Eat Local: Where to Dine in Victoria this Fall

Brimming with an ever-growing number of restaurants and cafes, Victoria’s flourishing culinary scene is a variable foodie’s paradise. Imaginative dishes incorporating unique and exotic ingredients treat your senses to an abundance of tantalizing flavors. Sample some of the region’s delicious fall bounty with this guide that will take you from a delicious breakfast through to a nightcap.

Brunch or Lunch

If your stomach is rumbling when you reach Victoria, head over to the colorful First Nations-themed Songhees Seafood & Steam food truck on the side of the Clipper terminal for a tasty treat. With an impressive selection of healthy food made with fresh, local ingredients prepared in the Songhees’ tradition, the hardest decision you will have to make is whether you want brunch or lunch.

If you decide to go with brunch, the fluffy bannock bread topped with sweet, house-made blackberry preserve and roasted apple-butter is pure goodness. If lunch is your jam, warm up with a cup of creamy Wild West Coast sockeye salmon and clam chowder or bite into a crisp, bison Indian taco.

One of our other favorite options for traditional cuisine is Zambri’s. Airy, bright and sophisticated, the Yates Street eatery is the only certified authentic Italian restaurant on Vancouver Island by the Italian Chamber of Commerce and resembles eating at a charming Italian trattoria.

While the restaurant’s creatively crafted pastas and pizza dishes are sure to both win your heart, we recommend grabbing a slice of cheesy, fresh-from-the-oven pizza. After all, the Zambari’s is also the winner of the Cooking Channel’s “Best in Chow: Pizza Wars Victoria” episode. “The Queen,” the restaurant’s take on the classic Margherita pizza and the “Prosciutto,” are both surefire bets that will leave you dreaming of your next slice.

Happy Hour

The downside to brunch is that it can occasionally leave you craving another meal come mid-to-late afternoon. If you are in search of a little something to tide you over, look no further than the oldest brewpub in town. Cozy up next to the double-sided fireplace in Spinnakers gastropub and taproom. Nibble on a selection of small bites prepared from local, seasonal ingredients while you soak in tremendous views of the Inner Harbour.

We love hearty pub classics such as the locally produced BC cheese plate brimming with artisan cheese and fresh-baked breads or the house-smoked, West Coast fish plate. Wash it all down with one of the pubs creatively curated cocktails (made-from-scratch Legendary Long Island Iced Tea, anyone?) or the rotating selection of craft beers.

Dinner

Tucked into Victoria’s vibrant Chinatown neighborhood, the small, simple OLO restaurant may seem unassuming from the outside. Yet once you step inside, the warm, rustic space with brick walls and wooden posts invites you to pull up a chair at the Northwest wood tables and enjoy a meal with your neighbors.

The restaurant’s ever-changing menu brims with drool-worthy dishes created with ingredients caught and grown in local waters and farms. Try the delicious charcoal grilled flat-iron steak paired with potato puree, carrots and chimichurri or the decadent porcini gemelli chanterelles and lobster mushrooms spiced up with chili, parsley and grana padano.

You don’t have to travel far to find fare with a little international flare. Walk over to Douglas Street and into the Mint’s intimate, subterranean restaurant to feast on an eclectic blend of West Coast and Himalayan dishes that come from the family recipes of one of the founders.

Sample the best of both worlds with the comforting, butter chicken curry poutine plate or the curry plate for a sampling of the creamy spinach paneer, mild butter chicken and spicy lamb curry. Stay until the house lights go down, the music comes up and the twinkle lights strung across the ceiling illuminate the room like thousands of tiny, glowing stars.

With many of the restaurants filling their menus with locally sourced foods, fall is the perfect time to taste the incredible, fresh harvest bounty. Whether you are a foodie with a refined palate or a casual dinner searching for something new, a large assortment of tasty bites will leave you yearning for a return visit.