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Copper Rock Grill
2020 Country Club Wy, Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort, Langford, BC V9B 6R3 · 250-391-7170
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LANGFORD. Westin's Bear Mountain Resort is the setting for this intimate restaurant, which is situated inside a stone clubhouse aside the world-class Jack and Steve Nicklaus designed golf course. The interior is stylishly rustic, with a central fireplace and lovely views. Along with a standard but very well executed casual menu of sandwiches, salads and burgers, there's an inspired selection of West Coast style dishes such as pretzel-crusted chicken with pilsner sauce, chicken Oscar topped with seafood and béarnaise sauce, and perfectly grilled steaks. If you have room for dessert, by all means order the caramelized bananas on white chocolate bread pudding. Many wines available by the glass.
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ELK LAKE / CORDOVA BAY. An appealing setting, marked by two patios and attractive grounds dotted with garry oaks, and inventive local cuisine make the Fireside Grill a good choice any time of the day. At lunch, enjoy a casual meal of salt n' vinegar salmon and chips, or a portobello and goat cheese or chicken and brie sandwich. Dinner is more upscale – opt for small but flavor-packed plates of port-poached pear and spinach salad, smoked tuna, calamari with saffron garlic aioli, ginger-marinated beef satay, or baked clams and mussels with pesto cream. Alternatively, select a full size entrée, such as pesto-glazed local trout, pan-seared wild salmon with mint scented tapenade, lamb osso buco, or blackberry-thyme duck breast. Good wine list, too.
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JAMES BAY. The stylish and contemporary Impressions restaurant, located in the convenient Harbour Towers hotel, is a good choice for a relaxing meal any time of day. Breakfast is excellent and unusual – try the Japanese breakfast (pan-fried salmon, sticky rice, miso soup, bean thread with pickles, poached egg and Nori), or the West Coast Benedict (Dungeness crab cakes topped with two poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce served with hash browns.). For lunch try avocado and shrimp cocktail or a gourmet sandwich. Dinner features fresh local ingredients in excellent dishes such as herb-crusted Pacific halibut, caramelized Digby scallops with avocado-wasabi cream, and the Towers Mixed Grill (chicken, andouille, beef tenderloin and mushroom-veal glaze).
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Riverwalk Café
200 Cowichan Wy, Quw'utsun' Cultural and Conference Centre, Duncan, BC V9L 6P4 · 250-746-8119
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DUNCAN. The Quw'utsun' Cultural and Conference Centre is definitely worth a visit, especially if you combine it with a meal at their Riverwalk Café, specializing in authentic native cuisine. Traditional ingredients such as rabbit, venison, wild sockeye salmon, berries, root vegetables, duck, buffalo and halibut are used in every dish. Try a venison burger, local oysters with horseradish sauce, buffalo ribs, alder-grilled salmon, or fried bread with local blackberry jam and salmon butter. The café's afternoon tea is a great way to sample several native foods. Located in Duncan, about 40 miles from downtown Victoria.
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Rosemeade
429 Lampson St, English Inn & Resort, Victoria, BC V9A 5Y9 · 250-412-7673
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ESQUIMALT. The English Inn & Resort successfully combines old world charm with contemporary style and convenience, an approach that extends to the Rosemeade dining room. The stylish space has hardwood floors and plenty of windows looking out onto the gardens, along with an impressive cantilevered steel fireplace. The chefs take the best local ingredients and apply an Italian twist, and the resulting cuisine is wonderfully successful. Start with porcini, white bean and bacon soup with bone marrow gratin, or veal loin carpaccio. Main courses might include sablefish picatta with parmesan polenta and sage stewed tomatoes, or black pepper dusted venison loin with horseradish gnocchi. This is one restaurant you don't want to miss!
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Seagrille
849 Verdier Ave, Brentwood Bay Lodge and Spa, Victoria, BC V8M 1C5 · 250-544-5100
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BRENTWOOD BAY. If you're searching for a true Canadian dining experience, this is it. The Seagrille certainly looks the part, with an open kitchen, roaring fireplace, lots of wood, local artwork and huge windows with views of the mountains and the water. Chef Alain Leger believes in using nothing but local ingredients, such as foraged berries and mushrooms, line caught local fish and just-harvested vegetables. The inventive menu changes frequently, but you may encounter dishes such as dungeness crab roulade, Cowichan duckling, and arbutus-grilled sockeye salmon. Sommelier Brian Storen has amassed an excellent selection of mostly BC wines, with a solid component of Californians as well. The four course tasting menu, a bargain at $34.95, makes this a Best Value.
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Temple
525 Fort St, Victoria, BC V8W · 250-383-2313
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DOWNTOWN. Despite its setting in an 1890s heritage building, Temple is most assuredly contemporary, in both décor and cuisine. The restaurant capitalizes on Vancouver Island's incredible bounty of produce, using only locally harvested fruits, vegetables, seafood and meats. Sample Quadra Island mussels with chorizo, roasted tomato, smoked paprika, caramelized onion and Leffe Blond beer; winter squash and ricotta ravioli in sage brown butter; freshly shucked local oysters; oven roasted wild salmon; or a selection of Vancouver Island cheeses. Finish with an indulgent fried bread and butter pudding with anise and orange custard. The building's vault serves as a wine cellar now, providing an excellent array of bottles from which to choose, and on weekends, DJs liven things up a bit and folks party into the wee hours. You can text message your reservation at 250-882-5251.
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JAMES BAY. Casually elegant in the best West Coast fashion, The Pacific is an ideal choice if you're looking for fine Canadian dining. They specialize in line-caught fish and wild and locally harvested ingredients. Seafood lovers should start with steamed mussels or clams or smoked salmon bisque, and follow with miso-marinated rockfish or hazelnut-buttered Queen Charlotte halibut. If you prefer land-based foods, try the incredibly inventive house salad tossed with blueberry-maple vinaigrette, then opt for cumin-scented lamb t-bones or lemon-salted Fraser Valley duck breast. A West Coast tapas style menu is served in the lounge, and a jazz pianist plays weekend evenings.
Looking for a restaurant? We've explored the options, checked with critics, and pounded the pavement to offer only the best. Recommendations come complete with contact information and a brief description highlighting the important features of the restaurant. Fit our choices to your mood, or let us guide your tastes. You'll likely find a few places that not even locals know about.
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