Shady Rest Waterfront Restaurant

Should be called the Shabby Rest! Been here a few times, the pub side is ok but the food is 2 star at best and way over priced. Main restaurant service is super slow and it wasn’t busy, no excuse. Since it shares the kitchen with the pub the food is also unsatisfactory and costs even more for the same thing. View is excellent though. If I go back it will be for a few beers on a nice day otherwise the QBI is much much better. All in all I do not recommend this establishment, there are better options in the area

Overall, the experience at this little out of the way place was ok! When we arrived, hostess was on the phone and did not acknowledge our arrival. Sat at the table and told that it would be a while before server got to us, no problem with that. Order taken and shared plate was hot and good. I ordered the sirloin with garlic mashed, it was cold and overcooked. Sent back and by the time I received my replacement the other two I was with had already consumed their meal. Music playing in the pub came right thru to the restaurant. They at least comped my expensive glass of wine!

The Shady Rest is a bright and homey restaurant and the place to go if you want simple, yet good, food with a pretty sea view. I had the Rueben sangy and it was made well. The fries were awesome. I’d stick to the basics though, burgers, sandwiches etc. Good service. I appreciate that the server brought me a mug of ice to rest my carafe of white wine in, without asking! That’s just civilized. If you play Keno (which I don’t) that’s a bonus too.

Great local joint! friendly staff and amazing views!

Got takeout last night, almost didn’t because of a few bad reviews. Fine burgers, veggie burgers, and fish and chips. Recommended. Going back tonight for chowder.

Great patio for a nice lunch and glass of Pinot. Clam chowder was excellent. Service was good, friendly. I would absolutely recommend this place to friends visiting Qualicum.

Ordered 40 of their wings on wing night of various flavours, 44 cent wings now, what a disappointment, I’m surprised PETA isn’t involved with the massacre of these baby chickens being killed, Every single wing was pathetic, smallest wings I have ever had, many you could see a bone from the outside, no meat on them, no flavour, quite sad as the shady has had the best wings in the mid island for many years now, but I guess with current conditions; they raised wing prices and very little meat delivered now, too bad since I bet many people won’t be back

Warning: The chef has gone rogue and is on a solo mission to bring down the restaurant. That’s the only possible explanation for the quality of the food we had last night. Let me explain.
The 4 of us go on a Sunday night at 7:30pm, its very quiet and we get a table by the window which was covered by spiders on the outside. It ruined the view but at least we saw some nature?
We ordered:
Clam chowder — based on the good reviews off of previous posts. This tasted like they mixed some cream, water and wine and heated it up to a luke warm and threw in some clams as an after thought. The soup had absolutely no seafood or any other flavour whatsoever.
Calamari — oily, bland, rubbery and void of flavour. In fact, they didn’t even salt the dish (a common theme among the meal, I think they were out of salt).
Salt spring mussels — WOW! Actually was a good dish and well flavoured. Mussels were big, juicy and flavour was good. Focaccia bread that came with it tasted stale.
New York Striploin — This dish was so ridiculously bad it was actually amusing. The steak itself which was low quality and bland, was not even the highlight of this horror. Never in my life have I tastes mashed potatoes quite like this. It had no potato, milk or butter flavour. I think they ran out of milk and butter too. It tasted like they actually tried to make this with water and it was very confusing. This also came with half a cob of corn and a big piece of broccoli. I had a nibble of the corn, and this tasted frozen too and like they heated this back up in the microwave. Of course, no flavour. The corn wasn’t even sweet. We didn’t dare try the broccoli.
Smoked salmon and leek fettuccine — heavy, barely any flavour, and the frozen meal variety would have been several steps up. After a generous salting on our part we were able to eat a few bites. Second best dish of the night.
The service was pleasant enough and the server was apologetic. We had heard her say sorry to the table behind us a bunch of times too, but we had already ordered and were past the point of no return. When we got the bill they took off the clam chowder and calamari which was a nice gesture, but we still ended up paying over $ 60. We left hungry and headed to McDonald’s.

