Driftwood Restaurant Courtenay in Courtenay

1130 Cliffe Ave, Courtenay, BC V9N 2K1, Canada

★★★★☆
(133 reviews)
Categories: Restaurant

About

The Driftwood Restaurants offer authentic and delicious tasting Chinese cuisine at our four convenient locations in Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Campbell River, Courtenay and Parksville. Affordable prices make our restaurant a natural choice for dine-in or take-out meals on Vancouver Island. Our restaurant is known for its variety in taste and high quality fresh ingredients. Come and experience our friendly atmosphere and excellent service.

Website
driftwoodrestaurants.com
Address
1130 Cliffe Ave, Courtenay, BC V9N 2K1, Canada
Plus Code
M2Q4+47 Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada
Time Zone
America/Vancouver

Business Hours

Sunday
11:30 AM–9 PM
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
11:30 AM–9 PM
Wednesday
Closed
Thursday
11:30 AM–9 PM
Friday
11:30 AM–9 PM
Saturday
11:30 AM–9 PM

Services

Service options
No-contact delivery Delivery Takeaway Dine-in
Accessibility
Wheelchair-accessible car park Wheelchair-accessible entrance Wheelchair-accessible seating
Offerings
Alcohol All you can eat Beer Coffee Spirits Wine
Dining options
Lunch Dinner Dessert Seating
Amenities
Toilets
Atmosphere
Casual
Crowd
Groups
Payments
Credit cards Debit cards NFC mobile payments Credit cards
Children
Good for kids High chairs
Parking
Free of charge street parking Free parking lot Parking

Photos

Reviews

3.6
★★★★☆
133 reviews

Most Mentioned

buffet (34) chinese food (10) dinner (10) selection (10) wonton soup (5) chow mein (3) desert (3) egg rolls (3) dim sum (2) hot and sour soup (2)
5 stars
64
4 stars
18
3 stars
10
2 stars
15
1 stars
26
★★★★★
November 10, 2024

I had a fantastic buffet dinner with my family on 2024/11/08 and met Lisa and boss William Shih. The service was great, and the food was very delicious. They served pawns, Beijing Duck, chicken, beef, wonton soup and fruits, deserts, etc. I also like the atmosphere in the restaurant, giving us warmth and a comfortable feeling. No wonder there are 5 Driftwood Chinese restaurants in cities: Nanaimo, Parksville, Courtenay, Campbell River, and Port Alberni. I hope I can have each one of them with a yummy buffet. I will give them six stars if I could, strongly recommended!!

★★★★★
November 7, 2024

We have been coming here for years, both locations and the food has always been great. The service is really good as well, even when busy. It's always a relaxed atmosphere and it's the reason we will keep coming back.

★★★★★
October 29, 2024

One of my fave buffets. I come at least once a month and the food is always hot fresh and tasty. The service is great and the variety is perfect.

★★
October 28, 2024

Okay…so I have eaten at the Driftwood up near Campbell River. A friend recommended this place and it was close. One positive was that the Hot and Sour soup was quite good. Another was that the portions were large and it was hot. But the beef with broccoli had next to zero beef, the sweet and sour pork was as tough as shoe leather and with very little sauce, and the Singapore noodles were bland. Will not ever go back. Oh yah and the hostess was sour and not friendly at all.

★★★★★
October 22, 2024

My friends and I came all the way from Victoria specifically to dine at this restaurant. The buffet is very diverse, offering a great selection of dishes. There's no buffet restaurant like this in Victoria. I highly recommend the owner consider opening a branch in Victoria.

★★★★★
September 18, 2024

The food is very tasty, wide selection of dishes and dessert sweets

★★★★★
April 28, 2024

I was skeptical looking at the reviews but to my surprise I had a wonderful dinner here with a friend and my young daughter. The food won't be Michelin star quality but it was a solid buffet! There was plenty to choose from, the food was hot and fresh even coming here around 6:30 pm. The staff was very friendly and I noticed a few are temporary workers from other countries. Their English and understanding of our culture needs work but give them extra leeway as they are learning and doing their best. The food was good but it was the wonderful staff and experience that put this over the top. Keep up the good work 👍🏻

★★★★
February 17, 2024

Good food, nice selection of dishes, great buffet. The restaurant shows its age a little, but is still cozy and authentically Chinese.

★★★★★
Local Guide
November 24, 2024

Great buffet. I have always had great food here even with 3 ownership changes. Dim Sum buffet is great.

