Visiting Victoria BC? Don’t miss these places to eat.
I took a bite of the charcuterie, closed my eyes, and felt it melt in my mouth. Just hours before, I had met the charcuterie’s sister and her little piglets at the farm where they grow all their food. Rest in peace, but how much more farm to table can you get?
Canada is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, and we’re excited to start exploring more of our greater backyard including all of North America. To start, we spent a few days in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, and we may have come back several pounds heavier.
So grateful to Destination Canada and Tourism Victoria for hosting our trip. Our meals were complimentary at 10 Acres Kitchen, Aura, Roost, and Vista 18, but as always all opinions are our own. Read our full disclosure for more info. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Local Adventurer possible.
Last Updated: May 30, 2026
Victoria is a beautiful city located on Vancouver Island that blends the old and new. You can find amazing architecture and old-world traditions. If you prefer soaking in some sun, there are plenty of outdoor activities too, but we’ll save that for a later post. Pair that with some of the mildest climate in Canada, the beautiful Pacific Ocean views, and the Olympic Mountains as the backdrop, it’s easy to see why visitors flock to this west coast city.
We were surprised by the culinary scene. We’re no stranger to the farm to table movement living in Portland, but this was the first time we visited the farms where the food is sourced before sitting down for our meals. Not everyone who lives in Portland asks about their chicken’s name.
Best Places to Eat in Victoria BC
These are many places we didn’t get a chance to try, but I’m sure we will be back. We got recommendations from friends, blogs, and other listicle sites, and we cross-referenced them with Yelp and TripAdvisor to see that they have at least 4 out of 5 stars.
We usually order our food bucket lists by neighborhood, but since Victoria is only 7.5 square miles, we figure, you can easily navigate around. Also, you can check the map at the bottom to see what’s closest to where you’re staying.
Block Kitchen & Bar
538 Yates St #101, Victoria, BC V8W 1K8, Canada, map
Block Kitchen & Bar serves Asian fusion food shared plates. This was Jacob’s favorite meal of the trip. Our fave dish was the scallops and the pickled mushrooms a lot.
I would probably would not order the ahi tuna again. We mistakenly thought it was ahi tuna poke, not seared ahi tuna.
Roost Vineyard Bistro & Farm Bakery
9100 E Saanich Rd, North Saanich, BC V8L 1H5, Canada, map
At Roost, you can enjoy farm to table food right at the farm. After taking a quick tour, we sat down to enjoy a delicious meal at the bistro. They get a constant flow of traffic, and you can tell it’s a local favorite.
I ordered the spinach and pear salad, and I’ve never had a salad taste so crisp. Be sure to try the duck pizza though. I’m usually not a huge fan of duck, but as soon as I got a taste of our friend Karens’ duck pizza, I instantly regretted my life’s decisions.
See More: The Ultimate Sunshine Coast BC Road Trip
10 Acres Bistro
611 Courtney St, Victoria, BC V8W 1W8, Canada, map
10 Acres Farms supplies food to 3 different restaurants. We got an exclusive tour (they plan to do public tours in the future) then headed to 10 Acres Kitchen for a meal. The ktichen has since closed but they have a Bistro and gastropub in the same block.
Not sure if it’s a result of visiting the farm, but everything tasted so fresh. Did I already mention how much we loved the charcuterie?
Nourish Kitchen & Cafe
225 Quebec St, Victoria, BC V8V 1W2, Canada, map
Nourish serves vegetable forward food in a beautiful Victorian home, but don’t worry, they still have meat if you’re looking for it. Their bacon and chicken sausage were so good.
If you want to try multiple things, get the half and half Bennie and pancake, which was literally half a pancake and one bennie. I had a dirty golden sunrise and sourdough tartine (the sourdough was so good).
Also the host wore a Rozanov shirt which instantly made me love it here more.
Pendray Inn and Tea House
309 Belleville St., Victoria, BC V8V 1X2, Canada, map
Have a Victorian Tea Experience at Pendray Inn & Tea House. You can either do a traditional Afternoon Tea, which is what we did, or a Scottish High Tea.
