YAM magazine’s Best Restaurant Awards 2024 celebrate Greater Victoria, B.C.’s exciting food scene, judged by an independent panel of chefs and food experts.
BY CINDA CHAVICH | PHOTO BY ALLISON KUHL
Outstanding Service: Marilena Café & Raw Bar
1525 Douglas Street | $$$ | marilenacafe.com | Reservations strongly suggested
Several members of our judging team pointed to the attention to detail offered by the large service team at Marilena. Led by restaurant director Aaron Matsuzaki, a veteran from the Toptable Group in Vancouver, the service is smart, seamless and professional to a fault.
From the greeting at the front desk to the knowledgeable wait staff and wine stewards, personable bartenders and sushi chefs, each zone of the restaurant has its own manager, with service staff moving from the pass in the open kitchen into the various dining areas in a smooth, coordinated dance.
One of our judging team observed the bartender “not only recognized a business traveller that had sat at his bar a month prior, but then remembered his drink, followed by recommendations on similar options to try.” Now that’s outstanding service.
Runners-up: