Eating Victoria- Food Blog and Eating Guide

Heckler’s Bar and Grill
123 Gorge Road East
250-386-9207

LF invited me out to Heckler’s a few weekends ago for their stand-up comedy night. I’ll focus on the food and service, but I will consider the comedians as part of the ambience. She called in to make reservations for a table. The place got full by 9 o’clock for the comics. We had some drinks, but I was feeling peckish so I got a hot dog with salad. The bun was nice and toasted, but the problem was there was a lot of it, got doughy pretty fast. The frank was good quality, Coney Island style, with lots of condiments on the side. Later on we had the deep fried Mars bar, why not? It wasn’t as warm as I expected, but the deep-fried treatment made the bar melt into a very pleasing texture. Coupled with whipped cream, this dessert is easily packing upwards of 600 calories, c’est la vie.

The server we had was a very nice and attentive young lady. She gave the best service I’ve had in a pub for a long time. The customer service all around us was to a high standard. I saw another server deal with a customer complaint/order mix-up very professionally, and the manager got involved too, they obviously care.

The place gets loud, but I really enjoyed the energy. The comics were a bit hit and miss, but I enjoyed the variety. Crass, poking fun at anything they could, definitely not for the faint of heart. For 10 bucks, I thought the entertainment was well worth it.

Food: 7/10
Service: 9/10
Ambience: 7/10

Cheers!

Moon Under Water Pub and Brewery
350 Bay St.
250-380-0706

I’m surprised there are so many negative reviews for this up and coming pub. I recently went to Moon Under Water with some new foodie friends, and I really enjoyed myself. The space itself is very clean, and it’s HUGE! The quaint furnishings and tables look miniature in scale to the building. This is a proper pub, where you go up to the bar and order your food and beer. It has a warm and comfortable feeling, and that comes from the staff particularly. We went for an early dinner, and the location is relatively easy to access. You can take the #14 bus( Vic General via Craigflower, which drops you right in front of this pub) or if the weather is behaving, the walk is pleasant too. The beers are lower in alcohol percentage, making them an attractive choice for pub-goers, especially those with concerns about the new liquor consumption restrictions.

We ordered a bunch of appies, and they were delivered in a respectable and timely fashion. The beer battered onion rings were hands-down the best I’ve ever tasted in my life. I love me some fried onions, and wow, all I can say is wow. The soy and ginger chicken wings were sticky and delicious, the salad on the plate was a nice side for some crunch and freshness( pea shoots, crunchy veg and I think some almonds or peanuts?). We also had the curry gravy over fries which was gooey and addicting. The grilled oysters and baguette with some sort of sauce( I don’t know) was O.K., but I’m not the best judge of oysters as I rarely eat them. The portions for the food were generous, and these appies were sufficient to feed the three of us. The pricing is fair, and the quality of the beer shines. I will definitely go back here. I recommend trying this place out, there is lots of room, so bring your friends for an enjoyable pub experience without all the music and tv noise pollution downtown Victoria has been so accustomed to.

Cheers

The Office Lounge
759 Yates St.
250-590-5253

Geez. This place has turned over more times than I can count in the last 5 years. It used to be Syn Bar and Grill, and I think before that it was Cosmopolitan. I’ll give The Office props for trying, and they really are. I notice their sandwich board outside always has some kind of special to lure people in, and when I went last week they had live music as well with some talented musicians. The music was a bit loud, but I appreciate a little extra entertainment for a meal, but only when it doesn’t detract from the conversation I’m trying to have.  We had dinner beforehand( at Side Dish, look below for that review…), so we only stopped in at the Office for some dessert.

I went for the rum raise bread pudding, and my friend had the brownie. I had a glass of wine with my dessert too. The waitress reassured us that all the desserts were made in-house by a talented chef. The portion size didn’t exactly match the price( I think it was almost 10 dollars for a little square of dessert). The sauce tasted good, but it didn’t blow me away. I’m also not a fan of cape gooseberries as a garnish. I find their taste reminiscent of cleaning bleach, with an unpleasant waxiness. I’ve had dinner here before too, the food was about the same, good but nothing that surprises me. The best thing about this place is their variety of seating, nice big round tables with comfy chairs, you can sit at the bar, you can sit at booths, or you can sit at tables closest to the street. The beers on tap are good, and as I mentioned before there are usually some specials if you want to save a couple of bucks. I’m relatively ambiguous on this one, schmeh.

