I'm recently back from Victoria, British Columbia. I had one of the best meals I've had in AGES at Cafe Brio. You can see their website here: Cafe Brio

The food, wine, service, and atmosphere were excellent! The choices were subtle and sophisticated. Much of the food is organic, all fresh. The wine list was very good and I asked for local recommendations, which were terrific! I had Watercress Vichyssoise with shaved radish, crème fraiche followed by Asparagus frittata with carmelized onion. For dessert, I had Dark Chocolate and Pistachio Cake with fresh mint ice cream. Everything was clearly made there, including the ice cream which was bursting with fresh mint flavour.

As it happens, the restaurant was recently recommended in the New York Times as part of an article on visiting Victoria. I'm not surprised. It is definitely worth the trip!

In contrast, our meal at Sooke Harbour House, which had been described to us as a world class restaurant, was a HUGE disappointment. Here is their website: Sooke Harbour House

The menu is based on local ingredients, many of them grown or harvested at Sooke Harbour House and each dish reads (and the descriptions of each dish runs for 4-5 lines on the menu) like a list of exotic incredients. Unfortunately, it suffered greatly by comparison with Cafe Brio. Instead of being a subtle composition of light and joy, it seemed like it was a contest to see how many different tastes/items could be crammed into each course. As a result, the taste was not compelling but rather competitive and lacking.

The wine list is stunning. But when I asked for a local recommendation based on what we had ordered and our waiter (no wine steward here, despite a list of some 300 pages???) seemed to struggle with the request. Bear in mind this was a Saturday night, in season, so I'm supposing that they don't have a sommelier. When would he be employed if not then?? In the end though, two of the three of us thought the wine was lovely. I was one of the two and I thought it was delicious.

The view of Sooke Harbour was very nice, though misty and disappeared from sight shortly after we were seated.

It was service where Sooke Harbour House really fell down. It was disjointed and our principal waiter seemed a bit confused much of the time. Also, when clearing our places, they SCRAPED AND STACKED THE DISHES as they carried them away. YUCK. I don't like to see that in a diner, let alone a "world class restaurant." Perhaps it was an off night, still, I was beginning to appreciate why it was that we were able to make a relatively last minute reservation on a Saturday night!

Has anyone else eaten at these restaurants or others in Victoria or elsewhere on Vancouver Island? Do tell!

Thanks for the feedback!
We will be visiting the Island in about a week and will try a couple of places and report back.

red4life

Great, I look forward to reading your reviews!

capitolhill-

You wouldn't happen to be from around the Seattle area, would you?

Cheers!

No, I have friends I visit there from time to time. What a beautiful area it is!

Very sorry to hear of your dissapointing experience at Sooke Harbour House, Capitolhill!

I must say I was more than a little surprised to hear your comments on the food and service at SHH, as I have had COMPLETELY the opposite experience there on previous visits.

I have been a returning guest there for a good number of times over the years, and have consistently been impressed by not only the food, wines, service, and decor (amazing art gallery!), but also (importantly!) by the wonderful philosophy on which all of the above is based (you should read more about this philosophy on their website: Sooke Harbour House
I have rarely seen or heard of a restaurant (or hotel) where so much care and thought was given to all aspects of what is offered to guests.

I am particularly surprised because every person I have spoken with about Sooke Harbour House has generally felt the same way I do... You must have caught them at a bad time; perhaps it's worth a second opinion?

I do see your point about the menu sometimes seeming slightly 'overcomplete', but on the other hand: this does allow you to know and understand exactly what is being presented to you. Plus, any time something was unclear I always received a more than satisfactory explanation from the servers. More importantly, after having spent some time wondering the beautiful and intriguing gardens before dinner (did you take a tour?), I always felt it was especially interesting to discover exactly which of the many edible flowers or plants had ended up on my plate that evening.

The wine list is, as you say, stunning, but you do allow yourself some exaggeration about its length... FYI, and I have checked this before, almost all waiters have their sommeliers diploma, and I have certainly never been left wanting for good wine recommendations.

Generally, I have always felt that service at SHH was appropriate, knowledge, efficient and friendly (much unlike the stiff, unapproachable service you tend to get in 3 Michelin star restaurants in Europe!), unlike what you describe.
You also have to realize that unlike many of the other places in the area, SHH (while evolving and expanding) has been consistent in its quality and innovatiness for 25 (!) years, which is an accomplishment in itself.

I fully subscribe to your positive comments on Cafe Brio (while other good [more casual] places in Victoria are Zambri's, JJ Wonton Noodle House [wonderful Chinese food!]), etc., but I would say the 45 minute drive to Sooke is well worth the ride, as Sooke Harbour House, for me, is in a class of its own. Next time you go (which you SHOULD do!), go early, to tour the gardens in daylight, reserve for the first seating so you can see the view before it gets misty and dark, spend the night in one of the amazing guestrooms (all are amazing and unique, but my favourite is room 27: the Raven's Nest), and wake up to the extraordinary view of the Olympic Mountains which you missed on your first visit (while eating your gourmet breakfast in bed!).
Doesn't that sound good???!

