The Spiral Coffee Company is a cozy hideaway in Esquimalt. On my lunch break, my colleague and I stumbled upon this nook and had a very pleasant lunch. I had some soup accompanied with fresh bread and an expertly made americano. The soup was black beans, fresh vegetables with the kick of some chiles. The bread was really nice, with seeds on the crust. The space is spattered with art and local musicians perform regularly. Another great neighbourhood community cornerstone.
Smokin’ Tuna is a great place to stop for lunch in the Sooke area. I went last summer after a hike in East Sooke and a visit to the farm/bakery nearby. The cafe is quaint but the location is beautiful, right on the water. We ordered inside and sat outside on the patio to wait for the food. I had a sandwich and salad which was decent overall, fresh but the flavours were so-so. My friends had the tuna(fresh albacore) which was breaded and fried, barely cooked with a salad and aioli. The texture was perfect and the fish was really the star of the dish. The menu is small but the everything is fresh. I enjoyed the setting and smelling the fresh cookies coming out of the oven on our way out.
Heron Rock Bistro
435 Simcoe St.
250-383-1545
I met up with a friend during Dine Around this year. I have always wanted to try Heron Rock Bistro, as it seems to be the go-to restaurant for James Bay residents.
We both had the Dine Around menu. The salad was delicious, I enjoyed the fried caper garnish. For my main, I had an Arctic Char with beluga lentils, goat cheese and crispy skin. I wasn’t keen on the skin and the lentils were under-cooked. The fish was a bit fishier than I expected, but it was well cooked. The dessert was delicious, a bread-pudding.
The service was excellent, lots of genuine smiles and good timing. I will go back for another dinner sometime soon.
Cheers
This year, my family chose to do something a bit different for the Winter holidays. Instead of gathering around a tree and opening presents Christmas morning, we went to indulge in none other than Sin City herself, Las Vegas.
We only ate two meals a day, I always find that heat makes me less hungry. We ate at our hotel ( The Mirage) for a brunch buffet named ” Cravings”. There were many different stations with themes such as Latin, Italian and Japanese. The food was O.K., the servers brought around orange juice and coffee. I left feeling a bit ill from the amount of food I consumed. The scale of the buffet is impressive, but I don’t think the quality was outstanding.
Also within our hotel, BLT Burger, branded by Laurent Tourondel, made a great lunch one of our first days on our holiday. I have never eaten a burger in Canada that is medium, most likely because of the fear of food-poisoning, or more specifically, restaurants not using good cuts of meat to grind for burgers. I had the wagyu burger (I think it was close to 20 dollars). You have to buy all the sides separately, so for lunch it can get a bit pricy. But the more classic burgers were around 11-13 dollars. The meat was juicy and succulent, I enjoyed having a pink burger. There is such a stigma against pink beef in Canada, so I have learned that if you start with a piece of meat that you could serve medium, then it will be safe for you to eat it in a burger!
I took my family out for a nice dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s baby, Spago, located within Caesars Palace. The space is beautiful and modern. The service initially was interesting, as the server was being “shadowed”. I felt like the server was talking a bit too much, but perhaps that is what expected of him at this establishment. The bread service was delicious with foccacia, lavash, sourdough and some type of nut bread, fresh butter and rosemary olive oil. The amuse bouche was a mushroom soup, and it was served piping hot. Nice and salty and bags of mushroom flavour.
My father ordered the Diver Scallops with corn and crab succotash. I had the duck breast with cabbage puree onions and huckleberries. My sister had the roasted chicken with wild mushrooms and potatoes. My brother had the short ribs with horseradish, ricotta gnocchi and shallots. We were all pleased with the food, and especially with the portion size. The plates were all about 30 dollars each. The food was very Classic American, with a couple of new additions. I enjoyed the meal, but I think next time I visit Las Vegas, I might try something more “out of the box”.
As for the rest of my Vegas trip, I enjoyed playing poker tournaments, the odd slot machine, and a great quality experience with my family.
