I’m planning a trip to Nanaimo soon, and already drooling about what I’m going to have for lunch. With that in mind, I thought I’d pause and tell you about my favourite Nanaimo lunch place, the Thirsty Camel. Do you know it? It’s just a short walk from the Gabriola ferry terminal, at the top of the China Steps. (Directions here.)

It’s a Middle-Eastern food place, with falafels and such. The food is awfully good, and reasonably priced. The guy who runs the place (Ilan) is friendly and fun, and did I mention the food is great?

Signs around the cafe show the philosophy behind the Thirsty Camel:

  • "Feel good about eating at the Thirsty Camel! We use free-range, non-medicated, veggie-fed chicken. We prepare fresh falafel, hummus, and tahini every day. We change the oil in our fryer every day! We offer alternative juices and sodas, some of which are organic. Our homemade lemonade is made from real lemons and sweetened with honey! We are 100% locally owned, staffed, and operated."
  • "The beverages in this fridge contain ingredients you can pronounce and understand. We are happy to be providing an alternative to the chemical and preservative filled super-sweet pop served everywhere else…"

I suppose I could get off my fat laziness and post photos of the Thirsty Camel, but Annie has done such a fine job of that over here at her Sensible Living blog, so you can go peek at Annie’s photos.

Want more opinions? See the Thirsty Camel reviews at HappyCow.net.

Now on to the directions. I assume you’re familiar with Port Place Mall, since that’s just across the street from the Gabriola ferry terminal. Right. So go through the mall, and come out in the back. Cross the road (Terminal?) and go right just a bit. You’ll see a street sign that says “China Steps” – turn left there. Go up the stairs. The Thirsty Camel is at the top of the stairs, on the left.

Here’s a Google map of the location.

(There is no advertising on Gabriolan.ca. The Thirsty Camel folks don’t know I’m blogging about them, and nobody pays me to say anything here.)

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