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.

I am giving the overall bar a 5! It's a super fun bar located right off the major street in…read moreVictoria. I was visiting for only 4 short hours. We wanted to grab a beer and head back to the boat. The atmosphere is super fun. We were greeted right away and I was overwhelmed with the beer list. The server let me try a few. I don't think she heard me because it was a little loud. I ended up getting a beer I wasn't a fan of. I'm not one to send things back so I drank what I had. 1 star for the beer I had. This place has MANY drinks to try from. I didn't see a food menu. They might have one. I also didn't see a physical menu, it was scanned from the bar. Still recommend going here!

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.

We didn't know this pub was right next to our hotel. The ambience was pretty good. It's suitable…read morefor hangouts, game night or Happy Hour. Room service is also provided for guests at Marriott. We ordered the following : 2 of 6 oz red wine ($14), Crispy Dry Ribs ( Happy Hour price $11), Chicken Wings ($18), Chicken Quesadillas ( Happy Hour price $11) and Guacamole for $4. Ribs were tender and crispy. Honey garlic wings were pretty tasty. Although there were few of chicken pieces, Quesadillas were tasty too. There was Blue Jays vs Dodgers match happening last night. Majority of patrons were having fun watching the game. Trivia nights are also happening from October 20th through December 6th! I'd definitely return to this pub on my next visit!

Blimey can I get a drink or whaaa!?!…read more Bartholomews Pub is centrally located in the heart of Victoria, across from The Empress Hotel. It is your ol skool dark & inviting British style pub. The woodwork takes you back a few decades. My bro & I were wondering around & stumbled upon this joint. Our curiosity got us inside. Great bar service & great drinks. I will definitely go back when next I'm in town. Be warned - it ain't cheap to drink here. Tbh, I don't know of a cheap watering hole in Victoria. Cheers!

The Irish Times is such a fantastic find in a lovely part of town. We spent a great evening sitting…read moreout on the sidewalk, but the interior is just as impressive--a beautiful and historic building dating back to 1894 with very lively music playing inside. I was honestly shocked by how good the food was. I had initially assumed it might be a spot primarily for tourists, but a dear friend of mine who is a local mentioned that people in Victoria actually love coming here. She even noted that some friends from her children's school were there just the night before for an alumni weekend. The menu absolutely exceeded my expectations. I was blown away by the fish and chips; the fish was moist with a light batter and wasn't oily at all. The burgers, Irish stew, and shepherd's pie were all delectable as well. The real standout, however, was the sockeye salmon in a pesto preserved lemon broth--it was so addictive that I wish I could replicate the recipe at home. It is very easy to see why this spot has received so many accolades, and I would love to return the next time we are back in Victoria!

Try the trio.... All the food is very good. Good selection of beers (though stouts too cold)…read more Great whiskey list though out of my top three picks. Beautiful atmosphere, quick service.

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!

I found this place on Yelp, as I wouldn't have found it otherwise. It's a bit off the beaten track…read morefrom the touristy harbor area. The restaurant is on the smaller side. Restrooms are located upstairs, and there are no elevators, so it is not wheelchair accessible. Yelp waitlist and Yelp Reservations are available on the app, so I made a reservation and the host greeted and seated us as soon as we entered. The vibe is fun, they have a great playlist playing in the background, and a big drink menu. The food menu is pretty big, and they specialize in Korean style roasted chicken. We ordered: * Rose Pasta Appetizer - could've been an entree. It was so good and my favorite dish of everything we ordered. The sauce was so good, we saved the leftover sauce on the plate to dip our roasted chicken. 5/5 * Pan Fried Chicken Noodle - basically yakisoba noodles. Decent but a bit bland. 3/5 * Butter Curry Roasted Chicken - came with Korean rice cakes on top. 4/5. Chicken was tender and I loved that it was boneless. * Spicy Chili Roasted Chicken - we originally wanted the Volcano flavor, but the server warned us that it was really spicy, and suggested the spicy chili instead. We enjoyed the flavor of this one more than the curry one. So good! 5/5 Our server was super nice, and food came out quick! I highly recommend stopping by if you're craving some good chicken!!

