Hidden Gems that you need to try in Victoria

Photo: Birdman (Instagram)

There are so many eateries hidden in the corners of Victoria you may not have known they existed. Whether hidden around a corner, inside a building, or on a backstreet, there are hidden gems all over Victoria, you just have to know where to look. Where are they hiding? Let’s find out…. 

PS: The first 3 were voted Best Hidden Gems in the 2022 Best Restaurant Awards, presented by Portofino Bakery. Check out the top 3 showcased in the best hidden gem category, sponsored by the Bay Centre, here.

1. Wind Cries Mary – Voted #1 Hidden Gem in the 2022 Best Restaurant Awards

Wind Cries Mary invites you to visit with a group to enjoy their “shareable” tastes of the West Coast as they serve in-season ingredients brought in from BC producers. Working with 14 local farms, distilleries, and roasters, this restaurant brings the tastes of the community through elevated cabin food for a rustic yet modern palette. Refined steak, seafood, and vegetarian options are passionately plated with beautiful tastes inside and out. Their cocktails are created for any palette ready for an artistic drink experience, such as their house cocktails including chamomile caprioska and pechuga bijou. Try their group menus including multiple courses to impress, and if you can’t choose pick the “Can’t Decide” option. 

Windcriesmary.ca@windcriesmary.ca45 Bastion Square

2. Fern Café – Voted #2 Hidden Gem in the 2022 Best Restaurant Awards

Fern Café is a 100% plant-based bakery cafe located on Park Street in Fernwood. Since 2018, the vegan owners, a married couple, wanted all items to be made in-house, from scratch, and with no animal products. Serving both as a bakery, featuring deep-fried doughnuts and their famous big bad cinnamon buns, and a café that offers dairy-free coffee drinks and vegan grub, this relaxed and vibrant eatery is a must try. Come explore Victoria’s vegan specialties today! 

ferncafeandbakery.ca@ferncafeandbakery1-1115 North Park St.

3. Bao – Voted #3 Hidden Gem in the 2022 Best Restaurant Awards

Bao is home to some of the tastiest bao and ramen in Victoria! Nestled in Chinatown, this hidden gem is ready to serve you Asian fusion, cocktails, and a hip atmosphere. They serve Asia fusions including Korean barbeque chicken and Bibimbap, Japanese curry, the Taiwanese classic bao, Vietnamese coffee, and their popular ramen. Cocktails, beer, cider, and vegan and vegetarian-friendly options are available. Their various choices of ramen keep guests coming back while their bao satisfies the soul as multiple for a meal or as an appetizer.  This bao is artistically plated as little warm, pillowy soft steamed flatbreads folded over your chosen toppings featuring flavours ready to work their magic. Including their desert bao featuring fried bananas and Nutella, this Bao will make you shout wow! 

Baovictoria.ca@bao_victoria_chinatown626 Fisgard St.

4. Nowhere *A Restaurant  

Nowhere *A Restaurant serves a multi-course tasting menu focusing on complex and composed presentations. Sibling to HANKS *A Restaurant, they’re ready to pair wines with their culinary creations complimented by their raved-about carefully curated sauces. This casual dining restaurant features a chef who carefully creates fine fusions that both taste and look creative. Memories and life experiences inspire the finely crafted dishes that customers are invited to ask the chef about. Bring a group to taste an array of rich-tasting dishes using locally sourced, fresh ingredients. 

Nowherearestaurant.com@nowherearestaurantG4 1001 Douglas St. 

5. Dosa Paragon

Dosa Paragon is Victoria’s first South Indian restaurant serving dosas, Idly, uttapam (or uthappam), and many more traditional favourites. The eatery, owned by a married couple, is inside the white St. Andrews Square building on Yates Street. The exotic flavours mixed with traditional cooking styles invite Victoria to try something new. They serve gluten-friendly and vegan-friendly options ready for a variety of customers to try a taste of home cooking from South India. 

Dosaparagon.ca@dosaparagon753 Yates St.

