Longwood Brewpub & Restaurant

Great atmosphere and service! Food was fabulous, including the salad that comes with the meals (unless you prefer soup or fries). But the delicious wild salmon burger was shockingly small considering the price. Not the place to go when you're quite hungry.

This was our final stop during a whirlwind trip to Vancouver Island. It capped things off very nicely! They have a lovely facility, a nice selection of beer, and plenty of delicious food. I would highly recommend this place to anyone!

 

Next stop on my informal mission to review every place and drink that BA's "Derek" has ever touched -- the Longwood Brew Pub.

A Victoria resident, I decided to take the Nanaimo ferry to Vancouver instead of the Schwartz Bay boat -- partially to avoid Olympics traffic, but mostly as an excuse to check out "the best brew pub north of Victoria".

It's an impressive building. The outside is kind of mock-tudor, with a sizeable restaurant at ground level and a spacious, tastefully furnished, wooden-panelled pub downstairs, replete with pool table, decent-sized bar, and lots of fancy brewing machinery out back.

I ordered a beef dip sandwich which was average. The beef was done-to-grey and the gravy a bit pre-packaged, but the fries were good. Not enough apple-smoked cheddar -- hardly any in fact. Disappointing.

Beers: I was driving, so I ordered the 4*6oz sampler, and sadly had to forego the tipped barley wine:
1.Dunkelwiezenbrau - a winey tasting dark wheat beer that was flat and unappealing: C
2.ESB - tasty, but also flat. Not very bitter: B-
3.IPA - livelier, nice but conservative hop/malt balance: B
4.Imperial Stout - slick, buttered burnt toast, very nice: B+

I might have had a bad luck sandwich, but the meal didn't overwhelm me. The beer is a smidgeon above average, but no more. Service was great and the place had a nice atmosphere. I did go at 3pm on a Thursday afternoon - which probably isn't the best time for a pub meal, but I didn't come away with a massively positive impression other than the great ambiance.

From their Homepage:
"There are 105 recognized styles of beer in the world of brewing and the brewers at Longwood have over 40 recipes to choose from. Our traditional ales are hand drawn using classic original English beer engines and are served at a cellar temperature of 10 Centigrade (50 F.) while out cold ales and lagers are served out of our custom ceramic beer towers at 5 Centigrade (40 F.) These serving methods and temperatures allow our patrons to enjoy our beers in the manner and temperature that they were meant to be."

I HIGHLY recommed this place. All of their beers I sampled were quite good. Their English style Barley Wine is one of the most exceptional ales I've ever tasted.

I was there for lunch and had the Brew Masters Steak Sandwich for $12.95. It's served with stout braised mushroons! Considering the price, it was FAR better than I had expected. Excellent value.

The restaurant upstairs is modelled like a private, upscale ski lodge. It's nestled in the rolling hills of evergreens, with beautiful views from the large windows.

If you're from the mainland, I think this place is worth a day trip (too bad it's not a little closer to the ferry terminal, it's at the north edge of town).

My wife and I vacation on Vancouver Island almost every year at a spa in Courtenay. I first heard of this brewery last September when I attended the Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria. I made plans then to stop by the next time we headed up island. Longwood is located in the very north end of Nanaimo, so if you're driving up from Victoria, keep going north on 19 around the city itself (unless you want to take the scenic route).

The bar itself is well appointed on the outside, sort of a pseudo-rustic exterior with the ubiquitous grain silo out front. Go inside and you are presented with two options: the restaurant (upstairs), or the pub (downstairs). My wife and I chose the pub, as it was a Sunday and there was a farily large crowd (and a decent wait) in the restaurant for their brunch buffet. Me, I'd read the menu online and had the lamb sandwich in my sights.

The pub downstairs was a semi-traditional English type pub, with a wood fireplace dominating the center of the pub. My wife was freezing as it was sort of drizzly and cold out, and we just happened to score the table right in front of the fireplace. She was quite happy.

Service was very slow, due to the fact that they had two waitresses working the floor (and this is a floor of approximately twenty tables or so). However when she did get over to us and take our orders, our drinks and food were brought quickly. So the delivery worked out well. My wife and I both ended up ordering the lamb sandwich (which was spectacular), and then I had a four beer sampler of the Scottish Ale (not bad), Oatmeal Stout (nothing remarkable), ESB (by far the best of the bunch, and the one I ended up getting a pint of) and their IPA (not hoppy enough for me, and the body was too thin).

The quality of everything had off the menu or beer list was great, but it pained me to hear a customer come in and say "What beer would you recommend for me? I like lighter beers, you know, like Corona?" The bartender handled the request with great aplomb and had a pils delivered to their table, so kudos to him. All in all, this place is very much worth a visit, even if you are going only for the ESB.

Visited my cousin in Nanaimo and we went out to this excellent brewpub. Looks pretty classy from the outside, with a long covered walkway up to the entrance. There is a restaurant on the ground floor, and if you take the stairs down its a pub atmosphere with a large, stocked bar and tables. Lots of good stuff on tap, I believe they have about nine beers there ranging from standard blond ale to a 10.5% barley wine. Throughout the entire building you can see the equipment they use to brew through windows, which is a neat touch. Decor is kind of old looking, with lots of wood and vegetation inside. Definitely a place to try if you get there, the atmosphere is great and so is the beer.