Whitebird Lounge
768 Yates St.
250-380-7040
www.whitebirdlounge.com

I went to Whitebird a few days ago for a celebratory meal with JB, after a grueling week of work. I’ll keep it short, judging by the title tagline, you can see where this review is going.

First impression:

Almost like The Mint, underground and quite dark, with a DJ, lounge chairs/couches, and some restaurant seating. An unpleasant smell greeted our nostrils upon arrival, of burnt oil/grease, and it left with us in our clothes and hair.

Positive: They have Phillips on tap, including their seasonal Ginger ale.

Caught up in conversation, our server was very understanding with our indecisiveness. Eventually we came to a decision, splitting a couple of appies and JB got the soup. Our server informed us that appies were 2 for 1 before 8, which is a good deal.

We were the only diners in the restaurant, and I am assuming that Whitebird is more of a latenight crowd, with more people trickling in as the night progressed. The food took its time, but we were in no rush. JB ordered the thai chicken soup, which was large in quantity, but small in quality. There wasn’t a lot of chicken in the soup, and it was painful how many kaffir lime leaves and large pieces of lemongrass were left in the soup. That’s cooking 101, don’t put inedible aromatics in the soup you’re going to serve someone. Sure they add a lot of flavour, but that’s unprofessional and just plain annoying to have to pick out as a diner. It makes you paranoid with each bite, thinking of potentially biting into another fibrous stalk of lemongrass. We told the server, and she said she would tell the chef. He didn’t eat anymore of the soup(leaving it 3/4 full). The salad arrived at the same time as the soup, which for 9 dollars was decent, but I’ve seen it all before. JB enjoyed the salad, bless him, which had pumpkin seeds, a light dressing, mixed greens and crunchy veg.  5 or so minutes later our other appetizer came, a trio of hummous, and tortillas. The black sesame hummous and guacamole hummous were delicious, can’t fault those. I thought it was a clever idea for the chef to put some of the hummous inside the tortilla wedges like a quesadilla. I haven’t seen that done before, so points for originality.

Another positive was the music, it was relaxing and it really suited the atmosphere.

But unfortunately, I won’t be returning for the food. The server didn’t do anything about the soup, even though it was obvious we didn’t enjoy it. The pace and feeling is similar to the Mint, slow and almost too ‘whatever’, or ‘oops sorry’.

Cheers

-EV

Smith’s
777 Courtney St.
250-360-2544

*Note*- See my Urbanspoon review below to compare

My last food experience at Smith’s was pretty disgusting. The chicken I had tasted like it was dipped in salt and pepper instead of breadcrumbs, it was so salty I couldn’t eat it. I’ve been to Smith’s on many occasions just for beer, but last week  I gave their food another chance. I had been for their wing’s night years ago, so a friend and I had some wings. The server was sweet, and had some good suggestions. AU likes his wings not too sauce, and quite crispy, so our server got the kitchen to prepare the wings with salt and pepper and gave him a side of hot sauce. They tasted great! Smith’s has a great selection of beer on tap, and the music they play is unlike any other pub I’ve been to, it’s always very cool. I had an interesting beer, it was a ginger ale, but literally it was an ale(~5%) that had a subtle ginger root flavour. I also had another local draft that was on special.

I’m glad I went back, for drinks and the food. Maybe Smith’s is on the upswing of the consistency pendulum. I hope it stays there.

Ross Bay Pub
1516 Fairfield Rd.
250-370-1152
www.rossbaypub.com

I previously lived in this neighbourhood(Fairfield and Rockland) and people had warned me about Ross Bay Pub.Urbanspoon reports only 50% of people liking Ross Bay Pub, but my friend LF and I gave it a shot anyways.There was honestly only one or two tables available when we arrived, the place was slammin’ busy. We sat at the back corner of the place, but we didn’t mind. Our server was pleasant, and noticeably busy with a lot of tables. We took forever to order, but she didn’t pressure us which I appreciated. We laughed over a couple of pints and conversation, and put our orders in. LF had the steak dinner, and I went for the wild salmon on ciabatta , with a green salad. The menu feels new still( I think it’s only a week old). The server let us know she had tried almost everything on the menu( good inkling about staff training for front of house). I read the other reviews about this place, whining about the price and bad service. I feel the pricing was fair, and our server was good at her job.

