Victoria's Quadra Village is getting a spunky new bistro

There’s certainly a lot to look forward to this summer. From long walks in Victoria’s majestic, forested parks to lazy afternoons spent by a backyard barbecue, we can’t wait to see what the upcoming season has to offer.

Lately, we’ve got our eyes set on the opening of Emmaline’s—a stylish new bistro set to open its doors in Quadra Village. While the restaurant is still under construction, patrons can expect the 2,400-square-foot space to be fully up and running in just a couple of months.

Inspired by Dock Lunch, a previously beloved bistro situated in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood that fostered a tightly knit neighbourhood community, Emmaline’s main focus will be to bring that neighbourhood bistro energy back in Victoria.

Elizabeth Grace Bryan, previous owner of Dock Lunch who will now be overseeing Emmaline’s, told Scout Magazine that her new restaurant will serve neighbourhood bistro-style food “and a welcome that makes everyone feel like a regular.”

"I want Emmaline’s to be a space that begs you to settle in the moment you set foot in the door,” she explained. “This could mean pushing tables together outside and calling your friends and neighbours who work nearby, or curling up in a corner with a book on a winter afternoon. I’m throwing my weight behind table service in a counter service world.”

For food, guests can expect an eclectic menu of Italian, American and Brazilian influences with items like pickled shrimp, flatbreads, American-style layer cakes and, notably, a food item that changed Bryan’s view of pizza for life: New Jersey tomato pies. While the fixed menu will be small, Emmaline’s will have a larger feature and brunch menu that will constantly change according to “whim, demand and seasonal produce.” 

Drinks will follow a similar trend, with the wine list featuring South America, Portugal and local grapes that will constantly be changing according to demand.

Sufficed to say, we can’t wait to experience it all this summer.