We came here for dinner with some local friends while visiting Victoria. I wasn't expecting much at…read morefirst. I mean it's just oven roasted chicken, but the experience was great. We were seated right away when we got there, and there were 8 of us. I got the soy garlic. The sauce absorbed by the rice roll was so good. The chicken was delicious, cooked to the right tenderness, not dry. Our friend also suggested the Gimmari, so we got some to share. Those were interesting and good as well, but I enjoyed the chicken and rice roll more. The server was attentive, and the food didn't take long. Overall, I would definitely recommend this place if you are looking for a casual dining place.

Love brew pub! They sponsor my friend's cricket team, so he likes to shop here when he can…read more We stopped by to pick up a bottle of whiskey they brew. The place wasn't too busy and the bartender poured us a sample of four different whiskeys. The #11 was my fave. A nice rye. Not too spicy. I also purchased a bottle of dark cherry infused whiskey and a 4 pack of Irish Red Ale, which was nice. They had a DJ with trivia on a Thursday night.

Moon Under Water was a brewery we got to try on a recent trip to Victoria, British Columbia…read more(Canada) and we liked their beer quite a bit! We only got one beer and it was a beer type we don't often get, a Dunkel style beer with a funny name called Creepy Uncle. The logo is fun on the bottle and it will be a name for a beer I won't soon forget. With the beer in the flavor profile you can expect to find maltiness witha hint of vanilla and nuttiness with an appropriate amount of sweetness. The beer is smooth and light bodied. It's a good one to sit down to and relax when you have that desire to unwind.

You don't walk into Big Bad John expecting refinement--but even by dive bar standards, this place…read morefeels less like a throwback and more like it's been left behind. There's no warmth waiting for you here. No charm to soften the edges. Just a small bar, guarded--literally--by a security presence, and a room filled with heavy, worn wooden booths that have seen better decades. Not years--decades. Look up, and you'll find the signature décor: a ceiling crowded with women's undergarments. Bras, mostly. Some scrawled with messages, others just hanging there, collecting time and dust in equal measure. The occasional pair of panties or something more adventurous makes an appearance, but the effect isn't quirky so much as... committed. Committed to a theme that's long overstayed its welcome. Dust is part of the aesthetic here, whether intentional or not. It clings to everything, including those ceiling relics, turning what might once have felt playful into something closer to a time capsule you're not sure should've been opened. And yet--there's life in the room. The ambiance, somehow, is still jovial. People are laughing, drinks are flowing, and there's a certain unspoken agreement among patrons to just go with it. The drinks are surprisingly cheap by Victoria standards, which certainly helps smooth over some of the rougher edges. And then there are the peanuts--toss the shells on the floor, no one's judging. In fact, it's encouraged. It's chaotic, a little grimy, and unapologetically itself. For me, it's a one-and-done. The kind of place you visit once, take in the spectacle, and check the box. But talk to the regulars, and you'll hear a different story. For them, this isn't a relic--it's a ritual. A place that hasn't changed, and that's exactly the point. Whether that's endearing or exhausting probably depends on how much nostalgia you're willing to drink with your beer. Cheers...

Fun dive bar. Atmosphere is great. They have a full menu able to order and can make just about…read moreany drink that you want. Free peanuts when you get there and you throw the husks on the floors. Definitely worth a stop.

Decided to try new Roast menu and was very impressed. Loved the new selection and was really happy…read morewith wraps and burgers. Also want to shout out for their bathrooms after a big reno. Outstanding!

It wouldn't be a proper trip to Victoria if we didn't partake in some of the local craft beer scene…read morewhile visiting. Phillips was long on my list of breweries to try and despite Canada being very close to where we are located trips there remain highly infrequent. So finally getting to try some more breweries from the north was an extra perk to our trip! The beer that Steve and I had from this brewery was the TILT Lager and it proved itself to be a good one also! With a nice breadiness and a natural sweetness to it. There is a clean and crisp finish to this beer which we always enjoy experiencing with beers. This beer is light bodied and is easy to have more than one of but we behaved ourselves and shared this refreshing lager.

Best chicken wings in Victoria!! Super crispy yet tender meat on the inside. The lemon pepper…read moreflavor was delicious. Good atmosphere and staff as well.

Friendly service. Popped in for a quick refill. Had me an…read moreIrish Slammer. And was back on the trail