Victoria, Canada

Eating out in Victoria, Canada

Given its location, it's a natural that Victoria specializes in seafood so fresh it splashes hops onto your plate from the ocean. Most restaurants in town feature it highly on their menus and diners can choose from such varieties as French poached salmon, Thai prawns, and the traditional favorite, fish and chips. What you won't find much of, despite the city's English heritage, is typical British fare. Instead, Victoria's various ethnic groups have each brought their particular flavors and kitchen secrets to this far-flung corner of Canada. Because of this cultural fondue, mealtime is like an adventure around the world. A small but important point to keep in mind is that Victorians dine early, and most restaurants are closed by 10:00pm. The one bit of mealtime tradition you will find from England is the grandly stylized practice of taking High Tea, and you shouldn't even consider missing it!.

Gourmet

The Deep Cove Chalet is a half hour from Victoria, but the trip is worth it for the best French cuisine in the province. Avant-garde Chef Pierre Koffel understates his menu as featuring "some French classics, some not so classic," which translates as fresh and often inspired twists on traditional dishes based on local ingredients. The lobster bisque is a perennial favorite, as are delicacies like the truffle soup. Breads, patés, and desserts are made in-house, and salmon is house-smoked. The wine reserve dates to 1902 with 18,000 bottles! 11190 Chalet Road.

Highly Recommended

Blue Crab Bar and Grill just may be Victoria's best choice for a wide array of just-fished seafood. Dungeness crab and cherrywood-smoked scallop chowder are particular favorites, as are most of the wonderful desserts at this seaside grill. Regional wines are featured, there is a full bar, children's menu, and Sunday brunch. This all-around great dining experience is topped off with great service from a polite staff. 146 Kingston Street, on the waterfront.

Local Flair

Herald Street Caffe is housed in a 19th-century heritage building filled with palms and flowers. Young hip locals fill the seats and the work of local artists decorate the exposed-brick walls. The chef's creations, however, are the best artwork in the house, like the lamb tenderloin sandwich with a three-peppercorn sauce, served on brown bread with roasted garlic and warm onion-currant marmalade that is a long-time favorite. The breads and marmalades are homemade, and the wine list is award-winning. 546 Herald Street.

Romantic

Il Terrazzo - Most Victorians agree nothing beats this downtown favorite, marble-furnished patio decked in flowers and wrought-iron candelabra for a romantic Old Country atmosphere. The Northern Italian cuisine - with a West Coast twist, of course - gets equal praise for the flawless preparation of comforting traditionals like pasta, risotto, seafood, and roast duck. 555 Johnson Street.

Going party in Victoria, Canada

A visitor from New York may think that "Victoria Nightlife" is a contradiction in terms, but that assessment would have to be weighed against his relative perspective. It's true that this town isn't a player on the world party scene, but the college crowd, tourists, and a small but die-hard resident party crowd keeps the scene vibrant, if diminutive. As soon as you arrive, check out Monday Magazine for the best listing available of what's going on after dark. The cultural arts have a short but impressive calendar, which is available on the Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria hotline at 250-381-ARTS or 250-381-2787.

Victoria Symphony

In these days of CDs and entertainment-on-demand technology, you can hear whatever you want whenever you want, but nothing compares to hearing it live. The Victoria Symphony enchants with performances of 18th- and 19th-century favorites played with renewed vigor, along with excursions into new music.

Langham Court Theatre

The inveterate Victoria Theatre Guild stages the work of well-known playwrights at this small theater.

Pacific Opera Victoria

"The most consistently satisfying opera in Canada," declares Opera Canada Magazine. When the rather ordinary stage curtain rises, the Pacific Opera Victoria takes you, if only for a few hours, to the streets of 17th-century Seville, into the dark minds of Shakespearean villains, and ever more worlds that we could otherwise only imagine!.

Hermann's Dixieland Inn

Dark, smoky, and heavy with ambiance, this place is just what you expect from a jazz club. Go catch the regular shows that are, indeed, mostly Dixieland but also include other jazz genres.

Sugar

Get in the groove with DJ music on Go Crazy Thursdays to the hottest Dance, Top 40, and Hip-Hop. Freaky Friday is ladies' night, so there's no cover for dancing damsels, and Saturdays are just flat out party madness.

Big Bad John's Hillbilly Bar

Who says the West isn't wild anymore? No one at Big Bad John's, we reckon. The crowd and staff are a fun, honky-tonk group living it up every night surrounded by remnants and IOUs from Canada's old railroad days, with weekly live country-western bands.

Spinnakers Brew Pub

This microbrewery practices a traditional, artisan method that produces Victoria's most extensive range of beers. Step in, slow down, and enjoy the fruits of their labor by the fireplace, one of the many cozy pub-style rooms, or on the waterfront patio.

Common events in Victoria, Canada

Mixed Curling Bonspiel

Locals compete in the ancient sport of stone-throwing. Watch or pick up your own 40-pound curling stone and heave it for distance across the ice at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre. January.

Robert Burns's Birthday

The birthday of the great Scottish poet is celebrated around Victoria and Vancouver with Scottish dancing, piping, and feasts of haggis. Appropriately, most events take place in Victoria's pubs. January 25.

Pacific Rim Whale Festival

Over 20,000 gray whales migrate past Vancouver Island each spring, attracting visitors from all over the world. Along with the gray whale, orcas, humpbacks, and other species are celebrated with a fun-filled festival of crab races, storytelling, parades, art shows, guided whale-spotting hikes, and cruises. March - April.

Annual Brant Wildlife Festival

The annual black Brant goose migration is the event of the season for passionate birders. Festivity highlights are the guided walks through old-growth forest, and salt- and freshwater marshes that are home to hundreds of bird species. There's also art, photography, and carving exhibits, as well as birding competitions. April.

TerrifVic Dixieland Jazz Party

Swing, Dixieland, honky-tonk, fusion, and improv bands pour into the city from New Orleans, England, and Latin America to perform for sprightly audiences at venues all over the city. April and June.

Harbour Festival

Heritage walks, entertainment, music, and more are on hand for this 10-day festival. May.

Folkfest

The Inner Harbour and Market Square in downtown Victoria host this 8-day annual world beat music festival. June.

First Peoples Festival

The culture and heritage of the Pacific Northwest First Nations tribes is honored with dances, carving demonstrations, and heritage displays at the Royal British Columbia Museum. August.