Fully vegan, fine-dining, traditional Chinese restaurant. Everything is house-made, including fresh dan dan noodles and dumplings. Two female chefs in the kitchen. Family-style plates for sharing. NOTE: Please verify if still fully vegan as reports of some items containing egg have been received. Open Wed-Sun 12:00pm-8:00pm. Closed Mon.
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2220 Bowen Rd, No 1, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, V9S 1H9
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Last update on 07 Jun 2025 by PatrickFitzgerald
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Added by eietmo on 22 Dec 2024
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17 Reviews
First Review by eietmo
VeggieInThe6ix
Points +1037
Great food. Not fully vegan - Edit
We learned to have egg in the soups. Everything else on the menu is vegan.
Read moreGuest
hollykaufman
Points +24
Super delicious - Edit
Very clean. Very sweet service. Excellent food.
Read moreGuest
darren2dream
Points +386
Tasty and good portions - Edit
Had dinner here and enjoyed our meals. Portion size was good and we had a full dinner of leftovers too which I appreciated as the prices were a bit higher than what we normally look for. After the fact though, it was worth it.
Read moreDelicious mushroom options, friendly staff and a nice and clean space.
Pros: Good portion size, Nice flavors , Friendly staff
Guest
mysticsonic
Points +890
NOT FULLY VEGAN - but very clear to accomodate - Edit
This resturant is not fully vegan - the soups appear to be the only dishes on the menu that contain egg, but right on that same page they clearly state eggs can be removed from the dish. See photo I shared.
Read moreFood was 👍 good
Pros: Resturant was clean and tidy, Friendly staff
Guest
Heatha
Points +495
Top Notch Food - Edit
Loved the flavourful dishes at Kim Key. Enjoyed the salt and pepper tofu, Sichuan veggies and a noodle dish. I’ll be back for sure!
Read moreGuest
jayshuler
Points +13
Nice but too salty - Edit
Very nice restaurant. Owners were very nice and solicitous. Food was beautifully presented and cooked perfectly.
Read moreUnfortunately, the food was so salty we could not finish it. I mean, seriously, I have never had food so salty. Hopefully this was just a fluke.
Pros: Clean and fresh environment, Very solicitous staff, Food beautiful and perfectly cooked
Cons: Food WAY too salty, Repetitive background music got annoying
VeggieInThe6ix
Also found it salty
Read moreGuest
xonu
Points +32
Great food! Some dishes have egg - Edit
Great food, we ordered the pan fried dumplings, spring rolls and the braised tofu. Excellent flavors. staff was very nice and restaurant was very clean.
Read moreSome dishes have egg in them. You need to indicate no egg for dishes.
Prices are a bit high, but good flavors.
Pros: Excellent food, Nice staff, Clean restaurant
Cons: Not fully vegan, has optional egg for some dishes, Pricey
Guest
EliseAR
Points +18
Delicious! - Edit
Delicious food! We ordered the mapo tofu, the szechuan noodles and szechuan eggplants. It was SO GOOD. Very generous plates. The eggplants are one of the best i have ever eaten.
Read moreGuest
helenjupiter
Points +18
Not good - Not vegan - would give zero stars if I could - Edit
I’m sorry to post a negative review of a vegetarian restaurant, but the food at Kim Key was terrible. The Szechuan vegetables were super salty, the satay noodles (recommended by the server) were a huge pile of what appeared to be instant ramen noodles with no flavor whatsoever. The three flavor tofu was edible but boring, and the dumplings were okay but the dipping sauce was like lighter fluid. To add insult to injury it was insanely expensive. Not sure why this place has such great reviews.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2025-06-19
Pros: Clean bathrooms
Cons: The food is terrible, Very expensive
Guest
Seahorse
Points +88
Wow! - Edit
Sophisticated, imaginative, original food — this is a serious food destination. Worth going out of your way for this new Nanaimo gem. Pleasant atmosphere, attentive service, and a great meal. Delighted that this place has arrived.
Read moreGuest
TamGreen
Points +30
Kim Key is delicious. ✨️ - Edit
I really liked the atmosphere, delicious Vegan food and lovely service.
Read morePros: Beautiful and clean!, Delicious Vegan food. , Friendly family run restaurant.
Guest
AmiraCarluccio
Points +23
The best vegetarian/vegan Chinese restaurnat in Nanaimo! - Edit
I have been to this restaurant twice and I have been impressed both times. The group of people that came with me were also highly impressed with the delicious foods, the beautiful zen ambiance , classical music, the friendly service and the beautiful attention to detail.
Read moreEven my husband who is a carnivore has truly enjoyed this food and didn't miss not having meat, he definitely wants to go back! This place is a gem waiting to be discovered!
Pros: excellent freshly cooked and delicious food, friendly staff, attention to detail, large portions to be shared, zen ambiance
Guest
CamEvans239
Points +35
Excellent - Edit
Very nice staff, excellent tasty food, their dumplings, tofu, noodles, actually everything was perfect.
Read moreGuest
KentAinscough
Points +20
Will try again - Edit
Needs a entry chime .. went in and awkwardly stood there. No one came out and and was devoid of customers I wasn’t feeling like shouting out so ledt. Interior looks very nice.. No menus to peruse or bell to around at the front entrance way. Opening jitters ? Will try next again another time .
Read moreGuest
LiveLifeLori
Points +170
Excellent food and service - Edit
This place just opened up a month ago. It’s called Vegetarian as some dishes contain egg which you can ask to remove.
Read moreFood is amazing as well as service. The place was very clean with beautiful decor. Can’t wait to go back soon. #Veganuary
Pros: Food , Service, Decor
Guest
Ravir11
Points +13
Amazing experience from a global traveler. - Edit
I am an omnivore; however, my family are lifelong strict Vegetarians.
Read moreThis restaurant offers a wonderful experience with the little details that matter.
There is a wide variety of flavors, bits of fresh mushrooms and ginger in the sauces, and low sodium from my perspective.
The vegetables were clearly sauteed separately and added during the final presentation.
I left the restaurant very satisfied, and I will buy my mother-in-law a nice gift certificate for her friends to have a celebrated meal.
Guest
eietmo
Points +92
Incredible experience - Edit
We were blown away by the quality of the food and ambiance. The place was absolutely gorgeous - from the room to the plates and cutlery.
Read moreWe received complementarity tea and water to start.
We ordered 4 dishes plus dessert and shared it. Everything is fully vegan and just incredible. It is not a hyperbole to say that their fresh dumplings were the best I have ever had in my life. The spicy is actually spicy, but/and they were very willing to adjust the spicy dishes for the non-spicy eater in our group (plus bring spicy chilly oil on the side). The dan dan noodles were great, and the mushroom hot plate was juicy and tender. We tried the lotus soup 'dessert' which was very nice - never had anything like it before.
It really felt like an authentic Chinese experience!
While the individual dishes are a bit on the pricy side, the overall cost was quite reasonable when split over the 3 of us (and we left stuffed!)
The service was great and it's clear they are very excited to start their business!
A bit more: lots of parking in the plaza. Seems wheelchair friendly.
Pros: Delicious food, Beautiful decore, Authentic experience
eietmo
Quick update that they are no longer fully vegan, but still quite vegan friendly. Make sure to ask what has eggs
Read moreGuest
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