I got the traditional afternoon tea with the earl of cream and Jacob got the west coast afternoon tea with genmaicha. I loved the scones and egg sandwich.
Hey Happy
560 Johnson St #122, Victoria, BC V8W 3C6, Canada, map
Hey Happy was a cute coffee shop that we stopped by for a quick pick-me-up. They also serve pastries. A lot of the tables had outlets so it seems like a good spot to catch up on some work too.
Since cortados were not on the menu, I opted for the cardamom pear tonic with espresso. It was really refreshing.
Bon Macaron Patisserie
1012 Broad St, Victoria, BC V8W 2A1, Canada, map
We’ve had our fair share of macarons in other big cities, but we fell in love with their savory macarons. If you like goat cheese, the goat cheese and fig is a must. But the watermelon is the most photogenic don’t you think?
Aura Waterfront Restaurant & Patio
680 Montreal St, Victoria, BC V8V 1Z8, Canada, map
Since we were staying at the Inn at Laurel Point, we had to check out the restaurant in the hotel. Hotel restaurants can be hit or miss, but Aura serves up beautifully plated dishes that taste just as good as they look. It was a nice fine dining experience.
A favorite of mine was the watermelon and sprout salad appetizer (pictured in the title image) and everyone at the table was so enamored with the cheese plate that we talked about it all week. In addition, you get a great view of the inner harbour.
Vista 18 Restaurant & Lounge
538 Yates St #101, Victoria, BC V8W 1K8, Canada, map
If you want to enjoy the city along with your food (get the oysters), have dinner at Vista 18. It’s a great place to see the city during sunset and they also host live jazz music.
Cold Comfort Ice Cream
2716 Rock Bay Ave, Victoria, BC V8T 4R9, Canada, map
They had unique ice cream flavors and ice cream sandwiches right in downtown Victoria.
Pure Lovin’ Chocolate
3 Fan Tan Alley #102, Victoria, BC V8W 3G9, Canada, map
Cute chocolate shop right outside of Fan Tan Alley that’s vegan, organic, fair-trade, and gluten-free. Also, they make all their chocolate on site for your viewing pleasure. Yum!
Category 12 Brewing
2200 Keating Cross Rd C, Saanichton, BC V8M 2A6, Canada, map
This was a unique brewery is run by a husband and wife team. Michael uses his science background, a doctorate in microbiology and biochemistry, to make amazing craft beer. Also, check out the art work on the bottles because they’ve won awards for their art. It’s nice to see that some of them are actually geared towards women.
Map to Help You Get Around
More Places to Check Out
- 10 Acres Bistro (Brasseries, $)
- 10 Acres Commons (Bars, Seafood, $)
- Bao (Asian Fusion, $)
- Bard & Banker (Pub, $) – Best pub food Victoria has to offer
- Be Love (Vegan, $)
- Bin 4 Burger Lounge (Burgers, $)
- Blue Fox Cafe (Breakfast & Brunch, $)
- Bows & Arrows Coffee Roasters (Coffee & Tea, $)
- Brasserie L’ecole (French, $)
- Bubby’s Kitchen (New Canadian, $)
- Butchart Gardens – the Dining Room (Canadian, $)
- Cafe Brio (Italian, $)
- Crust Bakery (Bakery, $)
- The Drake Eatery (Tapas, $)
- Dutch Bakery & Coffee Shop (Bakery, $)
- The Fairmont Empress Hotel (Tea Rooms, $) – Recommended on Eater Victoria
- Fol Epi (Coffee & Tea, Breakfast & Brunch, $)
- Ferris’ Oyster Bar (Seafood, $)
- Fiamo (Italian, $)
- Habit Coffee (Coffee & Tea, $)
- Il Covo Trattoria (Italian, $)
- Il Terrazzo (Italian, $)
- Ithaka Greek Restaurant (Greek, $) – family run authentic greek. they will do some traditional dancing. make reservations
- Jam Cafe (Breakfast & Brunch, $) – Almost everyone includes this on their list and I’m really curious about their pulled pork pancakes.