Cheers
-Eating Victoria
Shine Cafe
1320 Blanshard St.
250-595-2134
I went to Shine Cafe up by Oak Bay Junction once a few years ago (and actually once again a few days ago), so I was curious what my experience would be like at the new location. Shine took over Demitasse which I won’t lose sleep over, and from the street Shine is ‘shining’ with bright colours, specifically orange.
My first impression was wow, bright. My next thought was that there were a lot of staff working for a restaurant that didn’t seem busy. The ladies working were very casual, which matches the staff at the Oak Bay/Fernwood location.
I had a vegan pattie with avocado and salsa and onion rings. My pal, JH, had a clubhouse sandwich and salad. The food tasted fine, but it wasn’t original nor did it excite us. The vegan pattie that I ate was sloppy and difficult to manage. The onion rings were greasy and tasted like cafeteria onion rings. JH’s sandwich was decent. For almost 20 bucks a piece for lunch and a drink, meh, it doesn’t leave me wanting to come back for more. There are much better places to have lunch and for cheaper. The space is bright but it feels cheap, and maybe the service staff could be presented in a more professional uniform, just a suggestion.
-Eating Victoria
Bin 4 Burger Lounge
911 Yates St.
250-590-4154
Someone call 9-1-1, there’s a new burger place that just opened up on 911 Yates St…ok not funny, but what a great street address eh?
Victoria is quickly becoming a burger city, and why not? The burger is quintessentially North American, and it seems everyone has their own spin on the it, whether that be a classic style burger, gourmet burger, ethical burger, or veggie burger. Pink Bicycle, Bimo and Belle Patate, Big Wheel Burger, Jackalope Bistro, and Bin 4 Burger Lounge are but a few restaurants in Victoria offering the humble burger in gourmet and classic forms. Burger bars are hella trendy in the states, often showcased on the Food Network, Bobby Flay and Hubert Keller being two of the celebrity chefs known for their burgers.
Bin 4 Burger Lounge lands in the Deluxe/Gourmet burger category, similar to Pink Bicycle. These are competitive times in Victoria for burgers, chains versus local establishments, especially with the new Burger King opening up and FatBurger coming soon. Let’s see how Bin 4 Burger Lounge measured up.
The transformation of the space is impressive. I remember when it was JB’s cafe, and it didn’t look attractive at all. Now it has a feeling of Cactus Club and Ikea, which is a relatively successful aesthetic when it comes to trendy restaurants. All the servers are pretty young girls ( another Cactus Club- ism), but they didn’t have the attitude so they were more approachable.
We started off with a couple of drinks, I had a grapefruit mojito and JB had a gin and tonic. Although the mojito tasted good, I couldn’t taste to booze. Maybe I am becoming accustomed to my strong drinks I make for myself at home, but in a small tumbler glass I should still be able to taste the liquor. JB found the same with his gin and tonic, tasted watery. The next drink, I ordered a beer and JB ordered a double (almost 8 dollars I recall), so that we could finally taste the liquor.
For food, I had the aptly named “Mr. Bean” burger, which part of me chose of my childhood love for Rowan Atkinson. JB had the Wild Mushroom burger with fries and basil aioli dipping sauce. I chose the red onion rings for my side, with barbecue sauce.
Food breakdown:
Mr. Bean: chickpea and black bean patty with curry aioli,lettuce tomato and red onion and goat cheese.
The bun was nice, I think Irene’s bakery provides them to Bin 4. The onion rings were nice and crispy, but not very many of them. The barbecue sauce was O.K., but nothing special. The patty was fine, a bit heavy on the spices though. I’d give it a 6.5 out of 10.
The wild mushroom burger: JB liked the beef patty, but the wild mushrooms were a bit stemmy, and subsequently tough/chewy. But I like that they used wild instead of the usual button or crimini mushrooms.
Our server was friendly and professional, so I can’t fault the service. The space is beautiful too. The prices are a bit high, I don’t know why they do the half price after 9. Personally, I think making them a couple of bucks cheaper overall makes more sense. Otherwise they run the risk of getting a rush of people after 9 to get cheap food, unless they are encouraging more people to come later because it is a “lounge”/ late-night hang-out spot. I’m curious how long that will last.