Too die for Clam Chowder!
Stopped by Rest for dinner and the food was top notch. Had the Clam Chowder and it was delicious, the clams were still in their shells, the potatoes and carrots were cooked to perfection and yes it had real bacon on it. Best clam chowder to be found in Qualicum.
Also tried the Oceanwise burger. It is made there and was so very fresh. If you like seafood then this is a burger for you
I highly recommend this place.

Good food, good service, and good view. Best place I’ve eaten in Qualicum thus far! I had shrimp melt and eggs Benny (the bull)! They serve brunch on Sat, Sun and holiday Mondays from 11 – 2. Definitely reasonably priced considering the amazing view of the water and the delicious food. Would recommend to anybody!

Return visit this year was very average. Don’t know if the kitchen staff changed or the suppliers but the quality has definitely dropped. Just average with a great view.

Dirty inside.
Shoes stuck to tile floor when walking to and from bathroom and didn’t even use kids seat as it was sticky everywhere to the touch.
Food was ok, but even if the food was great, being unclean as it was knocks this place down to 1 star.
Won’t be back.

This place is as close to the water as is possible to be. However, the beach here is not very pretty. It sounds a little silly, but i came here for the location/​view and so was a little letdown.
The waitstaff was very nice.
My wife and son loved the mussels, I had the seafood sandwich (Crab cake/​scallops). It was nice.
Overall, a nice place, but not sure I’d go out of the way to return.

This place is amazing. Great food great service. Everything we ordered was fantastic as well as everything we saw the tables around us order.

My wife and I stumbled upon Shady Rest by accident, and were glad we did!
We were both in the mood for seafood, and Shady Rest provided several options. My wife had the shrimp melt, which had great flavour and was piled high with shrimp.
After deliberating between the Oyster Burger and the Oceanwise Burger, I chose the latter on our server’s recommendation. The patty was an impressive combo of scallop, prawn, and dungeness crab, with identifiable chunks of each within. Paired with white cheddar, guacamole and a chutney, it had a great flavour balance that I wasn’t expecting. The only thing I would change is toasting the bun at least a little.
Our server was good, and our food was in front of us much faster than we thought it would be.
Next time we find ourselves in Qualicum Beach, we will be stopping in again!

Writing about the Pub … our ‘go-​to’ place on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Good local beer specials, great wings, and a selection of 2 for $ 10 appies that are delicious (I’m partial to the dry ribs and the yam fries).
The waiting staff are terrific, and the ambience is casual, especially great for local regulars. There are jazz and blues nights, and super specials when the Canucks are playing.
If loud-​talkers bother you, move to the little glassed-​off space at the far end of the pub. Great ocean views, including eagles, seals and sea lions (in season).

My First Friend and I came here on the same night as the Qualicum Beach fireworks, so we got a little show after dinner too! Food was excellent. We had calamari, which was spicy and had chorizo sausage slices. It was a little too hot for her taste, but fine for me; there’s no heads-​up about that in the menu, but we left a note suggesting they add one. We had another appetizer, flatbread with goat cheese, pancetta and beet pickle, which was excellent. Entrees: lamb ribs, done to perfection, with creamy mashed potatoes. Chicken and ribs, tender and juicy, with an in-​house slaw that was very tasty. We were too stuffed for dessert, but the manager came by for a chat and gave us a complimentary dessert coupon. We’ll definitely be back!

We saw some mediocre reviews on UrbanSpoon, and were a little apprehensive. We were there in the off-​season and the service was fast, the staff were friendly, the views were gorgeous, and the food was tasty. Not the best seafood I’ve had, but it was fresh enough, used real ingredients, was well-​priced and had good sized portions.
The Restaurant & Pub are on the beachfront, and the Liquor Store is across the street.

Amazing eggs benedict with cheddar and bacon. HIGHLY recommend (comes in half size for smaller appetited). Good homemade homefries. Lovely art gallery. Friendly clean yummy!

Two sides to this beachside gem… pub on left and restaurant on right… kitchen in the middle. Small outside deck for either side. Pull up a chair, and enjoy the expansive vista of ocean and mountains. The best beachside view ever, I think! Food is middle and good… suits families or couples… consistent, emphasis on seafood (fresh!), kind of like going to the White Spot used to be, when was its former self. Servers are friendly and fast… live music some evenings, in «the season». This one is on my list, always.