Firehouse Grill

The food was flipping awesome, the stuffed avocados were absolutely killer. All the other plates at the table looked really good, like there was time & attention out into all of them. Great spices and awesome flavour.

Came here with my dad. Creative sushi options made with fresh and delicious seafood. We both ordered the chef’s choice (which we were told each plate would is different) and we were both incredibly impressed. This is a great sushi restaurant. Service was also very good.

I love the food, especially the hookah roll! Have been to the firehouse grill quite a few times there and would return.
Haven’t always had the most pleasant service though. Good thing the food is just that good.

It’s surprising to possibly think of this as a sushi place, although it kinda works. The extensive sushi list of very creative sounding rolls are generally heavy on numerous ingredients and ‘condiments’ (sauces, tobiko topping, dressings, etc) rather than
highlighting the quality of seafood. Very limited offerings for nigiri, and they were limiting their fresh salmon to rolls (rather than nigiri) and were out of sake (not the salmon, but the drink — of which only one ‘house’ sake on offer) on the night we were there. Nigiri: the Maguro was good, hotate (raw) was OK, lox (smoked salmon) was not, tobiko didn’t taste
very fresh. Deep-​fried rolls: interesting but not our favorites. They do have GF soy sauce upon request, and can make their rolls with tempura using rice flour, or without tempura ingredients (which they call «raw») if you so choose (if the former, be advised it’s fried in the same oil as all of the panko). 5 rolls, 9 p nigiri, 4 bowls of miso soup: 90CAD.

Everyone rants and raves that firehouse has the best sushi in town, disagree, sushi is on par with going to the grocery store, nothing to sneeze on, it gave me the trots and had no flavour, won’t be back

On a trip to Nanaimo and thought we would give this place a go! I had the black and blue tuna salad and my boyfriend had a California burger, both were great. We were there at about 1 pm on a week day and it wasn’t very busy, so I’m not sure how they are at a dinner rush, but service was good and quick and we really did enjoy our meal!
If you are looking for some cool fusion sushi, their menu looked quite interesting, although we didn’t give it a try!
Definitely a spot worth checking out when in Nanaimo!

Absolutely amazing food and service. Great atmosphere and location. Fast service and excellent staff. Would recommend to anybody.

I was pleased with their creativity around vegetarian sushis. Delicious combinations of avocados, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, shitake mushrooms and flavorfull sauces. I will go back for sure next time I am in Nanaimo.

Meh it’s ok. It would be 2 stars if not for their great location. Food is alright about ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ shot whether it will be good or not. Drinks are ok. Just underwhelming.

Sadly for me, I’m not a big fan of sushi. Being that this is a sushi joint, the sushi I have had was really good. But I was thoroughly impressed with the more conventional north American food I ate here. I’ll deffinently come back.

I first went to this restaurant years ago when I was visiting Nanaimo. Now that I have moved here I wanted to try it again and am very happy that I did.
I was excited to see something on the menu called the Chefs Choice which is a $ 30 dish that has whatever the chef feels like making. Since both my friend and I are pretty adventurous when it comes to food, it was a no brainer. While we waited for the sushi we tried Miyagis Magic Prawns which were delicious. Several good sized battered or crusted prawns with some kind of sauce and kimchi salad and rice… It could have been a meal for one person and we ate every bite.
When the sushi arrived it was beautifly presented and the portion was large. There was a seared piece of tuna with some kind of citris rub on it and was served with some rice and more of the kimchi salad. There was also two huge rolls that I can’t even attempt to identify. Every bite was perfect and the creative mix of ingredients was spot on.
I would say that this is the best restaurant in Nanaimo that I have tried so far and I will be back to try some other dishes soon.

