Reviews of The Bee's Knees Cafe' and Catering (Catering)

Lily Beigi

Super friendly staff and you must try the tea...

Fatemeh Shakhsesalim

Great food, lovely space, corner for kids to play and keep busy. Lots of positive energy. I always get to meet interesting people there or bump into an old friend. Try their Ash. It is fabulous.

Jen Skogland

i was a huge fan of this location but the last couple visits have left me unsatisfied. i came specifically for the cream cheese icing cinnamon buns they became famous for. It was fresh and covered in my favorite icing but the customer service was sub-par and it would have been nice if they offered to heat it.

HotChocolateHydra

Amazing chill atmosphere. Food is $$, but it's almost quite a delight to eat even for the prices. It's worth it to check out, even atleast once to see, if you think not well it might surprise you.

Majid Moosavinia

Joojeh Kabob Diabetic style, No trace of carbs,

Eddie Englander

Pleasant spot for a home made soup or sandwich. Great brewed iced tea and lemonade. Vegetable fritters were tasty as well.

Alyssa Steinhubl

Seriously cute. Tons of fresh baked goods and friendly staff plus really delicious espresso drinks and coffee. A great find for an out of towner looking for their daily caffeine fix!

Jansait Qughondouqa

Authentic and genuine. Good is delicious. Place is always clean. Cozy and comfortable. Owners are amazing! Very welcoming. Always smiling and helpful. I always enjoy my time here, either with friends or family. One of nanaimo’s gems. I highly recommend it.

Cait McDonald

On top of it being a fun, warm place with delicious veggie options I can eat, this cafe also has a comfy change table and made tampons available. So huge ups to The Bee's Knees who looks out for babies and menstruating women. Your efforts of support and inclusivity are noticed and appreciated.

Sam S.

The managers of the establishment aren't too nice and are quite unprofessional. Plus they are rude to their employees. That is all.

Farhad Moghimehfar

Nice place to sit down to have food or a coffee and pastry. I really enjoyed the atmosphere/decor inside. They have a corner for kis which is a fantastic idea. I had Ash (Persian Noodle Soup) and eggplant sandwich. Both tasted awesome (try Ash. It’s really good). Their tea menu is also impressive. Staff are very friendly and welcoming.

Robert Simpson (Emerald Sea Diver)

Awesome food and people... Love this place.

S

Latte & pesto grilled cheese were delicious! Flavour options are limited, but with good coffee you do not need it. Atmosphere is great . The packaging for sandwiches and wraps are super cute with hand written notes on them. The only thing stopping me from giving 5 stars , is the girl who works the counter/cash. She always seems so disinterested, tired, annoyed, etc. Sighing , rubbing her face , tapping the counter. I avoided writing a review for a while , because I figured "we all have off days, it happens", but I have been there a few times and she's always the same. Makes me wonder if the environment isn't as awesome for their employees as it is for the customers. All in all I highly recommend and will certainly return. Hopefully I can update this to 5 stars .

Hannah Watson

The coffee, baked goods and other food items are all delicious, and it is a lovely space.

Monir Shahzeidi

What a wonderful place for all ages. Very welcoming and homey environment. You can sit in this beautiful cafe for hours. Tasty sandwiches and specially Iranian soup (Aash) are amazing. Shirin the owner of this place is very nice and friendly. Once you step in you feel you are at home. Very suitable for families with kids, friends who want to chat in a cozy place. I recommend it to everyone.

Sherry Schmidt

Messed up my order, which was a muffin and 16 oz mocha. Argued my muffin was for another customer, other customer said no she ordered another type and made a smaller coffee. No apology was given.

Lianne Smithaniuk

Shirin and her family are a gift to Nanaimo! The food is terrific (especially the GF options) & ambience is wonderfully ethnic. Best of all is the warmth and generosity of spirit of the owners. Shirin recently provided cooking classes online for us to learn to prepare some Persian recipes—a total pleasure to participate in, with her demonstrations so helpful & organized. I’ll be back—haven’t had so much fun in at least a year! Thanks so much Shirin!

Dave P

Best breakfast sandwich (and wrap) in town. A fine cup of coffee too. Always a nice treat to start the day, with a pleasant greeting and comfy atmosphere.

Mike Waffles

Wonderful owner, wonderful staff! I Call for coffees every Friday! The spinach scones are to die for!

