Holy hell, this place was amazing! Get there early because the line will literally wrap around the block, but after eating here, I completely understand why The Blue Fox has been so popular for so many years. This was hands down some of the best breakfast I've had anywhere. The food was so freaking delicious, and the lavender London fog was the best I've ever had. Seriously, I'm still thinking about it. The restaurant itself has so much character and is filled with beautiful art, making it just as fun to look around as it is to eat. The staff were incredibly kind, friendly, and attentive even with how busy the place gets. If you're visiting Victoria, GO HERE. Honestly, go to Victoria just for The Blue Fox. It's that good. 5/5 without question! read more

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Wind Cries Mary is located at 45 Bastion Square, Victoria, BC Food : (5/5) Service : (5/5) Ambiance : (5/5) read more

Wind Cries Mary - Menu - Wine Bars Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Located in downtown, we made a reservation for a late dinner to celebrate birthday while we were in town. The restaurant has a cozy, dimly lit atmosphere perfect for a date night. There was an interesting smell at the entrance when we first walked in, but luckily we were seated in the back room. As recommended, we ordered family style to try a variety of dishes. Endive salad - can't really go wrong with the classic combination of apple walnut and goat cheese, however many larger pieces of endive were quite bitter. tater tots - nice presentation with the cubes. The tots were perfectly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Paired well with the jalapeño ranch, and the lumpfish caviar was a fun addition. Beef tartare- the beef was fresh and flavor was good overall. However the toast was only cut in half, made it hard to eat or cut into. Middle of the toast also got a little too soft from the juice. Fried chicken - solid fried chicken, the meat is tender and well seasoned, crispy on the outside. The semolina cube didn't add much for me, but the 3 hot sauce added a nice balance of heat and acidity. Ling cod - The fish was tender and cooked well. Surprisingly, the cabbage really stood out. Service was a bit slow, we had to flag down our server for refills. Overall we enjoyed our meal, every dish was well prepared, but nothing truly stood out as memorable. We did appreciate it being farm-to-table, and the commitment to source ingredients locally. read more

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We tried out Wind Cries Mary for a birthday dinner while in Victoria. They are located in downtown, we walked from our hotel but parking nearby would've been difficult. We made a reservation ahead of time and they were still quite busy until about 9:45pm. We ordered a variety of dishes family style, which is the right move. Service for our table was honestly a bit slow; we had to flag down someone for a refill multiple times. The interior smelled a bit funny near the entrance but luckily we got sat down into the back room. The interior was a very dark, date night vibe. Endive 3/5. Not the biggest fan of the salad; they also picked some larger leaves of endive which made it bitter. It was a very light dish with the goat cheese, walnut, and apple. Tater tots 4/5. Fried potato hash brown cubes paired with a ranch sauce with lumpfish caviar. Decent dish, we enjoyed it but it could've used some acidity. Beef tartare 3.5/5. Solid tartare but the bread needed to be cut into more bite sized pieces and this style of bread also ended up soaking up a lot of the raw meat juices. Ling cod 4.5/5. The fish was tender and cooked well. The best item on this dish was the cabbage, which was very well seasoned. Fried chicken 4/5. Solid fried chicken paired with semolina cubes. Overall we enjoyed the meal. Not every dish was a hit but the farm to table concept is much appreciated for being in Victoria BC and sourcing meats and produce from nearby or in Abbotsford. read more

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Everything about this restaurant was great. Best meal I had on my trip to Victoria/Vancouver. Very cool vibe. Cool garden. Highly recommended. read more

Hear this place was amazing and it didn't disappoint!! Went in for a late night meal and we had a little bit of everything from the caccio e pep to the best fried chicken I've ever had. Can't wait to go back some day !!! Or maybe you can open one in Florida please :) read more

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TL;DR: Stylish, confident, and memorable. Absolutely worth planning 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. read more

