September 01, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Dining
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For Canada's most amazing bowl of the country's best lobster bisque (yes, east coasters, she bested you) you must try Chef Suzi's in Bastian Square downtown Victoria. I came by during my few days at the end of my West Coast Trail hike and was blown away. It's a small intimate restaurant but when you pair the bisque with the homemade cornbread, it doesn't get any better. Loved the ambiance but most of all the fabulous food. I'll be back!!!
Editor's note: Learn more about dining options in Victoria here.
August 19, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Dining
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No other city loves breakfast like Victoria. Where else are the line ups for the breakfast spots longer than the nightclubs?
AVALON
1075 Fort Street
Just a short walk up Fort Street is Avalon, a small, bright cafe that offers inexpensive breakfast with friendly charm. Eggs benedict is a specialty here, but the menu also includes skillets and old stand-bys such as perogies. I wake up thinking about the West Coast Benny more than I probably should.
MO:LEWith its exposed brick walls and rotating display of local art, Mo:Le's interior represents the combination of heritage and culture seen throughout the city. The menu features creative takes on traditional favourites with an emphasis on locally sourced produce and does its part to represent the modern palate of Victoria.
FERRIS' UPSTAIRSFeaturing light breakfasts in addition to bennies, omelettes and scrambles, Ferris' is a great place to sneak some seafood into your breakfast, such as crab, smoked salmon or albacore tuna. High ceilings, exposed brick and plush couches under tall, breezy windows make it a tranquil place to relax after a late night out. I love the broiled grapefruit, the lox bagel or The Weekend Crossword (two words: truffled hollandaise).
BLUE FOX CAFE919 Fort Street
The Blue Fox is known for its long lines and very generous portions. Lively and cozy inside, sitting elbow to elbow with your neighbour is all part of the experience, and makes it easy to see the best dish to order off the extensive menu. On weekdays, there's consistently great soup as well.
Editor's note: For more ideas on great places to eat in Victoria, click here.
November 17, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Dining
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On November 2nd, 2009 at noon my friends and I went out for lunch at Pescatores Seafood and Grill in order to experience a real west coast gastronomic meal. Having read numerous mixed reviews online yet hearing good things from locals, we were intrigued to find out the truth for ourselves.
Product - Upon calling and making the reservation I was automatically impressed by the professional and friendly manner in which my conversation was dealt with. The product that developed from the moment we arrived was stunning to say the least. The warm, inviting hues of dark mahogany and orange set the mood and raised the bar for all the culinary delights we were about to receive.
Place – My friends and I decided that in order to truly receive a west coast experience, we wanted to go a restaurant that utilized the local farmers, wineries, breweries, and fisheries. We reviewed their website and were awed by the amount of local products they claimed to promote through serving.
Story – Our server greeted us by bringing bread whilst we waited for the rest of our party to arrive. He was courteous, genuine, and most of all, knowledgeable. Being curious about the legitimacy of the websites claims of local product, we had many questions for our server. He was more than capable in expressing opinions on the dishes and wines offered by Pescatores and also made suggested pairings of our chosen dishes with some of their local wines. In the end we ended up consuming Kusshi, Effingham, Whaletown and Fanny Bay oysters.
Delivery - The presentation of the food was more than appealing and whetted our appetites even further. The poached Dungeness crab eggs Benedict were wonderful and laid out in a classic fashion with pan fries. The crepe Pescatores was larger than we were expecting and everyone in our party was able to try some! However the stars of the meal were the oysters! Having never eaten oysters, I was more than a little terrified to try them! But learning from the server’s recommendations and my other group members’ encouragement, I was able to “bite the bullet” so to speak. Let me tell you! There is nothing quite like a freshly shucked fanny bay oyster!
Take Home – My reflection upon our experience at Pescatores is one where I learned a great deal through and about the locality through the food I consumed. As only one member of our group is from British Columbia, albeit not Victoria, we were thrilled to discover a restaurant that was able to endorse sustainability, thus promoting the agricultural economies of the area, and still be a fine dining experience. We all came away with a wonderful last memory and would recommend it anyone wanting to try a variation on classics with some West Coast flair!
June 28, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Dining
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Dean Fortin, Mayor of the City of Victoria, attended Paparazzi’s Pride Kick-Off Party on Saturday night. He gave a speech expressing support towards the LGBTT community of Victoria saying that he believes that Pride does not only involve LGBTT people, but it also involves everyone else. By celebrating Pride, they are building community with the entire city. Fortin acknowledged that families are very diverse and can be made in different ways. He explained how one of his daughter’s friends has “two mommies,” and they are very important to Fortin and his family.