Michelle Gan

The gals I interacted with are super friendly, humble and knowledgeable. The place always has a great vibe, even in their new mall location. I was there early and the lineup was out the door and the tables filled!

Linnea Wiggers

I love it here! The staff are all friendly and kind, the environment is cozy and intimate, and the food is absolutely delicious. This is the perfect place to go on a rainy day to enjoy a hot drink and excellent customer service!!????????

Lilybelle Locks

Love this little gem! They have delicious Gluten free Cinnamon Buns (get them early because they sell out fast, they are baked fresh every morning) and the Buddha Bowl is my fave quick, healthy lunch (gluten free as well) So happy they are at Country Club mall now too :)

Donovan Jenkins

Fantastic fresh baked goods, good coffee, large open sitting area, kids toy corner... All around a great place. The food menu looks really good too, I just haven't tried it yet.

Millie Pepin

Such a cozy place, the food is warm and filling and the atmosphere leaves you smiling

Samuel Adair

This place has a very down-to-earth kinda atmosphere. You know the kind of atmosphere only homemade baked cookies and delicious cinnamon buns can create. The staff are super friendly with helpful attitudes. Parking is kitty corner on a busy street makes it difficult to access but if you can make it in it's a must try!

Selena Unger

Best chai latte in town!

Macio Luko

Very cozy setting and a large patio. Would certainly go back.

Fay Condron

I had a breakfast wrap and it was amazing! I loved the it had great flavor, the eggs were perfect. I will go back again . Thank You Bee's Knees!

JC Morton

So unbelievably surprised by this little place. Food and drinks are out of this world. A must try! NOTE: it's inside the mall.

Myla Yeomans-Routledge

We used Bees Knees for catering our Xmas party and it was wonderful! The food was delicious, hot, and enjoyed by all. Definitely would recommend them for catering both small and larger events!

Janice Henshaw

Delicious fresh baked muffins and lattes and friendly staff! Best coffee stop in Nanaimo. Janice

Gemma Cagney

So delicious! Even the side salad was super tasty. A great option for a lighter, middle Eastern style breakfast ????

Miranda White

A nice local business, with some of the best cinnamon buns I've had in a long while

Mike Hample

One of my favorites! Great coffee, good gluten free options. It's a small place that can get quite busy which means a but of a wait for food sometimes but always worth it!!

Bianka Auger-B.

If I could give more than 5 stars I would. Amazing tasty homecooked sandwiches, soups, desserts and more. The service is amazing. The owner is such an amazing human being. We even got a free muffin! The only downside is that we live on the other side of the continent so it was a one time experience that was rushed because of our ferry departure. Much thanks from Québec. ☺????????

Drew Quinn

We LOVE Shirin and love Bees Knees. Such a classy lady. She cares about her customers and it shows in everything she does. She also cares about her staff. A wonderful part of our community.

Svea Poulsen (Sveava)

Amazing fresh muffins. I had the blueberry muffin and it was still warm. Great coffee and the have tasty homemade iced teas. Staff is very friendly. Atmosphere is eclectic.

Victoria Pawlowski

Love the food, the staff, the ambience and the cooking classes! A real gem.

Jessica Richardson

Bees Knees catered my wedding at short notice and it was absolutely amazing. Knowing what we know now (that they even do catering, let alone how delicious it was), they definitely would have been our first choice. Thank you Shirin and Behzad for your kindness and generosity throughout the process. Now I will go feast on the leftovers :)

The Baubo

Great food. Nice staff. Great vegan options! Love the Buddha bowl.

jasmine bussiere

Great Cafe with with a consistently delicious options. Glutenfree Cinnamon buns available occasionally too!

Chrys LoScerbo

Yet again, absolutely loved this cafe for meeting over lunch. Everything on the menu is delicious, staff are lovely, and I am so thankful for their empowerment of hiring people of diverse abilities, showing local artists/speakers/creatives work and supporting local start up companies!

Telia Hsieh

We were passing through Nanaimo and needed to stop somewhere for breakfast. We found The Bees' Knees and it was everything we had hoped for. Cozy, down to earth with great quality healthy vegatarian food options. I had the grilled cheese with ash'd and it was delicious. The sandwich had everything that made the most basic grilled cheese perfect when you were a kid. And the house made chai was 5 stars on its own. I had the chai with rose, oat milk and just a little bit of sweetening. Enjoyed everything - 5/5 would definitely go back again! :)

Eric Dahl

Best Cafe in Nanaimo! Great coffee and I love their breakfast wrap with local eggs.

