Victoria
This friendly, diner-style hangout is lined with memorabilia (complete with obligatory jukebox), while its enormous menu is a cut above standard diner…
Must-see restaurants in Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Firechefs' French-Canadian/Japanese owners upgraded the menu of the old Captain Hardy restaurant to include ramen bowls, sushi and poutine. But, don’t…
Vancouver Island
A funky and highly colorful Mexican eatery near the waterfront, this fairy-lighted little spot makes everything from scratch and focuses on local…
Tofino
Encased in an attractive dark-red wooden house with an octagonal bay window, this understated bakery is lined with local art and has a little community…
Vancouver Island
A steadfastly local corner cafe with a few regal touches. The chairs owe a nod to the elegant ‘Louis Quinze’ epoch while the mantlepiece pays ceramic…
Vancouver Island
This surprisingly large, dark-painted resto-bar is a great dining option with a well-executed menu of seasonally changing dishes reaped from the nearby…
Victoria
Like a food truck that grew roots in a car park, this local-fave shack focuses on quickly rendered dishes inspired by Asian hawker stalls. Grab a perch…
Victoria
A delightful cream-walled tearoom combining traditional tea service (including a very reasonable $14 cream tea) with beautifully presented vegetarian…
Vancouver Island
Part of the sprawling Telegraph Cove Resort, Killer Whale Cafe is the cove's best eatery – the salmon, mussel and prawn linguine is recommended. Aim for a…
Vancouver Island
Possibly Duncan’s finest rehab project is this 1911 garage-turned-food-emporium with a bookstore to boot. Despite doing away with the car paraphernalia in…
Vancouver Island
More higgledy-piggledy cafe than candlelit bistro, this eating joint with its Himalayan prayer flags, woven baskets and laconic locals sitting around…
Vancouver Island
Fish-and-chips is not surprisingly the menu mainstay at this family-friendly (yes, there's a kids menu) waterfront joint but there are many additional…
Victoria
In the fight for best Victoria coffee bar, Union Pacific lays a valid claim from its perch in a handsome heritage building in Chinatown. It also serves…
Vancouver Island
Fortify yourself with an 'eggamajig' (a tangy egg-filled English muffin) before hitting the Galloping Goose Trail – it’ll carry you an extra few miles…
Vancouver Island
Granted, it’s not a bistro in the European sense, but that doesn’t stop Archipelagos being a welcome new addition to Port McNeill's limited dining scene…
Vancouver Island
A steamy-windowed fish-and-chips shop, this restaurant a short walk from Discover Pier is often busy, so consider an off-peak visit. Alongside the usual…
Vancouver Island
Despite the 1980s decor, this is Port McNeill's best restaurant, serving a comfort-food menu with a strong foundation of excellent BC seafood. The panko…
Tofino
Nose through the flora and follow the skull-and-cross-swords motifs toward this favored Tofitian (person from Tofino) pit stop. The smooth coffee comes in…
Victoria
With its British antecedents and proximity to the sea, Victoria knows how to fry up fine fish-and-chips and this Fisherman's Wharf institution, in…
Vancouver Island
One of Courtenay's favorite dining options has a pleasing modern bistro feel with a global menu that fuses Asian, Mexican and Mediterranean flourishes…
Vancouver Island
Hornby Island's only pub is also its most reliable place for a bite. It's open year-round, through only three nights a week in the off-season. The food's…
Vancouver Island
This rustic, locally beloved cafe located between Sooke and Jordan River is bristling with home-baked treats (pecan bars recommended), bulging sandwiches…
Tofino
Catching the après-surf crowd at the Beaches Shopping Centre, the Wildside looks like it grew out the surrounding trees. Not surprisingly, the wooden…
Tofino
Stepping up to the plate for dessert, this tiny store serves housemade ice cream and individually crafted chocolates to go, including amazing salted…
Vancouver Island
If you’re making a transportation connection in Port Alberni, pray you have time to dash across the road to this traditional bakery with a huge selection…
Victoria
Go here for a perfect marriage of coffee and doughnuts. The small Victoria chain (six branches) roasts its own beans and bakes its own doughnuts daily…
Vancouver Island
This popular little dockside cafe has plenty of outdoor picnic tables for you to relax at while digging into generous around-the-world 'snacks' like…
Victoria
A decorous little tearoom in one of Victoria’s oldest houses in front of the Huntingdon Manor hotel where you can get the full monty – ‘high tea’ – with…
Vancouver Island
With a menu founded on wraps, sandwiches and quesadillas, this cafe in a handsome yellow heritage building in the heart of town has a popular summertime…
Vancouver Island
For a respite from campground pasta, this laid-back, locally loved hangout serves food to satisfy a post–West Coast Trail appetite with BC craft beers to…
Vancouver Island
A cozy locals' favorite with a bonus patio and a good line in authentic curry dishes and pad Thai. The lunch combos ($11 to $13) are good value and…
Victoria
A beloved local fave with a monochrome-painted exterior (and riotously colorful tablecloths inside), this is the best place in town for vegetarians and…
Vancouver Island
A no-fuss snack shack where hot dogs and shrimp tacos make perfect bedfellows. The messier dogs (pulled pork, mac 'n' cheese, pizza) might require a knife…
Lotus Pond Vegetarian Restaurant
Victoria
This no-frills downtown spot was satisfying local vegetarians long before meat-free diets became fashionable. Superior to most Chinese eateries and with a…
Vancouver Island
The red-brick walls of Cumberland's original post and customs house contrast with a more flamboyant interior complete with moose's head, dollhouse and red…
Victoria
This loungey hangout is especially popular with bar staff winding down after their late-night shifts. But they don't just come to bitch about their non…
Vancouver Island
Currently Port McNeill’s only casual cafe, Tia’s is proudly old-school, the sort of place where you can order steak and eggs for breakfast and get…
Victoria
Downtown's funkiest little cafe is easy to miss, but it's worth the hunt. There's a Canadiana feel to the interior, hence the artwork moose head, but…
Vancouver Island
A popular coffee-stop hangout for the denizens of Sidney, this neighborhood cafe also does a brisk lunchtime trade in soups, chili and thick sandwiches…
Vancouver Island
The Shot is known for its ginormous sandwiches, freshly made as you wait. The Cuban roast beef, seafood supreme and Sicilian deluxe are all sound…