My wife and I escaped to Nanaimo for a mini-​vacation. We were in the mood for sushi and decided to give the Firehouse Grill a try. We were staying in the Coast Bastion hotel and enjoyed the short walk over taking a detour to walk along the docks.
We were mildly apprehensive with the negative reviews we read on Unilocal — although many of these seem to be people with some other issues that they take out on Unilocal reviews. When we arrived we were greeted warmly and were able to be seated at the bar without any reservations. We enjoyed a couple drinks — these were excellent. I especially liked the choice we were given for larger glasses.
The menu is slightly overwhelming in the variety of dishes available — we opted for the «love me tender» roll and the chefs choice platter — which is 30 dollars and lets the chefs make you something they want. The results were incredible. We had a platter with two full rolls (we think these incorporated salmon, and halibut) and a fresh fillet of sliced sashimi. The flavors were excellent! You could taste the fresh fish and still enjoy the other tastes of an incredible variety of other ingredients.
The total costs:
California dream $ 7.75 drink of gin, lime juice, coconut rum (very good!)
Mojito (double) $ 8.50
2 gin and tonics (doubles) $ 14
love me tender roll: $ 15 (very fair price)
Chef’s choice platter: $ 30 (totally worth every penny!)
Total: $ 82.05
20%tip: 16.41
Total price: $ 98.46
To have a wonderful meal for two with drinks and fresh sushi for under $ 100 is incredible — very hard to do in other cities. A similar meal in San Francisco, or Seattle would easily be $ 150 – 200.
Definitely a great choice for fresh sushi!

Underwhelmed.
This place has great sounding fusion sushi, but that’s a tough category to be in. The sushi would have to be very inventive, very tasty, and well priced to receive a great review from me.
For us, it did not live up. The rolls were inventive but all and all basically «sushi for non sushi eaters.» If there was a way to cover up the raw fish, they did it. So on inventiveness it was not a total hit but quite good. On price it is on the high side. And, finally, and perhaps more importantly, on taste it is just good — not amazing.
The ambience was really stellar, being in an old firehouse. Our waitress was very nice, but there were multiple hiccups in terms of a forgotten dish, etc.
As a result, overall, this place only earned 3 stars. Worth a visit if you live there, but probably not if you’re just visiting.

Stopped by on the way to the ferry. Great casual place for lunch with an extensive menu! Did the maiyagi prawn for the starter and then the big Willie burger for my main. Both were excellent! Next time well try something from the sushi side if the menu!

The firehouse is one of my favourite sushi places in town. The food is great, the service I have found to be hit or miss. My one complaint about the restaurant is, don’t expect to be able to show up with no reservation and get in (that night) I worked in the restaurant industry for many years and the places I worked always ensured there was enough room to ensure that walk ins would be accepted. More power to them for being able to sell out most nights on reservations but its a pain in the butt if you are in the area and want to sit down.

Good great building but missing something inside.
Food ok. sushi decent. Just want it to be better.
Guess I’ve heard so many good things I expected more

It’s rare to find an un-​cookie cutter, un-​chainy, un-​15 dollar hamburger, cool spot with good food AND decent service in Nanaimo.
We came into the restaurant not too starving, and not in a hurry, which was good, because they were holding tables for several large parties with reservations, and were told there would be a 45 minute wait. After about 30, there was a cancellation, and we were seated. The tables they were holding were empty our entire meal. They apparently aren’t comfortable with the rate of their table turnover. So, if you’re on your way to a movie, allow plenty of time. Like I said, we weren’t in a hurry to eat, or be in and out, so if the meal is the event, this restaurant is perfect for that. We kept saying it would be a cute date night place. Huge windows overlook downtown Nanaimo, and the décor is upscale and a little funky.
I LOVED my sushi… it was fun, L.A. style huge roll sushi, which I was totally stoked on. I started with the miso soup. (meh. skip it.) Another reviewer on here dissed the price of the specialty rolls, but the amount of food in the rolls… they’re completely justified in price. I had two rolls, the Fighting Buddha– salmon, tuna, and avocado, topped with tempura tamago (YUM! the perfect crunchiness), smoked salmon, a yin yang sauce (almost southwestern, maybe chipotle, sauce) black sesame seeds, and salmon roe. It was gorgeously plated. 12 bucks, but 12 pieces of delicious. Not unreasonable at all. I also had the spicy scallop roll. Smaller, but tasty. 7 bucks. Soup and two rolls, and I brought food home. It will be an amazing breakfast tomorrow.
The hubby and one kiddo both had the chicken sandwich, marinated in Firehouse chicken sauce, flash-​fried, and served with salsa, melted cheddar cheese. Hubby loved the texture of the fried batter, very light, he said, with a toasted, garlic buttery tasting bun. The sides were interesting to choose from– corn muffin, mashed potatoes, rice, caesar or tossed salad, and pepper fries. Hubby had the fries, yum, I tasted them, kiddo had caesar on the side. Other kiddo had a full size caesar salad. She loves caesar salad, and ate the entire thing. She was especially impressed with the monstrous size of the croutons.
The dessert menu was missing that ridiculous, decadent chocolate something, so we skipped it. Kinda disappointed about that.
Our service was very friendly — so not the norm in Nanaimo, and our food came not entirely quickly, but it wasn’t completely out of the range of acceptable. Like I said, if you’re in a hurry, this isn’t it. Their sushi is definitely labour-​intensive, I can understand. But do make a reservation.

