Reviews of Woodfire Restaurant & Catering (Catering)

n marie

Always a delight to dine here. The outdoor patio was very comfortable and our meals and drinks were amazing as usual. Staff were helpful, polite and attentive and didn't make us feel rushed even though they were closing. Woodfire has never disappointed us!

Rob Penner

If you make it over to Gabriola Island, take the time to stop by for the food, the great service, and the beautiful decor. The prices are reasonable, especially for the quality of food. The only small improvement that I would suggest is adding gravy to the menu. Definitely 9/10.

kirk brown

Woodfired pizza is excellent

T A

Nice artwork! food was fine... Not very friendly staff however, was fairly bothered that we actually paid for a cup of milk and when we handed our baby bottle they gave it to us back half empty.

JP DuBouchard

Really good food, a little on the pricey side for the island but well worth it for their pizzas!

Ryan McLeod

We had dinner with the large group of people, service was excellent food was great, it is an excellent place to eat. In Gabriola Island has not many restaurants choices and you do not check for alternatives because wood fire also offer other variety of foods as well. If you visit to Gabriola Island you have to eat Woodfire Restaurant

Bryan Bryce

Nice menu, well prepared

Christine Kosowick

Dinner

Paul von Conrad

One of the best meals I've had in a while, with a warm atmosphere. We had the Grilled prawns as an appetizer, and although there's only 4 they were delicious. I recommend getting a side of their focaccia bread to finish off the garlic butter sauce. I had the Blue Grouse Quill Red Wine, with their seafood special of Coho Salmon, Cod, and Prawns on a bed of mixed vegetables. We finished dinner off with a desert special which was a sticky English Toffee pudding topped with Vanilla gelato.

Wooderson

Amazing

dark fabric

I was considering visiting until I read your defensive rebuttal to a poor review. When someone is hungry, thirsty and doesn't recieve any service for upwards of 40 minutes, your first response in the service industry should not be to snap at them. Do better and learn to say sorry. The customer (no matter how badly you want to fight them) is always right. Yeah it sucks when a group shows up sporadically, but you do your best and when someone feels the service was not great you apologize regardless. The reviewer Dominic did not say anything offensive but you jumped on the attack. Grow up and do better. If 25 different people would have shown up for different seatings at the same time and you got slammed by it, you'd be singing a different tune. Weddings are stressful, timing people to get to a restaurant is difficult, the service industry is difficult, but you smile, you do your best and you don't make excuses or attack your patrons. Will not visit.

Morgan Payne

Lots of hype, busy place every time we drive by, so we decided to try the pizza. Maybe because of the high reviews, we had higher expectations, but it only led to disappointment. The pizza wasn't terrible, but it was burnt around the edges. I mean burnt, black, hard as a rock and tasted burnt. The cheese on the top was hard and crunchy in most places, and then the middle was still soft and dripping in some places, almost like it was undercooked. So it was like eating burnt food with the occasional peice of good bacon to mask the flavor of the charcoal. My only thought is that the oven was too hot and so it burnt the outside and didn't cook the inside as much as they should. Edible, but if I eat here again, I will be trying something else from the menu. I gave 2 stars instead of 1 star because the ingredients they used are clearly high quality. The issue was being burnt and undercooked at the same time. Gotta watch that oven temp guys!

Emma Claire

Very lovely and knowledgeable staff! They have great COVID-19 procedures in effect. Our server was very helpful catering to my vegan request as they had Daiya cheese available for the pizza. Also the feature salad was vegan minus the goat cheese and honey! Highly recommend :)

Jeanna Duke

We had a awesome meal at this restaurant. Great price for drink the Caesar came with 3 olives and a pickled asparagus. The mussels and clams with white wine cream sauce was so yummy. Woodfired pizza we shared for a main dish and you can go wrong. Dessert tastes so great even though we where full. Great portions and lots of sauce. Great service as well.

Tim Fletcher

Fantastic! Worth every cent!!

Sabina M.-Swan

Best pizza ever. Ordered the Sandwell one. Nice staff and location.

Steven Saldebus

Pizza is outstanding!! The drink menu...topnotch! So impressed with the service and food!

Melissa Ratcliff

Attended a wedding catered by Woodfire Restaurant. Quality food, nice selection and very friendly and professional staff. Everything we were offed was tasty eaten up quickly. Mmmmmm.

