Drove down from courtenay to meet with a friend to go to the…read moreCity & Colour show and she suggested the Block as she had been before. Ambiance was great - super warm and welcoming which was magnified by the host. Super lovely. Then the wait staff. Whoever is hiring/training is doing a great job! Not drinking right now but the cocktail menu was super tempting. Every menu item sounded great. We got some help on ordering from our servers and Tanya picked ones she had enjoyed before. We also sat right beside the pick up window so it was fun seeing food come out! The food was fantastic. See pictures for what we ordered. Not sure if I can remember the names of everything but it was a perfect combo!!

So straight up this place went and took us to places we hadn't been prior to eating at the Block…read more Overall a very enjoyable experience for sure, but you cannot pigeonhole this place, which is a very good thing! We are big fans of traditional fare, but the Block is a place we are so glad we experienced and will certainly return utilizing the knowledge we garnered during our first experience. A big thank you to for helping us through picking one price fixe January exploration of your local restaurants and filling it with other ala carte additions. As we often do we ordered far too much food, wanting to explore everything off a menu that is far reaching. Not sure if our additions worked with the price fixe menu, but we sure enjoyed checking everything out. The interior is interesting with the addition of structural steel in the space to keep this heritage building (I think) standing tall for a few generations. We sure hope it's still here for a long while and will most likely come again the next time we are in Victoria. That is saying a lot as there are a wide range of restaurants in the neighbourhood, but you do want to check the Block out!

Loved the Zombie last time I was in, a bit pricey but ambiance was worth it. Hope to come back…read moreagain. Any happy hour specials??

TL;DR: Yes, it's a tiki bar. That's about as far as it goes…read more Drinks: Coming from someone with a rum shelf and a closet of tiki mugs, this was thin. Very limited rum selection, nothing distinctive. The menu reads like flashcards: Trade Winds, Trader Vic's Grog, Saturn. Correct, competent. Vibe: The ambiance is fun and well done. It checks the boxes, but it doesn't push past them. What could be better: Depth. The rum program feels bare, and there's no sense of curiosity. Bottom line: If you don't know tiki, you'll probably have a good time. If you do, have a daiquiri and move on. My review matches what the locals say - Yup, it's a tiki bar.

We visited Artemis last weekend (8/16) and loved the whole vibe. There was plenty of comfortable…read moreseating, they had an awesome whiskey selection and the pricing was legit. The service was outstanding, the owners were really cool and we will definitely go back the next time we are in Victoria!

Great cocktails. Lovely place Great ambiance They take care of every detail. If you pull the…read moreright book out , that is!!

TL;DR: Chaotic, fun, and not for everyone. Go for a show,…read morestay longer than planned. If you're nearby and there's a drag show, it's worth going. It's fun, different, and a welcome disruption to the usual Victoria vibe. Vibe: Wizard of Oz-themed gay bar with zero subtlety. Loud, campy, and a sharp contrast to the rest of Victoria's generally polite energy. Not really a place straight couples need to linger unless there's a show. Drinks: Strong and fast. These are drinks, not cocktails, and that's exactly right for the room. Entertainment: We caught a Taylor Swift-themed drag show. I'm very much not a Swift fan, my girlfriend is, and we both had a good time. The performers carried the night. What could be better: If there's no show, the appeal drops fast unless this is already your scene.

This may be a gay bar by night, but there's nothing queer about the brunch menu here, folks!…read more My wife and I spotted this place the night before, when it was lit up in all manner of multichromatic madness, gleaming and glittering gaily, with pulse-pounding tunes pouring down the adjacent alleyway. The interior décor intrigued me, but as we had our toddler son with us, we couldn't enter during the "adult" hours, but we resolved to return in the morning for their legendary "best brunch in Victoria". Did it live up to its reputation? YAAAS QUEEN, SLAY those taste buds! My wife ordered the Homemade Maple Bacon, drizzled in mezcal cheese and accompanied by similarly glitzed-up scrambled eggs, roti flatbread, and a light salad with vinaigrette. After waffling back and forth over two dishes, I went with the ambiguously named "Tomatoes" which, as expected included tomatoes, of course, resting on a bed of a soft, moist cheese similar to queso fresco, dressed in chili crunch oil with peanuts and topped with spinach. It was wonderful, with my only regret being there wasn't enough of it. I had decided against the Steak and Eggs, as I'd wanted something lighter for breakfast, but in the end, what I'd ordered was a little too light for me. No matter; I helped the wife finish her meal as well, so everything worked out! I will say, though, that menus that lean in a little too far into brevity when it comes to the description of their entrées for the sake of being cute should probably rethink this strategy, and in all honesty, $16 CAD is a little steep for a dish this paltry in size, no matter how good it is. Alright, I've been enough of a basic bitch about nitpicky things, so let's put a bow on this review, slap its backside and send it on it's way! The "Lions, Tigers and Bears" cocktail was a frisky, refreshing take on my favorite, the Old Fashioned, and my pregnant wife's (virgin) Caesar may have been Bloody Mary-red, but it left me green with envy after a couple sips! I would be hard-pressed to choose between the view on our (inevitable) return visit to Victoria which, I hope, will be far sooner than later. For now, we'll be somewhere over the rainbow back home, waiting for a tornado to whisk us up and fling us back over the border. Vancouver may be the true Emerald City, but the yellow brick road leads directly to Friends of Dorothy in Victoria!

