canoe brewpub

everytime we go to thecanoei swear it gets worse. not only is the service horriab le i had to send back my food twice as it was ice cold . i left with out eating, waited over 45 min for food.... bottom line not going back.

terrible service. i have been tocanoebrewpub twice. the first time i found the service very slow. i was expecting faster service, especially with the amount of money they were charging for food. the food was sub par at best. the $16 dollar burger size was laughable. i mean come on, the one i received had more buns and vegetable than beef patty. the fries were not crispy at all, and the amount i received was less than what a fast food joint would give me.

but i like give restaurant the benefit of doubt. so i came back a second time with 2 other people. once again, i was disappointed. after we ordered our drinks, it took so long that i had to flag down another server to ask them where was our drinks. the food...was abysmal. 10 small pieces of dry bbq wings for $12 dollars? ouch!

at both times, no one came over to ask if wanted more drinks or if the food was okay. the place was not busy when we went there. at both times, i got fed up of waiting that i had to take my cheque to the front entrance to find someone to process my bill. sorry, but no third chance for a restaurant who charges high prices for mediocre food, poor and slow service.

the only good thing aboutcanoebrewpub was their good selection of micro brew beers.

canoe was our destination for dinner one early-evening during a recent stay in victoria.  we had missed getting there during our february stay, i had it high up on our to do list for this stay, and we were sure not disappointed -- wow, what a lovely spot, with good food and beverages to match!

the day was bright and sunny, the setting shined, and looked very welcoming upon arrival.  and luckily, we managed to catch a spot for the car in their small parking lot, when we got there about 5:20 pm, or it would have been back out trying to find parking on one of the nearby streets (note:  when you park in their lot, you see the hostess on duty at the time, to catch a parking permit to place on the car's dash).  the building, erected in 1894, has been designated as a heritage site on the inner harbour.  it's lovely inside and out, with all the red brick, wood finishings, and decorations.  

we chose a table inside, the weather was sunny, but it was a touch too cool and windy for us to sit outside in the patio areas.  once in and settled, our server was at our table with food and drink menus.  we ordered cold beverages, then sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed them and the surroundings for a while before ordering food.

drink:  mom ordered an ice water w/lemon, and daughter and i a flight of beer, their 'core brands' -- a lager, pale ale, ipa, and a dark ale.  the beers were cold, flavourful, and tasty -- much-enjoyed, and got our taste buds off to a great start.

food:  we ordered three of what they call 'smaller plates & sharing' -- w/descriptions from menu - the flash fried humboldt squid (w/shaved fennel, roasted shishito peppers, parsley), wings (w/chili-shallot glaze, burnt scallions, slaw), and the margherita flatbread (mozzarella cheese, cherry tomatoes, arugula, basil, olive oil, parmesan).  when the plates and board were brought to our table, there was a rather loud 'wow' from each of us! it all looked so good - the presentations so bright, colourful, and nicely-arranged.  then the tastings - we thought the preparations were as 'perfect' as they could possibly be - the food fresh, very distinctively spicy (but not overly), so flavourful, and tasty.  the squid and wings were almost unbelievably tender, and major taste treats.  this was our first taste of flatbread 'pizza', and it turned out to be such great dish to accompany the others.  there was nothing was left on the plates to go back to the kitchen, except a few small streaks of sauces, and the like!

we thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience at canoe.  it was such a pretty and welcoming spot, offering such well-prepared and presented food, drink, and fine, friendly service. canoewill definitely be near the top of my 'must return to' list when we get to victoria next.

great atmosphere. this is my first time back tocanoein over a year and it has really changed. the food portions seem to be a little smaller but much tastier. it seems the "new" style of food is really taking off. there was a table of young people beside us that were just raving about the new menu. my husband had the duck confit pizza and loved it. i will agree with some of the other reviews on here that this pub is a bit more expensive than it's competition but well worth the extra few bucks. great patio and beer as always. this is a summer must.

within walking distance to where we were staying wascanoebrew pub right by the water and they had a happy hour 7 days a week!

their happy hour menu was not huge by any means but there were enough items for us to choose from that we took a chance!

we went to thecanoebrewpub for lunch and we were both throughly impressed.
i had their quick lunch which was a chicken salad sandwich with cranberries and apples with side salad and potato soup. my boyfriend had thecanoeburger and fries. they were both delish.
the beer was also great! we tried to two specials (watermelon and white ipa) and the pale ale - both delicious!
our server was great also. very accommodating and friendly.

canoe is hit or miss for me. i typically enjoy the food here - they have a pickled fennel salad here as a side that i could eat up as a main dish - but the beer is sometimes excellent and sometimes it just misses the mark. despite the prejudice of some of the locals, when the beer atcanoeis on it is quite good — but i have found the quality to be inconsistent. sometimes their choices baffle me as well. they have two esb recipes, apparently. one is quite bitter and the other is well balanced, the key characteristic of a good esb in my opinion. but someone atcanoefavours the bitter recipe and i have to wonder why bother with the esb at all since they may as well put out another style of ipa instead?

i think it could be argued thatcanoeprobably has the best patios in town and it can be tough to get a spot in the summer. the interior is a matter of choice. some people love it, some detest it. i like the side part of the pub best, but it is seldom open.

