The Mango Lassie

There is an old saying that Victoria, B.C. is “more British than Britain.” When Empanada Boy and I arrived there for our honeymoon two weeks ago, we found that saying to be largely true, especially when it comes to food. While wild salmon, halibut and locally harvested mussels are all more prevalent than meat pies and bangers, many restaurants and tourists attractions serve formal high teas, complete with scones, cucumber sandwiches and clotted cream. Unfortunately, Victoria also retains the British tradition (which a good part of Britain has largely abandoned) of boring, sometimes bland, over-priced food. This is mostly due to its status as a tourist town, catering— as one blog put it— to “newlyweds and the nearly dead.” Don’t get me wrong, EB and I had a wonderful time in Victoria. We just didn’t find any great restaurants (until we decided to drive 45 minutes away to Sooke Harbour House and had one of the best— and most expensive— meals of our lives). After a night of middling fare and a day of splurging on afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel, we decided to go British, but low-brow, for our next meal. We asked our host at the bed and breakfast where to get the best fish and chips. He thought for a minute and said: “Well, there always Barb’s out on Fisherman’s Wharf.” It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, but we decided to give Barb’s Place a try.

Our long walk through Beacon Hill park, down to the water and around a good part of the Inner Harbor (“Harbour” in Canadian) eventually led us to Fisherman’s Wharf. While nowhere near as big as San Francisco’s tourist trap of the same name, this is a similar type of place. Small gift shops, ice cream parlors and junk food joints line the walkways. One main difference is that Victoria’s wharf is entirely floating in the water. As you can see from this picture, Barb’s is actually a house boat. You walk up to the window in the little house and place your order for one of the many, primarily seafood, options. Classic fish and chips comes with haddock, halibut or salmon. Feeling poor after high tea, EB stuck to haddock. I started by ordering a steamed half dungeness crab, but was soon informed that that steamer was broken. Instead, I opted for oysters. I probably should have just bitten the bullet and ordered them fried, but I decided to be healthier and try them grilled. Each came with one of four different seasonings: teriyaki sauce, Cajun seasoning, garlic butter and Thai sauce. We got a pager after ordering and sat down at one of the communal picnic tables under the neighboring tent to wait.

EB’s fish and chips turned out to be something of a mixed bag. The haddock itself was sweet, fresh and just firm enough to hold its shape, but soft enough to melt away when bitten. Unfortunately, the fried exterior was too heavy and limp. It came off in large, bready chunks instead of crisply breaking away. A light hand at the fryer is hard to come by, but it makes for the best fried fish. Luckily, the tartar sauce had a nice zing. The fries were decent, but nothing special. My oysters were fine, but not as good as I would have expected for a restaurant literally sitting in the water. The grill hadn’t done much for them; I might have preferred them raw. Of the various sauces, I liked the simplest ones— Cajun seasoning and garlic butter— the best. Teriyaki was goopy and interacted strangely with the oyster. Thai sauce seemed week and too sweet— more Canadian-Thai than Thai.

And thus our search for a truly good, affordable meal in Victoria continued unfulfilled. And so it would remain until our visit to the stunning waterside dining room at the Sooke Harbour House where the menu changes daily to adapt to locally available ingredients and when edible flowers are incorporated into a number of dishes. Barb’s Place was fun, but it didn’t stand up as being worthy of its institution status. Next time we come to Victoria, we’ll rent a place with a kitchen and cook our own delicious and affordable meals.

Barb’s Place Floating Seafood Restaurant
Fisherman’s Wharf, Erie St.
Victoria, B.C., Canada
250.384.6515