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

very good

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

Great food - best Chinese buffet; excellent service

★★★
Local Guide
November 22, 2024

All you can eat dinner buffet doesn t offer vegetarian options

November 22, 2024

Sweet and sour chicken balls batter was disgusting and the chicken was disgusting and old the Sweet and sour pork was stuck together like grandmas candy mints.

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

Foods are great and services are awesome too.

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

Staffs are very nice and the food is tasty compared to other branches.

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

Food is awesome, service is also good.

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

Every time we eat, food is always fresh and hot, servers constantly offer water! They also have some sweets available if you are interested. Food

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

This restaurant is great the staff are hard working and the host is very polite highly recommended

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

Really delicious food and good customer service.

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

Kid-friendliness: The service was great and food was to Food

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

Best food ever! Great service and wide selection of tasty food. Would recommend it again and again

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

Great staff, great atmosphere and great Chinese food. I bring a group of buddies here most months and it s always a good time, plus they have a robot that drives around and gives you food or cookies Food

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

Driftwood is my go to place for Chinese food in Courtenay, food is always fresh and staff are always friendly and supper attentive.

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

The food is really nice and the service was great. Thank you

★★★★★
November 22, 2024

We had a nice dinner with my friends.. The food was delicious and they had a great staff. Excellent service! Thank you!

★★★★★
October 22, 2024

Food here is incredibly good, you get what you pay for for sure. The owner himself takes time to have conversations with every table. Come try for yourself, the reviews are so false when it comes to this place. Everything about this place is phenomenal.

October 22, 2024

I went there to pickup the food . They are very rude. Actually Yesterday around 6.30 pm I had the skip order. I went there and one employee (lady) almost threw me out from the restaurant and said no order go from here. This was very weird.

★★★★★
October 22, 2024

nice server great host, really taking care of us!

★★★★
Local Guide
September 22, 2024

Generous serving of beef and mushrooms with a side of steamed rice.

★★★★★
August 22, 2024

Taste very good, lots of selections We are coming back for sure

August 22, 2024

Showed up at 8:00 for Buffay they closed at 9:00 said can t help you closing soon, made us pick from the buffay and said we had to leave and eat it, not from here, they didn t supply a fork and when my wife asked for another container and they wouldn t give us one, won t be going back

★★★★★
July 22, 2024

Buffet was great! service was very good and the restaurant was very clean and well kept!! highly recommend!!

★★★★★
May 22, 2024

Dined in with a group, excellent all around! Vegetarian options: Dishes are marked as to content & lots to pick from Food : 5/5 |

★★★★
May 22, 2024

Vegetarian options: You have to add more vegetarian dishes in your menu but we try veggie chowmin and spring roll they are really really good Food

★★★★★
May 22, 2024

An Exelent expirence & extremely good food & deserts

April 22, 2024

my son , who loves chinese food , could not finish his plate, I ate a few bites it was greasy and tasteless, for that price..shameful...

Local Guide
April 22, 2024

Dont know how the food is. Went in and asked for a menu and was told we had to have buffet. Guess I know some place I will not be back too.

★★
April 22, 2024

Tried to place an order on Skip, says opens at 3:30. Called restaurant at 3:45 asked if I could do a pick up. Lady was very rude and said only through skip and not till 4:30. Couple mins to 5:00 and still not available!!

★★
Local Guide
March 22, 2024

My partner and I have been to the buffet, had pickup, and delivery from this place and we will not be giving it any more chances until they get their rating up. Each time it has been gradually worse. The wonton soup is flavorless and zero vegetables in the wontons. The breading on the saucy fried meats is always completely soggy. The sweet and sour sauce is bland and watery. The egg rolls are doughy and unseasoned. The chow mein is always overcooked and underseasoned. They do have a few redeeming dishes, such as the spicy fried squid, pan fried dumplings, garlic butter shrimp and the chicken wings. However for the price I think most of us expected a lot better. Also the other locations are much better and have better reviews and a higher overall rating to reflect this. The restaurant there before it, east kitchen, was cheaper and much better Wheelchair accessibility: It is wheelchair accessible

Local Guide
March 22, 2024

I purchased a meal for one last night with fried rice, sweet and sour chicken balls and almond chicken and was very disappointed by what I received. The rice was dry and broken into a million pieces, chicken balls seemed be of the previously frozen type and unappetizing. What really put me off though was the sweet and sour sauce which had this weird gross smell of fish. Who wants fish smelling sauce on their doughy chicken balls? Not me. The almond chicken with gravy was dry and hard to cut and the coating was mushy. I wish I could say something nice about the gravy because I usually LOVE gravy, but it was lumpy and had no flavour. Basically my entire meal which cost about 20 dollars with taxes was not worth it. I wont return to this restaurant even though I had planned on bringing family here for the buffet.

