Rock Cod Cafe

Ok, you know the drill by now; 5 twinklers is hard to come by in this corner.
These guys came close and I might even bleed a little color over into a piece of the fifth star. Not a lot but enough to raise it a little above a the 4 I chose.
Cod burger was a biiiiig surprise.
Worth the drive.
Very, very, nicely done.
Huge, very tasty and well presented.
Clam chowder, Boston style, which is the only way to make it, was pretty damn good.
Chowder is like women and beer, they’re all good, just somes better ‘n others.
I’ve had better on the Oregon coast and at Fisherman’s Wharf in Frisco.
Nothing really bad to say about it… just had better is all.
Clubhouse was a clubhouse. How can you screw one of those things up?
They didn’t.
Ingredients were substantial. Big slab of turkey, thick slices of tomato, good supply of bacon and fresh lettuce.
Maybe should add a little more kick or flavor to the sauce (Mayo?) just to make it a little moister and take it above ordinary.
A very hearty sammich, all the same though.
Service was quick and plenty friendly. Nice, genuine, small town friendly. No pretense.
Everyone in the joint had big platefuls.
Good value.
We will return. Lots to try on an extensive menu.

Great find. Packed with people who knew it was so good! Cod and Greek salad with chowder. Yum! ! Really good and fresh fish.

My wife and I have been looking for good fish for 4 days, started in Seattle and then Victoria BC. We finally found it in this hidden gem of a town this is a must try for any traveler. Being from Dallas we get the typical fish dinner, unless you go to a high end restaurant. Rock Cod has good food and a comfortable atmosphere.

Still a great stop for fish and seafood…
The crab cakes satisfied my craving — bigger, more dense, sweet and seasoned rock crab — better than what I’ve been getting in Victoria for same price ($ 17.00). Two thick cakes enough for two to share as a starter, served with sweet-​hot Thai chilli sauce, which is a nice change from tartar or seafood sauce.
On special was «Salt and Pepper» halibut and fries with coleslaw ($ 17.00). I was thinking the fried Chinese-​style, super seasoned recipe. It wasn’t that, but it was delicious. Mild, not much salt or pepper; A generous chunk of fresh, flakey halibut fried with a thin, crispy batter, likely corn flour; It was not greasy or soggy. Coleslaw fresh with basic creamy dressing, could use some seasoning or fresh dill. Tartar sauce on the side, fries fresh crisp, with soft centre.
All in all, a yummy meal. Even better that they serve local, Cobble Hill Merridale Cider on tap. Premium dry, hard cider, full body, no sulphites.
Will be back for another fish or seafood fix. .. .

This place is wonderful for people who need or want a gluten-​free menu. They have very safe practices and many choices including gluten-​free turtle cheesecake. The butter chicken is out of this world as is the Indonesian Hot Pot. This place is deservedly very busy, but worth the wait.

The town itself is super cute — this seems to be one if the only restaurants in town in the off season. If you’re getting the fish and chips, it sounds like the place to go. Probably best avoided if you’re looking for anything not fried.
The food left a lot to be desired. The fresh sweet potato fries were great, sides were ok if bland, but the «grilled» «cedar plank» salmon was obviously thrown into the same fryer as everything else. Who wants oil-​drenched deep fried and un-​battered fish, on an oil-​stained slab of cedar?
When we asked this of the waitress, she said matter-​of-​factly that the cedar is «for show» and that the «cedar plank grilled» salmon always comes fried. We kind of just stared at her for a sec, mouths slightly agape, but we didn’t press any further.
Please don’t call it grilled if it comes from the oil fryer — it tasted disgusting and considering it had bits of batter on it from the fryer, probably a health hazard to gluten free folks.

My sister and I had wanted to go for years but never got the chance for various reasons. Finally got the chance and it was well worth the trip.
We ordered the fish tacos with rock cod, hers battered mine grilled. Our dad got the cod fish and chips and my eldest got the fish bites. We got the onion rings and sweet potato fries for appies. We were pleasantly surprised at the size of the dishes and it was all very well prepared and presentation was good. My only complaints are we were seated by the window and it was a HOT day and we ended up lowering the shades ourselves and the sweet potato fries were on the dry side.
We found the service was good. Our server gave us time to order and was sweet with my kids (6 and 1). I liked how when it got busy the other servers that weren’t as busy were helping our server out. Seemed like a real team effort.
I will be back to try more of their dishes when I come back to BC.

We heard the fish n chips were good so we decided to give it a try. We tried one deep fried and the other one grilled. The fried one was way tastier and bigger sized then the grill. Overall the fish was okay. But for $ 21 for two pieces of fish I consider this place more of a touristy restaurant. The seafood melt was good and the portion size was good. Our server is very friendly and prompt in her service. And the restaurant is very kid friendly. But for a restaurant beside the Cowichan Bay and For the prices we paid I was expecting some more fresh seafood choices on the menu. Overall, I will consider this an average restaurant.

My hubby and I went here for dinner last night because I’ve been in the past and have never forgotten the clam chowder!
Same amazing food, miserably poor service though. I ordered a bowl of clam chowder which came out quite promptly and steaming hot. It is to die for. Anyone who loves a good clam chowder will not be disappointed at all.
Unfortunately we made the mistake of placing our meal order along with my soup. I was maybe a third of the way through my gorgeous chowder when out came our fish and chips. Sigh. So I had to speedily finish my chowder in order to start eating the amazing 1 piece halibut fish and chips. So buttery and flaky and with a fantastic light batter that was so flavourful. Your fish and chips come with a lovely coleslaw that seems to have just the right balance of creamy and slightly acidic dressing — yum.
Like I said the food is definitely worth coming for, however, don’t be surprised by terrible service all around.