Laura Healey

This cafe has the most amazing food. If you visit Nanaimo it's 100% worth a visit for breakfast or lunch! YUM

Bobbi Jo

Wrap was so tasty and the ice tea was very refreshing and different than any I've ever had! Cool little cafe I really enjoyed it.

Pino Ferre

Just moved into the area and decided to give them a try. Wonderful place to eat. Authentic dishes and great tasting treats. Would highly recommend. Coffees are delicious too!!

Paul Zee

Great soup! Would eat there again.

T.C. Randall

Probably my favorite place in Nanaimo to hang out. Frequently busy, but still manages to feel private and warm. I have really missed this place during the lockdown.

hossein raeesi

During my time at the University of Vancouver Island in the lovely city of Nanaimo, sometimes I had my chances to walk in the lovely Bee's Knees cafe. I really loved this place, with delicious foods, great coffee and cookies. I saw this cafe child and vegetarian friendly. The staff were so friendly. Their food brought me back home. Highly recommended.

Kim LeDuc

Great coffee and wonderful teas at the Bee's Knees Cafe. They make wonderful gluten-free veg and cheese scones which satisfy my need for pastry. Delightful Persian food: sandwiches and soups and baking. A welcoming atmosphere and gorgeous decor. The owners are generous with their space, resources and time. They give back to their community and support efforts to assist those in need. May they receive the same support from our community.

Keira Mackay

5 stars are not enough to rate this wonderful business that brings the bees to Nanaimo. Looking forward to visiting the new location :)

Kaleigh M

This is a wonderful place, with great food! I love the buddah bowl and the iced chai latte!! Highly reccomend.

M Guinn

The cinnamon bun I tried was very good (not the best on the island or even in Nanaimo, but very good and obviously freshly made) but I was shocked that it was $6. They offered it with cream cheese icing which ended up just being plain cream cheese..

Bill Robertson

I love the africano here. Highly recommend coming here on a afternoon saturday

Julie MacTíre (redshasta)

Beautiful, unique cafe with an amazing menu and healthy choices.

Sig McKone

Love the food truck at the beach!

Howard Redford

one of the most divine cafe mokas I've had in years. the portabello and goat cheese sandwich was scrumptious but the soup peanut yam was slightly confusing to my palette as there were so many flavor components. overall a wonderful place for hot drink a light lunch and a good chat with a friend. will definitely be back

Horst Backe

Comfortable atmosphere. Friendly service. Good food and drink made on site. Family friendly. Community minded. Love it!

nicola ney

I Love everything BeeKnees stand for:Fabulous Food and Some Organic!!!! Environment, Supporting Local Artist, and the food is fabulous. I so appreciate they support Gluten Free Diets!!!

Matthew Cowell

A lovely place to grab coffee or breakfast. Really friendly staff and perfect food.

Jackie Unsworth

Really friendly staff. The food and drinks never disappoint. Highly recommend this cute cafe !!!

Laura Augustine

The best coffee shop in town to bring your kids. The owners and people who work there are fantastic. Food is quite good, coffee is delicious.

Miranda Lavigne

This place would actually be a gem if they could prepare food in a timely manner.. Also they like to unplug their system from skip daily so it's annoying because you can't even make an online order to try and beat the wait and to top it off it still says their available for order on skip so you end ordering and then getting credits because the order doesn't get confirmed :/ food is good but they need to figure out how to manage time and costumers ::/

Lindsey Wolchyn

Cute little cafe. The food is authentic and delicious.

zey

We ordered A’sh (a kind of soup) and my family and I love it. A’sh was super delicious????. However, the only problem was the time of waiting. The staff informed us that they had some problem regarding a stove. This problem had caused a half an hour delay. Just before ordering ask about waiting time????

Don Kranenburg

Excellent coffee, home baked everything and all served with a smile. Lovely people.

Glen Gordon

Fantastic food and great coffee very friendly staff a favorite place for post workout coffee

Sharon Peddle

Great friendly service. Very good food I had the veggie wrap, M had the Portabello wrap. A taste delight!

Sherif Omar

Nice atmosphere, could do with a more adventurous menu.

Malcolm MacKay

This place is a somewhat hidden gem in downtown Nanaimo. Everything is great, great food, reasonable prices and friendly service. Baked goods are particularly good. Best muffins in Nanaimo.

