With so many great food and drink venues on the South Island, we had a hard time selecting just a few. So we asked our judges for more of their favourites.
By Cinda Chavich
Best West Coast
1. Wild Mountain Food & Drink
1831 Maple Avenue S., 250-64203596, wildmountaindinners.com
2. AURA waterfront restaurant + patio
680 Montreal St., 250-414-6739, aurarestaurant.ca
3. Marina Restaurant
1327 Beach Dr., 250-598-8555, marinarestaurant.com
Best Small Bites
1. Stage Wine Bar
1307 Gladstone Ave., 250-388-4222, stagewinebar.com
2. The Livet
201, 804 Broughton St., 778-265-3033, thelivet.ca
3. The Tapa Bar
620 Trounce Alley, 250-383-0013, tapabar.ca
Best For Caffeine
1. Caffe Fantastico
965 Kings Rd., 250-385-2326, caffefantastico.com
2. The Parsonage Cafe
1301 Gladstone Ave., 250-590-3320, fernwoodcoffee.com
3. Bean Around the World
533 Fisgard St., 250-386-7115, batwcoffee.com
Best Afternoon Tea
1. Venus Sophia
540 Fisgard St., 250-590-3953, venussophia.com
2. The Fairmont Empress Hotel
721 Government St., 250-384-8111, fairmont.com
3. The Pacific Restaurant and Terrace (Hotel Grand Pacific)
463 Belleville St., 250-386-0450, hotelgrandpacific.com
Best Dessert
1. AURA’s brownie with peanut butter ice cream
AURA waterfront restaurant + patio, 680 Montreal St., 250-414-6739, aurarestaurant.ca
2. Kid Sister’s passion fruit ripple ice cream
Kid Sister Ice Cream, 10 Fan Tan Alley, 250-590-6888, kidsistericecream.com
3. Ruth & Dean’s ginger and black pepper layer cake
Ruth & Dean, 1310 Douglas St., 778-265-6060, ruthanddean.com
Best Late Night Bites
1. Vis à Vis
2232 Oak Bay Ave., 250-590-7424, visavisoakbay.com
2. Little Jumbo
Down the Hall, 506 Fort St., 778-433-5535, littlejumbo.ca
3. Northern Quarter
1724 Douglas St., 250-590-7702, northernquarter.ca
Best Place for a Date
1. Il Covo Trattoria
106 Superior St., 250-380-0088, ilcovotrattoria.ca
2. The Courtney Room
619 Courtney St., 250-940, 4090, thecourtneyroom.com
3. Saveur
658 Herald St., 250-590-9251, saveurrestaurant.ca
Best Place to Dine Solo
1. Zambri’s
820 Yates St., 250-360-1171, zambris.ca
2. Vis à Vis
2232 Oak Bay Ave., 250-590-7424, visavisoakbay.com
3. Foo Asian Street Food
769, Yates St., 250-383-3111, foofood.ca
Best Place For Meat-On-the-Bone
1. Jones Bar-B-Que: Pick the ribs
1725 Cook St., 778-265-4227, jonesgotmeat.com
2. Chicken649: Choose the Korean chicken
2224 Quadra St., 250-590-6491, chicken649.ca
3. 5th Street Bar & Grill: Order the dry-rubbed ribs
1028 Hillside Ave., 250-380-4600, fifthstreet.ca
Best Bakery
1. Crust Bakery
730 Fort St., 250-978-2253, crustbakery.ca
2. Fol Epi
732 Yates St., 778-265-6311; 101, 398 Harbour Rd., 250-477-8882, folepi.ca
3. Fry’s Bakery
416 Craigflower Rd., 250-590-5727, frysbakery.com
Best in a Bowl
1. Foo Asian Street Food
769, Yates St., 250-383-3111, foofood.ca
2. Bao
626 Fisgard St., 250-590-8688, baovictoria.com
3. Superbaba
1325 Blanshard St., 250-590-2725, eatsuperbaba.com
Best Seafood
1. Marina Restaurant
1327 Beach Dr., 250-598-8555, marinarestaurant.com
2. Red Fish Blue Fish
1006 Wharf St., 250-298-6877, redfish-bluefish.com
3. Oak Bay Seafood
2024 Oak Bay Ave., 778-432-0227, oakbayseafood.com
Best Pub
1. Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub
308 Catherine St., 250-386-2739, spinnakers.com
2. Canoe Brewpub
450 Swift St., 250-361-1940, canoebrewpub.com
3. Four Mile House
199 Island Hwy., 250-479-2514, fourmilehouse.com
Best Takeout
1. Salt & Pepper Fox
1812 Government St., 250-590-1212, saltandpepperfox.com
2. Roast Meat & Sandwich Shop