Hmmm, I'm sure I responded to this post someplace. I wonder where...

I have responded personally to Capitolhill and I believe that we have come to a better understanding.

For the purposes of the Wine Spectator Forum, I wanted to clarify a few points about Sooke Harbour House. We are a hotel and restaurant located 45 minutes outside of Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Our restaurant is know for its tradition of regional, seasonal, primarily organic cuisine. Our kitchen uses many ingredients straight out of our ocean-side organic gardens. The menu changes daily predicated on what is brought to us by local fishermen, farmers, foragers and food producers.

Our current wine list is one of the best in Canada and specializes in selections from British Columbia and many of the top producers from around the world. There are over 2,500 selections contained within a 113 page wine list. We do have sommeliers in our dining room every evening although they usually double as waiters. If a guest requires information on wine that their waiter or waitress is unable to provide them with, one of our certified sommeliers would be happy to come to their table to assist.

Regarding the technical issue of table service addressed by Capitolhill, I would like to clarify the record.
I have witnessed plate clearing in some of the best restaurants in Europe over the last few years and they all follow similar procedures. If you refer to page 109 in the section on “The Clearing of Plates” in Professional Table Service, published by John Wiley and Sons, they explain that with regard to the stacking of plates, “in elegant service…plates are stacked on the second plate” and “no more than four plates are cleared at once.” This book goes on to explain that “food remnants can (then) be pushed to the lower plate”. Bus people or waiters should turn away from the table while food is transferred from one plate to another. The transfer of food from one plate to another and the stacking of plates is accepted procedure in the best restaurants.

At Sooke Harbour House we always try to offer the best possible service. We strive to follow the highest standards in our industry in order that our guests have a memorable experience while dining and staying with us at our hotel.

quote:

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Originally posted by Sinclair Philip:
I have responded personally to Capitolhill and I believe that we have come to a better understanding.

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Thank you Sinclair for taking the time to respond for everyone who has read this.

We'll be visiting in two weeks and meeting up with other forum members in Victoria. As a general question how casual is casual on the Island and is dinning at the bar a usual option? Stef and I, and the Roots are both packing as hikers; boots, jeans, ect. We're thinking we would like to go out Sunday night, but will have to find somewhere with either a relaxed dress code in the dinning room, or a bar with food service (which is usually our preferance).

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Santa Cruz Mountains Vintage Chart

Are you staying on the island? If not, Sooke is problematical for dining. The ferry stops running at an early hour.

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"One may dislike carrots, spinach, beetroot, or the skin on hot milk. But not wine. It is like hating the air that one breathes, since each is equally indispensable."

Marcel Ayme`

We'll be in Victoria three nights.

I'm paying up on a lost hockey bet to tyee. I can kick him in the shins if you'd like and claim it's for the hockey bet

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Santa Cruz Mountains Vintage Chart

Good on you Sinclair Philip...glad to hear you have addressed capitolhill's concern(s)...though it would be nice to hear back from capitolhill to confirm...

quote:

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I can kick him in the shins if you'd like and claim it's for the hockey bet

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tlily...when your looking down to execute the kick you'd better watch out for the 'Hockey Elbow'...


I offer sound advice.
That's 99% sound and 1% advice

I was just coming to post a note about the very pretty reply I received Sooke Harbour House regarding our disappointing meal there and find that everyone is here ahead of me. I'm not certain when my friends and I might be able to travel to Vancouver Island again and when we do, I look forward to accepting Mr. Sinclair's generous offer of another meal at Sooke Harbour House.

No thanks tlily. Just hold up a mirror to his less than handsome grill.

You may think you are actually on the Gallapagos Islands. He does sort of resemble a missing link. Of course that would be an unfair comparison to sub-humanoids.

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"One may dislike carrots, spinach, beetroot, or the skin on hot milk. But not wine. It is like hating the air that one breathes, since each is equally indispensable."

Marcel Ayme`

GA

If you refer to the fifth grade as, "your senior year"...
and...
When you consider a six-pack and a bug zapper quality entertainment...
You might just be a Red Neck.


Sorry to divert from your thread capitolhill.

I offer sound advice.
That's 99% sound and 1% advice

Oh that deversion was my fault, but it did bring a smile to my face this morning.

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Santa Cruz Mountains Vintage Chart

I really appreciate when some back water,island dwelling inbred refers to an urban professional such as myself as a Redneck.

Tyee, ugly and stupid is no way to go through life. I would suggest you just go ahead and connect that hose from the tailpipe of your pickup truck to the inside of the cab now. C'mon, I know you want to. If you change your mind in midstep, just look in the mirror. That would provide any sane individual with ample motivation.

I'm done here capitolhill. I don't want to totally hijack your thread. I can batter Tyee about the head and shoulders in more appropriate places. But then again, if you have seen that mug, how could anyone tell if it's been battered (again) or not.

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"One may dislike carrots, spinach, beetroot, or the skin on hot milk. But not wine. It is like hating the air that one breathes, since each is equally indispensable."

Marcel Ayme`