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10Best Regional
Fire & Water Fish and Chophouse
(Restaurants - Regional)
728 Humboldt St Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour, Victoria  V8W • 250-480-3828
Distance: ~233 m *
        Description: DOWNTOWN. Stylish and appealing, Fire & Water offers a fine Pacific Northwest meal in particularly comfortable surroundings. Although the specialty of the house is Prime Rib' à la Plaque (tender beef cured with brandy, pan-seared with a unique spice rub and served with cognac demi glace), seafood really shines here. Try the Digby scallops with wilted spinach and caramelized shallots, or a steaming bowl of cioppino brimming with crab, local fresh fish and veggies. The adjacent lounge, a great place to relax by the fireplace with a cocktail, serves more casual fare such as burgers topped with smoked bacon, aged cheddar and house made barbecue sauce, and fish and chips (salmon or halibut with hand cut smoked paprika fries).
       

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The Pacific Restaurant
(Restaurants - Regional)
463 Belleville St Hotel Grand Pacific, Victoria  V8V 1X3 • 250-380-4458
Distance: ~252 m *
        Description: 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.
       

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Temple
(Restaurants - Regional)
525 Fort St, Victoria  V8W • 250-383-2313
Distance: ~388 m *
        Description: 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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Impressions Restaurant
(Restaurants - Regional)
345 Quebec St Harbour Towers, Victoria  V8V 1W4 • 250-480-6585
Distance: ~0.531 km *
        Description: 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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Rosemeade
(Restaurants - Regional)
429 Lampson St English Inn & Resort, Victoria  V9A 5Y9 • 250-412-7673
Distance: ~2.970 km *
        Description: 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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Fireside Grill
(Restaurants - Regional)
4509 W Saanich Rd, Victoria  V8Z 3G1 • 250-479-1222
Distance: ~7.462 km *
        Description: 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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Copper Rock Grill
(Restaurants - Regional)
2020 Country Club Wy Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort, Langford  V9B 6R3 • 250-391-7170
Distance: ~12.649 km *
        Description: 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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Seagrille
(Restaurants - Regional)
849 Verdier Ave Brentwood Bay Lodge and Spa, Victoria  V8M 1C5 • 250-544-5100
Distance: ~18.796 km *
        Description: 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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Riverwalk Café
(Restaurants - Regional)
200 Cowichan Wy Quw'utsun' Cultural and Conference Centre, Duncan  V9L 6P4 • 250-746-8119 • 877-746-8119
Distance: ~46.603 km *
        Description: 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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* All distances are approximate "straight-line" distances.
  See Directions for actual "travel distances."