6, 1701 Douglas St., 778-433-6639, roastsandwichshop.ca
3. Chicken649
2224 Quadra St., 250-590-6491, chicken649.ca
Best Charcuterie
1. The Whole Beast
2032 Oak Bay Ave., 250-590-7675, thewholebeast.ca
2. Four Quarters Meats
2031 Malaview Ave., Sidney, 250-508-7654, fourquartersmeats.com
3. Cure Artisan Meat and Cheese
1400 Cowichan Bay Rd.,Cobble Hill, 250-929-2873, facebook.com
Best Pizza
1. Pizzeria Prima Strada
230 Cook St., 250-590-8595; 1990 Fort St., 250-590-8599, pizzeriaprimastrada.com
2. Fernwood Pizza Company
2009 Fernwood Rd., 778-430-4446, fernwoodpizzacompany.com
3. 900 Degrees Wood-Fired Pizzeria
2401 Millstream Rd., 250-590-4493, 900-degrees.ca
Restaurants With the Best Ambience
1. Brasserie L’École
1715 Government St., 250-475-6280, lecole.ca
2. Q at the Empress
721 Government St., 250-389-2727, qattheempress.com
3. The Tapa Bar
620 Trounce Alley, 250-383-0013, tapabar.ca
Best Customer Experience
1.OLO
509 Fisgard St., 250-590-8795, olorestaurant.com
2.Brasserie L’École
1715 Government St., 250-475-6280, lecole.ca
3. Bodega Bar
1210 Broad St., 778-406-1210, bodegabar.ca
Best South Asian
1. Royal Spice Fine Indian Cuisine
212, 815 Cloverdale Ave., 250-380-1881, royalspicevictoria.ca
2. Fishhook
805 Fort St., 250-477-0470 and one other location, fishhookvic.com
3. Spice Jammer
852 Fort St., 250-480-1055, spicejammer.com
Best Mexican/Latin
1. La Taqueria Pinche Taco Shop
766 Fort St., 778-265-6255, lataqueria.com
2. Cafe Mexico
1425 Store St., 778-265-7880, cafemexico.com
3. Mesa Familiar
1296 Gladstone Ave., 778-265-4725, facebook.com
Best Middle Eastern
1. Yalla
1011 Blanshard St., 250-384-0069, letsgoyalla.ca
2. Superbaba
1325 Blanshard St., 250-590-2725, eatsuperbaba.com
3. Bold Butchery & Grill
1420 Quadra St., 250-590-1126, boldbutchery.com
Best Japanese
1. Fudo
777, 425 Royal Oak Dr., 778-265-3328, fudovictoria.com
2. Sen Zushi
940 Fort St., 250-385-4320, senzushi.com
3. Uchida Eatery
633 Courtney St., 250-388-7383, facebook.com
Best Italian
1. Zambri’s
820 Yates St., 250-360-1171, zambris.ca
2. Il Covo Trattoria
106 Superior St., 250-380-0088, ilcovotrattoria.ca
3. Il Terrazzo
555 Johnson St., 250-361-0028, ilterrazzo.com
Best Eastern European
1. Cook & Pan Polish Delicatessen & Cafe
1527 Amelia St., 250-385-5509, cooknpan.com
2. Sült Pierogi Bar
609 Yates St., 778-265-7858, sultpierogibar.com
3. Taste of Europe Deli
130, 735 Yates St., 778-432-4898, tasteofeuropedeli.ca
Best Vegetarian/Vegan
1. Be Love
1019 Blanshard St., 778-433-7181, beloverestaurant.ca
2. Nourish Kitchen & Cafe
225 Quebec St., 250-590-3426, nourishkitchen.ca
3. Rebar
50 Bastion Sq., 250-361-9223, rebarmodernfood.com
Best Thai
1. Thai Lemongrass
3838 Cadboro Bay Rd., 250-385-3838, thailemongrass.ca
2. My Thai Cafe
1020 Cook St., 250-472-7574, mythaicafe.ca
3. Baan Thai Wok and Bar
1117 Blanshard St., 250-383-0050 and two other locations, baanthaivictoria.ca
Best Chinese
1. Golden City Restaurant
721 Fisgard St., 250-386-8404, goldencityrestaurant.ca
2. Ho Tong Restaurant
3388 Douglas St., 250-475-1398, facebook.com
3. J&J Wonton Noodle House
1012 Fort St., 250-383-0680, jjnoodlehouse.ca
Best Burger
1. DeadBeetz
2. Bin 4 Burger Lounge
180, 911 Yates St., 250-590-4154 and two other locations, bin4burgerlounge.com
3. Big Wheel Burger
341 Cook St., 250-381-0050 and two other locations, bigwheelburger.com
More Best Restaurants
The 2018 Best Restaurants were selected by a panel of judges. Meet the judges here.
This is from the July/August 2018 issue of YAM