You read that right, Victoria.
Get ready to experience a night (or day) of fine dining at Nautical Nellies Steak & Seafood House – on us!
This Victoria staple is tucked neatly down by the harbour, with large bay windows from which to enjoy the ocean view as you dine on the catch of the day.
Nautical Nellies first opened its doors in 1997 and, since then, has been serving up gourmet West coast delicacies both inside the restaurant and out on their cozy heated patio.
Not ones to believe the hype without verification, the Victoria Buzz team went over to the restaurant to see what everyone’s been buzzing about!
Here’s what we found
After walking past aquariums that were home to a mesmerizing array of colourful fish, our team was seated at a large table surrounded by artwork created by none other than Nautical Nellies owner Jeff Furneaux.
From selling lobster door to door in Newfoundland at age 18, to opening his first restaurant at age 33, Furneaux is a man of many talents and substantial success.
For over 20 years, his dedication to Nautical Nellies has made it one of the finest premium steak and seafood restaurants in town, with a 4.4/5 star rating on social media. We found out for ourselves just what got them to that level.
From an extensive wine selection to complementary crunchy parmesan breadsticks that our team gobbled up in 30 seconds flat (no, seriously), our first impression of the eatery was more than favourable, to say the least.
Then our friendly waitress showed up with platters of appetizers, including some of our favourites: French style escargot, crispy calamari, and juicy scallops doused in a heavenly sauce.
For some of us, the escargot was a novelty experience, and Furneaux summed it up best when he called the dish an “earthy, soul satisfying” meal that pairs perfectly with the crostini it’s served with.
We did our best to not fill up on appies, because what followed was groaning dishes upon dishes of steak and seafood entrées that looked (and smelled) absolutely delectable.
Words and images do not do justice to the perfection of the premium grain-fed Angus steaks, nor the delightful taste of the King crab, prawns, or that mouth-watering baked Caribbean lobster tail.
And who can forget the pure culinary artistry that went into perfecting their Seafood linguini, with its fresh mussels and rich lobster cream.
The chefs over at Nautical Nellies also invited us to try their brunch menu, which features a crab benny and buttermilk pancakes that have been getting rave reviews. Sadly, there was no way we could possibly consume any more food without risk of buttons popping everywhere – but that just means we’ll have to go back again soon!
And while some of our staff had dietary restrictions – vegetarian, gluten-free, and more – everyone found the menu to be impressively flexible with accommodating people’s needs.
There are multiple vegetarian and gluten-free options at Nautical Nellies – like a tantalizing strawberry and pickled beet salad – and if you have a particular allergy or restriction, just let their accommodating wait staff know.
You’d think that by that point, we were full to the brim and wouldn’t be able to take in another bite – but you’d be wrong.
When the wait staff brought out their signature warm Missouri butter cake with a cheesecake base, and a magical chocolate orb that melted away when covered in a caramel drizzle, everybody reached for more plates and forks!
These decadent desserts are prepared in-house, and the Missouri butter cake in particular is made fresh every two days by the excellent culinary team under Executive Chef Adam Hunter.
Had enough of us bragging about our meal, and ready to try these dishes for yourself?
Nautical Nellies hooked us up with $2,000 worth of gift cards to the restaurant to give away to 30 of our readers!
CONTEST NOW CLOSED
Winners of the $100 GIFT CARD:
Sandra Russell Earle, Megan Van Heest, Kim Aumonier, Matthew Maillet, Shana Carmen, Nick Ross, Christine Betts, Krystle Lewis, Michelle Turner, George Russell Burr
Winners of the $50 GIFT CARD:
Samantha Backlund, Tyson Nehring, Dawn Robbins, Chris Leger, Lana Vogelarr, Tina Marlene, Matt Proudlove, Sheldon Eng, Mandy Giesbretch, Dan Little, Jon McNaughton, Erin Watters, Joanne Williams, Wayne Bennett, George Zaharuk, Janice Baker, Cay Rutherford, Alice Helena Drengson, Matty Boulton, Veronica Mary
Congratulations to all the winners! Please contact us at info@victoriabuzz.com, to collect your prize. Thank you to everyone who entered.
For a chance to WIN a gift card worth $100 (1 of 10) or a gift card worth $50 (1 of 20), follow these steps:
- LIKE Nautical Nellies on Facebook and comment below to let us know (1 entry)
- FOLLOW Nautical Nellies on Instagram and comment below to let us know (1 entry)
- SHARE this post on Facebook or Twitter and comment below to let us know (1 entry)
The winners will be drawn on Tuesday, December 11th. Good luck!