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I went here for happy hour as I finished sightseeing way faster than I expected. Happy hour was 3-5pm and I got a cocktail (Trail Mix) and a snack (signature tater tots which has lumpfish caviar). The cocktail is good but not quite well balanced, but for CAD$12 it was fine - I guess I see reviews where ironically the cocktails are not their forte despite the appeal of using local ingredients in the cocktails. The signature tater tots is delicious - it's in a square and has a soft interior that can be quite filling - I love the sauce pairing which has a bit of caviar taste apparent while keeping it fairly casual with the ranch sauce. Service is okay - the bartender fulfills requests promptly, but fairly direct in conversation read more

Beautiful environment and vibe. The gnocchi was amazing as well as the zucchini salad and ricotta toast. Cocktails fell short didn't enjoy the one i ordered seemed imbalanced. The salmon entree was ok would not order it again. Make reservations! read more

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The service was outstanding, the ambiance was amazing (back patio) and the food was incredibly creative and delicious. I would give it 100 stars if I could. read more

Food, service and ambiance were excellent! Can't wait to go back!! 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. read more

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Stumbled on this place accidentally and what a treat!! I was only able to get a few photos because we devoured everything in seconds... it was just that good. Would def come back for their fried chicken alone. read more

Wind Cries Mary - Wine Bars Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

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The service was attentive without being overbearing. The food was incredible. The main indoor area is below grade, but has a nice homey feel. read more

We came on a Thursday for reservations at 7:15pm to celebrate a graduation. We waited 5 minutes for our table. We ordered the velocepide and pineapple espresso. The pineapple espresso had no pineapple flavour and was kind of disappointing. The velocepide was also kind of disappointing. It was missing the yuzu flavour. We started with the endive salad, tater tots and albacore tuna quinoa. The endive salad with apple, goat cheese and walnuts is such a classic combination that you really can't go wrong with this dish. It was well balanced and delicious. Would recommend this dish The tater tots was so crunchy and addictive. The jalapeño ranch lumpfish caviar was missing that jalapeño kick to it. But overall a great dish. Would recommend this dish The albacore tuna with quinoa was surprisingly delicious. Loved the freshness of the quinoa and kale. The almond gave it a little crunch. The tuna was really good as well. Would recommend this dish The cacio e pipe was a huge disappointment. The grand padano flavour was there but it was missing the cheese savouriness. The pasta also was overcooked. I would avoid this dish The fried chicken was really crispy but the pieces were way too big. The breading wasn't too thick. It was sweet because of the honey butter but not too sweet because the pickles helped balance it off. Would recommend this dish The Ling cod dish did not go well with the tomato. It almost reminded me of some kind of tagine dish because of the fennel and tomato. This dish did not go well together. I would not recommend it Flourless chocolate cake with cheesecake and Vietnamese coffee ice cream dessert was disappointing. The chocolate cake consistency could have been a bit heavier. The cheesecake didn't have enough cheese flavour and were too light. The Vietnamese coffee ice cream was a bit too icey could have been creamier. Overall service was pretty fast. Not overly friendly. The first couple dishes were pretty good and then it went downwards from there. I would recommend the fried chicken, tater tots, endive and albacore tuna. Would recommend this restaurant for dinner but not for drinks. read more

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Mid, I'm afraid. We had the chefs tasting menu and wine pairing and maybe one or two of the courses were interesting or well balanced. Sorry folks. read more

Very tasty food and catered well to Gluten allergies. Pricy and busy. Excellent service.

Some of the best food I've tasted with a cute and private style ambiance. There are so many fantastic dishes here and we sampled a variety. The fish was probably the best I've ever had. Fresh and flavorful. The beet salad was outstanding and set on a bed of humus with various greens included with the beets. We couldn't stop eating it. The tater tots need a more distinguished name tho because they're next level and came with a dipping sauce that included caviar. We ordered some chicken with fries to go and that was tasty too! To drink we ordered 2 different reds and they were both delicious. Sad I can't stay here because this is one of my new favorite restaurants. read more

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Great service and atmosphere. Quite pricy but very very good. This would be an ideal small birthday party place.

Tonight was my first time but it won't be the last! The service was great, beautiful space and the food was amazing.

