Home Victoria Restaurants and Bars

Victoria Restaurants and Bars

Greater Victoria Restaurants

Victoria is full of amazing restaurants serving everything from seafood to steaks and from Italian to Chinese, Japanese, French and West Coast cuisine.

Thanks to its strong tourist industry, for a city of its size, Victoria has one of the highest concentrations of restaurants in Canada. There is something for everyone, from cheap to expensive, and from carnivorous to vegetarian to vegan.

 

Victoria’s Best Places to Eat and Drink

Victoria offers a wide selection of places to eat including West Coast, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, seafood, vegetarian, fine dining, family and fast food restaurants. Some of the city’s best restaurants are listed below.

 

Romantic and Fine Dining Restaurants

  • Fireside Grill – Canadian dishes in a romantic setting at 4509 West Saanich Road.
  • The Lobby Lounge – the place can be found within the Fairmont Empress Hotel at 721 Government Street right on the waterfront. It’s also known for its fancy afternoon tea.
  • Aura Waterfront Restaurant – a highly-rated West Coast-inspired restaurant located within the Inn at Laurel Point at 680 Montreal Street.
  • Vista 18 – a rooftop restaurant serving seasonal, local and organic food within the Chateau Victoria hotel at 740 Burdett Avenue.
  • Sooke Harbour House – an upscale waterfront restaurant at the Sooke Harbour House Resort at 1528 Whiffin Spit Road in Sooke (so a good ways from downtown Victoria).
  • Fire & Water – a fairly newly-renovated restaurant in the Marriott Inner Harbour at 728 Humboldt Street.
  • The Courtney Room – a fancy place at 619 Courtney Street just two blocks from Victoria’s Inner Harbour.

 

Afternoon Tea Spots

 

Abkhazi Garden Patio Terrace
Abkhazi Garden Patio Terrace

 

Popular Diners

  • John’s Place – mainly known for its breakfast and comfort food, the diner can be found at 723 Pandora Avenue in downtown Victoria.
  • Shine Cafe – coming very highly rated on TripAdvisor, the place serves a variety of Canadian breakfast and brunch options. There are two locations in Victoria, at 1548 Fort Street and 1324 Blanshard Street.

 

Chain Restaurants

  • The Keg – the popular chain steakhouse has two locations in Victoria. One can be found at 500 Fort Street in downtown Victoria and another at 3940 Quadra Street.
  • Cactus Club – a premium-casual dining chain restaurant at 1125 Douglas Street.
  • Milestones – a popular mid-range-price place with two locations in the region. One is in downtown Victoria in the Inner Harbour at 812 Wharf Street. The other is Langford at 2401 Millstream Road.
  • Earls – at 1199 Government Street it’s very popular and serves globally-inspired dishes.

 

Family Restaurants

  • White Spot – a family-friendly casual chain restaurant with Canadian-style food such as burgers and chicken wings. There are three locations in the Victoria area: one downtown at 1871 Fort Street, another in Oak Bay at 710 Caledonia Avenue and the last in Saanich at 3965 Quadra Street.
  • Old Spaghetti Factory – serving pasta and other Italian dishes, the chain’s Victoria location can be found at 703 Douglas Street.

 

Seafood Restaurants

  • Blue Crab Seafood – located at 146 Kingston Avenue, the place is known for its locally-sourced seafood dishes.
  • Red Fish Blue Fish – a waterfront restaurant that serves Ocean Wise seafood at 1006 Wharf Street in downtown Victoria. (Closed for the winter. Re-opens early March, 2024.)
  • Restaurant at Point No Point Resort – a fancy seafood-focused place at the Point No Point Resort at 10829 West Coast Road out past Sooke.
  • Nautical Nellies – steak and seafood offerings in a casual place close to the waterfront at 1001 Wharf Street.
  • Marina Restaurant – a fancy seafood and sushi restaurant at 1327 Beach Drive in Oak Bay.
  • Harbour House – a fancy old-fashioned restaurant known for its steak and seafood at 607 Oswego Street.
  • Finn’s Seafood, Chops & Cocktails – a pub-style place at 1208 Wharf Street offering classic seafood and steak dishes plus a variety of cocktails and drinks.