The food arrived after 20-25 minutes( which is decent for how busy it was). I rarely order salmon in restaurants, but she assured me that it was BC Wild. Growing up along the Fraser River, I know what good salmon should taste like. This filet was cooked well, a little on the drier side, but it wasn’t overly fishy which I find in some restaurants( usually a frozen product). The salad was standard, with a nice balsamic dressing, julienned beets and chickpeas. With beer in hand, I was a happy diner. LF had the steak dinner, which was a very generous portion. The menu said 6 oz. but this steak was closer to 8 or 9 I reckon. The steak was a perfect medium rare(as she ordered it), she really liked the veggies, and the mash was flavourful. On top of the steak was a green peppercorn demi, very tasty, plate-licking good.

Overall, we loved it. Maybe with the new menu there is a new chef? Either way, I’m glad we went.

Cheers



The Pink Bicycle
1008 Blanshard St.
250-384-1008
www.pinkbicycleburger.com

I am struggling to write this review, because the Pink Bicycle was once one of my fav’s, but my most recent visit leaves me with a big question mark. I’ve had some great burgers at the Pink Bicycle, and tasty sides( red onion rings and deep-fried macaroni cheese sticks to name a few). The company I’ve taken to the Pink Bicycle has always left satisfied, both stomach and tastebuds.

I went to the PB a few nights ago with my good buddy SP, because he hadn’t heard of/ or eaten there. I assured him he was in for a treat. It wasn’t a very busy night( but it’s always packed at lunch-time!), so the mood inside was pretty relaxed. A lanky employee gave us a seat, talked us up colloquially, and informed us that the beer special was a blackberry “Heifer”weizen( I don’t think he meant to pronounce it like this intentionally). We browsed the menu and came to dinner decisions quickly, and the server approached us lackadaisically. I wanted to try one of the veggie burger options, so I took the servers suggestion of the Moroccan Veggie Burger with Herbed goat cheese, and red onion rings as a side( $15). SP went for the classic Pink Bicycle cheese burger and the onion rings too( I remembered them being delicious from the last visit I had).

The food came quickly, and it smelled great. I was let down by the red onion rings right off the bat, they were obviously over-cooked, the batter was overbubbled, maybe the oil was on too high of a heat. They had good flavour, but nothing compared to what I expected from my last visit where they were crispy, but remained soft and the batter was sweet with some moisture still. SP enjoyed his burger, although it ended up being sloppy near the end sliding all over the place, part of the fun of eating a big burger! My veggie burger was made with chickpeas and dates, and the spicing of the patty was tasty. I wasn’t a huge fan of the texture though, it reminded me of mashed sweet potatoes with a crispy fried skin. The dates were probably a little heavy handed, making each bite less like a burger.

We took one of the servers up on the dessert special, hand-rolled truffles. There were an assortment, including a chocolate cheesecake truffle, oreo, and fudge. These were definitely homemade, but they were amateur at best unfortunately. The last time I had truffles for dessert was at Cafe Brio, and they were Earl Grey scented, truly exquisite. For $5 for these truffles, it was reasonable, but I wouldn’t order them again.

Overall it was a fun experience, but that was due solely to my company. Including tip, I paid $28.00 for the bill, and left feeling like I was jilted at the altar. When I went to the Pink Bicycle in the early days, I had nothing but rave reviews. Maybe it’s an issue of putting the training wheels back on the Pink Bicycle.

Canoe Brewpub
450 Swift St.
250-361-1940
www.canoebrewpub.com

A couple of friends were visiting from Vancouver, and where better to go for a beer than Canoe Club on the patio. TM had never been here before, and a rowdy group of Newfoundlanders were out on the patio havin’ a good laugh and sing-song which hit  us with a decibel wave almost sending us in the other direction. Despite the noise pollution, it was a beautiful night with a warm breeze. We had a couple of beers and some appies. I ordered the poutine ($10.50), TM had the calamari, and SP had the sweet potato frites($8.50). The poutine was good, but it was very salty(the gravy itself). The cheese curds were very nice though. TM’s Calamari had a nice spice to it, and the batter was light. The squid wasn’t rubbery at all, but it could have been cooked a few more seconds as some of the batter didn’t seem cooked through. SP’s sweet frites were tasty, and they tasted even better with the curried mayo dip. Let’s face it though, even for a couple of drinks and an appie, my bill after tip was still 30 bones. This isn’t a place for a cheap drink and meal. You definitely pay for the view(if you’re on the patio) or the cool ambiance inside the pub itself. Although, you might be interested in hitting up some of their drink and food specials during the week if you’re looking to save some dough. Half price wine by the glass, cheap appies, and cheap pitchers are some of these specials on offer. If you haven’t had a boisterous gathering at Canoe this summer, the clock is ticking.

Cheers