★★
Local Guide
March 22, 2024

We moderately enjoyed the buffet. Little bit greasy and a smidgen over priced for what it was. I had just one small plate, did not go back for seconds

★★★★
March 22, 2024

A good variety and hot not Luke warm like most other places could use a few improvements for disabled access and use

★★★★★
Local Guide
February 22, 2024

Nicely decorated place and the help-yoursef buffet dinner had plenty of high quality food to choose from plus an excellent choice of sweets. Would definitely go back again for seconds!

★★★★★
Local Guide
February 22, 2024

Great selection and good prices

★★
Local Guide
February 22, 2024

Long time fans of Campbell River Driftwood location. First time in Courtenay location and expected same service and food. We were disappointed. Had to stand and wait for table even tho place was almost empty. Long wait for service. Food was only so so, a big disappointment compared to CR location. Could be startup blues, but they will have to get better. Parking: parking good

February 22, 2024

Ist time there. Terrible won ton soup. No flavour at all.Wont be going back there.

February 22, 2024

Went with friends for lunch. Arrived at 12:30 and the buffet was almost empty with no new food on the way. The buffet looked unappetizing with nearly empty serving dishes. We were told to order from the menu. My fried rice was luke warm, my egg roll inedible, and my chicken cutlet hard as nails. I do not recommend this restaurant.

★★★★
February 22, 2024

Pleasant staff. Good food. Buffet food was pretty fresh as we went during the busier meal time. Kid friendly!

★★
January 22, 2024

Was much better as east kitchen. We are a fan of the driftwood restaurant in Campbell river but the one in courtenay isnt even close to as good. The food was dried out, the place feels cramped and the whole atmosphere is high stress. Better off eating at the golden carriage restaurant up the street.

★★★★★
Local Guide
January 22, 2024

Food is 10/10. Absolutely delicious.

★★★★★
Local Guide
January 22, 2024

I love the foods they served, so delicious. Wide variety of foods too! I love the service too. Even though it is busy, they manage to smile throughout our stay. The place is clean. For sure, me and my friends will come back.

January 22, 2024

$72 for dinner for 3 and a beef dish and small white rice. Easily the worst Chinese food I have ever tasted. Inedible waste of $ and food. So disappointed I will never go back to the Courtenay Driftwood. Complete ripoff.

★★★
Local Guide
January 22, 2024

Had the buffet, it was OK.

★★★★
Local Guide
January 22, 2024

Its always been pretty good every time weve been there

★★★★
Local Guide
January 22, 2024

Great buffet, lots of seafood Food stayed hot as they were really busy on Xmas Eve. I didnt find it too expensive at all for the food! Food

★★★★★
Local Guide
January 22, 2024

Friendly staff, great food and buffet.

★★★★★
Local Guide
January 22, 2024

Outstanding food and service. Highly recommend this warm and wonderful place. Food

★★★★★
Local Guide
January 22, 2024

Great place for brunch, lunch, or dinner

★★★★
January 22, 2024

Chinese buffet..great selection..and tasty .. but they shut down at 2 from lunch .. so get there with time to enjoy your meal ..

★★
Local Guide
January 22, 2024

There was an entire tray of moldy cake in the dessert buffet. I went back to take a picture, but the customers who pointed it out to me also let the staff know, and they replaced it with one with no mold. My 7 year old took a piece of fresh looking cake but said it didnt taste good and only ate one bite. The jello was popular with my two kids. It was more firm than jiggly. The vegetables were cooked well - not crunchy, but not mushy, either. The sauces on the breaded meats were good, and made up for the soggy breading. The variety of shrimps were good. The squid was nicely done, and the wings were crunchy. The server replenished our water often, and plates were cleared regularly. Due to the extensively moldy cake, we will not return. If that is left out long enough to get moldy (on nearly all the pieces) who knows what kind of food safery guidelines theyre following for everything else?

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Best Chinese Buffet on the island.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Delicious and fresh, awesome service! We had the buffet and it was spectacular.

