How to Spend an Incredible 48 Hours Eating Your Way Through Victoria, B.C.
The dining scene is impressive, too. Victoria has the oldest Chinatown in Canada — and the second oldest in North America after San Francisco. There are interesting Asian eateries in Chinatown and beyond, plus Asian influences on menus throughout the city. Fresh vegetables and seafood are regular features in many places, and bread and pastry lovers will find quality bakeries to enjoy. Here's our guide to an ambitious two days of eating, afternoon tea service included.
If you've made it to Victoria in the morning, make your way (perhaps renting an ebike to eventually cycle to a nearby park or the water) to GoodSide Pastry House. Even on weekdays, you can count on people lined up ahead of the 10 a.m. opening time to buy a selection of the month's offerings. The pain au chocolat shows off the bakery's ability to craft flaky, delicate pastry; if you like, try out the specialty of the month, which might be something like a mango-lime and coconut poppyseed croissant. You can also find a couple of savory offerings, such as a leek gratin Danish or a twist with cheese and jalapenos.
Goodside is at 1805 Fort Street
Seafood is a specialty in Victoria, and Fishhook serves it up with a French-Indian twist. The fish and chips, for example, have pakora-battered cod (or salmon, or halibut) and masala fries. Tartines are a popular choice; the Squimp is topped with smoked squid, shrimp, and crispy shallots, and spiked with harissa. Most recommended is the Daily Khatch. You get a choice of seafood, grilled and served over basmati rice and masala curry that has dollops of mango chutney and mango-lime pickle, a drizzle of red chili honey, and a crispy popadum.
Fishhook is at 805 Fort Street
For an afternoon refueling, Hey Happy in Chinatown is an ideal stop to get caffeinated, offering several single-origin beans at its pourover brew bar, along with espresso and signature drinks. Also in Chinatown is Silk Road Tea, importer of high-quality organic tea from around the world, with knowledgeable staff providing tips on how best to brew the tea at home.
Hey Happy is at 560 Johnson Street and Silk Road is at 1624 Government Street
For a fine dining experience, Marilena is the place to go in Victoria. While the dining room and sushi counter are excellent options, a seat at the chef's counter adds an element of entertainment — and gets you special insights and recommendations directly from the folks cooking your meal. It's well worth starting with items from the 'Raw & Chilled' menu, particularly a variety of oysters so fresh and flavorful you might not need the accompanying accoutrements. Nigiri is nicely prepared here; if you're lucky to be visiting in season, spot prawns and uni are must-orders. If you can't decide, there are two seafood towers that will stun in presentation. Save room for some of the small and large plates, especially the miso-glazed sablefish, which is a mainstay on the menu. This delicate fish is cooked to flaky perfection, then perched upon sushi rice in an entrancing dashi broth alongside yu choy and Hakurei (Japanese baby) turnips.
Marilena is at 1525 Douglas Street
If you're craving a doughy delight as early as 8 a.m. (or any time through late afternoon), Sally Bun awaits. These Asian-style buns, savory or sweet, are fresh-made and pillowy soft, with a surprising amount of flavorful filling. Egg, ham and cheddar is an ideal choice for breakfast, but you can also go bold with something like bulgogi and pepperoni pizza. Accept the offer to warm up your selection.
Sally Bun is at 1030 Fort Street
You could come to Working Culture Bread as early as the 8 a.m. opening time for a vegan BLT (and a lemon-Earl Grey morning bun), but at 10:30 or so they put out grab-and-go sandwiches on fresh sourdough bread. On offer during a recent visit were a smoked beef slab (with pickled Brussels sprouts and tomato jam among the fillings) and a hearty saag paneer slab as a vegetarian option.
Working Culture Bread is at 2506 Douglas Street
It's easy to miss this booth-like kitchen tucked away in a corner of Chinatown's Market Square, but then you'll be missing a unique spot for a handful of Indonesian dishes. The chef, who has cooked in the past for the Dalai Lama, regularly recommends the nasi campur rendang, a curried beef dish which comes with rice, prawn crackers, and pickled vegetables. But the surprise of this dish is the spicy potato chips, so crisply good that they warrant consideration of nasi campur telor sambal as the order — that way you get more of those potato chips with a spicy hard boiled egg in place of the beef to go along with the rice. Note that is basically a to-go place, though there are two barstools at a tiny counter that face the kitchen.
Ayo Eat is at 560 Johnson Street
Afternoon tea is an almost mandatory activity to experience while in Victoria, and there are certainly a number of places in town designed to make you feel like royalty. One worthy of consideration is the Pendray Inn, with its handful of dining rooms full of Victorian charm and views of the harbor. You can choose between a couple of three-tiered towers of food (there's also a vegan option if you give a day's notice), one a little more seafood-forward in its savory selections. The precious presentation will include crustless cucumber sandwiches, a smoked salmon pinwheel, scones with jam and Devon-style cream, and colorful tiramisu and macarons. The harder decision will come from navigating the extensive tea menu, though the server can guide you through the options.
Pendray Inn is at 309 Belleville Street
If Marilena tilts toward one extreme on the fine dining spectrum, End Dive leans the other way. This is a place to cozy up to the bar to get advice about the day's food (the ever-changing menu depends on what's in season and looks/tastes good that day) and drinks. The menu features vegetable, pasta, and seafood dishes with eclectic elements—often fermented, smoked or pickled. A recent entrée was honey-mustard smoked salmon belly with pickled celery and red sauerkraut remoulade. The drinks are just as creative; the recent 'Oh So Close, Yet So Far' gin, umeshu and chartreuse drink with sage, spruce tips, citrus, mint, nettles and bitter orange was — just as the bartender described — a walk through a forest. Not for fussy diners, End Dive could well be the most interesting and enjoyable restaurant in Victoria.
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