The Discovery Room is Vancouver Island University's full-service learning restaurant, connecting students with community patrons. Learning by doing, Hospitality Management and Culinary students together serve up a contemporary dining experience. Your support directly fuels student growth and education. Find us in Building 300, beside the cafeteria.
Become a partner in our students' learning! Join us to dine, Sign-up for email updates or follow-us on Instagram.
Brunch, lunch and dinner service
Brunch service
Brunch service is offered Tuesday through Thursday (excluding statutory and academic holidays and special events) from September 29 to December 17, 2026, with reservations available for parties of up to six guests between 10:30 and 11:15 am
Reservations open three weeks in advance, at the same day and time minus 15 minutes. For example, if it is 10:45 am on a Wednesday, reservations for the Wednesday three weeks later open at 10:30 am.
Here are our Fall 2026 Brunch service dates.
September: 29
October: 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15
December: 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17
Trying to add yourself to the waitlist? Here's how + FAQ. If you aren't presented with a waitlist option, please reach out to us by email to be added manually.
Lunch service
Lunch service is offered Tuesday through Thursday (excluding statutory and academic holidays and special events) from October 20 to November 12, 2026, with reservations available for parties of up to six guests between 11:30 am and 12:15 pm
Reservations open three weeks in advance, at the same day and time minus 15 minutes. For example, if it is 11:45 am on a Wednesday, reservations for the Wednesday three weeks later open at 11:30 am.
Here are our Fall 2026 lunch service dates.
October: 20, 21, 22
November: 3, 4, 5, 10, 12
Trying to add yourself to the waitlist? Here's how + FAQ. If you aren't presented with a waitlist option, please reach out to us by email to be added manually.
Dinner service
This Fall 2026 semester, we are not offering regular dinner service. Instead, we will be hosting five pop-up nose-to-tail tasting menu events (5 to 6 courses). Please check our special events page for dates and details.
Menus
Our menus change weekly and are typically refreshed here every Monday for the coming week's service. Because we work with fresh ingredients in this learning environment, it is not uncommon for the menu to change from what is posted.
If you have special dietary requirements, including the need for a vegetarian meal, please let us know ahead of time.
Parking and access
The Discovery Room can be hard to find! We recommend parking in Lot F which is accessed via entrance 5C off of Fifth Street (pay parking machines accept cash or credit cards). Enter building 300 through the Welcome Centre for level access.
Parking can be at a premium, especially during the lunch period, so consider allowing a little extra time to find a parking space.
Menus change weekly. We are happy to accommodate dietary restrictions with advance notice.
Brunch
À la carte menu with dishes starting at $14.
Lunch
À la carte menu with appetizers from $8 and entrées from $20. Dessert included.
Dinner
Three-course menu starting at $29. Choose from three appetizers and three entrées. Dessert included.
We accept Visa, Mastercard, and Debit. Cash is accepted but not preferred. We do not accept American Express or VIU PCards.
Gratuities are not expected but are greatly appreciated. All gratuities support extra-curricular educational opportunities for Hospitality and Culinary students
We offer a modest selection of wines, bottled beer, and spirits. During dinner service, students may present a featured cocktail as part of their learning experience.
Our bottled wines are priced at $10 above cost. Guests are welcome to bring a commercially produced bottle of wine for $10 corkage per bottle. Please present your wine to the host upon arrival—this also provides students with an opportunity to practice proper cork service.
Beverage Menu (Due to limited inventory, selections may vary)
Reservations for these three dinner series are not available through TouchBistro. To receive an invitation, you must register for our newsletter to be added to our customer list. You will then receive an email with a reservation request sheet, and reservations are accepted in the order the sheets are received.
Pop-Up Tasting Dinners
Designed, prepared, and executed by our Diploma Culinary students, these five- to six-course nose-to-tail tasting menus celebrate local ingredients, with each date built around a single featured ingredient. $75 plus tax.
- October 1 — Seafood
- October 15 — Lamb
- November 19 — Pork
- December 3 — Plant-Based
- December 10 — Poultry
Sensory Dinners (February 11, April 22 and May 13, 2027)
The Sensory Dinner was originally offered exclusively to our Culinary students as an experiential, palate-expanding part of their curriculum. Changes in cohort size now allow us, at times, to extend this invitation to the public.
The dinner includes eight to ten creative, expertly prepared courses, served at your table in the Discovery Room for 20–24 guests, at $89 plus tax.
Gastronomic Dinners (March 24 and 25, 2027)
A nine- to ten-course, wine-paired experiential dinner, served by our Hospitality students and prepared by graduating Culinary Diploma students to culminate their education at VIU.
This intimate, education-focused experience welcomes 20–24 guests in the Discovery Room and includes facilitated discussion on dish composition and wine pairings led by a Chef Instructor or guest sommelier. $149 plus tax.
Culinary Team Canada Soirée
- Monday, October 26 — Multi-course tasting dinner for 110 guests
- Wednesday, October 28 — 25 action stations, also featuring local restaurants, wineries, and breweries. More details to come.
Booking for these events is only available through Culinary Team Canada.
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Location
Building 300, at the side of the cafeteria.
VIU Nanaimo Campus Map
Contact Us
Email us at Discovery.Room@viu.ca (email is checked daily).