Victoria is chock-full of great dining options and local businesses. Over the past year, many of those small businesses have faced significant financial troubles, battling closures and uncertainty due to restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a way to support some small businesses within our city, we reached out to our readers to ask what their favourite eatery was and what dish they recommend ordering.
Here’s a list of the responses we received:
Bold Butchery
Bold Butchery claims to offer the best shawarma in Victoria and it’s about time that you go find out for yourself!
They are a locally owned and run full-service butcher shop and restaurant, selling “local, humanely raised, non-GMO, hormone-free, no antibiotics and grass-fed beef.”
- Must order dishes: Shawarma wraps, and chicken poutine.
- How to order: Order online through Door Dash, or visit them in-store!
- Address and phone number: 1420 Quadra Street, Victoria. 250-590-1126.
Fish Hook
Fish Hook’s menu changes with the seasons, as this restaurant is always selling fresh ingredients! Their fish is OceanWise certified and they have vegan options, as well!
- Must order dish: Tuna Melt with a side of chowder.
- How to order: They offer take-out only, at the moment.
- Address and phone number: 805 Fort St, Victoria. 250 477 0470.
Foo
Foo serves Asian street food and they do it well. They’re also located smack in the middle of downtown, making it an easily accessible and central location.
- Must order dish: Sweet and Sour Pork Belly and/or Caramel Chicken
- How to order: Call 250-383-3111 for takeout orders
- Address and phone number: 769 Yates St, Victoria. 250-383-3111
Part and Parcel
Part and Parcel offers handcrafted cooking with local ingredients.
The official must-order dish may be the chicken sandwich, but the roasted broccoli sandwich is up there in our books, as well!
- Must order dish: Fried Chicken Sandwich, Roasted Broccoli Sandwich
- How to order: Order online with Door Dash, or call to place an order.
- Address and phone number: 2656 Quadra St, Victoria. 778-406-0888.
House of Boateng
House of Boateng makes special “Take and Bake” ready-to-go meals that change monthly. Next month, they’re offering a Christmas Dinner Take and Bake, in case you didn’t want to do all the cooking yourself.
- Must order dish: Jerk Chicken
- How to order: Order online on their website or call to place an order.
- Address and phone number: 2854 Peatt Rd #105, Langford. 778-432-2233.
Jones BBQ
Where else in Victoria can you get traditional Texas Barbeque? And what better time to indulge in some comfort food than the year of 2020? Jones has a great selection of meats and their platters can easily feed a family!
- Must order dish: Mama Jones Platter
- How to order: Jones will deliver straight to your door for a small fee ($5 maximum, depending on location)
- Address and phone number: 1725 Cook St., Victoria. 778-265-4227.
Spice Valley
Spice Valley is a relatively new restaurant in Esquimalt — it only opened its doors in 2019. Since then, however, it has received a five-star rating out of over 65 reviews!
- Must order dish: Palak Paneer
- How to order: Order online through Spice Valley’s website or through Door Dash.
- Address and phone number: 910 ½ Esquimalt Road, Victoria. (778) 265-0434.
Dumpling Drop
Not only can you get freshly made dumplings to go at Dumping Drop, but you can also take home frozen dumplings to cook yourself!
This means you can have dumplings anytime you want! What more could one ask for?
- Must order dish: Any of their signature dumplings!
- How to order: Delivery within 6km of Victoria’s City Hall.
- Address and phone number: 910 ½ Esquimalt Road, Victoria. (778) 265-0434.
Alysa’s Pho & Banh Mi
Located in Quadra Village, Alysa’s Pho & Banh Mi is the perfect place if you love Vietnamese food and culture. Right now, they are only offering take-out, but it’s worth it!
- Must order dish: Spicy Beef and Lemongrass Soup Special
- How to order: Take-out only. Cash and debit accepted.
- Address and phone number: Unit – A 2630 Quadra Street, Victoria. 250-590-2829.
Fish on 5th
If you’re missing the flavours of summer, hit up Fish on Fifth and order some fish and chips! That ought to satisfy your summer cravings.
This restaurant has been a local business operating in Sidney for over 20 years!
- Must order dish: Vegan fish and chips.