★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Well not the same quality of food and service as east kitchen ... war wonton soup broth was watery no flavour the wontons were not near as good ... the service was very poor .. they knew nothing about the menu and had to ask 3 different staff about a menu item I inquired about..surprised that a name as famed as the Driftwood was this poor . ... improvement needed before I return

★★★★★
December 22, 2023

4 rows of 5 or 6 different dishes to choose + a small desert bar. It wasnt dry nor oily, if you frequent smorgasbord you know what I mean. If you want the typical western Chinese... this is it. As for cost... I went with my daughter. The bill for the two of us came to $59.00 + tax and tip. Pricey for sure but compared to the other places in town, I know Im paying for the quality and selection so its worth it, plus everything is expensive anyway so what do you want. The atmosphere? Its dated, its also exactly what I had expected. Its not terrible, its not dirty, no booth seating, very open. Service was fine. Its not like you really need any, but the plates were removed before I got back from the next round and I was constantly asked if I wanted more water. Oh... wonton soup needs more flavor. Met the owner, it was nice. A good overall experience. Id go again for sure.

★★
December 22, 2023

As another reviewer said, If you want the typical western Chinese... this is it. Buffet: Lots of fried food (but many are mushy), sweet sauces, bland noodles. Nothing bad to say about the service. Friendly and attentive.

★★
December 22, 2023

Perhaps it would be a good idea to let people know you are CLOSED from 2-3pm for employee lunch. We arrived at 2:35pm with a hungry group only to have to knock on the door and be met by rude employee with a mouthful of food saying she was on a lunch break and slammed and locked the door in our faces. Too bad, we had real looked forward to it!

★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Unfortunately we came away disappointed. The food was ok, but no better than any average Chinese restaurant. Restaurant Was half full, but common dishes often empty in the buffet. $30 per adult, $20 for kids 9 or older . Not worth it. Better to order off the menu, skip the buffet.

December 22, 2023

Poor reviews are accurate. This place is not fit for human consumption. Up your game Driftwood new owners or be prepared for endless bad reviews. Garbage!

Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Put green onion cakes, and maybe some congee on the table. Seriously Driftwood, the Comox Valley is ready for real, Chinese food. Smorgasbord is a thing of the past. Youre fine 4 a few years until all the grey/blue hairs pass. Hot and sour soup was barely acceptable. You had a chance to step up and stumbled. Check out the Asian food that discerning diners want. .

★★★★★
December 22, 2023

Their buffet is very good. Each dish has such good flavor, everything tastes different. And the layout is open, spacious clean and organized. Loved the prawn tempura . The waitress we had is a beautiful soul. All in all, I shall return!

★★
December 22, 2023

Really friendly, nice people working there. Unfortunately the food is... Really not good. Especially compared to the east kitchen which used to be there. Incredibly bland. Sad to say we wont be back.

Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Went here today about 130 to order take out. The only server there wouldnt allow it, she said buffet only and became very angry about it. There was hardly any food items in the buffet and only plum sauce. My daughter had some items from the buffet, but she said the rice was hard and dry. What a huge disappointment, the Driftwood we had in Parksville was amazing, we assumed the same here. I know what assume really means, and I own that one.

Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Buffet food was okayish but rice was cold and hard, service was absolutely atrocious i couldnt believe how rude the lady there was definitely not worth the $40

December 22, 2023

We got delivery twice this will be the last time. The first time the food was not cooked properly and this time the contents leaked into the bag. Which caused it to brake open and end up all over the floor. Hope this is not common for everybody else.

★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

We ordered takeout. Spent $120. The ginger beef and sweet and sour pork were mushy and flavourless. The beef curry was actually pretty good. And the chicken chow mein, let me tell you, made us gag. There was a huge clump of unmixed msg powder or salt through it. It burned our mouths out. Totally inedible and unacceptable. Will never be eating here again.

★★★★★
December 22, 2023

Best Chinese food in the island!

★★★★★
December 22, 2023

You can tell the deep fried food are all fresh cook. Wings are amazing super juice and rich flavor. Noodle and rice give a great balance with other food. Only device here is play some music will make much more enjoyable. Will be back!

December 22, 2023

Too expensive for having a lot of empty dishes. Went at 7pm. They said to come at 4pm for the best food. If youre spending 30 dollars it should be fresh all the time! The Campbell river location was way better.

★★★★★
December 22, 2023

Driftwood is just awesome. servers are si friendly and polite. Food contains no MSG and would love to go there again. love you guys

★★★★★
December 22, 2023

Servers/hosts are always friendly ! And my family / kiddos we LOVE the buffet! Gingerbeef if my father in laws favorite. So many options for my picky eaters to try new things. Happy to see theyre on skip now too! so clean! And efficient.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Any place that serves perfectly cooked duck in a buffet setting deserves a perfect score.

