My wife and I will be visiting Victoria this month and would appreciate restaurant recommendations.
We enjoy good food and wine, and especially appreciate restaurants that use local ingredients.
We’ll be staying downtown near the Inner Harbour and will mostly be getting around on foot.
We’d love suggestions for dinners in particular, as well as any other food and drink recommendations such as cafés, wine bars, markets, etc.
This is more of a brunch place, but last time we were in Victoria we enjoyed Nourish: https://www.nourishkitchen.ca/ . Local ingredients, vegetarian/vegan friendly, and located in a beautiful Victorian house in the Inner Harbour.
A classic Victoria experience is to have high tea at the Empress: https://www.teaattheempress.com (Note: this is pricey, and I haven't done it myself, as I preferred to have curry in the Bengal Room, which is no longer an option, unfortunately.)
It's been a while, but years ago we really enjoyed Nautical Nellies: https://nauticalnelliesrestaurant.com
For a casual lunch, walk around the harbour to Fisherman's Wharf: https://www.fishermanswharfvic.ca We liked Barb's Fish and Chips: https://www.barbsfishandchips.com
For Indigenous food, there is the Songhees Food Truck at 1502 Admirals road. Again, this would be a more casual option, rather than fine dining, and I haven't tried it myself, as it wasn't open the last time I was there. https://www.songheesevents.ca/food-truck
Note that there is a little water taxi that can take you to different points around the harbour, if you need a break from walking.
And I know you didn't ask for activity suggestions, so I'm sorry if I'm overstepping, but I recommend:
Whale watching from a Zodiac with Prince of Whales. (We've gone whale watching 3 times, and our experience with Prince of Whales was the over-the-top best, although there are no guarantees with wild animals, of course.)
Fan Tan Alley is a cute little spot.
Visit Thunderbird Park, very close to the harbour, to see Totem Poles.
The Butchart Gardens are popular (need to book a bus or something to get there), but it's probably getting late in the season for it to be at its best.
I've enjoyed 10 acres Bistro the last couple of times we were in Victoria, it is in the inner harbour. Over in James Bay, ( still walkable) we like Heron Rock Bistro. It is much more a neighbourhood feel. If you feel up to a trek, the Teahouse at Abkhazi gardens is a lovely setting and we had a good lunch there a few years ago.
Last year, we had a lovely dinner at il Covo Trattoria. Italian. https://ilcovotrattoria.ca/
Last month, we quite enjoyed Finn’s Seafood. https://www.finnsvictoria.com
And on both trips, we also enjoyed a Greek restaurant, Ithaka. Not as elegant as the other two, but pretty good Greek food. https://www.ithakagreek.ca
BTW, if Tea at the Empress is on your agenda, we failed to reserve in advance and missed our opportunity, last month.
Enjoy your visit
