Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

How long I'll wait for food

Red Fish Blue Fish, the seafood place on the Inner Harbour, is getting a lot of praise, with warm mentions all over the place. As a result, most days, the lineups at its order window are constant, and usually longish.

Red Fish Blue Fish, the seafood place on the Inner Harbour, is getting a lot of praise, with warm mentions all over the place.

As a result, most days, the lineups at its order window are constant, and usually longish. The owners have tried to shorten the wait by hanging menus from stands along the line, the theory being that by the time you get to the order window, you'll have figured out what you want and order quickly.

On a couple of recent visits, I've timed my waits. It's been around 20-25 minutes in line, and about 10 minutes for the food to be prepared. This past Saturday, for example, I got in line at 4:35 p.m., ordered at 4:58, got my meal at 5:06, and finished eating at 5:30.

People seem to be OK with the waiting. Many of them appear to be on holiday, and aren't in a hurry.

The fish and chips are good, and worth the wait -- if you've got the time. (I've heard some grumbling about some of the other items on the menu - the tacones and coleslaw in particular. The coleslaw isn't to my taste; I've never tried the tacones because they don't look all that appealing and are pricey for what you get.)

- - -

Over at Willows Galley, the fish-and-chip place in Oak Bay near Willows Beach, you can face a long, long wait -- half-hour-plus -- if there's even a modest crowd. They appear to cook when they get an order, and don't seem to have much prepared in advance. It's another place where the food is worth the wait, if you have the time. Phoning ahead is an option, if you're that organized and they're willing to accept phone orders on that particular day. A few years ago, a customer caused a ruckus there, smashing up the place a bit, because he felt the service was too slow. It hit the news and we semi-frequenters of the Galley nodded knowingly.

- - -

The Mint in downtown Victoria is a touch notorious for slow, ignore-the-customers service when it gets busy. Again, it's a good food place. But when it gets busy, the staff gets disorganized. A couple of us were there one night after 11 and the place was packed. We were seated promptly, and then nothing for the next 25 minutes, despite efforts to catch the attention of the wait staff. I finally got up, approached a staff member, and asked for someone to take our order. And then we waited another five minutes.

- - -

I can recall only walking out once because of slow service. It was many years ago in Medicine Hat, Alta., at a fairly nice place. After ordering, there was no sign of food for more than half an hour, even though the place was virtually empty. There was an assurance that the food was coming soon, after I inquired. Then nothing. Much to the discomfort of the person I was with, I decided to leave. We ended up dining down the road at Burger King.

- - -

I just bumped into another local food blog: Eating Victoria

- - -

Signs of food

A bunch of us were at the Sooke Fling, featuring the Sooke Philharmonic, on Sunday. Enjoyable concert in a nice location - Ed Macgregor Park, where the community has built a really spiffy bandshell, big enough to accommodate an orchestra. (That's a pre-concert, pre-it's-getting-a-tad packed-here photo below.) They were doing OK at the concession stand, though many people hauled in coolers with picnic fixings.

- - -

Hernande'z, on the ground floor of the office building at 735 Yates, has one of the best sidewalk signs in town.

- - -

Nando's, the grilled chicken place at Pandora and Government, has a big sign up offering daily specials.

- - -

The Office, at 759 Yates, has a very detailed sidewalk sign.