- John’s Place Restaurant (Burgers, $)
- The Mint (Asian Fusion, $)
- Nubo Japanese Tapas (Sushi Bars, Tapas, $)
- Pagliacci’s (Italian, Seafood, $)
- Part and Parcel (New Canadian, $)
- Perro Negro (Tapas, $)
- Pizzaria Prima Strada (Pizza, $)
- Red Fish Blue Fish (Seafood, $)
- The Ruby (Breakfast & Brunch, $)
- Silk Road Tea (Coffee & Tea, $)
- Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub (Gastropub, $)
- Yalla (Middle Eastern, $)
Essential Tips
- Do the Eat Drink Cycle tour with the Pedaler, and you can knock off many food spots. Don’t forget to save your appetite and pace yourself, because there is a lot of food.
- The airport is 30-45 minutes away from Victoria, and YYJ Shuttle provides easy transportation to and from the city.
- If you’re in Seattle or Port Angeles, you can ride a Ferry over to Victoria. Check out how we explored the whole area without a car on this post.
- Once you’re in the city, you can explore a lot of it on foot! It’s one of the most walkable cities in Canada and is the Cycling Capital of Canada.
Best Places to Stay
During our visit, we stayed at the Inn at Laurel Point. The beautiful property sits right on the harbor and is a short walk from downtown and fisherman’s wharf. We loved how convenient it was to walk everywhere.
Inn at Laurel Point
680 Montreal Street
Victoria, BC V8V 1Z8
Planning Checklist
- Get comprehensive insurance for your trip.
- Download these helpful language apps.
- Arrange a rental car for your trip.
- Get airport lounge access.
- Buy a travel charger to keep your devices charged.
- Get a new backpack for your trip.
- Pack the appropriate shoes for your trip.
- Don’t forget your in-flight essentials.
Which of these spots do you want to try? Anything else we need to add to the list?
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“Discovery consists not of seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes” – M. Proust
Esther + Jacob
Esther and Jacob are the founders of Local Adventurer, one of the top 5 travel blogs in the US. They believe that adventure can be found near and far and hope to inspire others to explore locally. They explore a new city in depth every year and currently base themselves in Las Vegas.
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Wow, it’s such a beautiful city with tasty foods! You had lovely photos. It would be great if they ‘re appeared in Instagram !
I was able to visit Victoria super briefly on a cruise stop a long time ago and it was absolutely beautiful. I wish I’d had more time to explore it, but everything we did there was wonderful.
It is such a beautiful city. I hope you have more time to explore next time.
Hanks shouldn’t be classified as barbecue. Scroll through their Twitter and look at what they do. https://twitter.com/hanksvic.
Thanks for letting us know! You might want to have them change their category on yelp as well: https://www.yelp.ca/biz/hanks-a-restaurant-victoria-3 :)
A few other faves, as a local: Julien Creperie in Sidney, Nubo Japanese Tapas, Origins Bakery for gluten free decadence and Part & Parcel in Quadra Village. We are spoiled here with so many incredible options!
Thanks for all the recommendations, Ann!
I am totally drooling. All that food looks FABULOUS! And I loved that you toured the farms where your food was sourced! Was that part of the initial trip offering or something you guys decided to do on your own?
It was part of the press trip! :) I was most excited to meet the pigs and goats. haha
Great list…but you need to add Discovery Coffee, Nourish, Parachute Ice Cream, and ReBar to name a few more! :)
Thanks, Jonathan. Guess we have a lot more eating to do! haha
I love Victoria! For a relatively small place, it has incredible food options. One of my favourite weekend escapes from Vancouver! Awesome round-up of restaurants and places to try.
Thanks so much, Danielle. What are some of your favorite places?
Great photos! Victoria is such a beautiful city…when it’s sunny :-)
Thank you, Mary! Luckily, we had sunny weather when we were there. :)