YAM magazine’s Best Restaurant Awards 2023 celebrates Greater Victoria, B.C.’s exciting food scene and are judged by an independent panel of chefs and food experts.
BY CINDA CHAVICH | PHOTOS BY JEFFREY BOSDET
Best European – Zambri’s
820 Yates Street | zambris.ca
Since opening their restaurant in 1999, siblings Jo and Peter Zambri have been lauded for their Italian cuisine, wine list and hospitality.
Their stylish and lively downtown restaurant is the place for “Italian soul food,” with a contemporary Italian menu that runs the gamut from simple pasta dishes to pizza and elaborate multi-course meals. Executive chef Julia McInnis oversees the kitchen, preparing comforting favourites such as lasagna or tagliatelle with meat sauce, plus seasonal features such as a recent antipasti of housemade sausage wrapped in local chard with arrabiata sauce and rabbit cacciatore on polenta with fresh oyster mushrooms.
An active community supporter and industry leader, Zambri’s is also a carbon-neutral establishment.
Runners-up
Marc Morrison’s Brasserie L’Ecole, with its French country cooking, big Belgian beer selection and affordable French wine list; and the wide array of authentic specialities from family-friendly Ithaka Greek Restaurant.