so much potential.... i've been in victoria for years now and am still trying to willcanoebrewpub to read the reviews which all say the same thing and take initiative to take it from 70% (deserved) to it's easily attainable 95%.canoehas an awesome heritage building, an amazing patio, great location,cool décor, they brew their own beer and i appreciate what they are trying to do with the whole 'local' thing and the culture scene. this just make it all the more frustrating to endure the sustained attempts at a pretentious hipster food/drink menu, with accompanying pretentious prices. the food isn't bad but the quality/quantity/price ratio always leaves me frustrated. i almost exclusively get the burger as it's one of the few constantly delicious items and doesn't break the bank, though it's now up to almost $18. if you want to go hipster-trendy at least give me a mac&cheese item. i find their drink prices a little high too. i also think their 'daily special' prices could be a bit more 'special'. as noted by many others service is spotty as hell here. apathetic, self-entitled servers seem to be a bit of victoria special that many places struggle with, but wherecanoeis wholly responsible is the wait times for service, which are often unacceptable. i keep occasionally going here because i adore the building and setting, and keep hoping they would put in the work with the food and service to warrant me coming here all.the.time, because i really want to love this place, they just give me a reason to.

great ambience. food has never blown me away. and although i'm a huge fan of most local beers,canoebeer has never done it for me. sometimes go for their appy specials but the selection is weak and we have never liked it much. tried the white beam dip today. bland and boring. flatbread almost seems stale. dip doesn't even compare to a generic supermarket humous. seems like this would be too easy. another downtown restaurant making it on ambience and location more than quality of food. fun place to drink on a weekend at night if you can tolerate the limited beer selection.

nice patio, ok food, bad beer, way overpriced. been to thecanoebrewpub several times with friends. last round i ordered the overpriced cod and chips at $19. small pieces of fish and skimped on the fries. i'll give them that their in house ketchup was quite tasty.

i'm not a big guy and i left hungry. my poor wife had to deal with me starving and hangry just 3 hours later. the venue itself is great but i have nothing good to say about the food, portions, or beer. many many many better restaurants to eat at around time for 2/3 the price. gave them quite a few chances, won't be returning.

good pub food, don't go if you dislike loud open spaces. i have eaten atcanoe3 times and have not been disappointed yet. the food is well-prepared, fresh, and tasty. the menu isn't amazingly innovative but it has something for everyone and is good pub food. the restaurant building is neat, however if you are looking for a quiet/private/romantic night out i wouldn't recommend it, simply because it is an open-concept layout and the high ceilings mean the whole place can get noisy. i didn't mind it though. also, their patio is awesome!

good beer; poor service. disclaimer: this review does not reflect on the beer (which was pretty good), but the service (which was rather poor).

we waited at our table for 10 minutes and after no service from any server i made my way to the bar. at the bar i was once again ignored by a bartender who was much more interested in getting a woman's number than taking my order.

after finally getting the bartender's attention, i ordered the sangria which was on special that night. if you're going to advertise sangria specials, do your customers a favour and serve sangria. red mix with bar fruit and club soda does not constitute sangria.

at the end of the night i went to settle my tab and was handed the card terminal with the options "tap, insert, or swipe". when i went to "tap" my card i had both the terminal and my card yanked from my hand. let me be clear on something - if i wanted you to handle my credit card, i would have given it to you. i understand the "tap" option may not present me with the possibility to tip, yet you were so presumptuous i was going to tip you for your spectacularly poor service it warranted jerking my credit card out of my hand to make sure i did.

to the brewers: good job, the beer we had was great.

to the management: there are plenty of places to have good beer in this city. the poor service i received mean scanoeis no longer one of them.

the food seems very formal for such a laid back space and it feels a little incongruous (and the flavors are underwhelming). that being said,canoeis still a great watering hole. the house made beers are very good (try the beaver brown ale) and the cocktails expertly made. the patio is sublime in the summer months and you can often get a table without much of a wait.

horrible selection of food. the saturday after christmas i met some friends visiting from vancouver at thecanoebrewpub. i was envisioning the burger or steak would satisfy the lone male in our group of 4. also reflecting on the calamari i had returned for 2 or 3 times last summer, i was the one who talked them into it after hearing the menu was lacking. "no, it has changed" i muttered. it had changed alright, it had changed into an illegible list of over priced concoctions that would not appeal to any beer drinker. no simple burger, no steak and no calamari.
now i understand there is a lot of "seasonal" food in victoria but there was not one single thing on the menu that appealed to any of us. we are a bit picky but who isn't. we would have stayed and consumed many more beverages and believe me we wanted to stay, eat, drink and groove to the funky band "gemini" as we had a great seat but we were starving and the choices were not worth our time or our money. ferris's oyster bar won our money for many drinks and many plates that night.

best patio.. so even though it is winter, i think it's necessary to bask in the glory of the summer that is to come. thecanoeclub patio is the best in victoria. on top of he view, you get exquisite craft beers and real, local, healthy (relatively) food! i must have the calamari every time i get here, and the homemade ketchup needs to be bottled and sold! thumbs upcanoeclub.