Victoria’s 10 best chocolate chip cookies

The classic, the insurmountable, the elegant chocolate chip cookie. It’s the gold standard for any cookie lover, and yet it can taste wildly different depending on how much butter, sugar, salt, and chocolate you use. We tirelessly tasted more than 30 different cookies to come up with a list of our top 10 in Victoria. In coming up with this list, we used three criteria:

1. Use of standard ingredients.

2. Must be reliably available as part of the regular menu. AKA must be able to go to the counter and say “I’ll have your chocolate chip cookie please”

3. We only considered cafes and bakeries in our quest.

We encourage you to do a little tour and taste them for yourself!

Hot tip: take your time going around to the places on the list, order two cookies—one for now and one to freeze to save for later when you want to compare them against the others.

Best Overall: Pure Vanilla

No matter which way you swing it, Pure Vanilla’s chocolate chip is en pointe through and through. This cookie is perfectly baked with slightly crispy edges and super soft in the centre. What really makes this cookie stand out is the chocolate: it is smooth and decadent.

@purevanillabakerypurevanillabakery.comMon.-Fri. 7:30am-4pm, Sat. and Sun. 8:30am-3pm2590 Cadboro Bay Rd.

Best Semi-Sweet: Working Culture

When lined up in our blind tasting, Working Culture’s dark chocolate chunk cookie was decidedly less sweet compared to the others, giving it a nice contrast and making it easy to enjoy. It is also definitely a community favourite as it regularly sells out, so make sure to call ahead to reserve one so you’re not faced with disappointment!

@workingculturebreadworkingculturebread.comThu. and Fri. 8am-4pm, Sat. 9am-4pm, Sun. 9am-3pm2506 Douglas St.

Best Soft Baked: Oak Bay Marina

If you are more of a fan of the chocolate chip cookie dough than the actual cookie itself, this one’s for you. It has a nice density and is definitely soft, almost undercooked in the middle.

@marinaeaterymarinadocksideeatery.comMon.-Fri. 8am-4pm, Sat. and Sun. 8am-5pm1327 Beach Dr.

Best Take-and-Bake: Ruth & Dean

This cookie is downright delicious and can be ordered freshly baked, or from freezer section as a take-and-bake option. If you want to impress your friends with some gourmet goodies, go and order one for yourself as a snack and bring some home to offer up as a foolproof hit.

@ruthanddeanruthanddean.comMon.-Fri. 8am-4pm, Sat. and Sun. 8am-3pm2509 Estevan Ave.

Best Chewy Chip: Parsonage 

If your ideal chocolate chip cookie includes oats, you need this one from Fernwood Coffee’s cafe The Parsonage. All of our blind tasters enjoyed this oat-forward chewy delight.

@fernwoodcoffeefernwoodcoffee.comDaily 7am-6pm1105 Caledonia Ave.

Best of the Westshore: The Sugar Shack

If you are in the Westshore looking for cookie options, Metchosin has you covered. This cookie won top visual marks from our Insta family, and did not disappoint with taste and texture. 

@mychosensugarshackmychosensugarshack.comTue.-Sun. 9am-8pm, closed Mon.4492 Happy Valley Rd.

Best Value: Murchies

This cookie is basically the size of your face, and for less than $3 it’s worth the always-lengthy Murchie’s lineup. Enjoy it with a seasonal tea latte and all you have to decide is: to dunk, or not to dunk?

@murchiesteaMurchies.comDaily 9am-6pm1110 Government St.

Best of the Peninsula: The Roost

Do yourself a favour: next time you are near the airport, stop by this cafe and winery to indulge in the chunky chocolate cookie. It has a lot of texture and is big enough to easily share with a friend.

@theroostfarmroostfarmcentre.comDaily 7am-5pm9100 E Saanich Rd.

Best Shortbread-esque: Fox & Monocle

The newest cafe on this list offers up a great shortbread-like version of the chocolate chip. Although it is not marketed as a shortbread cookie, our blind tasters agreed that it had a more buttery and crumbly consistency than the others.  

@foxandmonocle.cafefoxandmonoclebakery.comThu.-Mon. 8am-9pm, closed Tue./Wed.2300 Canoe Cove Rd. #3

Best of Downtown: La Roux

This thin and decadent cookie is a small luxury you won’t want to pass up if you are looking for a sweet treat downtown. With both dark and milk chocolate with the cutest little chocolate dot on top, this cookie is worth savouring and rounds out the final spot in our top 10.

@larouxlarouxlarouxlaroux.caThu.-Mon. 9am-5pm, closed Tue./Wed.519 Fisgard St.

Make sure you tag us in your travels @tastingvictoria and let us know about your favourite chocolate chip cookie!

Written by Lauren Gaultier of @winethenfood