Julian Worker

Service

Eddie Englander

Amazing pizza

Cindy Hoang

If you can’t make a margarita pizza, why have a wood oven? I’m pretty sure they put cheddar on my margarita. I couldn’t taste the basil because the cheese had so much herb flavor added to it. The sauce was overly sweet. The crust was utter garbage. May as well make a microwave pizza.

Jen Petersen

We always enjoy the service and our meals at Woodfire, beautiful little upscale gem to go to for a nice meal out, or grabbing a pizza to take to the beach.

Mitch Miller

Knowledgeable staff served excellent clams and mussels in a Thai flavored cream sauce.

Laurie Jackson

Nice and cozy, tasty food.

SKS BC

Such amazingly fresh cuisine. There are few restaurants I can dine at that don't leave me feeling ill afterwards due to food sensitivities but the Woodfire's fresh food never gives me trouble. I eat here regularly and can't recommend it enough. Try their seafood dishes and pizza... absolutely delicious!

Ben Barrett-Forrest

One of the best hamburgers I’ve ever had! And fantastic prawn pizza. Our server was lovely, and the ambience was spot-on. Gabriola is lucky to have such a fantastic restaurant!

Jodi Beaubier

Everything about this place is excellent. The staff are great and the menu is delicious. Some of my favorites: Elder Cedar pizza, ribs, cauliflower parmesan soup, winter wood fire salad, pan fried prawns, and the list keeps growing. A must try when you visit Gabriola.

Hike-the-island. Bates

Modern and efficient restaurant. They take reservations and have full covid protocols in place. Good staff and fast kitchen. They have an outdoor eating area as well as social distances tables inside.

Mikey

Great local food

Cinder Woods

Excellent food, excellent service from Jessie! Appreciated the number of vegetarian choices.

Chris Marcan

Good pizza but expensive, and not really worth-it expensive. That's takeout, though. Dining in feels like corporate dining with nothing setting this corporation apart.

Ilya Kourzakov

Excellent food made from fresh quality ingredients and excellent service. My favourite place

Rachelle Briard

Fun spot to visit on the island, great seafood selection!

Rafal Gerszak

The service was fantastic, and the food was just as good. We both had specials, and I look forward to going back to see what else I can try.

Jonathan “Jono” Holden

If you prefer your pizzas thin and crispy and loaded with toppings then Woodfire is the place for you. The atmosphere is luxurious and the service is excellent, and the concise menu offers a good range of creatively named dishes. My criticism is that wood fired pizza tends to be neapolitan in style, the dough being the star of the show, leoparding and absorbing qualities only wood coals can bestow, this is not that kind of pizza. The sauce was entirely lost under a quantity rather than quality approach to ingredients. Already paying a high price for my meal I found I'd been charged for the container offered for my left over slices (not even a pizza box, I had to stack them). I felt a bit gouged, especially as there are very few dining options on the island, Woodfire seems out of step with the community and hospitality offered elsewhere.

Victoria Treacy

Excellent food and service

zip none

Wow! One of the best restaurants I have ever been to...the seafood ciuppino dish was so good i totally forgot i dont like seafood.

BROMEWOOD, fleuriste

We made the mistake of going on a Saturday without a reservation. Very long wait, however the staff was very friendly and professional. The food was okay. The Kitchen down the road has better pizza.

Will Anderson

We had a great dinner. Great menu!

Casey McDaniel

Personally loved the pizza, salad, and creme brûlée there. Definitely worth visiting if you’re going to this island.

Ezra Tsai

Enjoyed the Valentines menu. Service was amazing and atmosphere too. Food was yummy.

Ashton Pearson

Amazing food

Chad K.

An absolutely wonderful place to have a wholesome heart full friend, family, or romantic dinner. There is a pizza choice for every palate, several delicious salads, and other selections I look forward to trying once I get through the pizzas!

Chillbadill

The wife and I both had woodfire burgers and fries and they were friggin deadly. Deadly fries, deadly burger.

Lynette Rivest-Boyd

Fabulous food, elegant service. I've never had a dish here I didn't love.

Bob Sampson

Always delicious and wonderful staff! Great pizzas!

Alan Zisman

Typical bad service on this island. Dont go here.

