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 JEFFREY BOSDET

Tastemaker(s) of the Year: Greg Hays and Silvia Marcolini, Cafe Brio
Cafe Brio founders Greg Hays and Silvia Marcolini retired this year after building some of the city’s most beloved and innovative restaurants, literally from the ground up.
The industry-leading couple started with The Herald Street Caffe in the 1980s, then launched the Oak Bay Marina restaurant and built Cafe Brio, their own distinctive, Italianate restaurant, still a popular place to dine on Fort Street. Hays and Marcolini sold Cafe Brio this year, passing the restaurant to chef Sam Harris and barman Vincent Vanderheide, a new generation of top industry experts who are keeping their legacy of creative fine dining and hospitality alive.
Enjoying the downtime of retirement after spending more than 50 years in the restaurant business, Hays says his mantra of “treating people that come to our restaurant like they are friends coming to our house for dinner” was what always set their hospitality apart. Plus, he says, they hired top chefs and wait staff, focused on local seasonal ingredients and stayed passionate about the industry through years of both stresses and successes.
“The No. 1 priority is your staff,” adds Marcolini. “We worked like a family, and if you bring a family commitment to what you’re doing, and stand by each other, you’ll do well.”
While Hays was always at the front door at Cafe Brio to greet and engage customers with his warm and quirky humour, Marcolini worked alongside their long-time service team, building a regular clientele, many of whom became close friends.
“We always spent more time there than we did here at home,” says Marcolini. “I miss my customers the most.”
Inducted into the B.C. Restaurant Hall of Fame in 2014, the couple made Cafe Brio a popular dining spot for nearly three decades — and their legacy continues to evolve and delight discriminating diners.
“We worked like a family, and if you bring a family commitment to what you’re doing, and stand by each other, you’ll do well.”