canoe brewpub

very cool atmosphere with a laid back vibe. prices are a little high for a pub but thefoodwas excellent and it was served looking like it was a 5 star resturant. beer was good as was the service. i would happily come back!

what happened to this place? it used to be great, but now theirfoodis bad and overpriced. the patio is fantastic as always, but don't come here to eat.

thefoodis alright, the drinks are overpriced and the service is awful. the waitress had to come back three times before she finally remembered my friends drink order

canoe has a great patio, delicious beer & used to have good food. unfortunately my last experience with thefoodwas very disappointing. the latest menu is very limited & quite expensive.

everytime we go to the canoe i swear it gets worse. not only is the service horriab le i had to send back myfoodtwice 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 to canoe brewpub 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. thefoodwas 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 fastfoodjoint 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 thefoodwas 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 about canoe brewpub was their good selection of micro brew beers.

goodfood- sit outside for a beautiful sunset. staff was helpful when i asked all the "tourist" questions.

not worth it.... thefoodis alright, most of the time... nothing exceptional... the service sucks and if you want to plan a party they get all snooty and want you to sign a party agreement and you aren't allowed separate bills!

the location.... that is amazing in the summer on a hot sunny day... but there are so many other places in victoria that have greatfoodand great service!!

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 goodfoodand 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 withfoodand 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 - thefoodfresh, 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.  canoe will 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 to canoe in over a year and it has really changed. thefoodportions seem to be a little smaller but much tastier. it seems the "new" style offoodis 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.

thefoodis decent but i go here primarily for the patio and the view, sometimes for a pitcher with friends to enjoy a sunny day. it's a massive building with a restaurant, a pub section and easily one of my favourite patios in the city.

great harbour view and classy ambiance. tasty craft brewed beer (but no fruity beer option, not even in a bottle, despite it being a relatively fairweather day in april). foodwas quite inspired, with some unique culinary flair - great visual presentation of the salads, and soup had an abundance of fresh dill and other lovely herbs. but, i would have preferred more vegetarian options. i agree with opinions below that this place could go from a 70% to a 95% with a bit more variety in theirfoodand beverage options!

canoe is hit or miss for me. i typically enjoy thefoodhere - 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 at canoe is 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 at canoe favours 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 that canoe probably 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.

the location is amazing and the atmosphere is great. there's lots of space. unfortunately thefoodwas very mediocre, and the lager tasted more like an ipa. our server was not attentive and i felt like she was in a rush to get away from our table each time we asked for something.

so much potential.... i've been in victoria for years now and am still trying to will canoe brewpub 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%. canoe has 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. thefoodisn'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 where canoe is 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 thefoodand service to warrant me coming here all.the.time, because i really want to love this place, they just give me a reason to.