6. The Allenby

The Allenby Coffee bar is nestled between shops in Foul Bay, right off of Allenby street. This trendy local cafe serves coffee, sandwiches, salads, and baked goods anyone can enjoy! They serve options for gluten-free crowds, vegans, and meat lovers! Local is their language. They use organic Mile Zero Coffee beans and hormone and antibiotic-free meats from Victoria’s own, Berryman Farms. Some of their rotating favourites include the vegan croissants filled with treats popular with sandwich lovers. Baked goods for people with dietary restrictions are always around.  There’s a vegan chocolate cake and cupcakes, gluten-free muffins, and many more. Enjoy a drip coffee and one of their dessert bars while people watching inside the spacious private patio. 

@theallenby2865 Foul Bay Rd. 

7. Ayo Eat

Ayo Eat serves authentic Indonesian cuisine made by the proprietor, who is also the sole staff member, Bana. The spices and cooking techniques bring South East Asia to Victoria’s Market Square through specific spices and sauces. Served in takeaway paper containers, this eatery is take-out ready for you to enjoy anywhere in Victoria. Bana’s peanut sauce and sambar paired with rice and meats or tofu is ready to make a flavourful first impression on your tastebuds. 

@ayoeat.victoria560 Johnson St. 

8. Stage 

Stage is a french wine bar serving a creative, uncommon small plate menu with big tastes that change daily. Located in the heart of Fernwood, this vibrant, elegant and cozy atmosphere serves a curated wine list complimenting unforgettable dishes like chicken liver mousse and chanterelles with gnocchi. Their menu includes seasonal and locally sourced ingredients that challenge the traditional Western palette and perfectly pair with wine suggestions from the servers. Check out their family Sunday dinner where a group indulges in a 3-course meal that shifts weekly served family table style. If customers have any dietary restrictions they request a call in advance. 

stagewinebar.com@stage.fernwood1307 Gladstone Ave. 

9. Hide and Seek Coffee

Hide and Seek Coffee serves exceptional coffee, teas, and home-baked treats in this modern gem, hidden among other quaint establishments in Oak Bay Village. This cute and cozy atmosphere is made cheery and inviting by the friendly staff and independent owners who are known to accommodate their brews to the customer’s coffee palette! Reviewers rave about their brews and presentation that accompany their avocado toast and yummy bakes such as pop tarts, melt-in-your-mouth cookies, donuts, and muffins. You can’t miss their waffle Sundays inviting customers to choose from a classic waffle or a creative feature flavoured waffle such as citrus rose tea and rhubarb custard! Invite a friend or read a book out on their patio this summer! 

hideandseekcoffee.ca@hideandseekcoffee2207 Oak Bay Ave.1839 Fairfield Rd.

10. QV Cafe and Bakery

QV Cafe and Bakery has been selling everything from early morning coffee to late night cheesecakes out of an old car repair shop building since 1990. At the gate of Chinatown, its large garage doors open up to an expansive patio allowing customers to enjoy the sights and ambiance of Victoria while tasting the freshest comfort foods for affordable prices. They serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert from burgers, soups, and salads, to a wide variety of cookies, cakes, pie, and some of the most popular cheesecakes in town! Their massive slices include favourites like Nanaimo bar cheesecake and Mount Everest chocolate cake. Their unique cheesecake flavours include baklava, coca cola, and rootbeer. Enjoy a stop and sip of their organic coffee while watching the hustle and bustle of Chinatown. 

Qvcafe.ca@qv_cafe_and_bakery1701 Government St. 

BONUS!Birdman

Birdman serves towering fried chicken sandwiches for take-out and delivery. Birdman is a late-night pop-up inside Wind Cries Mary from 11pm to 1am every night, and as take-out every day starting at 4 pm, serving a small but compelling menu.  Favourites include their spotlight signature fried chicken sandwiches with sides including curly and waffle fries, mac n cheese, zesty slaw, and dirty fries, this burger joint swings at any fried chicken craving.

Birdmanvic.ca@birdman.vic45 Bastion Square