Eating Victoria, BC

I'll periodically update this thread with pictures of the food I eat from the restaurants, cafes, diners, pubs, etc. while I'm in Victoria.

Thread Index
Mac's Bistro at UVic
Shine Cafe on Fort St.
Bin 4 Burger Lounge
Pig BBQ Joint
Amrikko's Indian Cuisine (View Royal)
Pizzeria Prima Strada (Cook St.)
Hernande'z Cocina (Yates St.)
Pizza Zone (Quadra St.)
La Fogata Latina Restaurant
Jackalope Bistro

Can't remember if this was Swartz Bay or Tsawwassen (we need a Mississippi-style spelling aid for this).

 

Mac's Bistro at UVic (MacLaurin Building)

Delicious sandwiches for $4.75+tax; assembly line style.

You choose the bread, protein, cheese and 3 vegetables; comes with mustard, mayo, salt and pepper. I stick with lettuce and tomato, but they have a wide variety of vegetables and condiments.

Protip: you can sub the cheese with another protein (half-sized) like hummus.

Rye + Chicken + Swiss + Lettuce/Tomato/Sprouts


Rye + Chicken + Hummus + Lettuce/Tomato/Sprouts <- best one so far
(People refer to the chicken and hummus combo as "chummus"; no idea if it's the official name)


Sourdough + Ham + Hummus + Lettuce/Tomato/Sprouts

 

Shine Cafe on Fort Street
Website: http://shinecafe.ca/

Eggs Benedict - Cali ($12.95+tax)
Bacon, avocado, tomato and hollandaise sauce with Scottish Potato Scones


Very tasty. Be sure to ask them to grill your tomato.
TIL that Scottish potato scones aren't regular scones. They were good though! Used them to mop up the leftover sauce.

 

Bin 4 Burger Lounge
Website: http://www.bin4burgerlounge.com/

Overall solid burger. The patty was a bit salty but it worked okay in combination with the brioche bun and the toppings. The bacon aioli went well with the fries, which I can't comment on directly because they got soggy in the take out container (not a problem with the restaurant).

Neatly packed and stapled with a sticker in the corner.


The Heritage ($10) - Heritage Angus beef, bacon aioli, butter lettuce, tomato, red onion

 

Pig BBQ Joint
Website: http://pigbbqjoint.com/



The Beef Brisket Sandwich ($6.50) was delicious and priced well, but the Crispy Deep Fried Mac & Cheese ($4) was pretty bland and not worth getting.


Will go back for their pulled pork and update.

 

Amrikko's Indian Cuisine (View Royal)

Amrikko's is an excellent option for Indian food in the Greater Victoria area. Overall, generous portions and good prices. You can definitely smell the Indian spices in all their dishes!



Roti - Can't recall how much it cost but it was good.


The Chicken Korma ($12) was a tad sweeter than some of the ones I've had in Van but it was just as delicious. Good portions (ie: leftovers) and a satisfying amount of meat pieces.


Picked up their butter chicken and naan on a revisit. It was a bit too salty to be eating with naan alone, but with rice it was good.

 

Just about every fish&chip place & Vietnamese restaurant was good to me.

 

^Funny enough, the other day I heard there was a good Chinese restaurant called James Bay Fish & Chips.

 

Pizzeria Prima Strada (Cook St. Location)
Website: http://pizzeriaprimastrada.com/



I don't remember which pizza this was, but it was one of their daily specials. Came to nearly $20 I believe. The pizza had some heat to it and at times it overpowered the subtleties of the other ingredients. Would have liked a bit more sweetness to it (akin to the sweet fennel sausage pizza from Serious Pie in Seattle).


Overall, great premium pizza - crust, quality of toppings, cheese and tomato sauce were all top notch. You just need to pick a topping combination that works for your own taste buds!

 

Hernande'z Cocina (Yates St.)
Website: http://www.hernandezcocina.com

I discovered Hernande'z with Urbanspoon's Near Me feature when I was downtown one day. Even with the address and map, I had trouble locating it and even thought it was closed at one point. Turns out it's in the foyer of an office building. There was no signage to even indicate the restaurant was there, so look for the neon "Arcade Shops Open" sign.

Huarache de Puerco ($8.95): This smelled f-ing delicious, the commute back to my place from the restaurant was torture. When I ordered this, I thought it was a burrito type thing which confused the cashier a bit. I asked her to describe what a huarache was but I still didn't have a clear idea until I opened up the takeout container. Their menu describes it as a thick handmade corn tortilla topped with black beans, seasoned pork, rice, salsa, sour cream and wild greens.


Loved the black beans and the seasoning on the rice and pork - super tasty; the pork also has a strong hint of cinnamon to it. The wild greens were the only thing that seemed out of place to me.


On a return visit, I had their beef (3 for $6) and pork tacos (5 for $6). I wish I had the appetite to try the other tacos too . I preferred the beef over the pork (more complex flavour combinations when paired with the minimalist salsa/toppings) but they were both good solid tacos. The best part is the corn tortilla. Where the seasoned pork shines is in the huarache combined with black beans and rice.


I originally ordered the tacos with the huarache on my initial visit because I was impressed with the price but they wouldn't do the tacos to go. I was confused by this but found the answer on this page, which I admit rubs me as a bit odd; parts of their website reads like a manifesto. The proprietors are obviously very passionate about their food, however, I do think they can be a smidge more flexible with customer requests!

One thing missing on their menu are some Latin American drinks! A Salvadoran style horchata would be awesome.

Starting with Hernande'z, I've been slowly discovering other great Latin American places, each with something unique. Not bad Victoria, I'm impressed!

 

Pizza Zone (Quadra St.)
Website: http://www.pizzazone.ca/



This pizza is aptly named the 420 (pepperoni, beef, bacon & chorizo with hemp oil?). It was super filling, tasted pretty good, but smelled like fish maw soup for some reason (not a bad thing for me since I love that stuff).


The 420 was $20.99 + tax and delivery for a large, which is pretty expensive. When Domino's has a 50% off student discount where I can make myself an even meatier pizza for ~$15 tax in, it's hard to justify paying for Pizza Zone .

 

La Fogata Latina Restaurant
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/lafogata/

I had no clue what an Arepa was beforehand, but I quickly learned that it was f'ing delicious. They range from $2 to $6.50 depending on filling of choice. The hand made corn tortilla exterior is awesome. Definitely worth trying (more than once)!

Be sure to ask for a stamp card.


Each arepa is topped with a sauce and crushed chips.


I had the Mexican chorizo sausage which worked perfectly.


On a revisit, I had the shrimp ceviche filling.


It had a cold:hot contrast going on which was kind of neat, but I definitely prefer the chorizo. The salsa and shrimp flavour didn't go well with the tortilla and toppings.

 

Jackalope Bistro
Website: http://jackalope.ca/

Their storefront was very hard to find. If I wasn't intentionally searching for the restaurant, I would have missed it. The building has BARBERSHOP in giant letters with only a small sign saying Jackalope Bistro.

I got the Mushroom Jack with side fries ($10 tax in). Good deal for a generous portion! I dropped the box on the street. I assure you, everything looked much neater when it was handed to me.


Onions weren't as caramelized as I'd personally like them to be, but overall it was a solid burger. I recall the fries being pretty good as well.


The patty had some interesting spices and ingredients in it. I wasn't able to pinpoint what they were but I enjoyed their addition.