where jess ate

While Mike and I were on Vancouver Island, we stayed at the Tigh-Na-Mara spa resort in Parksville for two nights. One of the restaurants on the resort was the Cedar Room where we ate breakfast both mornings.

We were told reservations were recommended for weekends but it was pretty empty both days we went. Perhaps it was because we had early starts to our day – 7 and 8am respectively.

Their breakfast menu is broken into two categories – lighter fare (granola, yogurt, fruit salad) and “Island Fare”, which consisted of more substantial breakfast items. It’s not difficult to guess which ones we went with…

On the first morning I went with the Classic Mornay – two free run poached eggs, house made cheese & scallion scone with Canadian back bacon, finished with a creamy Mornay sauce and served with homestyle heirloom potatoes ($15.25). It was pretty much an eggs benny with a slightly different sauce. The eggs were perfectly poached and I loved the saltiness of the bacon with the buttery scone, all sitting underneath a layer of mornay sauce.

On the side, chunks of colourful heirloom potatoes were served. Given the heaviness of the dish, I didn’t eat very much of ’em. Overall, it was a delicious, albeit heavy, breakfast. A little much for a 7am breakfast.

Mike went with something simpler, the Vancouver Island Traditional Breakfast – two free run eggs with bacon and served with homestyle heirloom potatoes & toast ($14.25). It comes with a choice of bacon, ham or local Hertel sausage. He went with the bacon, of course. The breakfast dish wasn’t anything special but it was a solid traditional breakfast. Order it if you feel like something simple.

On the second morning, I ordered the West Coast Frittata – tiger prawns, spinach, roasted garlic, crisp bacon, green onion & cheddar, served with heirloom potatoes & toast ($15.25). Similar to the classic mornay I ordered the morning before, it was a heavy dish.  The shrimp were nicely cooked and they were very generous with the cheese. You really can’t go wrong with these ingredients!

They were really advertising the pancakes at Tigh-Na-Mara, so Mike gave in and ordered the Cedar Room Classic Stack – fluffy pancakes stacked four high served with real Canadian maple syrup with vanilla orange whipped butter ($7.95).

You have the choice of substituting the regular pancakes for “wheat wise whole grain pancakes” for an extra $1.95. We passed on this option. You can also “make it special” by adding blueberry compote, apple cinnamon compote, sliced bananas or strawberries with whipped cream. We wanted special pancakes so we added the blueberry compote for an extra $1.95.

The pancakes were certainly light and fluffy. I actually enjoyed them simply with syrup. The blueberry compote didn’t do it for me.

Given the high prices of the menu items at the restaurant, we really only ate here because our package came with breakfast credits. Nevertheless, the breakfast food was surprisingly tasty. If you’re planning on checking out Tigh-Na-Mara, I recommend getting a package which includes breakfast!

At a glance:
• One of the restaurants on the Tigh-Na-Mara resort in Parksville, BC (Vancouver Island)
• Prices are high, so getting a package with breakfast included is recommended
• Enjoyed the Classic Mornay and West Coast Frittata

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 4 stars
• Service: 4 stars
• Atmosphere: 2 stars