Fred Turner

Great food, and polished service. We will be back. We felt the bill was reasonable.

Matt Gul

Great place close to the Village on Gabriola Island. They have the option of a gluten free pizza base for pizzas and a good selection of drinks.

Sean Boyd

Excellent food at a very reasonable price. Italian/west coast with a great selection of pizzas, pastas and other dishes cooked in their woodfire oven.

R David Anthony

Lovely Gulf Island restaurant. I'm fond of the pizza. Good for dine in or take out, parking available.

Victoria Van Rosebrook

Highly recommend! First visit was during a massive power outage and all the staff were troopers - customer service was their number one priority. Many delicious gluten free options available plus an awesome wine list too. We will be back for sure! Much thanks to our server Sharon and all the other staff!

Gabriola Real Estate & Lifestyle

I think the best restaurant in Nanaimo, isn't actually in Nanaimo. It's on Gabriola Island (Nanaimo's best kept secret). After spending the day bicycling around the island, this restaurant was a perfect end to a perfect day.

Brian “Flyin' B” Bullas

Good food. Restaurant is on 'island time" so bring your patience.

Roya Mole

There pizzas are great

Gerry Simpson

Great, unique pizzas!

Chris G Miller

Good food, friendly staff, great french fries!

Dan Morrison

My wife and I both had pizza. I had a 14" Brickyard Beast and the wife had a 10" Ripple Beach, both were excellent. The 14" was definitely bigger than a 14" and was more than I could eat.

Sid Jenner

Delicious food, fairly good service, but a bit over-priced.

Michael and Carlee Richter

Amazing pizzas - Sandwell is my favorite one. Great ambiance as well. Chris & Sharon are running an amazing ship...????

Chrys LoScerbo

A great place to go. Waitress was excellent.

Megan Wurster

The patio, food and service was excellent.

Jonathan Colvin

Great place, amazing food!.. prices are a bit scary but it was worth it in the end. Pretty much the only classy place to eat on Gabriola

dominic bernardo

I attended a wedding and they had a plus 25 person order. We waited 40 minutes and did not get any drinks. Our tables were not cleaned up. They served beverages to other guests 20 minutes after us on other tables. Very bad standard and very dissatisfied. Would not recommend no matter if the quality of food may be good. Waiting more than an hour, all food will have a sour taste. Ps. As I have just read the owners own response without any sign of a direct apology. It clearly shows no class or professionalism on their part. Just excuses. Google does not allow less that one star. Still not impressed.

Katelyn Winston

Friendly and personable service great food.

Kent Brownlow

Always a great dining experience! We ordered the specials - starter, main, dessert and all three were worthy of 5 stars. Service was really good as well, especially under these difficult COVID conditions.

Jo-Anne Schaap-Henze

This is the best place on Gabe to go for a special occasion. Lovely atmosphere and pleasant relaxed dining. Delicious food with a gourmet touch with a good selection to choose from. Beautifully decorated for the holiday season!

Mercedes Jayne

Food is delicious, great place to bring your favourite foodie. Pizza out of this world, you can see the wood stove when you walk in. Always hopping so reservations are recommended.

Shaunessy Hutchen-Lay

Wonderful food and service

Stefano Oggeri

The comfortable and not overlit interior sits well within the overall quiet atmosphere of Gabriola island. Staff is courteous, helpful and unfazed by our 2yo trying to dismantle the place by throwing crayons around. The portions are abundant and the food competently prepared; the sauteed prawns were one of the highlights of the night, with a pleasant twist given by a hint of cumin. Crème brulé was a touch too creamy, but still good. The pizza unfortunately had a mass-produced character instead of what the firewood oven might make one expect, however the restaurant is not described as a pizzeria, so we were not really anticipating anything out of the ordinary in that department. We came back twice to the restaurant and we were not disappointed.

Shael Zelunka

The food and drink options are excellent. Wait staff were attentive without being overbearing. We were able to sit and talk for an hour after our meal finished without feeling like they wanted us to leave.

Chelsea Woods

Meal type

leanna larsen

Just eat your way through the menu, there's no way to go wrong.

Rob Morra

What a dream this was. Incredible food on an island that essentially shuts down at 8pm! This quiet, cozy restaurant was delightful. Be sure to make reservations though as it got quite busy when we were there. Staff was friendly and attentive. Humboldt squid was the best I have ever had to start! My wife and I split the burger and fries, as well as the Firetruck pizza (saved lots for lunch the next day). We were so full we had to skip dessert!

