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Old Country Market
Category: Food Specialty Food Specialty Food [Edit]
2326 Alberni HwyCoombs, BC V0R 1M0
(250) 248-6272
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 9 am - 6 pm
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
14 reviews for Old Country Market
Review Highlights
14 reviews in English
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Review from Kat S.
11/1/2011
Whoa, I clearly had not been inside the market before. Wow. So cool.
Come here for more than just goats on the roof. While goats are super cute and even more amazing when they live on a roof, the market is a tasty treat all in itself.
Oh my goodness, the bakery! The smells and delights coming from there made me want to buy up everything. My friend and I shared a little brie and apple pizza thing with our tea. So good. Then I bought a big focaccia bread loaf with roast tomatos, olives and garlic. Heaven. Especially with some balsamic reduction and olive oil. The San Fran sour dough was also amazing.
The market carries the strangest selection of goods. Especially the world trade section. Need a hammock? They have lots. Straw mats? You bet. The food selection is pretty neat, too. They stock a ton of hot sauces and BBQ sauces. Maker's Mark BBQ sauce was on special, so I picked some up for the man friend. Bourbon makes tasty sauce.
Definitely stop here if you are in there area. Great place to lose yourself for an hour. The restaurant side looks like it has some great food, too. -
Review from Geoff B.
Strathmore, AB
9/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
If you're within 20 km of Coombs, you have to see this place. It is quirky, it has unique foods and collectables, and there are goats on the roof. The market has sure expanded around this place (it's become a strip mall, of sorts), and all those businesses owe a tithe to Old Country Market for that success.
I think the other reviews say it all, so just add me in as another fan of Goats on the Roof (which I thought was its name until 30 seconds ago). -
Review from Purdy J.
7/13/2011 3 photos
Atmosphere: Busy market with a lot of inside and outside seating. Goats did not make a presence during our visit in early July but there were 1-2 roaming around.
Food: Had their classic burger with bacon, mushrooms and cheddar cheese. Their patties are made fresh daily and it was delicious, however, it was not "4 napkin" caliber as they noted on their website but that's was okay with me. Go for their sweet potato fries - they are cripsy and not soft and soggy like many other places.
Shopping: Lots of unique things at the market - toys, arts, crafts, specialty foods, etc. but mostly a lot of things that I didn't really need. :)
Ice Cream Shop: Lots and lots of flavors. Huge portions and reasonable price. They accept cash only. -
Review from Beryl L.
2/7/2011
If your nerves or muscles feel goaded from being trip roaded for hours, this goat stop will get rid of all of that. I love the absurdity of goats on roofs, and it makes me smile just thinking about their invincible hoofs (i get a kick outta watching their swiftness in the caribbeans).
Endless selections of every conceivable typecast of cheese. Berry cheeses, chocolate truffle cheese, beer aged or wine aged cheeses, and so on. After seeing the cheeses alone not to mention the rest of the vast emporium of breads and other taste tantalizers, my world was expanded comparable to Hubble's law.
Nearby is ice cream, and I fully endorse my choice of the Nanaimo brownie bar if you wanta fanta. It'll take your tastebuds someplace else in outer space among the planets and their myriad moons. -
Review from Robin S.
Edmonton, AB
9/24/2010 1 photo
Cherry cream soda? Check. Marzipan bars? Check. Japanese lanterns? Check. Wooden swords and shields? Check. Beautiful, fragrant artisan breads? Check. Goats on the roof? Check.
It may be a corny tourist spot but I love, love, love, love, LOVE Coombs and its rambunctious little goats leaping along the sod roof of the Old Country Market building. International delights, mouthwatering pastries, and pretty oriental dinnerware are just some of the reasons to stop in Coombs - others include local fruits, rare plants in its garden centre, and insane, delicately carved imported furniture. I just wish they'd design cooler T-shirts, ones that don't feature the warning: pooping goat road sign. -
Review from Pam S.
5/27/2010
Farm animals? On buildings? This I have got to see.
