Tina’s Diner

Typical Unilocal,this restaurant has apparently been closed for some time. Modern Café just up the street still there.

The eggs Benedict on crunchy English muffins were delicious. But it had too much harshbrowns. The service was so so. The waitress took her time to get our order and our bill. Moreover, I saw her making my hot chocolate and noticed that the chocolate syrup was spilled on the side of the cup. She didn’t bother to clean it before serving it to me.
Nonetheless, it was interesting to see a bucket filled with a crossword book, playing cards, and a pencil on our table. It was good to have something to kill time while we waited for our food to come.
Location wise: it’s located relatively close to the hotels in downtown.
If you are a tourist, go there once to just try the eggs Benedict only.

Very convenient to the downtown hotels, but not that amazing. If you have another choice, give that other choice some thought.

Eggs came out cold. They weren’t to order (over medium came out soft).
Toast was cold and were spread with margarine. My companion’s toast was smothered in it — very gross and had to wipe it off. Also toast came out late.
Very boring menu, but could see why people might like the traditional diner breakfast. One option w/​o meat. I eat eggs and cheese, but no meat. I am SURE it didn’t come from a sustainable place, however it wasn’t advertised as such.
The spinach salad came out with bacon, which wasn’t described on the menu (just said spinach salad).
Waitress was slow. Food was slow. Oh and salad had just oil on it. No dressing, cept came with a lemon slice. I had to use my napkin to mop up the gross oil (I think it was canola). And it’s still sitting in my stomach.

Interesting take on classic brunch dishes, eggs Benny on raw multigrain bread, ie not toasted
Home made hollandaise sauce, very lemon flavor, pre cooked ½ patty of shredded potato and onion, more like a green onion cake than hash browns
Great service just be prepared for the flavor twists

I love Tina’s Diner. I have been coming here for years. They make the best Bennies in town with the best hollandaise sauce! It is a tiny place with lots of regulars, every time I eat here the place is packed. It is a family run business which is great to see in a city of franchises and box boring restaurants. The prices are fair and service is great.

worst service & worst breakfast I have EVER paid for.
1. server took way too long to get to us
2. my plate was in front of me for 5+ minutes before I ever got my toast. We asked for it after about a minute & the server just seemed like it was not in her control & oblivious to the whole situation.
3. my toast was then so drenched in margarine that I couldn’t eat it without gagging.
4. food was now cold.
I was so distraught about it that I barely ate.
Places like Tina’s give Nanaimo’s restaurants a bad rap from tourists & people like me who just moved here.
In conclusion, if tina’s was plunked in any other major city, for example, Montréal. It would be out of business in no time.

Out of the many places I have visited for breakfast in the Nanaimo area, Tina’s Diner gave me the better tasting traditional, hearty breakfast at the best price. The eggs, ham, potatoes with a multi grain toast option (@ $ 6.50) was exactly what I was looking for to start my morning! Their corned beef hash, a dish that I almost always have to order and try when it is on the menu, was just so-​so. The staff consisted of one young waitress with many interesting piercings and was quite friendly. Satisfying morning meal and good, timely service keeps Tina’s on my list.

Tina’s is everything one would expect in a greasy spoon diner. Simple plates of chow, decent service and acceptable prices. I give two thumbs up for the décor, a throwback to the 50’s. As much as I love the greasy spoon, I don’t care for greasy hashbrowns.

This place is classic diner — long lunch counter, vinyl booths, and lots of 50s memorabilia on the walls — James Dean photos, Elvis, Marilyn, old advertising posters, and a street sign from «Ragged Ass Road.»
But beyond décor, nothing really out of the ordinary. Service is perfunctory, quick if not especially friendly; clientele seemed mainly made up of backpackers from the hostel upstairs. The menu is full of diner favourites, complete with early-​bird cheap breakfasts.
I had a nice Benny, that was made with bacon. Eggs Blackstone — learn something new everyday. You can’t go wrong with bacon, though the Hollandaise could’ve used some more love — it was thinly draped over the eggs, and salty, perhaps made from a mix. I was unnecessarily annoyed when the hollandaise kept creeping over into the home fries. No, this is ketchup territory! Back, back!
A-​OK about covers it. Eat, Pay, Leave.