Mayara Brandao

Delicious food, and genuine, friendly service, had a lovely meal waiting for the ferry. The vanilla bean cheesecake is likely the best cheesecake I've ever eaten!

Andrew Patrick (Trip)

My girlfriend and I had supper here, the chicken pot pie to be specific. It the best we've ever had. The pasty was so light and the atmosphere was so inviting. We look forward to return :)

Peter McLorg

Popular restaurant in the commercial area of Gabriela Island. Our experience was positive, good food good service.

Andrew Cavey

Jessica provided excellent service for my friends and I this evening. The food and atmosphere were fantastic, I will definitely recommend for family and friends.

Justin Raine

The food here was great, but I don’t know if we’ll be back to try the rest of their menu. The were seriously understaffed which is understandable, but the service from the staff they did have was pretty terrible. We were initially told it would be a 30 minute wait but ended up waiting over an hour to be seated and over two hours before we received our food… on a Monday night! There was very little interaction with their staff over those two hours waiting. And then the server forgot part of our food when it did come and had to be reminded to get it for us. We were pretty clearly unhappy but the server made no attempt to apologize or remedy the experience. Management needs to increase staff but more importantly, improve their training so staff are encouraged and empowered to try to fix problems instead of make them worse. The cherry on top was their prices. High to start, but we knew that. They charge additional fees for any little thing though – even takeout containers!

Loren Leeuw

Did a day trip to Gabriola from Nanaimo. Decided to go to Woodfire for dinner while waiting for the ferry back to Nanaimo. It definitely was not what i expected. It was way better! The food and atmosphere at this place is great! The food is amazing, the portions are large, and the staff is wicked. I'm planning on going over the Gabriola just to have dinner here in the future.

Junya Wu

Had a great experience at this restaurant. First off, they have done a fantastic job decorating the parking lot that has become a seating area during CoVid. Staff was pleasant, professional and very adherent to social distancing while remaining personable. Mel was our server and she was prompt and knowledgeable. The pizza was one of the best we have had and was loaded with fresh vegetables and delicious goat cheese. We will be back!

Annette Jaworsky

Excellent food!

Rob Cameron

Fine dining in Gabriola, consistantly satisfying.

courtney findlay

Really well respected restaurant in town. Works around food allergies well.

Jarrod Moore

Always a great experience. Made a reservation, showed up early and they were able to accommodate. Food was fantastic, as always. Every time we vacation on Gabriola we visit Woodfire at least once. This time we also visited the Fire Truck Grill at Pages Inn. Great food, good times on summer evenings. The staff handle difficult customers like pros and never miss a beat.

Ian Wilson

Was on Gabriola this past weekend and was recommended to eat there and was not disappointed on any level. Quality ingredients,service and fair prices. Had the Woodfire burger 1st night and went back the second night and had the best bbq pork ribs ever and i am a butcher so speaks volumes. The food is cooked to order so be patient and enjoy.

Marc Dore

I was vegan for over 8 years and the Cordon Bleu Sub is the best sandwich I've ever had.

Frank Stacey

It's good quality food. A little expensive...but not outrageous.

Mrs Todd

Modern interior decor, Great pizzas and extensive menu and wine list. Always good to visit.

Donald Vanderrick

Delicious food, friendly service, warm and elegant setting

Dill

(Translated) The dishes are very tasty, the service is efficient. Prices are reasonable. This little island is truly a gem. (Original) המנות טעימות מאד, השירות יעיל. המחירים סבירים. באי קטן זו באמת פנינה.

Roie Tal

Good food.

Jennifer Ringrose

Food and service are the best I’ve experienced so far on the island! Must try!!

Steve Young

Nice relaxing dinner on the patio

James Derry

Great service great food

Barry Madan

Friendly helpful staff. Great food.

Cat Harling

Some of the best pizza I've ever had. I had the yogi trail and it was perfect!

Kirsten Bergen

Loved it! The food was great, prices good, staff incredibly friendly. In fact, out of the way helpful. Only 2 negatives were that it was incredibly cold (I was there December 27, after the storm and power outages - maybe it hadn't had a chance to warm up properly again?) and the construction of the building means that it gets very loud as it fills up. I am very much looking forward to my next meal there.