TL;DR: Stylish, confident, and memorable. Absolutely worth…read moreplanning your day around. If I lived in Victoria, this would be a regular. If you're visiting, it belongs on your short list. Food: The beef tartare was a standout. Easily one of the best bites of the trip and arguably the best tartare I've had, full stop. Thoughtful without being precious. Drinks: Cocktails lean more inspired than perfectly balanced, but that works here. Nothing mind blowing, nothing wrong. A solid B+ across the board. Vibe: Feels like a moody, posh NYC basement bar. Dim lighting, techno and jazz, well dressed 20 and 30 somethings on dates or out for the night. The room does a lot of the heavy lifting, in a good way. What could be better: Cocktails could use a touch more balance and restraint. The ideas are strong, but a bit of dialing in would elevate them from good to great.

Food, service and ambiance were excellent! Can't wait to go back!!…read more The drink menu is amazing. So many unique creations! The food was a sharing menu with 2 to 4 choices for 2 people. We chose e items and it was the perfect amount for us.

I can't say enough good things about this place. The food, the service the atmosphere were all off…read morethe charts great. The Waitresses were beautiful and intelligent. And the owner, rob, made me feel like an old and valued friend. All the while he was supervising everything that was going on in the restaurant and making sure that everything was perfect. Located at a fairly busy intersection in Victoria the place has floor to ceiling windows in the bar which gives the place a tremendous energy. They were doing plenty of business in there but I'm surprised that the place just isn't mobbed all the time.

Food was great. Service was amazing. People were engaging in humourous manager was fantastic came…read moreout and introduced himself

Our group decided they wanted to try a local pub while we were in Victoria for our last night of…read morethe cruise. After a quick search on Yelp we settled on The Churchill so they could try several different local beers. I opted for the featured cocktail of the month Into The Wild with blackberry gin, blueberry liqueur, honey, lemon & orange bitters. I thought it was really good, smooth but potent. When visiting Canada, I thought it was mandatory to get the Poutine - Beer battered fries, squeaky cheese curds, homemade beef gravy. Very filling and did not disappoint. The rest of the family liked their choices (Nashville Hot Grilled Chicken Burgers, Pulled Jackfruit Bun) as well. We sat in a large booth instead of at the bar like most of the regulars and locals. Service was a little slow but would not keep me from coming back.

Cozy little place in the downtown area. Short walk from the cruise port. 90's country playing and…read moreit was pretty quiet. The bartender, Brit was fantastic! Genuinely friendly and attentive. They have food, but we wanted to experience more of Victoria before we get back on the ship.

This should a must-try when you're in downtown Victoria End dive's approach focusses on seafood as…read morewell as highlighting seasonal vegetables. Great options for some terrific cocktails and they have such a cool vibe. Love the decor. My favorite are the frogs. The quality of both the food and the service was exceptional. The host was super friendly and lovely. We dined there on Friday evening and, despite not having a reservation, the host managed to get some bar seats by the chef's kitchen for two right away, which was truly appreciated! I appreciate that End Dive takes a family-style dining approach, which is great in my opinion as you get to try many of their savoury dishes. It is perfect for sharing. First, we ordered the brioche and morels and they were amazing. In addition, the spot prawns were delicious! Their in-house focaccia bread with cultured butter was truly appetizing, especially if you have some left-over sauce from the spot prawns dish. The sourdough spaghetti pasta (not pictured) was exquisite. The depth and flavours of every single dish we had was phenomenal! love that the menu keeps on changing and they're so creative! I highly recommend dining at End Dive. You won't be disappointed but thankful that you're in for such a treat. This might be my new favourite Canadian upscale eatery in Victoria!

Rude staff. we were party of 8. ordered focaccias and one of the people in our party asked for…read moreextra butter. "our chief measures a specific quantity of butter for each order. If you need extra butter you need to order another focaccia". WTF!! it went downhill from there. Menu was hard to understand. Except couple of dishes, everything else was experimental cooking. Do not recommend! Over priced and waste of money! $600 later everyone left hungry and grumpy!

We stopped in for a drink while exploring the city. I was impressed by the building interior and…read morethe beautiful holiday decorations they had up. It was such an inviting space. We sat at the bar but there is a lot of seating throughout: high tables, low tops, booths, and some private nooks towards the back. They had live music that was really good! We had drinks (lots of beers on tap and a full bar) and the hummus. They had a happy hour menu. The hummus was really tasty and a large portion. We had great service at the bar, friendly and attentive.

We stopped here for an appetizer and a cocktail before continuing on our way while we are walking…read morearound Victoria. The restaurant itself is beautiful the inside and original decor is quite exquisite as it used to be a bank. The food was OK. I felt like it was overpriced for portion served and lacked a little bit of flair for something that is normally smaller portions. The oysters were good and a cocktail was decent, but since we weren't super impressed with the other appetizer, we decided not to have dinner there. The service was OK, but they were very busy so we had to go up and get our check when it was time to leave.

Efficient service. Eclectic tasty menu . Casual sports bar vibe without being too loud for…read moreconversation.

A truly comfortable place to unwind, but still has a fun mood at dinner time. The rotisserie…read morechicken corn chowder was fantastic! It would have been a great meal by itself. The burger and fries were solid (fresh toppings and a soft brioche bun). The hostess appeared quickly and was very kind. The server (Jenny) was outstanding... I'll say this again - outstanding. Greeted us as soon as she walked by, had my normally shy child beaming from the start by asking about his toys with sincere enthusiasm, and brought the beverages and hot soup out within minutes to get us going. The food came out soon after, was the perfect temperature, and she checked on us twice. Seeing my 4-year old so relaxed and us both willing to finish the whole plate is a true endorsement. We would absolutely come back. Thank you, Jenny!