December 22, 2023

Probably the worst Chinese food I have ever had. Everything was tasteless - had to douse with soy sauce for any flavour. Anything fried was limp and soggy. Spicy items - no spice, no heat, no anything. I tend to give restaurants a second chance but given how incredibly bad it was, this will be my one and only time.

★★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

I generally dont like much Chinese food but this place was great! The hostess was lovely and the food was super fresh! Thank you for changing my mind!

December 22, 2023

Room was cold, Food was cold. Didnt feel welcome. Some items were very mushy, some very bland. We were there around 7 it closes at 9. Asked for a beer and not sure if she said they dont have beer or they dont have a licence?? We wont be going back.

December 22, 2023

Poor service the lady tryed to take my plate before I was done.the buffet had not bin tended to.the food was horrible .they don t do carry out.last but not least very expensive 95 dollers for 3 plates way over priced. I ll stick to quality foods.

Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Prior to reading all the horrible reviews online, I attempted to order via Skip. My order for $70 worth of food placed successfully, restaurant shown preparing dinner, driver on way to restaurant. After watching the driver parked at the restaurant for 45 minutes I started to wonder at the delivery time kept getting pushed back. Finally, 1.5 hours after I placed the order, order was cancelled by the restaurant. Not impressed. Needless to say I will never be ordering from these clowns and in hindsight, glad I did not receive the order after reading all the terrible reviews. Sounds like this restaurant should not exist. Really sad that the restaurant they replaced (East Kitchen) was superb and is sadly missed. Do not shop here!

★★★
December 22, 2023

I am going to write a brief message. The restaurant is okay. For sure It need to improve a lots of things reach the same quality as Driftwood Campbell River. What really bothers me is the awful comments that make the restaurant the worst?? The internet rate shows 3 bad comments that make the restaurant WRONG. I believe there is more people that really enjoy the restaurant that spent more money than a simple buffet plate and they are happy, because they are happy they do not spent time sitting in the computer making awful comments. What about intead to write the wrongs you don t suggest the improvements we need to do here. THANKS

★★★★★
December 22, 2023

We had a nice time. Good food, friendly staff.

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

This chinese cuisine buffet restaurant upholds the reputation of western Canadian oriented buffet style perfectly. Lots of variety, with options to please most everyone. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and conversations with ourselves and staff.

December 22, 2023

Tried to deny buffet an hour before close then sell us the leftovers. GHETTO! Probably selling coyote meat.

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

I really enjoyed it. So glad we have this option in Courtenay. The food was great, dim sum during the lunch buffet. Lots of variety at the evening buffet. Was treated very well, the staff is just great! Kid-friendliness: We had a large party with several children and had no problems, they paid special attention to the kids and made it a fun experience.

December 22, 2023

We arrived at 12:45 pm for lunch. Not much food in the buffet and asked the one waitress on duty if more food will be coming. Some food was replenished, but not everything during the 1.5 hours we were there. The Campbell River location serves a better dinner buffet which we will be going to from now on.

★★★★★
December 22, 2023

Their Singapore noodles are so good (:

December 22, 2023

Terrible food ! All the dishes had no flavour and was really greasy . The gravy for the almond chicken had a 1 inch layer of fat floating on top and the gravy had absolutely zero flavour. Sadly disappointed and usually give a second chance but it was so terrible we won t order again .

★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

A Chinese buffet. First off, they have yet to get a liquor license. The food, in general, lacked flavour, especially when compared to the original location. The soggy ginger beef was swimming in sauce, and the shrimp was overcooked. The food trays were filled frequently. The staff was friendly and cleared the used dishes quickly.

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

We were pleasantly surprised with our spontaneous dinner order, we popped by at 4:30pm Sunday to see the menu & order, ended up sitting at a table & ordering some spring rolls to eat while we waited, they were delish. We were pleased with our take out order too ~ Egg Rolls, Prawn Curry & Rice, Ginger Beef & Onion, Chicken Chow Mein (noodles) ~ everything tasted quite good! Not as good as Driftwood Nanaimo (we have been to CR Location a few times too & its been ok) Looking forward to ordering again!

★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Went for the Lunch buffet. Was just ok. Food was fresh just lacked some flavour. Ice cream, fruits and cake available for desert. No liquor license

★★★★
Local Guide
December 22, 2023

Loved the food! Fresh and yummy