The View Oceanside Grill's seafood flambé send flames onto the ceiling of the downtown Nanaimo restaurant, a crowd favourite dish. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

ON FIRE

Signature Dish: The View Oceanside Grill’s Seafood Flambé

Aug 27, 2021 | 1:31 PM

NANAIMO — One of the region’s best restaurants has gone back in time to provide a unique and spectacular dining experience.

Flames are routinely visible from The View Oceanside Grill’s location in the Dorchester Hotel in downtown Nanaimo courtesy their showstopping seafood flambé.

The combination of prawns, clams and scallops served on a bed of house-made coconut basmati rice, seasonal pesto-marinated vegetables and coated in a delicious Rickard’s garlic cream sauce offers a bounty for the taste buds, but its preparation is a feast for the eyes.

“It’s a little bit of both,” Kean Draeger, The View’s front of house manager, said when asked if the seafood or the show was the most important part of the dish.

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“The seafood always has to be fresh and then you have to have some showmanship with your table, you have to be chatty and theatrical. You really have to make sure you put enough of everything in, enough Rickard to make the flames go as high as they can.”

The flames go high, touching the ceiling with every order.

Draeger said table-side service is not often done anymore, so the dish appeals to older customers who experience an element of nostalgia, as well as younger ones watching something new.

“Sometimes people fall out of their chairs when I light it up. There are some people who come to The View just for the seafood flambé, they get it every time. It’s always fun with those guests, they’re the ones who really want the interaction, the rapport.”

Draeger said on a typical night, he’ll do four or five presentations of the dish himself, with other front of house staff also sending flames flying high.

The from-scratch kitchen also takes every step to source the key ingredients as close to home as possible.

“We always try and get our clams and mussels from Salt Spring Island. We’ll do spot prawns when they’re in season in B.C., but that’s not all the time of course and then the scallops we have to get from wherever we can.”

The dish has become a staple of The View’s menu, complimenting their new location on the main floor of the Dorchester Hotel.

The restaurant closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 and reopened June 15 at its now permanent home.

“We used to be down on Stewart Ave., so there wasn’t a lot of foot traffic so you really had to know where you were going to get there. Once we moved to the Dorchester, we started gaining popularity like nothing else.”

While the flambé is sure to turn heads each and every time, the menu itself features a lot of beautiful ingredients showcased in unique ways.

From lobster to lingcod, tuna to tenderloin, The View offers up spectacular dishes for the special occasion or the (slightly) fancy mid-week night out.

The kitchen also offers up a handful of fresh pasta options and a brunch menu on weekends.

The View Oceanside Grill is located at 70 Church St. and is open for dinner 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday’s.

Brunch is offered on weekends from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Reservations are recommended for all meal services.

You can find out more on The View Oceanside Grill by visiting their website or calling 778 441 4229.

Signature Dish is brought to you by Island Savings – A Division of First West Credit Union, learn more at https://www.islandsavings.ca/.

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