Beautiful and delicious craft cocktails! I saw someone mention this place on IG and knew I had to stop in! If you're ever in the area, make sure to check it out! read more

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Great experience coming here on a Friday night while in Victoria for the weekend. Did not have a reservation, but they were able to seat us instantly. We had a nice corner table, the place did seem a little loud at first because there was a big group behind us but they ended up leaving within just a couple of minutes so that was really nice. Overall, the place felt cozy and trendy. Service was great. We also ordered the cacio e pepe but I forgot to take a picture. Overall, everything about this restaurant was amazing. I would highly recommend. read more

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This is hands down one of the best restaurants in Victoria. The changing menu is guided by seasonal ingredients and never fails to disappoint. There seems to be a "less is more" attitude so you're not getting a dish with 27 ingredients, yet there's nothing simple about the flavour. The service is always on point and I have trusted recommendations on several occasions and have never been lead astray. Everything is served family style (I love that they provide individual tongs for sharing/serving) and comes out as it's ready, which makes for a fun dining experience. The cocktails are equally as impressive as the food with unique options, and again, I would trust the servers to steer you in the right direction if you don't know where to start. The restaurant itself has a cozy feel. The music is always good (and not too loud), which is important for a restaurant named after a song! My favourite place to dine is the back courtyard - with string lights, fire pits, and heat lamps, it has a romantic atmosphere and can be enjoyed during most seasons regardless of weather. The food is definitely the highlight, but with the rotating menu, it's hard to recommend specific dishes. They do salads and vegetables better than anyone, and even for a serious carnivore like myself, I never regret adding something green to my order. A simple sounding veggie dish can be surprisingly impressive, and never boring. The pasta is out of this world. Competes with any Italian restaurant and wins. The bolognese is a personal favourite. The meat dishes are also divine- any duck, steak, or pork dish has always delivered on taste, texture, and tenderness. All in all, this would be number one recommendation when visiting Victoria. I trust anything on the menu to be fantastic that I would close my eyes and point blindly, and still feel assured that I would enjoy my meal. read more

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Absolutely amazing! Had dinner with a friend and everything was delicious. The tater tots, bolognese, and fried chicken were all scrumptious. Hands down the best meal I had in Victoria and one of the best I've had in a long time anywhere! The place was super dark but very cozy. Great date spot. We sat at the bar; service was friendly and fast. read more

Wind cries Mary is my favorite restaurant in Victoria! Its offerings consist of homey and cosy feel; they serve up some delicious dishes. I appreciate the family style servings since it allows you to try more dishes with the table. Our server was super friendly and provided excellent service! We went for the happy hour and it was amazing! We are pescatarian, therefore had numerous items we could order but we went with the Rockfish served on French bread which was very tasty! The salmon cakes were interesting, not what I expected! The signature tater tots served with jalapeño ranch and lumpfish Caviar is hands down the most decadent and luscious bite I've ever had! I highly recommend that you try it. The tater tots is a melting master piece and tastes phenomenal! Love this place!!! As always, we shall return read more

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JUST DON'T! In town working for a few days, stopped for dinner at the bar . The food was exceptional. Particularly the beet salad, highly, highly recommend the kitchen. Despite the brilliance of the kitchen, the staff ruined the evening . Literally was asked seven times how my meal was..... seriously? How much gratification does a millennial need? When I mentioned it to the manager as to why I left no tip, he went all defensive of his staff, and of course they can do no wrong. Fair enough, your choice, but I would never eat here again and recommend you don't either. read more

Wind Cries Mary - Tuna Quinoa salad - Wine Bars Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

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The ambiance is great, the menu has some well balanced flavour combinations. Presentation of the dishes was clean and elegant. Mediocre wine choices for the price. The server behind the bar however, was unkempt and scruffy, he created a negative vibe and put us off going back. He was very dismissive and aloof and when you spend a good amount of money on a glass of wine and a couple of food items, it was rude of him to not even acknowledge us once we paid and got up to go. Nothing! Not even a perfunctory "goodbye". Some customer service coaching would be advisable. Unlikely that we will return. read more

