Courts

The following review is my personal opinion. This was my first time attending traffic court in Nanaimo. While I found the Justice of the Peace to be good-natured and kind, I have never seen him be lenient to anyone, except if the officer didn't show up. The JP is very patient when explaining the procedure but preparing any sort of evidence or arguments appears to be moot because the JP, even when he agrees with you, seems to always side with the officer. Having said this, no matter what, always dispute your traffic tickets. In the best-case scenario, the officer won't show up; in the worst-case scenario, you can delay points, fines, and insurance premium increases by asking for a court date and working on your case. I suppose miracles have been known to happen. I highly recommend the traffic court experience to anyone who wants to learn about our judicial system (its arbitrariness notwithstanding). Arrive early to snag a parking spot (if it's nasty out, consider parking at the covered Coast Bastion Hotel parkade), leave all hope at the door, and enjoy the ride.

It’s best to hire a lawyer or to get legal coaching when going to this court.

Beautiful old building.

Justice of Peace was more interested in his lunch break than handling matters appropriately... so everything was rushed, hostile, and i experienced a miscarriage of justice last year.

I'll start off by saying that the food was good. The fries are beer battered and were cooked well, and my husband the fry snob was impressed. I had the salmon burger which was an actual piece of salmon (not a 'salmon patty'). At $11.99, it was a very tasty deal. Hubby had the beef dip which he said was good but a bit small. They seem to have a good selection of beer/wine/spirits, and I was surprised to see that they sell 3oz and 6oz glasses of wine, at pretty reasonable prices. The service was good and friendly, but the place was nearly empty when we slipped in for dinner (7pm on a Friday), and I would have been heartily disappointed if service was poor. For a pub on a Friday night, it was pretty empty. The decor and atmosphere, however, leave a bit to be desired. This was previously a stripper bar and very, very little was changed when the place was reno'd. It looks like some paint went up and the stripper pole came down, and that's about it. Rumour had it that this was to be an Irish pub. I didn't get that feeling at all, and I've been to a few Irish pubs in my day. I also didn't get any sense that this place was 'courtly', so the name is sort of hanging out there with nothing to back it up. The metal check-plate they had wrapped around the stage and bar would look more at home in a garage, not an Irish pub claiming some connection to courthouses... There seemed to be a fruit fly problem in the place, as well, and my husband surmised that the entire pub needed a super cleaning, from the ceilings down to the carpets, suggesting that I not venture to the second floor to use the bathroom. Indeed, everything seemed a bit...sticky. This place has potential that hasn't yet been realized. You've got a great view of the harbour out the front, with tables set at three floor to ceiling windows along the outside wall of the place that open up onto the street. The bar itself has two levels, a stage, and a patio area out back. Really, it might need a visit from 'Bar Rescue', a rethink on the theme, or a very thorough cleaning at the very least. Having said all that, we will go back. The food and service was good!