If you're driving up from Victoria, this isn't a bad place to stop- they have a restaurant where you can grab a bite, and a shop where you can stop up for the road- including the delicious and artery clogging Nanaimo Bar.
Got a little packed in here, and they could probably use a better system for ordering at the pastry counter, but it's a REALLY cute place, although I'm a little weirded out by some of the stuff they sell. Maybe it's my California jaded-ness.
Best reason to stop here?
Goats on the roof. And no, customs, I was not near any livestock. -
Review from Lee N.
Vancouver, BC
4/26/2011
Too early in the season for the goats to be on the roof but this collection of buildings ain't like it was 20 years ago when I lived in Tofino. It's a full blown destination now not a sleepy little cafe/market which was the first coffee stop when pulling off the early ferry heading for the West Coast. It's not even on the main road any more. The Market has the most eclectic selection of hot sauce I've ever seen in BC, Toad Sweat for ice cream was a hit at Easter dinner. Good for a wander around and break the trip out to the west coast, just make sure you are on the right road.
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Review from Erin O.
8/7/2008
I had trouble deciding what category to put this place in, until I spotted "local flavor."
I grew up on Vancouver Island, and went to school just down the road from here, so this review is heavily tainted by nostalgia. But this market has GOATS LIVING ON THE ROOF. Goats on the roof = automatic awesomeness. They even have a little house up there. awww.
The OCM is a tourist trap extraordinaire. No doubt about it. But they have a great little market, plants, an Ice Cream stand that remains legendary in my memory, all manner of little shops, antiques, so forth and so on. Plus, did I mention there are goats living on the roof? -
Review from Kerri J.
12/7/2009
My parents live in Parksville and every time I visit I insist on going to the Old Country Market.
They have so much fun stuff to look at, to buy for cooking, to buy for serving, for playing, to wear, to eat...Oh AND they have goats on the roof! -
Review from vanessa G.
Vancouver, BC
8/2/2010
We stopped here for a beer on the deck with the goats on the roof, but got totally distracted in the market. THE CHEESE BREAD IS AMAZING, nevermind everything else. Every single condiment, chip, cheese, fish, wig, chocolate, lantern .. and on and on.. is in this store. We spent an hour just browsing. I got distracted by the oyster and mushroom croissant.. i don't like either, but where else in the world would you find such a combo!
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Review from Sarah O.
10/22/2009
LOVE this place. I'd take a ferry ride over just to come here. By far the best thing in Nanaimo area next to the breathtaking sunset and nature. This market packs in a lot of swagger, from toys to kites to fresh baked breads to imported goods, it's a little piece of heaven. Hard to find specialty foods can also be found here on the cheap. If I had to open a market, this would be it.
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Review from Jennifer H.
Victoria, BC
Old Country Market is commonly known as Goats on the Roof, because there are really goats on the roof, but that's just to get you in the door. Upon entering, it's like going to foodie heaven. They have everything not normally found in a regular grocery store. Cassis Mustard and Cranberry Garlic Rum Preserves isn't for everyone, but I am totally stoked with my purchase. And there's more, like any good country general store they have charming toys for kids and unique giftware for adults. Because I remember Old Country Market exists about twice a year I love to take my time and browse every delicious looking item, searching for the perfect find to try in my own kitchen. I'm often dragged out by whomever company I'm with.
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Review from L D.
New Westminster, BC
4/10/2011
Definitely worth stopping. Even better if you are hungry! Lots of yummy stuff to eat there, or takeaway. I challenge you to buy some fresh cheese bread and get it home without eating it in on the way! There are a lot of other shops around beside the market. You could spend hours poking around finding neat little things to buy for yourself or as gifts.
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Review from rae n.
7/30/2011
awesome market! for anyone who is from the northeast states its very similar to stew leonards but more mom-and-pop and with cooler goods bc its canadian! bread and cheese selections are incredible. also amazing jerky and baked goods/foccacia section. lots, lots more and most definitely worth a stop. the goats alone make it worth it! enjoy!