The food was decent. I’m glad the chef shows some imagination and creativity. Also a lot of their meat is ethically sourced, which is always a great thing. There is a healthy amount of other options besides burgers, like lettuce cups, bruschetta, tataki, etc. I like that they make all their sauces in house. My only critiques were about the drinks, and just tweaking the seasoning on some of the food. But in general, this place has potential to be a long-standing fun place to hang out. I wish them well.
Lido Waterfront Bistro
250-385-5436
Below Wharf St.
I was walking down by the water one day with a friend and we noticed Lido for the first time. The patio was enclosed, but still quite inviting. It is essentially in the parking lot, just walk down the stairs from Wharf St. coming from Bastion Square. This was a few weeks ago that I ate here, and it was quite a chilly evening as the sun was going down. We ended up going inside the restaurant once it got too cold. The mojitos our very friendly server gave us were delicious, not too sour, which is exactly how I like them. I find some places in town will make mojitos with too much lime juice. I had one of their pizzas, a recommendation from our server. It was a greek style pizza, in terms of the toppings, with olives feta tomato sauce peppers and herbs. The crust was definitely made-fresh, and it was soft and chewy but crispy on the outside, perfection. It was a really good portion too, I was impressed for the price.
Lido is a great little spot down by the water that isn’t so crazy, it was a relaxed atmosphere. It’s ideal in the summer for the patio, the service and the food were good. I would go back
Cheers
My-Chosen Cafe
4492 Happy Valley Road
Metchosin, B.C.
250-474-2333
www.mychosencafe.com
I was out running errands with a co-worker and we ended up in the Metchosin area. She recommended that we go to My-Chosen Cafe. I don’t know much about Metchosin, but it seems like a nice place to live, beautiful houses and quite private. As we drove into the parking lot of My-Chosen Cafe it was evident that it served as a community meeting place/centre for the town. There was a lot of buzz, a pizza place, and I even saw some chickens running around.
The feeling is very ‘mom and pop’, which suits the comforting food it serves to a ‘T’. The desserts looked exquisite, I wish I had saved room for some of the pie or cheesecakes. There weren’t many options for vegetarians that seemed appealing, so I asked the server how the veggie burger was, and she said she really enjoys it and she’s not vegetarian. It’s amazing to me that in most restaurants I am limited to either veggie burgers, salads, or soups or pastas. I try to keep it fresh, and honestly I try to order different things to keep my reviews interesting. The burger was good, massive portions, could barely finish it all. It had mushrooms and cheese, and the bread was good. My co-worker ordered the Halibut and chips, which she responded positively to, the portion was also quite large.
For above-standard pub/family food, I would recommend My-Chosen. The prices were fair and I liked that they showcased the homemade baked goods at the front. The server we had was professional, friendly and it was obvious that she enjoyed her job.
Cheers
-Eating Victoria
Can Relish on Pandora Ave. ever let me down? Apparently not. They consistently deliver, and they consistently make the Top 5 of places I recommend to for lunch. I had their lentil and nut pate sandwich with mustard, carrots, sultanas with curry spices. The food is well presented, well seasoned, and reasonably priced. I’m honestly considering applying at Relish for a job, just so I can eat there everyday haha.. Keep up the good work. Making food nutritious, honest, exciting is a wonderful thing for Victoria’s food scene.
Cheers
Eating Victoria
The Village Patisserie
2217 Oak Bay Ave.
250-370-0766
I was strolling down Oak Bay Ave. and stumbled upon The Village Patisserie. It’s plain-looking inside but it smelled enticing. I noticed they had a lot of deli items for sale by weight. I was eyeing up the saffron rice pudding. But I just came in for a quick snack so I had a few cookies. The shortbread was nice, and I had a Persian rice cookie with cardamom and rose water. Rose water is a tricky ingredient to master in baking because it can be so overpowering, but I enjoyed the level inside the cookie. This patisserie is small, and it must be family-run and owned. The baked goods were nice and I might go back to try some of the salads and savoury items.
Cheers
-Eating Victoria
