Vancouver Island Restaurants
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Vancouver Island - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
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We’ve compiled the best of the best in Vancouver Island - browse our top choices for Restaurants during your stay.
This small restaurant in the woods has garnered all sorts of accolades since it first opened in 2014. Here chef Jesse McCleery, who spent a winter in the kitchen at Noma in Copenhagen, focuses on locally sourced food and unusual ingredients presented in the most imaginative ways. This takes farm- and ocean-to-table to a whole new level. The nightly format is now a seven-course prix-fixe tasting menu (advise staff of any allergies at time of booking) and reservations can book up months in advance. Enjoy the sunset through the trees from the deck of the rustic house—if it gets chilly, use one of the cozy blankets to wrap up. In the backyard, chef Melanie Witt has set up the low key Charmer Pizza which is open Thursday to Sunday evenings.
Fresh local ingredients and made-from-scratch fare keep regulars and visitors well fed at this family-run spot on Ganges' waterfront boardwalk. Here chef Shawn Walton takes it up a notch with, for example, duck confit with pear-and-Gorgonzola ravioli, or beef tenderloin with port demi-glace. The art-filled interior is welcoming, and on warm evenings the marina-view patio is positively romantic.
Piccolo Lyytikainen, the Finnish-born chef-owner of this tiny restaurant in a quaint village house, serves beautifully prepared and presented European cuisine. Creations include Scandinavian-influenced dishes such as BC venison with a juniper-and-lingonberry demi-glace and charbroiled fillet of beef with Gorgonzola sauce. For dessert, the chocolate terrine Finlandia and vodka-moistened lingonberry crepes are hard to resist. The 250-item wine list includes many hard-to-find vintages. The indoor tables are cozy and candlelit; the outdoor patio is a pleasant summer dining spot.
This food truck at the Sturdies Bay Ferry Terminal offers a unique combination of German and Indonesian takeout and all-day breakfast.
You can watch the ferry coming across the harbor from the sea-view windows of this Fulford Harbour eatery. Wholesome goodies run the gamut from slow-baked ribs to seafood curries to much-loved yam quesadillas. The made-from-scratch breakfasts are worth getting up early for, and the take-out counter offers provisions for your onward journey.
The Ganges location of this popular local organic coffee, which is sold all around Vancouver Island and Vancouver, is the flagship café and roastery where it all began in 1996. Stop by for an organic brew and tasty treat. A bag of their fair trade coffee also makes a thoughtful gift to bring home.
This is a great place to grab a bite while waiting for the ferry at Lyall Harbour. Menus are seasonal and offer local, organic ingredients, such as island-grown lamb burger and organic free-range chicken wings. Local craft beer, from Lighthouse Brewery in Victoria, is on tap. If you're not racing to catch the ferry, stay to take in the spectacular sunset from one of two oceanside patios.
Stop into this cheerful local favorite near the ferry terminal for freshly made pastries and sandwiches. The bread is highly praised, and you can often find roasted organic chicken or other cooked food for taking lunch to the beach.
Join the locals for homemade soups, sandwiches, and baked treats at this tiny Miner’s Bay spot; it’s open for breakfast and lunch daily.
You can refuel before catching the ferry at the Stand, a rustic take-out shack at the Otter Bay ferry terminal. The burgers—whether beef, salmon, halibut, or veggie—are enormous, messy, and delicious.
Gulf Island charm flourishes at this Ganges outdoor café, where handmade wooden booths are gathered under a spreading plum tree so you can sit and hear live music playing every summer night. Visitors and locals flock here for big wholesome breakfasts (think French toast with real maple syrup) and made-from-scratch burgers, wraps, and quesadillas. It's all yummy, but favorites include the lamb burger, the Thai green curry, and the butternut squash stew. On summer evenings, grab a table early as this is the place to be.
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