We came here during a day trip to Victoria and were definitely not disappointed! Their menu rotates seasonally, so we had the tomato salad and some bread with olive oil to start, a couple orders of their signature fried chicken, BC nugget tomatoes, albacore tuna and a few orders of their tater tots. They provided us with a variety of hot sauces for the fried chicken, however it was juicy and flavourful enough by itself and came with housemade pickles. The portion for the bread was a bit small for the price, however the tomato salad tasted extremely fresh and went well with the blueberries and ricotta. The albacore tuna dish was the star of the show as all the flavours and textures from the edamame spread to the wonton chips complimented each other beautifully. They seated us on their outdoor patio which was surprisingly not cold at all as they had several heaters placed outside. This was a recommendation from a Victoria local and we were thoroughly impressed with both the food and service. Everything tasted fresh and the meal being served family style meant that everyone got a chance to taste a bit of everything. Will come back when we get the chance to visit the island again to try some new dishes! read more

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We went for our anniversary and we had a lovely time. We chose the Chef's Tasting, with one cocktail and one alcohol-free pairing. The food was delicious and each course better than the one before. The drinks complimented the food perfectly as well. The staff were friendly and made us feel at home. The restaurant was full but still felt cozy. We also had no trouble hearing each other over the ambient noise. We had a truly memorable experience. An easy recommend for sure. read more

Would love to give a higher review but there were a couple of glaring issues. First thing, I am not sure if they are operating at 80% capacity to more easily manage the restaurant, or are they pulling the old Viper Room tactic of saying it's booked out and full to create buzz when it is actually not fully booked. Called and asked if there were any openings and they told me it was fully booked all night but they take walk ins on first come basis. Walked down around 6 to find a resto that was about 50% empty. Asked the hostess if we could get a table for two and she said they were booked but could put us on the waitlist for the bar or patio which I accepted. Went and walked the neighborhood and was called about 20 minutes later to invite us to a patio seat. We arrived and I noticed the resto was still 30% empty. When we left restaurant was 40% empty and in between arriving and leaving we never saw the restaurant full. Second- much of the staff seemed a little bothered with dealing with us. Our waitress was fairly absent, a couple of the other staff that brought dishes seemed bothered they were having to do what they were doing. Just not particularly polished at all THE BIG EXCEPTION - when I requested a Somm to speak about a few of the wines, she was EXCELLENT! Above and beyond on all levels. Personal, friendly, and obviously has a deep understanding of hospitality. Note for the resto....you would be well advised to have her train the rest of your staff in hospitality. She killed it! Wish I could remember her name, I think it begins with an M. Food was quite solid, no complaints at all there so keep it up! I forgot to take a pic of the chicken but it is definitely recommended. Would love to see your service game come up to where it belongs. read more

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Loved our Friday dinner here! Pricing is a little steep but you're paying for the vibe so I'll take it. Service was fun, chatty in the right way! Pastas are fabulous but the endive salad really stole the show for me. No reservation we were able to do a walk in for a party of 3 around 8pm on a Friday. read more

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A great experience on a cool summer eve. I think the food pics speak for themselves. Love the plates and more. Good wine list as well. Is the name a reference to the Hendrix song? Must be, right? Anyway, this makes it even cooler. read more

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This was our first time here and was recommended by another server. The menu was good, lots of unique drinks and food offerings. We got the tater tots, they are not regular tater tots. They are so good! Highly recommend. read more

Wind Cries Mary - Food menu - Wine Bars Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

A fantastic and refreshing food experience that Victoria needed! I love this restaurant for a few things: first and foremost their delicious food, great courtyard seating and lovely staff. It shocks me to see some yelpers giving one stars on this place! I've been twice and both experiences were outstanding. Drinks are legit, on the pricier side for the 3oz boozy libations but delicious. I've had the black and yellow and the improved daiquiri. I loved both but prob prefer the black and yellow of the two. They also carry some fantastic wines like le veux pin on the bench in the okanagan. As for food, let's get to it shall we! We ordered four dishes: the albacore tuna, steak tartare, Asparagus, and Mac n cheese. All these dishes were insanely flavourful and delicious!! The albacore tuna was so fresh and served with fried wontons and a pea like purée. The perfect light bite. We followed this with the steak tartare on sourdough baked toast and omg the textures were unreal. The flavour had a light mustard and worked perfectly with the steak and fried capers and parm. They don't cheap out on the parm too. Just covering the plate. Next up we got the asparagus that was again, absolutely delicious - perfectly cooked with some crunch still and hearty sprinkling of sesame seeds and again parm. Prob didn't actually need the parm on this one tho. Lastly the Mac. This Mac is beautifully silky and rich but not too rich. Some restaurant macs either lack all flavour or are toooo rich, this was just perfect! A hint is spice too to the silky sauce which I loved and the use of cavatappi (my fave noodle) makes for the perfect vehicle for the sauce. Overall prob in the top three restaurant macs I've ever had! I love that this restaurant does things differently and does them realllly damn well!! The service was quick too and we got all our food within 30 minutes! Overall exceptional experience and will be back again and again and AGAIN! read more

