancouver island and found myself making a quick stop in Nanaimo after a 2 hour ferry ride. There wasn’t much open in downtown Nanaimo and I definitely needed a meal to keep me satisfied until we got to our destination. We stumbled on the modern café and ordered off of their lunch menu. I was nervous because there were only a handful of people in the café, but it turned out to be awesome. They had a gourmet version of poutine that had sour cream, bacon and sun dried tomatoes. I had a mac and cheese dish that had a crab cake added on top and my fiancé got fish and chips which was huge. All of the dishes were delicious! Definitely a gem in downtown Nanaimo. The staff was super friendly and there was nothing bad to say about the place.

Nice room doesn’t feel like Nanaimo
Nice staff good food been several times and always enjoyed it. It’s nice to go to a non chain that is consistent and know what they are doing.

Excellent seafood chowder and Caesar salad, great service
Kinda a rough downtown in Nanaimo, avoid the alleys and bring a friend, 2 assaults nearby last night

All to often you hear people say a place has the best «whatever». The term «best» is thrown around much to freely, without backup or consideration for the real meaning of «the best»
Well Modern can hold its head high with the knowledge that they might very well have the best burger around.
The patty is home made and season to perfection. The bun is was toasted perfectly the toppings where bold without being over whelming and complete product was perfectly sized and tasty.
It is the attention to detail here that makes the difference. The burger is work of art, a simple but perfectly crafted work of art.
If you are ever in the area or want to make a trip just to see how things should be done than you will very very happy you did.

I have no complaints about ambiance or service. In fact the place looks really sharp, and the wait staff was totally nice and attentive.
The food was just priced like an in-​demand great food type of place… but tasted mediocre.
I had the mac & cheese which is served with frozen peas, not-​fresh mushrooms and bruschetta. The macaroni were cheapy. The cheese sauce was bland. Quite frankly, the only thing good about the dish was the bruschetta.
Nobody else in my dinner party was raving about their food, and I’ve concluded that the food is less-​than-​good.

I wonder how this café is? Is it gothic? Old Victorian? Or maybe it’s MODERN! How will I ever know???
Sorry, little sidebar there. I just find it infinetely amusing when restaurants or any other service providers tell me beforehand how they are. Examples… any resto with the word Delicious, Yummy, Best in their name. You get the picture.
As for the Modern Café. Well the neon signs outside made me think more of an old school diner but the inside was, well, I guess Modern! It’s a Modern Café! Ok i’ll stop now.
We were seated quickly and as we walked towards the back a distinct aroma of someone in need of a shower wafted past my nostrils. Oh I’m hungry now!!! It lingered for a good 20min. Not sure if it was another patron or what but… not good. Although I don’t blame Modern Café for that. After all, they are MODERN!
I had the «Modern Soup Creation of the Moment» (no joke) which was a delicious roasted red pepper with goat cheese. I also had a small cesar that had yummy proscuitto bits on it (take note Minnoz Café). Both were delicious although the price point for the portion was a little off ($ 6 – 7 each). Service was polite and efficient. I also took a look at what other people were eating and all plates looked delicious.
My mocking of their name aside, it is certainly a solid spot for a quick sit down lunch in downtown Nanaimo if you are in town for meetings/​conference.

We recently had two meals at the Modern Café.
At dinner on a Sunday evening, service was a bit slow. They thoughtfully sat us by the window, so we could people watch while we waited and sipped (weak) mojitos.
I had the urban greens salad with carambola, roasted whole almonds, pickled peach and good vinaigrette. It was creative and delicious.
I also had a citrus halibut with sweetish curry cream and coconut basmati rice. The halibut was a bit overcooked.
My daughter had lemon pepper salmon with a salad. The salmon was overcooked.
At lunch a few days later, I had a fried halibut naan wrap and more of their delicious salad. (The halibut was a bit overdone but acceptable.) My daughter had a huge bowl of tomato soup, which was tasty but too much of a good thing. The ice tea they served tasted like Lipton Brisk in a can or bottle, but I found that’s the kind of tea most restaurants in BC served during our stay there. The service at lunch was slow as well.