Barbara Cutler

Great coffee and friendly staff ????

Stephen & Maureen Goddard

A group of 16 of us recently booked a lunch at The Bees Knees, and we were all extremely delighted with the exotic Persian dishes Shirin especially prepared for us. From the incredibly tasty and unusual Potato Salads and eggplant dishes for starters, through the wonderfully cooked main Chicken & rice dish, to the amazing desserts, including the mouth watering Lemon Bar and Chocolate slice! We would all definitely be going back for further functions. On a regular note, we often use the Bees Knees as our go to very friendly, community oriented Coffee Shop. The coffee and her regular lunch fare are always delicious! This place is truly a hidden gem!

S M

Personally didn’t enjoy the food very much with the exception of the A’sh soup. Friendly service, lots of options for coffee and an amazing selection of vegetarian options. We ordered the eggplant and goat cheese sandwich and it was pretty underwhelming. The grilled cheese tasted okay and the veggie wrap is also not bad. They lack flavour though but they tasted very clean and healthy! I would try the A’sh soup because it had very authentic flavour to back home. If I ever stopped by again, I would be curious to try the Yam Soup. I should also mention the service was kind and friendly!

Ash W

got an iced tea and iced matcha latte with a spinach scone today and it was Amazing !!!!!! probably one of the best spinach scones ive ever had ☺☺

Tim Schilds

This was a wonderful surprise. Lunch was excellent! Had a yam and peanut butter soup along with a great grilled cheese sandwich.

soha shafey

Today I took a walk and decided to stop by with my toddler to grab a bite to eat while she played. I have been there before because there's a kids play area and I like the food but after today's experience I felt like I was unwelcome and most Lilly will not be returning. After finishing my food I brought my plate to the front and the waitress firmly told me there's a bin to place my dirty dishes over there so I did then as I was getting ready to leave she told me with a straight unfriendly tone to not encourage my toddler to run around this is a restaurant! So I said okay and left I didn't feel like the staff was very welcoming and felt like they were annoyed that there are kids playing and making noise even though there's an entire area set up for them her tone and attitude needs a serous adjustment.

Helen Burn

HANDS DOWN BEST CAFE IN TOWN. Very cute interior accompanied by warm and friendly staff. Chicken pesto sandwich is top notch. You won’t be disappointed if you visit them.

Barb Smith

Good place to get a group together. The coffee is good (I had a latte) and they have a nice sized patio. Parking is no problem (free 2 hour parking on the street right in front of the shop.)

Marg

The Bees Knees virtual Persian Cooking classes are wonderful. Lots of fun and an opportunity to cook along with Shirin and enjoy some very yummy new dishes!

Steven Thorell

Amazing place. Owner is very friendly and the atmosphere is just so cozy and wonderful.

Heather Walker

This is a small local place with friendly service and good coffee and interesting and good food. Worth a visit

James H Bjorum

Nice food but very inexperienced staff.

Kim McNutt

Family friendly with a great children's play area. Funky, homey atmosphere & friendly, fun staff. The best mocha's, locally sourced, organic & delicious food. This place is a gem!

Behzad Forghani Targhi

You are super lucky if you go there and meet the owner: Shirin, everything else is a bonus. She’ll welcome you with a warm smile and make sure you’ll have a experience of life! The food touches your soul with taste, flavour and colour. The Bee’s Knees can easily become your home out of home in it’s own simple way :-)

Sally Schilds

You must try the Rose Chai latte! We stopped for lunch and were delighted by the varied menu full of delicious alternative treats and tastes. I had a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich, no kraft singles here! With cup of Yam soup...Yam, Peanut butter, Onion, Garlic, Tomato, and Fresh Ginger. The food was served promptly, courteously, and was very delicious! Staff were friendly and professional.

Diane Bestwick

Great Persian cooking classes online from this unique authentic ethnic restaurant. I look forward to the up and coming class. Not only delicious recipes, but a wee introduction to Persian phrases and dancing!

Hannah Hillier

Such an awesome cafe! The food is delicious, the service is friendly, and the patio is great. The drinks were great too.

Anne Marie Vanstone

Gf cinnamon buns and coffee were amazing. Lovely ambiance for an impromptu snack after a fresh walk on the beach

Šárka V

Tasty, style place, fast and nice staff