Restaurants

There are five restaurants / cafés within meters of the theatre.

Fernwood Inn
1302 Gladstone Avenue
250-412-2001
Walking time – < 1 minute

Stage
1307 Gladstone Avenue
250-388-4222
Walking time – < 1 minute

Lucy’s on the Square
1296 Gladstone Avenue
Walking time – < 1 minute

Cornerstone Cafe
1301 Gladstone Avenue
250-381-1884
Walking time – < 1 minute

Stir It Up
1284 Gladstone Avenue
250-813-1596
Walking time – < 1 minute

Little Piggy
D2-1284 Gladstone Avenue  
250-483-4171
Walking time – < 1 minute

Little Thai Place
1839 Cook Street
250-477-8900
Walking time – 10 minutes

Cook N’ Pan Polish Deli
1725 Cook Street
250-385-5509
Walking time – 10 minutes

We also recommend the following restaurants in the city:

Cafe Brio
944 Fort Street
250-383-0009
Driving time – 10 minutes

Blue Crab Bar & Grill
146 Kingston Street
250-480-1999
Driving time – 15 minutes

The Local Kitchen
1205 Wharf St
250-385-1999
Driving time – 15 minutes

Vic’s Steakhouse and Bar
345 Quebec St
250-480-6585
Driving time – 15 minutes

Please check with the individual restaurants regarding reservations.
———————


Funky Foodie Fernwood
By Treve Ring

This small community clustered around Fernwood Square is attracting well-priced, casual and creative cuisine.

Layered with history, architecture and creativity, and independent in the truest sense of the word, Fernwood is a community unlike any other in Victoria.  Bounded by the neighbourhoods of Jubilee, North Park, Fairfield, Downtown, Oaklands and Harris Green, this artistic enclave has attracted alternative realities for decades. A mix of hippies, neo-yuppies, ethnic backgrounds, students, young families, retirees, environmentalists and artisans call this place home, and even the streets follow their own rhythm.  Forget linear grids and right angles.  Instead embrace roundabouts, dead ends, community gardens and numerous parks.  You’re on funky Fernwood time.

The heart of the neighbourhood is a small square bordered by Vic High and the Belfry Theatre.  The arts-and the youth-are evident everywhere you look.  And the recent restaurant renaissance has responded with well-priced, casual, creatively driven cuisine.

Fernwood Inn had a huge part to do with kick-starting the food scene and attracting business to the area.  This large, successful pub/restaurant commands the corner of Gladstone and Fernwood.  Updated pub fare, burger platters, sharing plates and microbrews fill the menu, and tall-backed benches, large windows (and warm-weather patio) provide a welcome view over the adjacent square-notably for weekend brunch.  1302 Gladstone Ave.  250-412-2001.  www.fernwoodinn.com.

Across Gladstone is another pioneer in Fernwood’s food scene,  attracting attention from far, far outside the ‘hood’s boundary lines.  Stage Small Plates Wine Bar was voted one of the top 10 new restaurants in enRoute magazine’s 2008 ranking, and the buzz didn’t start-or stop- there.  In fact, Stage had foodies aflutter before it even opened, this being the second restaurant for well-known and respected chef George Szasz (formally of Paprika Bistro).  Exposed brick, wood and kitchen, this open room is centered around the large, repurposed maple bar.  Locally sourced small plates, cheeses, housemade charcuterie, wine flights and skilled bartenders enhance and complete the scene, keeping this nightly eatery among Victoria’s best.  1307 Gladstone Ave.  250-388-4222.  www.stagewinebar.com.

Next door one the Gladstone/Fernwood corner is, fittingly, Cornerstone Café.  This buzzy coffee shop is packed most hours of the day with people sharing long wooden benches or nestled into oversized windows sipping oversized lattes.  Owned and operated by the Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group (Fernwood NRG), all proceeds from the café are reinvested in the neighbourhood through the groups’ programs and services.  Free Wi-Fi, Discovery coffee and friendly service make it a hit among the locals-especially the Vic High crew.  1301 Gladstone Ave.  250-381-1884. 

Just down Gladstone (across the street from Stage) is the future site of Aubergine Specialty Foods, not yet opened when I visited in the fall.  The window signage promises specialty meats and cheeses, local produce, a coffee roastery and more.  Sounds promising-stay tuned!  1308 Gladstone Ave.

Crossing the main street Fernwood Avenue and entering the square leads to more Fernwood flavours.  Lucy’s in the Square, like Stage, is a local-centric, casually welcoming vision of a well-known Victoria chef.  Jeff Keenliside, recently of the Marina Restaurant, and wife Micki opened this market-café as an extension of their family dining room.  Oft-changing comfort-bistro fare makes up the concise menu and also proves a popular draw for weekend brunchers (especially on the square-side micro patio).  1296 Gladstone Ave.  778-430-LUCY.  www.lucysinthesquare.com

Just a few doors down is a tiny takeout window, the spot to grab authentic Caribbean soul food in Victoria.  Stir It Up dishes out a simple menu a Jamaican standards, with jerk chicken a popular standout.  The two patio tables fill up quickly, but most diners pick it up to go.  1-1284 Gladstone Ave.  250-813-1596.

And the newest addition to the square is an offshoot of Fort Street’s Little Piggy Catering.  Well, this Little Piggy went to Fernwood in early September, and the teeny café/grocery/caterer has been hopping ever since.  Through the little door and down some stairs, you enter a funky space with soup, dairy, frozen dinners, drinks, pastry, produce, bread and ready-to-eat foods.  The small menu is highly diverse, with daily specials featuring flavours from around the globe.  Heavy on local suppliers, low on pretense.  D2-1284 Gladstone Ave.  250-483-4171.  www.littlepiggyfernwood.com.

Our thanks to Treve Ring and Eat Magazine for giving us permission to repost this article.