Rob Binning

Made the trip from Nanaimo for a bit work. My friend had heard about this place and recommend we give it a try. Very modern and clean environment. Greeted at the door upon entry with hardy welcome. Followed Covid protocols as required and were seated. The menu was varied, with a fabulous selection of stone fired pizza. I tried the first one on the menu as it had prawns and spinach, 2 of my favorites! Was pleasantly surprised with the quick service. The presentation was fabulous with each pizza on a tray with its own pizza lifter. First bite was amazing! It was a light and tangy tomato sauce on a thin crust. The mixture of cheeses, spinach and prawns were perfect. The pizza was best I have had in a very long time! It was an absolute delight! To top it all off we finished with a sticky toffee pudding with ice cream! The manager and staff were amazing and the food was fabulous. Well worth a trip over to Gabriola Island. I highly recommend!!

Aaron Mcdonald

Finest dining in Gabriola!

Les Davis

The pizzas are amazing.

Alexandra Jensen

Lots of variety on the menu and amazing pizza with loads of flavor, service was great as well, Would definitely come back.

Kim Connor

Always an enjoyable experience at Woodfire. The food is delicious and the service is friendly, prompt and courteous.

Paul Harling

very good food including deserts; cozy and comfortable seating; owner operated who are committed to serving their patrons

Raymond L

Memorable experience dining in their outdoor patio. Service was perfect. Highly recommend their steamed mussels and clams appie.

Heather May

I almost never review anything, but I felt compelled to write about my fantastic experience at Woodfire. My mom and I came to Gabriola for the weekend and ate here on Friday night. The food and service were so good we came back the next night! Best gluten-free pizza crust I’ve ever had, and the honey-lemon cheesecake made me want to eat the whole cake. Truly some of the best food I’ve ever eaten.

lorna lissner

This is a great local restaurant, not just pub food but an effort to mix it up a bit. Very pleased with the service, the selection of food on the menu and the price. Will return again

Elizabeth Lutz

Outstanding pizza and calamari. Best food on the island.

Sarah Frame

Woodfire needs to work on their takeout process... Our pre-order was 15 minutes late being ready. They then dropped one of our pizzas when boxing things up (accidents happen!), and didn't even offer to give us that pizza for free when they re-made. Eventually we got a free pizza (for next time). But not a smooth or good takeout/customer service experience at all this time, and we ended up with soggy pizza that had been sitting for too long.

Joshua Sale

Terrible experience here, I asked for no arugula, the server brought me my pizza and it had arugula baked into it. I asked for a new one and they told me no, I ended up not eating any of if, they wouldn’t discount it or switch it out for what I asked. Unbelievable, I’ve never been treated so bad in my life.

Gino Shay

Dine in

Gary Crocker

Always exceptional food and service at Woodfire!

LORRIE GOODRICK

Some of the best pizza I have ever had the pleasure of eating

In The Bag Enterprises Ltd

Friendly informative stuff. Great food and drinks

Jeffrey Gray

Amazing food. Great menu selection. Professional service. I had the burger and you can tell that they local source their meat- wow!

M W

Pretty busy for trying to dine in on a Wednesday night, so opted for take out based on the wait times we were told. In the end, our take out took 45 minutes to prepare and we would have been seated and ordered faster. Servers were a bit curt about the whole process and could have been friendlier. There were also empty outdoor seating tables the entire time we waited which I found a bit odd when you have customers waiting, but perhaps a service capacity issue. Overall food was fine but pretty standard fare given its price.

Wendy Leeson

Had the wildfire pizza, was incredible. Nice beer selection on tap.

Peter Koppenaal

The short rib pasta was phenomenal. And the toppings on the woodfire pizza were delicious.

Matt Ollech

Very tasty! The wood fire burger was so big I could barely fit it in my mouth. Make reservations or you might not get a spot. Saw lots of people come by and get pizzas to go, my fiance had a pizza too and she said it was the best pizza she's ever had. Lots of dessert and drink options too. The staff looked very busy but still helped us well and the food came out pretty fast.

TYLER O

Great place to dine! Wonderful food.

Melissa Winter

Sandwell pizza was the best! Everyone really enjoyed the amazing food.