The best restaurants to go to if you’re celebrating a big occasion, or simply want to treat yourself to something divine.
By Cinda Chavich
Winner: OLO
OLO’s smoked sockeye salmon is served with beets, pickled onion, cattail shoots and spruce-cultured cream made with crème fraiche infused with spruce tips. Photograph by Jeffrey Bosdet.
OLO offers everything you’d expect in a fine dining experience: creative, farm-to-table plates from chefs Brad Holmes and Carmen Ingham, a great wine and cocktail program, and seamless, professional service. Though the small, stylish space on the edge of Chinatown is informal and designed to reflect the owners’ belief in food and community, the treatment of fresh, local ingredients is as fine as it gets — featuring 45 local suppliers, from farmers and fishers to foragers.
OLO Restaurant, 509 Fisgard St., 250-590-8795, olorestaurant.com
Runner Up: Café Brio
The owners of Café Brio are service-oriented, helping diners feel at home as they enjoy chef Laurie Munn’s rustic cuisine, cured meats and pâtés.
Cafe Brio, 944 Fort St., 250-383-0009, cafebrio.com
Runner Up: Saveur
Saveur is the place to put your trust in chef Robert Cassels and his multi-course tasting menus and wine pairings, whether you’re a committed carnivore or adventurous vegetarian.
Saveur, 658 Herald St., 250-590-9251, saveurrestaurant.ca
Honorable Mentions: AURA, Sooke Harbour House
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