 

Victoria's Chinatown
Victoria’s Chinatown

 

International Food Restaurants

Victoria also features a selection of restaurants serving dishes from countries across the world. Some of our favourites include the following.

 

Chinese

  • Don Mee’s – the place at 538 Fisgard Street in Victoria’s Chinatown offers traditional Dim Sum and other Cantonese and Szechuan dishes.
  • Bao – located in Chinatown at 626 Fisgard Street, the place serves Asian-fusion dishes including both Chinese and Korean street food.

 

Japanese

  • Japanese Village – the restaurant at 734 Broughton Street cooks dinner in front of you in a traditional Japanese teppanyaki-style.
  • Ebizo – a highly-rated Japanese restaurant in downtown Victoria at 604 Broughton Street.
  • Nubo Japanese Tapas – unique Japanese izakaya-style dishes at 739 Pandora Avenue.
  • Toro Bar & Bar – a highly-rated sushi restaurant in downtown Victoria at 708 View Street. It serves other kinds of Japanese food too.

 

Thai

  • Siam Thai – an authentic Thai restaurant in downtown Victoria at 512 Fort Street.

 

Italian

  • Il Terrazzo – a fancy Italian place at 555 Johnson Street. Reviews mention that having a reservation here is a must.
  • Pagliacci’s – a highly popular Italian restaurant at 1011 Broad Street downtown near the Bay Centre.
  • Café Brio – located at 944 Fort Street, the place features Italian-style dishes and locally-sourced ingredients.

 

Spanish

  • The Tapa Bar – found at 620 Trounce Alley, the place serves traditional Spanish small plates.
  • Bodega – Spanish-inspired tapas just off the historic Trounce Alley at 1210 Broad Street.

 

Mexican

 

French

 

Indian

  • Four Spice – a popular hole-in-the-wall restaurant at 2637 Quadra Street. Note: The last time we went there (in the fall of 2022) the restaurant was only offering takeout.

 

Irish Times at Bastion Square
The Garrick’s Head and Irish Times Pubs

 

Neighbourhood Pubs and Bars

  • Christie’s Carriage House – a local pub at 1739 Fort Street not far from the Royal Jubilee Hospital.
  • The Sticky Wicket – located in the Strathcona Hotel at 919 Douglas Street, the pub is cricket-themed and has several floors.
  • Irish Times – an Irish-themed pub with two levels in downtown Victoria at 1200 Government Street.
  • Bard & Banker – found in a bank building from the 1800s at 1022 Government Street, the pub is Scottish-themed.
  • Penny Farthing – a two-level English-style pub in Oak Bay at 2228 Oak Bay Avenue.
  • Maude Hunter’s – a small neighbourhood pub with a liquor store at 3810 Shelbourne Street.
  • The Monkey Tree Pub – located in northern Victoria at 4025 Borden Street, the place serves classic pub-style food with televisions to watch sports games.
  • Big Bad Johns – a pub with hillbilly character at 919 Douglas Street in the Strathcona Hotel.
  • Darcy’s Pub – the main location for this pub can be found at Bastion Square at 1127 Wharf Street. There is also a second location in the Westshore at 737 Goldstream Avenue.
  • Garrick’s Head – small pub located in the Bedford Regency Hotel at 69 Bastion Square across the lane from the Irish Times.
  • Smuggler’s Cove – a pub with a second-floor patio near Gyro Park in Cadboro Bay at 2581 Penrhyn Street.
  • Spinnakers Brewpub – located at 308 Catherine Street, the place offers both a craft brewery and a guesthouse.

 

Other Information

To learn about restaurants in the Lower Mainland see the website Vancouversbestplaces.com.

Other articles that might be of interest include the following: