Holidays and good food go together.

Menu board on the patio of the Wild Fennel restaurant on Mayne Island – photo Todd Wong

On Mayne Island we visited the Wild Fennel Restaurant, Springwater Lodge, the newly renovated “Brickworks Restaurant on the Bay” at the Mayne Inn Resorts, and I even had breakfast at the Sunny Mayne Bakery Café.  So I did indeed visit all four restaurants listed in the Mayne Island brochure found on the BC Ferry, and also listed on the Mayne Island Chamber website:
http://www.mayneislandchamber.ca/restaurants.htm

We had caught the 7:20 ferry from Tsawwassen, so I ate dinner in the BC Ferry Restaurant, which is basically a  mini White Spot.  I had the bacon & cheese burger with fries… but substituted a soft drink for the frozen coffee drink that had a lot of mocha in it!  Definitely better than Tim Hortons!

At 7am, Friday, I woke up early and wanted to find a place for coffee and breakfast.  Where do the locals go?  It's the Sunny Mayne Bakery Café where I found delicious fried potatoes and scrambled eggs, which I ate with ketchup and HP Sauce.  Perfect!  They even make cappucinos and mochas too.  I opted for plain coffee to which I added some chocolate, honey, and cream.  Located in the town centre on 472 Village Bay Road, beside Tru Value Foods.

View of Bennett Bay from Bricksworks restaurant at Mayne Inn Resorts – photo Todd Wong

We went kayaking on Friday, and was very tempted to try to buy fresh crabs from the boat hauling up their crab traps in Bennett Bay – but I didn't bring my wallet on our 2 1/2 hour kayak excursion.  🙁

Oh well, after burning up an appetite kayaking and hiking to Campbell Point, we headed to “Brickworks Restaurant on the Bay” at the Mayne Inn Resorts.  The Resort is undergoing some rennovations, so it looks like it is closed from the street.  But we drove in and found a lovely upscale setting.  With a stunning view of Bennett Bay, we sat down and quickly ordered the special of the day, “Seafood Wellington” – salmon, haddock and prawns baked in puff pastry.  At $18, it was large and reasonably priced.  We cut it in two and shared it, along with the vegetables and rice pilaf.  We sat on the remaining sun on the patio and enjoyed our dinner along with Strongbow and cider.  If we hadn't already planned to spend the sunset hours on the other side of the island, we might have stayed longer.  I was tempted by the $3.99 pub special of a chocolate shooter cup, filled with “your choice” of liquer….

Haddock, Salmon and Prawns stuffed into something called Seafood Wellington.  It's a good thing I like to eat my rice and brocolli.-  photo Todd Wong

We next drove to the other side of the island, back to the town centre at Miner's Bay.  At 6pm, there was still a lot of time to fill before darkness fell, and on a small island there isn't a lot to do.  Best thing is go to the pub!  The good ol' hockey game was on the tv set, next to the pool tables.  Detroit 3, Chicago 1.  We went and sat on the patio, enjoying the wonderful view of Active Pass where we had seen orcas from the ferry only 24 hours earlier.  The 3 people at the table beside us all ordered the $18 chipotle prawn special, and said it was very good.  The other table had ordered 2 piece Fish & Chips and that looked good and was much cheaper at $11.99  We ordered the 3 piece for about $1.50 more and shared.  We also ordered the Mission Hill white and red wines.  What a wonderful way to spend a summer evening… restaurant hopping and having wonderful food.  No Killer Whales were spotted, but the BC Ferries tooted their horns and passed each other in Active Pass.

The Historic Springwater Lodge was originally built in 1892, and is the oldest continuously operated hotel in BC.  It was stopping point for miners headed to the Fraser River and Caribou Gold Rush. 

View from Springwater Lodge patio.  BC Ferries in the distance – photo Todd Wong

Peter smiles after telling us that he is the one (of the partners) that is responsible for the art work. – photo Todd Wong

After driving past the Wild Fennell 4 times on Friday, we went back on Saturday specifically for lunch.  It was the restaurant recommended by our kayaking guide,
and we also remembered it the book “Best Places to Kiss in the
Northwest – a romantic travel guide.”  It's a cosy little place filled with art created by one of
the owners – Peter.  The food was very good, and not out of line with
any of the “west coast bistros” throughout Metro Vancouver – but it had
that special Gulf Island charm, and the prices are quite reasonable. The shrimp soup with wild mushrooms was very nice, and our sandwiches were delicious.  I had the smoked tuna clubhouse with shrimp and avocado aoeli.  Deb had the vegetarian hoagy with ceasar salad.  I think they were about $12 or $14 each. The restaurant is located at the Fernhill Plaza next to the Tree Frog Gallery, the Mackenzie Gallery of Fine Art and the nice store with all the glass work and pottery.

Smoked tuna Clubhouse sandwich with shrimp and avocado aoeli, and with the Shrimp and Wild Mushroom soup of the day.  Yum!