The Scoop!

Victoria Concierge Services

Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada

THE SCOOP!

I recently celebrated my birthday) at Canoe Brewpub Restaurant & Marina, at 450 Swift Street in Victoria, BC. (...no, you are not going to get the scoop on how old I am!)

Sean, the Assistant General Manager, greeted us when we arrived and whisked us to our table, reserved for the 6 of us.

We started our meal with 2 appetizers to share. We ordered the Mezze Platter with marinated olives, red pepper hummus, grilled vegetable ratatouille, chorizo sausage, minted feta, beetroot whip, house flatbread, lebane, extra virgin olive oil and zatar. And we couldn't resist the Melting Dungeness Crab Dip - herbed cream cheese, spinach and house garlic flatbread.

IT WAS TO DIE FOR!!!!! ...and the portions were generous.

You must read their philosophy on their web page.
Download a copy of their menu - it's EXCELLENT!

For drinks the guys had 6 pints of beer. We girls had Mojitos with Captain Morgan white rum, sugar, soda, fresh mint (yes, picked fresh from the garden - MINT), fresh lime, (picked from the tree in the garden out back, (just kidding for both,) a white wine spritzer and, for me "the birthday girl" who just turned 40 (again !!!!!), a Bellini. OK, I had 2 - but Sean bought the second drink for me for my birthday! Thanks, Sean!

Our Entrées:
8 oz Top Sirloin Steak & Jumbo Prawns, hand-cut kennebec fries, green peppercorn sauce, buttered seasonal vegetables. I should have asked what Kennebec Fries were??
Hmm... I need to research that word. See "Inside Scoop" at right!

Another entrée was the Pan Roasted Wild BC Salmon with baby potatoes, green bean and roasted tomato salad, lemon cream and snipped chives.

My daughter enjoyed the Coconut Poached Prawn Salad with green papaya, crisp iceberg, tomatoes, sweet chili-lime vinaigrette, fresh mint, cilantro and toasted peanuts. I had to have a taste of her salad - bad mistake. I didn't want to give it back!

Two entrée orders were ordered from the Dine Around Menu - 2008. Soup or salad is included in this special as well as dessert, so we had the Organic Mixed Greens Salad and a bowl of Potato and Leek Soup.

More entrees:
Steak and Mushroom Pot Pie with Yukon mashed potatoes. And the Chicken Linguini pesto cream sauce with oven roasted tomato, grilled Mediterranean vegetables. Also included was dessert so we had one Apple Tart Tatin and one Chocolate Brown Ale Cake with Raspberry Coulis.

Every plate was wonderfully presented and the taste was outstanding!

I don't know why everyone didn't have the same entrée - it would have been less writing for me, that's for sure.

What more can I say? The personal and friendly service was greatly appreciated - thanks to Sean, Assistant General Manager and our friendly waiter Mark who just happens to speak German. It truly was a birthday meal to talk about for years to come. And all a great price!

I will be referring my guests to the Canoe BrewPub Restaurant & Marina.

PS. Don't forget to check out the view outside and the chandelier inside. One more Bellini and I could have been swinging from it!

The next "Scoop" - the Rebar Restaurant for Lunch with Nicole Hutton, Sales Manager from the National Geographic Imax Theatre!

so... stay tuned!

birthday dinner party

the chandelier...