Article courtesy: The Intrepid Diner
Victoria, according to Stats Canada, leads Canadian cities in its number of eateries, pubs & bars by population! Our number is currently 4.6 per 1,000 hungry residents. Next is Vancouver at 3.6 followed closely by Niagara Falls at 3.4. The national average is a distant 2.8. In round numbers and using estimated populations therefore, Victoria has 1840, Vancouver 9,360 and Niagara about 300 venues that serve food and drink.
Given that Intrepid has yet to enter a bar without food available, it’s no surprise that we have some 2000 options when we treat ourselves to lunch or an evening out with family or friends. VRMNC’s John Pierce, a.k.a. Pub Lunch Coordinator since 2018, has scoured the landscape in search of the best establishments for our members to meet and swap lies, as noted by more than one VRMNCer. Intrepid, at great personal effort on your behalf (and his own, of course), ferreted out two (actually many more) pubs of note.
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The Fernwood Inn
1302 Gladstone Avenue
The Fernwood has been a fixture in the Fernwood area since the early 1900s. It sits prominently at the corner of Fernwood and Gladstone, kitty corner to the 1890 church which eventually became our much beloved Belfry Theatre.
So, if finding the Fernwood is easy, what should you expect once you’re there? Think wonderful old building with a Tudor style exterior. Inside, several rooms with numerous nooks and crannies provide a semi-secluded feeling or a communal one, depending on your mood. A friendly house manager will find you a table of your choice or, if they’re busy, take your name and call you after a brief wait.
What else? What will you drink? (The Fernwood is a pub, after all). They feature an excellent selection of local craft brews, so ask your server for a wee taste of something that catches your fancy, if it’s on tap, or go for wine or a mixed drink from the well-stocked bar.
The Fernwood bills itself as a gastropub, and the food lives up to the lofty expectations that term may evoke: locally grown or caught, priced right and prepared by the pub’s Exec Chef. Note the ten-year history under the current ownership and team management. Everything from accounting to the restaurant to maintenance is under the care of a long term employee or part owner. Intrepid left his partner in the dust as he devoured the remarkably crispy yam fries and a falafel burger. Other options include several salads, burgers, fresh seafood-based appies and entrees and a mean poutine. Prices hover just under or over the $20 mark. Always check the website for specials, and remember they also offer brunch and takeaway menus.
Covid protocols are reassuring, spelled out on a full page of the website. Even at peak dinner time, Intrepid observed everything being cleaned repeatedly if someone even came close to touching it.
Things get busy on Fri / Sat. – note that they do take some reservations as well as group bookings.
If looking for a quiet drink for two, request table 14 or 16 – near the window in a quiet corner.
Try for parking just behind the Inn.
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The Loghouse
2323 Millstream Rd.
(Band on Friday evenings!)
This delightful pub, a Langford fixture for almost 30 years, was the Loghouse Pub until ten years ago when new ownership dubbed it the Axe and Barrel. Fast forward to current ownership who in 2015 rebranded it the Loghouse! Regardless of the name on the sign, this pub is every bit as atmospheric as the Fernwood Inn, deriving much of its appeal from being constructed completely of hewn logs, with numerous small and interconnected rooms to give you an “I’m alone” feel.
The current owners continue their efforts to elevate the food while maintaining affordability. Comparing the TripAdvisor rating of the Axe and Barrel to the current Loghouse, the latter is rated much higher in the ‘good, very good and excellent’ categories, with almost no negative comments. Things seem to be in good order, as fastidious Intrepid confirmed on a recent visit. You’ll find a wider choice of entrees than offered by most pubs (grilled halibut, New York steak, butter chicken, pork schnitzel) and Caesar, Mediterranean and prawn salads as well as several more sophisticated appetizers (crab cakes, calamari or garlic pork bites, anyone?). Almost everything except a steak dinner is well under $20. Beer and house wine are under $5 a pop from 3-5 weekly, and all bottled wine is half price after 8 pm Saturday. Don’t forget to check the website for daily menu specials!
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Intrepid Footnote ~ the most serious complaint made by guests of contemporary restaurants, pubs or bars is excessive background noise, especially indoors in seasons when outdoor dining would be madness. Furthermore, many eating out places actually augment ambient noise with piped-in music! Sometimes, an anguished plea to lower the volume of nearby speakers will bring a response, but Intrepid has spent many a meal shouting and straining to follow companions’ words of wisdom. To penetrate management’s deafness to our discomfort, all we can do is collectively communicate our displeasure with rising decibels in close quarters!
– The Intrepid Diner
