What to Eat & Drink in Victoria: Empress Afternoon Tea, Wild BC Salmon & Canada's 1st Brewpubs

Victoria's food scene is shaped by two things: a 150-year British love affair with Afternoon Tea and cosy pubs, and its location surrounded by cold Pacific waters and the year-round farms of the Saanich Peninsula and Cowichan Valley.

1. Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Empress (Plus 3 Cheaper Secret Tearooms!)

Since 1908, kings, queens and travellers have gathered beneath the stained-glass dome of the Lobby Lounge at the Fairmont Empress for Afternoon Tea (smart-casual dress, book ahead)—starting with fresh berries and cream, followed by a three-tier silver tray of coronation chicken, smoked salmon sandwiches and warm raisins scones with house-made clotted cream and strawberry-lavender jam, paired with signature Empress Blend Tea. Want a Less Expensive Afternoon Tea? Book at the Dining Room inside The Butchart Gardens, historic Pendray Inn & Tea House (an 1895 Queen Anne mansion right across the street from the Inner Harbour at 309 Belleville St!), or Abkhazi Garden Teahouse (created by a Georgian Prince and Princess inside a hidden 1-acre rhododendron garden in Fairfield!).

2. Five Essential Victoria Eats & Craft Breweries

1. Red Fish Blue Fish (On the Wharf Street Pier, May–Oct) & Barb's Fish & Chips: walk down to the green shipping container on the wooden pier at 1006 Wharf St for 100% Ocean Wise sustainable grilled albacore tuna or wild salmon 'Tacones' (fish-taco cones!), tempura Pacific cod fish-and-chips and creamy Pacific seafood chowder—or head to Barb's at Fisherman's Wharf!
2. Wild BC Sockeye Salmon, Dungeness Crab & Fanny Bay Oysters: for a memorable sit-down seafood or farm-to-table dinner, book at 10 Acres Bistro, Ferris' Upstairs Seafood & Oyster Bar, Finn's, Il Terrazzo (tucked inside a romantic brick courtyard off Waddington Alley!) or Marilena Cafe & Raw Bar.
3. Victoria Is the Birthplace of Canadian Craft Beer! In 1984, Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub (308 Catherine St—walk across the blue Johnson Street Bridge along the harbour path!) became the very first licensed craft brewpub in Canada! Pair it with a tasting flight at Phillips Brewing & Malting Co., Driftwood Brewery (makers of BC's #1 IPA, Fat Tug!), Whistle Buoy in Market Square, or harbour-front Canoe Brewpub.
4. Brunch Capital of Canada & The 'Victoria Shaft' Cocktail: Victoria has more brunch spots per capita than any city in Canada (try Jam Cafe, John's Place or Nourish Kitchen in James Bay)—and in any bar in town, order a 'Shaft', a Victoria-born iced espresso, vodka, Kahlúa and Baileys cocktail drunk in one fast sip through a straw!