BY JOANNE SASVARI
In the last few months, Vancouver Island has seen some exciting restaurant openings — and some well-deserved recognition.
Outside Victoria:
One of the Island’s most highly anticipated new restaurants is Ombré in Tofino, from the team at Wolf in the Fog. It’s housed in the former SoBo location, where chef David Provençal (formerly the sous chef at Wolf) serves up share plates of Mediterranean-inspired fare. Think: tender house-made bucatini cacio e pepe showered in peppery nasturtiums, gloriously garlicky focaccia topped with foraged chanterelles or nutty buckwheat madeleines piped with swirls of feather-light chicken liver parfait. “It’s a bit of an homage for my grandmother,” says Provençal. Assistant GM Jonathan Carlile adds the finishing touch with gorgeous cocktails and a wine list heavy on dynamic, food-friendly and natural wines.
Meanwhile, former SoBo chef-owner Lisa Ahier has been competing on Top Chef Canada while also refining her line of SoBo ready-to-eat products. “It’s food that you can taste the love in it,” she says. The first, her famous wild smoked salmon chowder, has been available in small quantities across the Island, but has just been picked up by Choices Markets; Ahier also has another 14 or so products in the works, starting with her chicken and white bean chili. “Now it’s time for the big boys,” she says. “I’m ready to rumble.”
In Courtenay, the Kingfisher Pacific Resort & Spa has a high-profile new chef: Jonathan Macdonald trained in Michelin three-star restaurants such as The Fat Duck and The Ledbury in London, and the iconic Noma in Copenhagen, and cooked aboard the superyachts of emirs, princes and prime ministers. Expect exciting things to happen here!
In Greater Victoria:
In Esquimalt, former Top Chef Canada finalist Andrea Alridge is leading the team at high-end Janevca Kitchen at Rosemead House, while just down the road Demian Merino, a veteran of top pubs including Vancouver’s Donnelly Group and Victoria Pub Company, has opened Saxe Point Public House.
In downtown Victoria, kitty corner to The Courtney Room, Chobap is a new, eight-seat sushi bar that specializes in omakase, where the chef crafts a personalized meal for you. That chef is Clark Park, formerly of Yua Bistro and Marilena Cafe and Raw Bar, who honed his skills in Osaka’s modern-meets-traditional omakase restaurants. Reservations are essential.
There’s more sushi, too, at Uni Japanese Restaurant on Wharf Street, which also boasts a cozy patio on Yates Street.
Emmaline’s in Quadra Village brings the spirit of Vancouver’s beloved Dock Lunch restaurant to town; owner Elizabeth Grace Bryan is dishing up a terrific brunch and welcoming comfort fare.
Awards:
We’re thrilled to see Café Malabar, winner of the YAM Best Restaurant Award for Best South/Southeast Asian, on the long list for the enRoute best new restaurants in Canada. It was the only Island eatery to make the list of 30 restaurants.
Meanwhile, the Michelin Guide recently announced its first-ever Key Distinction awards for Canada, honouring the world’s most outstanding hotels.
Among them are four right here on the Island. The Fairmont Empress and Magnolia Hotel & Spa in Victoria were each awarded One Key; the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino received a Two Key distinction; and the Clayoquot Wilderness Resort earned Michelin’s highest accolade, Three Keys.