Besides the mayor, David Tillson, president of Victoria Pride Society, was one of the special guests of the night. He received a $5,000 donation on behalf of VPS from Paparazzi owners. Tillson says that VPS is one of the few Pride Societies in the world that does not have financial pressure because the local gay bar is always supporting them with people and donations.
Now that Pride week has started, different events will take place in Victoria commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York.
October 31, 2008 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Dining
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Earlier this month I stayed in Victoria for 7 days and got to explore many areas on foot. Making a green choice to leave the car at home here in Metro Vancouver. I discovered the Superior Cafe located a short walk from the Inner Harbour. Best to be described by one of the locals as a Bohemian Bistro. I reccomend the Liberace flatbread - proscuito ham, goat cheese, fig, carmelized onions & pesto. Hope to have a chance to go back and explore more of their menu. Also served a great old fashioned lime margeurita - the unblended variety. On some evenings after 7pm there is also live jazz music. I was lucky enough to be staying at a B&B in the area- or would have never have found it. (local reccomendation)
October 29, 2008 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Dining
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We had a grand time recently in Victoria, on Vancouver Island. We stayed at the Fairmont Empress, had dinner at both restaurants which was wonderful and took part in the special tea ceremony.
We came to the island on the clipper and left on the Kenmore seaplane, both enjoyable.
We took the City and Buchart Gardens tours which were great.
We only had a weekend, but we saw alot and enjoyed the Marathon weekend.
June 23, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Dining
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To read the first part of my post about whale watching, check the whale watching posts.
On June 15th in Victoria, while on the last day of my BC Book Tour promoting my new bestseller Whale Song, we went on a fun little cruise in search of killer whales.
Afterward, my reward was a delicious dinner at Vintage Wine Bar & Grill in Victoria. It's a gem of a restaurant that I think must often be overlooked since it's in the Super 8 Hotel on Douglas Street. And they don't serve your ordinary Super 8 fair.
Marc had the grilled 8 oz. AAA New York Steak with a wild mushroom demi-glace, shallot mashed potatoes and seasonal veggies--broccoli, paper-thin onion rings and what I am sure was panfried squash (perhaps spaghetti squash).
I had the Pacific Seafood Linguine, which was absolutely heavenly. The linguine was tossed with a delicate white wine sauce, spinach, grape tomatoes and red peppers, and then topped with a generous portion of mussells, clams, halibut and prawns, and sprinkled with shaved parmesan.
We also shared one of the best Caesar salads I've ever had. The Vintage Caesar is made with hearts of romaine, shaved fresh parmesan, double-smoked bacon, parmesan crisps and foccacia croutons. The homemade creamy Caesar dressing had an extra bite of anchovy, just the way I like it. In fact, I had it for supper again tonight! :)
While we were waiting, our attentive waiter Gordon treated us to some tapas--amuse-bouche, pan-seared tuna 'kissed' with wasabi aiolo on a flatbread croustini. Delicious! We finished our dinner with a dessert that was almost sinful--a coconut & pineapple creme caramel, light and fluffy, served with whip cream, pineapple crisps and presented with flair. I wish I had my camera! Maybe I'll have to go downstairs to the restaurant later and order it again...uh, just so I can get a picture of it, of course...
Chef Jamie Martineau has created an awesome taste-inspired menu that compares to some of the fine dining restaurants I've been to, although Vintage is casual dining.
Great service, relaxing ambiance, generous portions and concoctions by a talented chef--what more could you ask for? I give Vintage Wine Bar & Grill...5 ankhs! :)
My day in a nutshell: I saw more sea creatures at suppertime on my plate than on my whale watching trip. But all in all, it was a divine day!
~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention
http://www.cherylktardif.com/
http://www.whalesongbook.com/
March 02, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Dining
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My husband and I recently returned from a winter getaway in Victoria to escape the Alberta snow for a little while. We soon discovered that we couldn't have picked a better time for our little getaway. From February 5 - March 4th this year, Victoria had their annual Dine Around and Stay in Town promotion on.
http://www.tourismvictoria.com/dine/ This promotion offers 3 course meals from participating Victoria, BC restaurants for $15, $25, or $35 Canadian. Each menu suggest a great wine paring from a BC VQA winery. We tried several of these restaurants during our stay and found each one wonderful and a very good value. We had so much fun after each meal going through the menus and to decide where to try next. We only had a few "supper" times to take advantage of this promotion so we found that in order to go to all of the restaurants we wanted to try, we had to visit some of them at lunch time. I have read that "
Victoria boasts the second highest number of restaurants per capita in North America" and they aren't kidding. Every place we tried was great and I would go back to in a heartbeat! This Dine Around and Stay in Town Promotion that is offered in Victoria was our 'Great Find' for our winter getaway.
February 21, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Dining
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The Temple in Victoria is a great restaurant. Both the service and the food were exemplary.