Pretty busy for Easter evening. Good menu with lots of choices. Cioppino was one of the evenings special. Both my husband and I ordered it. Very tasty and a good portion. Reasonably priced definitely recommend this place!

A great place to eat! We ordered the 1 piece fish and chips (Halibut) and the Captains plate. The 1 piece came with a huge piece of Halibut atop a mound of fries. Delicious! The Captains plate is a great way to sample a variety of seafood and came with calamari, oysters, prawns, and Halibut atop another mound of fries. We opted for the battered fish… and everything arrived hot and not greasy to the taste buds. All and all… a great place to quench your need for fish and chips!

B-​List. It’s a touristy atmosphere down by the wharf. What you will find are a lot of hotels, shops and a few eatries. One such eatery is the Rock Cod Café. The food is good. The service is polite and prompt. The view is good. In fact, it’s all quite good. And that’s the point. Exceptional, it is not. Superb, no. Above average, not going to happen. The food is what you would expect of a larger restaurant in a touristy area — lots of deep fried this and that, they skimp on the chicken, they will give you lots of carbs — french and yam fries, breaded items galore, etc. It fills you up and the house wins. The view is terribly obscured by cars and other unsightliness. Go for a fun touristy outing. But don’t expect awesome — you wont find it there.

we love this place. we went there around 8:30pm and I think we were the last customers. the food was absolute delicious. we ordered the wild salmon fish and tuna.

Have been to the Rock Cod thrice. Food quality varied, but as a local place it’s nearby and it’s a favorite of friends of ours. Service has ranged from excellent to terrible; the first time we went I barely had time to notice that I ran out of my drink when it was refilled. The second time it felt like you had to use flares to capture anyone’s attention. Both times the restaurant seemed similarly busy. It was the third time, however, that forced me to give a single star rating. After an adequate meal, I was eating dessert when I ‘found’ a small watch battery in my dessert. I say ‘found’ like I discovered it, but what actually happened is that I bit down on something hard and foul tasting, and after I spat it out discovered what it was. I showed it to our waitress, who carefully took it away. I don’t think I paid for dessert, but I definitely paid for my meal. While a quick apology and a comp’d dessert may be appropriate when a customer doesn’t like the quality of your chocolate, or thinks it’s too salty, it’s not appropriate after nearly swallowing something toxic that should never, ever, be near any food at any time.
The foulness of the taste and resulting nausea caused my stomach to eventually expel every bit of the meal into the commode once we returned home. Pretty sure I didn’t get my money’s worth. I will never, ever, go back again. I do wish I had the ability to give zero stars on a review, but alas a single star will have to do.

I’m compelled to write a review after a third visit to the Rock Cod Café. The first two visits were sufficiently good to warrant a third visit. There won’t be a fourth visit however.
The food was average. I had two pieces of fish and chips. The fish portions on the outside were quite large; perhaps 3″ x 5″ or about the size of an index card. Under the batter however, the actual fish portions were quite small, not more than 8 oz. in total.
My companion’s meals were equally disappointing with overly-​spiced fries and a fish burger that was overwhelmed with toppings.
The service was initially friendly but deteriorated into indifferent to the point where paying the bill seemed like a bit of a bother. Among four people we had two appys and four entrees. No drinks except water. After taxes, the bill was $ 88.
Overall, there seems to have been a significant change in the atmosphere, service and certainly the food. Too bad. It’s a bit of an icon in Cowichan Bay.

A lady at the visitors center recommended the Rock Cod. The food was great — good portions and fresh fish. The ambiance and place itself was so-​so, very cramped and uncomfortable. Kind of diner’ish. Worth a visit for the food, though.

A local person recommended this place when we visited Vancouver Island. It was ok, but we won’t eat here again.
FOOD: 2.0 star. I had salmon dinner. Fish was fine. The roast potatoes tasted like they were from a frozen package.
Wife had a salad. Regular iceberg lettuce salad with the usual veggies. Nothing special.
Son had chicken curry. Waitress didn’t know if it had peanuts, because «the sauce comes in a plastic bag.» Made me wonder if they use the same system as Applebees.
AMBIENCE: 3.0 star.
SERVICE: 2.0 star. (Updating this two days after original post. If you are traveling from US and thinking of paying in US currency – rather than credit card – be sure to confirm the exchange rate being used by the restaurant before ordering.)

I had a stop in Cowichan Bay and dropped in for lunch with some family at the Rock Cod Café. Fish and chips appear to be one of their specialities and my lunch guests spoke highly of all their seafood but said they were not fans of their oysters.
I Split a 2 piece halibut fish n chips. It had a very nice golden batter, the fish was well cooked. We had a side of deep fried torpedo prawns and thai sweet chili sauce. The batter was slightly overcooked but the prawns inside were tender, moist and tasted delicious with the sauce. Other dishes that earned nods of approval between bites were a bread bowl soup and the daily soup and sandwich, all of which appeared to be very home made.
The restaurant has a friendly atmosphere and our service was excellent. The only thing I can complain about was that the coffee was definitely not for me. The Rock Cod Café is a great choice if you find yourself in Cowichan Bay.

An awesome place to eat seafood — any type. I would not recommend non seafood plates here, you come to a seafood restaurant for ONE thing that’s seafood… and they do it good here!
Don’t leave without eating: Classic Fish & Chips
Don’t leave without seeing: Any of the Ad‘s around town — they are real customers