Don’t go to Firehouse hoping to catch the game…
I wanted a place to watch the last Canucks playoff game — the big one against the Blackhawks — and decided to forgo my ferry trip to watch it at Firehouse. I walked in and saw hockey flags and a few TVs above the bar so I went to grab a couple seats. Was told the two spots I wanted at the bar were reserved so I sucked it up and sat somewhere with a slight angle to the TVs. (No one ever actually came in to get those seats.)
I ordered up a delicious Sushi Caesar — with ponzo and soy sauce and a wasabi dusting on the rim — and kicked back to watch the game start. When it did start there was no sound. I mentioned it to the server and he went to talk to someone about it. You could tell he wanted to hear it too, but was told they wouldn’t put the volume up.
The same woman who told me the seats were reserved seemed to be in charge so I approached her and was told that it was not allowed. I pushed further, wondering if it was a condition of their license but was told it was the owner’s policy not to play sound along with the games. What’s the point? You think I watch hockey ’cause it’s pretty to look at?
The place had about 3 tables filled and everyone was looking up at the TVs, along with everyone at the bar, however this staff member was more interested in rules and working within them, than being flexible to her clientele.
She made it sound like having the TVs on in the first place was a favour… instead of what it really was which was a place misrepresenting itself.
I found it hard to stay, explained this to her, paid for my drink and left without ordering dinner for my guest and I.

I have to be honest when I was told we were heading out to Nanaimo for Sushi I wasn’t exactly jumping up and down. I live in San Francisco where Sushi restaurants are a dime a dozen and even the little corner joints are pretty damn good. Well slap me silly because I have a new favorite place on Vancouver Island!
The Firehouse Grill as the name says is located in an old firehouse. I happen to love businesses that take up residence in old converted buildings so right away a few points were scored. As soon as we stepped into the place there was a nice buzz in the air and we hadn’t even been drinking yet. This place was pretty busy with a lively crowd — another good sign to me. What I really liked most is how they situated the sushi bar as the focal point when you walk into the restaurant. You have no choice but to walk intimately past it where everything is proudly displayed and the chefs are happily creating the dishes little nuggets of goodness you will soon enjoy. Why hide it… flaunt it I say and that is just what they did!
One of the guests in our party knows the sushi chef so we were fortunate enough to have them take control of the menu. I can’t exactly tell you what we ate but I will say this sushi had a twist. Sure there were some traditional ingredients but they were paired with some great sauces that complimented the main ingredient. Everything I had was amazing! No lie I was so surprised at how fresh and tasty everything was in every bite. The flavors just exploded for me.
This place could easily come to San Francisco and be a hit. Their little twist really sets them apart from any of the sushi houses I have been too. Sure it may not sit well with a traditional Japanese sushi eater but they are not trying to be traditional. And no doubt if that is what you want you will find it on the menu.
If they keep up this quality it will continue to be a destination spot. The crowd was very hip and I would gather local since it was in the off season on the island. Guaranteed when word gets out and the warm weather sets in this place will have them lining up out the door.
Thanks to the staff for a great night out in Nanaimo.
As our fine Governor of California once said: «I’LL BE BACK!»

Staying in Nanaimo for work, I didn’t feel much like the typical Cactus Club fare. So I asked some locals what they suggest. Firehouse Grill came up, so I decided to give it a shot.
The atmosphere is great, in an old heritage brick building with nice modern furnishings.
The food is a mix of western and Japanese choices.
I went with the pulled pork sandwich with chowder.
The chowder was good, creamy and hearty. An the sandwich was also good.
However it recieves my three stars because the price was high for some foods, the special rolls for example.
The servers were great and prompt. An overall good dining experience