- How to order: Order through their new online ordering app.
- Address and phone number: 9812 Fifth Street, Sidney. 250-656-4022.
Fiamo
“We love wine. We love wine with food, we love wine with friends, we love wine with more wine,” reads Fiamo’s website description.
If that doesn’t sound like a motto worth supporting, we don’t know what is.
- Must order dish: Duck wings.
- How to order: Take out or Skip The Dishes.
- Address and phone number: 515 Yates Street, Victoria. 250-388-5824.
As Usual Cafe
A student favourite, this Taiwanese restaurant is only a short walk from the University of Victoria.
They serve bubble tea and bubble waffles — and they claim to be experts, in those and many other dishes!
- Must order dish: Taiwanese beef noodle soup
- How to order: Skip The Dishes
- Address and phone number: 3960 Shelbourne Street, Victoria. (250) 590-0803.
Green Cuisine
The vegan mecca of Victoria, Green Cuisine has everything you could want, and none of it has animal products.
Located right in the middle of Market Square downtown, it’s an easy place to swing by and pick up a coffee and a baked good!
- Must order dish: Greek pizza
- How to order: Take-out only.
- Address and phone number: 560 Johnson Street, Victoria. 250-385-1809.
Sult Pierogi Bar
There’s nothing a platter of carbs won’t fix and that’s why you need a platter of pierogies — stat! Sult offers more pierogi variety than one person needs.
- Must order dish: Pierogi sampler, with a few sausages.
- How to order: Order pick up on their website, or delivery through Skip the Dishes.
- Address and phone number: 609 Yates St., Victoria. (778)-265-7858.
Thunderbird Fried Chicken
“I struggled to breathe while eating it was so good,” read one review of Thunderbird Fried Chicken. We definitely want you to continue breathing, but it sounds like they serve pretty good fried chicken!
- Must order dish: Korean Fried Chicken (any of it!)
- How to order: Order pick up through their website or by calling.
- Address and phone number:
- 253 Cook St, Victoria. (250) 384-6090.
- 2455 Millstream Rd #103, Victoria. (250) 590-9806
Italian Food Imports
This place is a hidden gem smack in the middle of downtown Victoria. It serves authentic Italian sandwiches and pasta that simply can’t be beat!
- Must order dish: The Ultimate Meatball signature panini
- How to order: Order pick-up online.
- Address and phone number: 1114 Blanshard Street, Victoria. 250-385-7923
Dosa Paragon
Try these plates of vibrant colours and healthy cooking in the form of South Indian cuisine. Dosa Paragon is locally owned by a husband and wife in Victoria.
- Must order dish: The South Indian combo plate.
- How to order: Call to order pick up.
- Address and phone number: 735 Yates Street, Victoria. 778.440.2206.
Chicken 649
Chicken 649 makes the perfect, crunchy, crispy, comfort food. Once you try a bite, you’ll be a loyal customer.
- Must order dish: The honey chicken with a side of padak (mustard) sauce.
- How to order: Call to order pick up.
- Address and phone number: 2224 Quadra Street, Victoria. 250-590-6491.
Sushi Jiro
Sushi Jiro advertises itself as a fusion of Japanese cuisine with traditional Korean flavours. “What makes us truly unique is our approach to Japanese aburi sushi, flame-seared seafood atop seasoned rice, and oshizushi, perfectly pressed seafood on sushi rice,” reads their website.
Sounds worth trying to us!
- Must order dish: Bear Mountain roll.
- How to order: Order online pick-up on their website, or delivery through Door Dash.
- Address and phone number: 240 Cook St, Victoria. 778-433-4490.
Pho Vy
If you’re looking for traditional Vietnamese food, look no further. They offer stripped back, yet classic dishes, and they’re priced very fairly as well!
- Must order dish: Bun Bo Hue.
- How to order: Call to order pickup
- Address and phone number: 772 Fort St, Victoria. (778) 433-5950.
This is where our list ends, but only because we have to stop somewhere!
Greater Victoria is a veritable treasure trove of top notch restaurants, eateries, and cafes, all of which could use our support surviving this difficult year.
Have a dish at a restaurant not mentioned on this list that you’d like to rave about? Let us know in the comments below!