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After some booking mishaps, Wind Cries Mary went out of their way to reschedule and confirm a dinner reservation for my wife and I. When we arrived, we were given some champagne on the house which was very thoughtful of them and much appreciated. My wife and I went with the chef's testing menu which was 4 courses and dessert. Everything was fantastic and I got to try a lot of things that I wouldn't have necessarily ordered for myself but found myself enjoying. Drinks were great as well. We will be back! read more

I specifically asked for fresh oysters without the white cream. I would not recommend to order oysters at this place. Host was rude and didn't care about customers. We ordered drinks which were good and that's why deserve 1 star. read more

Wind Cries Mary - Oyster with cream part which means they let it get warm. - Wine Bars Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Great place for a date night in Victoria. We couldn't get a table as we decided try it out last minute. But we were seated at the bar quickly. We ordered the beef tartare, squid, Mac and cheese, and the fried chicken. My top two were the beef tartare and the Mac and cheese. As for drinks I was boring and went for their signature negroni and old fashioned, she got the caprese highball and dirty martini. All the cocktails were amazing, but the caprese highball was very unique, as it had umami flavours and tasted exactly like a caprese salad. The servers were very attentive, were checking up on us frequently and refilled our water glasses, and were very concerned when they learned of a food allergy and tried to make sure there wouldn't be any cross contamination. We had a great experience,10/10 would come again when I'm back in Victoria. read more

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We spotted this restaurant because we thought the underground setting was interesting. We soon realized that the food and cocktails were what made it a great restaurant. You have to try the Kale beet salad, the housemate tater tots with jalapeño ranch and the fried chicken chicken (the green sauce is great). The cocktails, service and ambiance were also EXCELLENT! read more

Ambiance: 4/5 Service: 5/5 Food: 4/5 Overall: 4/5 We were looking for a tapas spot to share a few small plates and came across this place and had to check it out! We went on a Monday and we're able to make a reservation just a few hours before to be safe, but there was plenty of seating when we got there so we had the option of a patio or inside which was awesome! They have quite an extensive (and pricy!) drink menu which we weren't in the mood for so we went straight to the food and shared 3 plates between the 2 of us: the Mac n' cheese, tater tots, and crispy broccoli. The food came out super quickly and was delicious! The plates look small but 3 was definitely enough to fill us both to the brim. The service was also amazing! Our waiter was very prompt and courteous which was lovely. As for the ambiance, the patio wasn't anything special so we opted for inside - I liked the vibe inside with the red brick wall and music in the background. Overall, we liked it! I especially liked that they had quite a few vegetation options since usually tapas places are limited in that regards, so I'd definitely come back to try more things and maybe a cocktail next time! read more

Wind Cries Mary - Mac & cheese, crispy broccoli, and tater tots - Wine Bars Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Excellent spot The food was amazing Service was exceptional and friendly Ambiance was dark and inviting read more

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Unaccommodating and mediocre service, disappointing food. Requested a cocktail to be made with vodka instead of gin and waitress refused (twice) saying the bartender was very particular about his recipes. Manager agreed to make the change. Waitress poured wines into the wrong glasses so we each got the wrong wine. Pasta bolognese was adequate, duck breast looked nice but was bland, they ran out of bread so we could not have the ricotta starter. We had been looking forward to dining at this restaurant and left sorely disappointed. read more