B.C. Ferries set to open new restaurant with $6 entry fee on Spirit-class vessels

New restaurants on ferries

Photo: BC Ferries

The Pacific Buffet dining room on the B.C. Ferries vessel Coastal Celebration. Depending on customer response, the Coastal Celebration may open a Seascapes Lounge as well, B.C. Ferries said.

A new restaurant with a $6 entry fee is set to open on B.C. Ferries’ two Spirit-class vessels, which travel between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen, prior to the summer season.

The restaurant, dubbed Seascapes Lounge, replaces the Pacific Buffet, which was closed at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

The new restaurant, which will go into the Pacific Buffet’s former space, will offer a “quiet, more relaxed setting” with “comfortable seating and refined ambience,” B.C. Ferries announced Monday. The move follows public surveys last year on what should replace the buffet, which drew 10,000 responses.

“Customers have been clear in their feedback — they want a space that is special and distinct from the other dining areas, offering a quiet and comfortable setting,” said Melanie Lucia, B.C. Ferries’ vice-president of customer experience.

The dining lounge will offer “an elevated dining experience with a curated selection of food and beverage options, while also reducing congestion in the Coastal Cafe,” the ferry company said.

The $6 entry fee would include unlimited coffee, tea and fountain beverages. B.C. Ferries said in a statement.

Along with food, passengers will be able to buy local beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be offered, although an example of the menu with prices was not immediately available.

Those who responded to the two surveys expressed “strong support for premium food options and a quieter atmosphere,” the company said.

Some ferry riders mourned the loss of the Pacific Buffet, which B.C. Ferries said lost $1.2 million in its final year of operating, when it was patronized by only nine per cent of passengers on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route.

The new Seascapes restaurant is expected to generate $1.3 million annually for B.C. Ferries.

“As operational costs continue to rise, we need to find new ways to meet customer expectations while ensuring financial stability,” Lucia said.

The lounge is expected to open before summer on the Spirit of British Columbia and the Spirit of Vancouver Island. Minimal renovations are needed on the two vessel, B.C. Ferries said.

Depending on customer response, the Coastal Celebration may open a Seascapes Lounge as well, the company said.