A Victoria Food Guide. Bon appetit!

Much to my surprise, this little city on the West Coast of Canada is a haven for lovers of the farm to table movement, craft beer, and cocktails. Because of Victoria’s isolated location on an island, many restaurant owners have naturally worked with local growers and farmers because that was their only choice. The Victoria food scene here surprised me and I almost will be bold enough to say it rivals Vancouver, a much bigger city. 

Now for my Victoria food guide! – information checked April 2019

Where To Have Coffee

I can’t live without a cup of coffee in the morning and sometimes I need a pick me up in the afternoon. I will admit to going to Starbucks when there are no other options, but I prefer to support local independent coffee shops and roasters.

Bows x Arrows Coffee

BowXArrows is a bit out of the downtown core but if you can get there I recommend them. Their in-house cafe is super chill, a great place to sip on some coffee and take a breather from exploring. Depending on the time of day you may even catch them roasting their beans.

Habit Coffee 

Habit Coffee serves Bows x Arrows beans so if you can’t make it there, come here for a good cup. I stopped in for a cortado at their Yates Street location. They also have another location on Pandora. The Yates Street space is bright and airy but there is no wifi or plugs. It would be a good place to get work done without being connected or just to meet up with friends for a coffee.

Heist Coffee

Heist is close to the Inner Harbour and many of the attractions in Victoria. I was super happy that it was a stumbling distance from when I stayed at the Magnolia Hotel. It’s tiny but a great location to pick up a caffeine boost.

Fernwood Coffee

I was staying in an Air Bnb rental and it didn’t have a coffee maker. I checked out my Foursquare for the closest coffee. Fernwood, they roast and brew their own coffee, was just a couple of blocks away but it was perfect. It’s a neighbourhood locals’ spot.

Jusu

Ok, green juice is not coffee but not everyone drinks coffee, so here is a great option for the healthy types who drink green juice in the morning or throughout the day. My friend and I came here for something healthy after we went for a hike. Lots of different cold-pressed juices to order or make custom.

Breakfast/Brunch

Jam Cafe

Jam Cafe is a very popular breakfast/brunch/lunch place. My friend and I went super early before we caught the ferry back to Vancouver so we didn’t come across having to wait. It is a popular place and I’ve heard there are line ups so please take note. I ordered Harrison Fernando seen below, perhaps for the name alone.

Fol Epi

Fol Epi is not just a breakfast option but a great place to pick up pastries in the morning. I wholeheartedly recommend Fol Epi. Much of the ingredients they use are organic and sourced locally. They also have some gluten-free items for those with dietary restrictions. Everything I had from there was delicious. I really loved their ham, kimchi, and cilantro sandwich on their own bread along with the numerous pastries I purchased. They had a creme brulee tart which was off the charts!!!

Lunch 

Be Love

I always try to find restaurants for my vegan and vegetarian friends, and Be Love is a great option. It reminded me a bit of Cafe Gratitude in Los Angeles. I had the mango lassi and Be Love bowl, which is a brown rice (or quinoa) bowl with steamed greens, refried black beans and dressing. Be Love is open for lunch and dinner.

Ayo Eat

If you’re new to my blog you may not know that I stayed in Bali for four months during my round the world trip. Much to my dismay, I haven’t been able to find a really great Indonesian restaurant since I’ve been back. While researching where to eat in Victoria, I came across Ayo Eat on some review sites.

When I got there, I couldn’t decide what to order because I wanted to try out everything. In the end, I went with my standby of nasi goreng with ayam or Indonesian fried rice with chicken. It wasn’t the back alley street food style that I was longing for but the flavours were reminiscent and the best I’ve had in BC. If you’re looking for some Indo food, come here.

Chef Bana uses his grandmother’s recipe for beef rendang, another favourite so I’m looking forward to a return visit to try this. Please note this place is not a sit-down restaurant. It’s a small, one-man operation stall located in Market Square. I recommend going there on a sunny day and picking up and eating by the harbour or taking back to your hotel room if the weather isn’t up to snuff.

Victoria Food Market/Farmers Market

Victoria Public Market

Love going to markets when you travel? Check out the Victoria Public Market at the Hudson. It’s small but there are some really great vendors in there and once a week they have a farmers market set up inside. Some of my favourite vendors in the market are Silk Road Tea, Salt Spring Island Cheese, and Island Spice. The famous Vikram Vij of Vij’s fame has a stall serving Indian food called Sutra. You can eat prepared foods there or you can pick up frozen take-home meals from their freezer.

Sweet Treats

Kid Sister

Kid Sister is a cute little cold treat shop not far from Victoria Public Market. I saw a sign for their popsicles at Go Fish but I figured it would melt by the time I was done eating. I was happy when I came across their own shop on Fisgarde Street. The owner spent a lot of time in Mexico where paletas are popular (ice pop/popsicle made of frozen fruit) and decided to bring it back to the island. If you’re looking for a sweet treat or something cool on a hot day, please do yourself a favour and go here. Their key lime pie popsicle was the bomb dot com as well as their Aperol and Grapefruit pop!

Dinner 

10 Acres Bistro

Right across from the Magnolia Hotel is 10 Acres Bistro. They have their own farm so much of what they serve is grown on their own land. I recommend having a drink on the patio and getting some appetizers. I enjoyed my charcuterie, oysters, and cheese plate seen below as well as the Salt Spring Island mussels starter.

Olo

I believe Olo is a reincarnation of the popular Ulla. I had never been to Ulla but I was hoping to go on previous trips. Lucky for me they didn’t shutter and they just changed names and added Shawn Soole to their lineup who was previously at Little Jumbo. I did previously have Little Jumbo on this list but Shawn left and so did Justin their chef and I just heard it’s gone downhill since.

10 Acres Kitchen 

I stopped in for some seafood at 10 Acres Kitchen. The room is super large and they are right in the heart of the Inner Harbour. The best thing to do in BC is to load up on eating seafood if you like seafood. You will not get anything fresher like this. I had a delicious yellowtail roll. I don’t usually eat sushi in non-Japanese restaurants but I couldn’t resist ordering one here. It was tasty!! I also had a local craft beer to wash it down.

Oak Bay Beach Hotel

I had an incredible dinner and wine experience at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel during their Winemaker dinner event that happens every so often.

What are your Victoria food favourites? List them in the comments!

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**Disclaimer: Many thanks to Victoria Tourism for their support with creating this Victoria food guide. My meals were complimentary at Catalano, 10 Acres, and 10 Acres Kitchen and Commons. As always, opinions are my own.**