Port Browning Pub

Missed last call for food — but bartender did everything she could to feed us drinks and great conversation. Great place! Went for breakfast in AM and it was awesome. Limited choices on Pender so I consider myself lucky to have experienced Port Browning.

* Best local dining *
Ok, so the 4 stars is definitely based on both the pub itself and comparison to other options on the island. I think this was the best food we had on the island during our visit. It would certainly be a three star experience in Vancouver, and perhaps a two or two and a half star in San Francisco. But for Pender Island it is a four star for sure.
This pub is tucked away in a nice cove with a little marina and a nice view of the water:
We visited on pasta night where you get your choice of the various pastas available with a side of caesar salad and garlic toast for a very reasonable $ 9.95. The choice of beers on tap was rather limited with a heavy focus on Granville Island Brewery (not a favourite).
We had the seafood pasta and the mac&cheese. The seafood pasta was a fettuccine tossed with a lemon cream sauce and a generous amount of scallops and shrimp. It was topped with a parsley oil which helped to round out the flavours. The pasta was cooked nicely, although perhaps was drowned a bit too much in the sauce. But for pub food it was certainly passable and filling. Photo:
The mac&cheese was cooked properly (except for a little bit of cheese that hadn’t melted properly) with the macaroni being cooked just right, and the cheese sauce being a rich blend of creamy goodness. Very comforting dish. Photo:
The sides were standard variety and worked just fine.
Perhaps the highlight of the meal was the apple «crumble» which was actually more of a blend between apple pie and apple crumble. Picture apple pie with a crumble top (almost like a Dutch apple pie actually). The apples had a nice tartness complimented by the spicing nicely. It was plated with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and a bit of whipping cream (commercial, not housemade) and a gooseberry. All of that was topped with a nice maple toffee sauce which really balanced the tartness of the apples nicely. Overall a very nice dessert for a pub! Photo:
Like I said, off the island this would not get four stars. But on the island, it is a definite four star and I would return when visiting again!