Used to be a good restaurant. Now, the food was terrible! Soggy fish, old grease fries, and small portions. The service was almost non-existent. I will not be returning. There are so many other good experiences in the bay to waste time and money here....I will certainly be warning my friends of this poor restaurant.More
Don't be fooled by older reviews that claim this is a good spot to eat. Our visit in June 2023 was a FAIL. We wanted the fried oysters (which we've had there a year ago and were excellent), and the halibut. No oysters, no halibut...even...though they are still on the menu (the server said they haven't had oysters in many months, and not sure if/when they will get any again). Server suggested the cod instead of halibut and we agreed -- after all, what choice did we have since that's the only fish/seafood they had that day! Instead of oysters, I had a caesar salad. We asked if it could be quick, as we had a bit of a time constraint and already wasted 10 minutes waiting, only to find out they didn't have any of the items we originally ordered. She said she would personally make sure our order was put through quickly. Food came in reasonable time, but was not good. The salad, which was $11, was not even a handful of lettuce, bottled dressing and a mound of croutons. The cod and chips were greasy and soggy, and not even piping hot so must have been sitting for a while; we left half of the food on the plate. When we asked for the bill, they charged us for halibut which was more $ than the cod. Had to wait another 10 minutes to get the bill corrected. I feel it's also worth mentioning that there is no water/marina view from this restaurant. Only a view of a couple of large garbage dumpsters in the back! We will not be returning.More
Stopped in for a late dinner after an evening paddle boarding in Cowichan Bay. I was pleasantly surprised by how courteous and caring the staff were. The wait time for food was minimal and the meal itself was delicious. I will definitely be back for...another meal next time I am out that way!More
Food took forever to come and our friends received their food ~20 minutes before ours. Service was confused and unapologetic. Lots of people doing nothing. The clam chowder didn’t have any clams. The fish was “fishy” in spots making bites unpleasant and was also very...salty from the batter. The batter is crispy but extremely thick and permeated in oil. We chose this place with high hopes but it failed on all accounts and made for a terrible visit.More
Unfortunately, the golden era of the rock cod is over and relying on their minute of glory a decade ago. High prices, smaller portions and tiny coffee cups. Not to mention the chowder bun which used to be very large and filled with top notch...clam chowder. The last one I had was a tiny, almost dinner bun size and was filled with something resembling clam flavoured bc paste. Not a single piece of clam could I find, just thick, greyish slop. I wish the new owners well but I won’t be returning.More
We waited an hour to have our order taken. Another hour later, when the food arrived it was barely edible and wrong. We then endured the inept waitress not even being capable of ringing out our checks which were also wrong. We wasted hours on...a sunny day in this establishment and we hope that no other unsuspecting people will need to suffer a "meal" in here. Buyer Beware.More
We used to love Rock Cod Café and often made it a destination trip from Victoria. But, of course management changed not long ago. So, when we had something to do in the area, we decided to give it a try and go back. We...arrived sometime between 1 and 2 PM on a sunny October afternoon. Our preferred outside tables were no longer available. So, we settled at a table inside and decided on a few deep fried pieces of halibut, because we were hungry and figured that would not take long to be prepared. It took longer than expected, but having been served a beer, we were prepared to wait. While we waited, we observed a single person in the kitchen working on the food for other people with bare hands. Our appetite decreased. A little lady, perhaps nine or so years old, was amusing herself at the bar, and being served what looked like Timbits and juice. She must have been owned by the proprietors or one of the staff. She was quite in command of the bar. But even this entertainment did nothing to quench our hunger. There was no sign of anything coming our way. So, after having waited in vain for an hour, we left. We won’t be back soon!More
Delicious meal, so many gluten free options and great portions/prices! Will definitely be coming back!
Loved the Fish and Chips, the decor and the whole atmosphere. Very interesting paintings. We would certainly return the next time we are in Cowichan Bay.
We had 2 nights in Cowichan Bay & chose this place for our first nights meal. The staff were really friendly & sorted us with a table even though we didnt have a reservation & it was a Saturday night & they were busy. We...had the fish & chips & it was great. The place was busy with folk eating all other types of seafood. It was so good, after checking out the other Cow Bay options, we chose to go back again on our second night! Really good value & good quality.More
My wife and I go a ways back with this restaurant. It used to be a tough seat to find as line ups were the norm and then... not so much... for good reasons in our opinion. Fast-forward, the Rock Cod has new owners, but...with said owners having past RC history as they had worked there throughout. Hence we were skeptical that (numerous) aspects within would show marked improvement. Happy to report that improvement was evident! Food was very good, service was great, the walls lost their previous less-than- seafood-theme-compatable 'art' etc. A good experience backing the views of a couple sets of friends who indicated to us the arrival of positive changes. Well done. Good luck. We'll be back.More
We are thrilled the Rock Cod is open again and the service is friendly and fast! The halibut and chips are still my favorite. My husband had the Vancouver Island Burger (cod, smoked salmon, cream cheese, ++). We can see this is popular with the...locals so come early!More
