Buoys Eatery #Manitoulin

Most people may not know that Manitoulin Island, though considered by many a small island, isn’t exactly that small! Its area is actually 2,766 km² (1,068 sq mi).  It can take us two hours to drive from one end of the Island to the other!  We live on the south end of the Island and it takes us two hours to get to most western tip!

Meldrum Bay is the furthest from where we live, and though I’ve lived on the Island for over ten years, I think I’ve only been to Meldrum Bay three times!  I will have to rectify that and take a little road trip with the family!

Though I do not venture out to the west end of the Island as often as I would like, Gore Bay is a great town to visit.  The town boasts some great local businesses.  It also helps that I have friends in Gore Bay that I love to visit.  I try to make it to the Farmers’ Market too, because the Gore Bay Farmers’ Market is my favourite one.

Another reason we enjoy driving to Gore Bay?

Buoys Eatery.

Located by the water, Buoys is an ideal spot to enjoy a meal with friends or family.

One of the things that caught my attention with Buoys was their commitment to fresh, local ingredients.

From their website:

We would like to thank all the wonderful farmers, local producers and food artisans that have been so helpful to our success. Most of these wonderful people are within 10 or 20 km from Buoys and all are located on Manitoulin Island. This goes to show how fresh our food can be.

Included in this list are Burt Farms, Purvis Fisheries, Meeker Aquaculture, Gypsy Family Farm, Island Pantry, Ultimately Chocolate, Ice Lake Cottage, Our Garden Products, LoonSong Gardens and many food producers that are part of the Gore Bay Farmers Market.

Whenever friends and family visit the Island, we always take them on a tour of Manitoulin.  I won’t lie.  I really enjoy taking day off from work and playing tour guide!  It’s a welcome treat to “play tourist in your own backyard”!   Think of how often you check out all things local where you live and appreciate what your community has to offer.

It was my friends from Toronto who actually told me about Buoys.  They were touring the Island while I was working and when they got back to our farm, they told us about the AMAZING pizza they had!  We just had to find out for ourselves just how amazing this pizza was!

Buoys Eatery has an impressive list of Craft Pizza and Panzerotti on their menu.  Of the ones we’ve sampled and have really enjoyed are The “Pesto Chicken”  (Buoys‘ signature pesto base, chicken, bacon, tomatoes, onion, sprinkled with parmesan),  The “Greek Obsession” (Tzatziki Sauce base, Gyro meat, onions, feta, tomatoes, black olives), The “Veggie Tuscan” (New!) (Olive oil and oregano base, roasted peppers, mushrooms, onion, tomato, black olives, feta cheese, garnished with balsamic glaze), and of course, my husband loves the “Meat Lovers” (Pepperoni, bacon, ham, ground beef, sausage).  

If you’ve been reading my blog for the past few years, you may know that I’m not a big fan of pizza.  If you know me, you’re probably surprised I’m giving glowing remarks for Buoys’ pizza! I’ve never been much of a bread product eater, and if I do have pizza, I’m very picky when it comes to the pizza crust and toppings.  I prefer a thin crust and I don’t enjoy heavy, greasy toppings.  I love flavours — layers and layers of flavours.  Of the pizzas I’ve tried at Buoys, they’ve all fit the bill when it comes to flavour.

I’ve also tried other menu items at Buoys Eatery.  I had their Mushroom Swiss Burger.  Their burgers are handmade and made with local beef from Burt Farm Country Meats, and served on an old fashioned bun from the Island Pantry.

I also enjoyed Buoys’ Tuscan Pasta and their Smoked Chicken and Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo.

Buoys Eatery also has a selection of signature sandwiches.

If you’re there for dinner, their dinner menu boasts local fare like the Georgian Bay Whitefish and Rainbow Trout from Lake Wolsey.

The one thing I’m always really excited about at Buoys Eatery is their locally made desserts.  I know I’ve mentioned that though I  love making desserts, I’m not much of a dessert eater.  This said, my friend, Ultimately Chocolate makes desserts for Buoys and her cakes and tarts are AH-MAZING!  She uses premium ingredients and the woman really knows her chocolate and desserts! Check out her blog here.

If you’re on Manitoulin and are looking for a place to eat, check out Buoys Eatery in Gore Bay.

1 Purvis Drive

Gore Bay, ON P0P 1H0

(705) 282-2869

Mon-Sun    12:00pm – 9:00pm

Check out Buoys Eatery’s website and connect with them on Facebook.