Irish Times Pub

A landmark place on Victoria’s Government Street by Bastion Square, the Irish Times Pub is a good place for food, drinks, live music and fun events.

The Irish Times Pub in Victoria

Named the best Irish Pub on the continent at the 2017 Irish Pub Global Awards, Irish Times Pub is a staple in the Victoria food and drinks scene.

The pub is two storeys tall and has seating for over 250 people. That includes indoor chairs as well as a couple of patios which are lovely to sit at when the weather is nice.

The building itself was originally built as a bank in the 1890s. Over the years the interior has been turned into a more cozy Victorian-style establishment. The pub opened its doors in 2004 and has served customers ever since.

The Irish Times has a lively atmosphere with live music or other events nearly every night of the week (at least in the busiest seasons). The menu has traditional Irish pub fare with dozens of beers on tap. The place also claims to have the widest selection of Irish whiskeys anywhere in the country. (Whether that’s true or not, we’re not sure. Either way, there is a lot of whiskey to be drunk!)

Irish Times Pub on Government Street — Irish Times Pub at Bastion Square

Location and Hours of Operation

The Irish Times’ address is 1200 Government Street. It’s in the heart of downtown Victoria next to Bastion Square and across the street from the Bay Centre Mall.

The pub is a short walking distance away from plenty of other attractions too like the Royal BC Museum, Inner Harbour, Parliament Buildings and more. It’s about halfway between Chinatown and the Empress Hotel.

The Irish Times is open daily from 11:00 am to 1:00 am. Those hours mean that you can go check it out basically anytime!

The Menu

As you would expect from the name, the menu at Irish Times is a blend of authentic Irish fare along with the type of food you’d expect to see at a pub. There’s shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash, Irish stew and other traditional dishes.

You can taste the Victoria touch with dishes like fish and chips, and seafood chowder. There are also classic pub options like wings, mac and cheese, and poutine, as well as some stylized desserts like a Guinness chocolate brownie.

When it comes to the drinks, Irish Times has dozens of BC craft beers as well as Irish whiskeys on offer. There are also specialty Irish coffees (that hit harder than a typical brew) and in-house cocktails.

Emily Dubois at Irish Times — Live Music at the Irish Times

Live Music and Events

Most nights there are live music performances at Irish Times. This is known as “music for the soul” and you can expect tunes from a variety of local bands.

The usual schedule has performances from Monday to Thursday starting at either 8:30 pm or 9:00 pm. On Fridays and Saturdays there are often two different performances with one in the mid-afternoon and one later in the evening.

On Sundays there is sometimes a performance in the early afternoon but sometimes not. An event that usually happens on Sunday is a trivia night at 7:00 pm. There are prizes to be won and having some drinks as you go is encouraged. At the time of writing this article, it’s not clear whether trivia nights are still a regular occurrence.

Given the place’s size and menu, Irish Times is a venue that hosts some outside events. A notable one is the Irish Whiskey Hooley which takes place just before St. Patrick’s Day. It’s an afternoon of whiskey tasting with costumes and snacks. It’s a fundraising event benefiting the Greater Victoria Festival Society.