john's place

john’s place is an institution in the victoria food scene. they have been open since 1984. john has done a great job at creating a homey feel to go with his comfort food. the atmosphere is eclectic and fun. there is lots of sports memorabilia and i loved the jukebox!. they have been featured on my favourite show, you gotta eat here.

absolutely delicious breakfast! had the catch 22 which is a waffle and an eggs benedict breakfast. i love a salty and sweet breakfast. their cream cheese syrup is awesome. plus it's a fun quirky place to go.

after all the hype (and feature on ygeh), we were looking forward to the highly regarded eggs benny, and to experience this so-called victoria institution.

for a monday morning at 10am, the place was packed, but we got a table fairly quickly. the menu was full of tempting options, but after all we had heard, eggs benedict was on order for our full group. our server asked for our patience as the kitchen was working at full speed to keep up with the orders.

the first disappointing moment was a drink order of chocolate milk; it looked grey, and was nothing but a squirt of chocolate sauce or the like.

then the food came out. well, almost. the first of the orders of eggs arrived, along with our side orders of bacon, but only 1/3 of the mains. personally, i like bacon to be a little on the softer side, but i'll usually take what i get; its bacon after all! regrettably, the strips that arrived were so overdone they crumbled into a greasy, salty mess as soon as you picked them up. never left a slice of bacon behind before today...that broke my heart.

when the rest of the meals arrived about 5 minutes later, we dug in with renewed excitement; the dish looks fabulous, and is dripping with hollandaise. as a benny lover, i was ready to dive in and forget my troubles and that bacon.

i have to say, the eggs were cooked well. good, soft, runny yolk, the kitchen has those down to a science. the home fries were a little over done, and maybe a little over seasoned, but still tasty.

the biggest let down turned out to be the hollandaise. unlike your usual light, creamy, citrusy glaze, this one was just heavy, more like a mayonnaise than what i was expecting. the hot sauce mixed in was an odd addition; not to my taste but i can see where they're heading with it. at the end of the day though, we all just got stuck on that hollandaise, and left with a heavy gut that lasted a number of hours after.

for all we heard, i'm afraid this just didn't live up to the hype for us. the atmosphere and staff redeem where the kitchen drops the ball, but if you're really craving a breakfast or brunch that will leave you licking your plate clean, maybe give this one a pass.

john's place is an absolute monument in victoria - and i had never been, even though i was born and raised here! coming back home after moving away i really appreciate how great a city victoria is and i revel in all of its wonder and am enjoying it much like a tourist would. so i'm on a mission to do all of the amazing things that victoria has to offer. so day one had to start with eggs benny at john's place. they have 10 different options and you can have them on the traditional english muffin, on a bagel or on corn bread. i had recently had eggs benny on cornbread at the sugarbowl in edmonton and it really elevates the taste - it's amazing. so i knew i would have mine on corn bread here - and it was even better! their corn bread is just delicious with a little bit of a kick and the hollandaise is probably the best i've ever had. my eggs were cooked perfectly and were just delicious. the side potatoes were probably the best i've had as well. and our server was so pleasant and efficient - she was a real joy! overall, an excellent breakfast and now i can say that i've eaten here cuz "you gotta eat here"!

came at 7 when they opened to avoid the queues but i think at this time of the year, there's less of a queue. i ordered the 222 headache - their belgian waffle as featured on the food network with maple syrup, two eggs and two strips of bacon for around $12. the waffle was crispy and light. the bacon was thick and well grilled. the scrambled eggs were overcooked which was disappointing. the place itself has character and the service had a homely touch but i thought my breakfast was pretty average. perhaps i ordered the wrong dish but i wasn't wow-ed.

sorry to say john's is getting inconsistent. at least at early breakfast. wait staff is always friendly but often long delays and food quality is inconsistent. portions are large but quality issues come up regularly. today the holandaise sauce was inedible.  eggs seemed flat, not fresh. seems to be some chaos with staff and organization. maybe leadership?

great, time & time again!. i've already written a review for john's place but thought i'd do an update. was here a few days ago with a couple girl friends of mine, one who was from out of town and she wanted to come here. we agreed. it was around 1pm and i ordered the perogies & ukranian sausage (10 potato cheddar perogies sautéed with bacon, onions and cajun spice. served with grilled ukrainian
sausage and sour cream on the side.). it was fantastic. i'm not sure if the perogies are made in restaurant (as they look like cheemo's, not homemade cause i've made a lot of homemade perogies) but it was tasty and with the sausage, bacon and spices, it was delish! my girl friends ordered a belgian waffle and eggs benny, they liked them a lot and they looked good. so overall, we were all happy! the service was great, but they did forget about my tea since it was packed in there. that's okay however because once she realized, she quickly made it up and apologized and was not rude about a thing. every time i go to john's place, i never have a service or food problem, so i don't quite understand why so many are saying it's bad service... hmm, oh well. all i can say is john's place is great and accommodating! love them!


-----11 oct, 2012-----

awesome before the tv show and after. i have been to john's place lots of times with friends, family and my boyfriend (who's fathers art it posted on the walls - jackwise) and i've loved everything every time i go in there. i must say, out of the probably 50 or so times i've been there, only a couple of those had sour moments with staff.... i guess we just all have bad days?? but other than that, great food, great price, great artwork and 99.9% of the time, super awesome friendly staff!

great breakfast. had the opportunity to eat here while visiting relatives in victoria. i had read the reviews both on urbanspoon and trip advisor. was pleasantly relieved that it was as good, if not better that what i had read. john's place definitely has an historical presence, and it's walls are full of photos of family and celebs that have visited the place over the years. the menu has a huge selection, something for everyone. the portions were quite generous and delicious. the staff, some of which own the restaurant were super friendly and quick. we wished we were staying another night, so we could eat here the next morning. what a fantastic place!

can't beat them for breakfast. we have eaten here numerous times for breakfast and the food is always good and consistent..this place is always busy and you are lucky to not have to wait for a table..so it's understandable that service does take a little longer but it's worth the wait..

john’s place has been serving breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past 30 years in victoria, bc. they make all their dishes from scratch. they were also featured on food network’s you gotta eat here . they are best known for the fair prices and huge portions. i was here for a work trip with a few coworkers and someone suggested we should have breakfast here. it’s located right in the heart of downtown victoria. they have tons of pictures covering all their walls, so you will have tons to look at. there are posters, pictures and celebrity messages on the walls. there’s a good amount of seats for small group and larger groups. caffe mocha  ($4.25) comes in a big mug and there is a lot of foam. hot jasmine tea ($1.95) came in a teapot and the servers do come by and refill the pot with hot water with no additional charge. the blackstone benny (1/2 order – $9.95) is topped with grilled tomatoes, bacon, soft poached egg and hollandaise sauce. i had it served with a side of fruit. the regular ordered seemed pretty big for breakfast. the butter hollandaise is quite rich and you can really taste the butter. the 222 headache ($10.95) with a belgian waffle, scrambled eggs, 2 chorizo patties. we also ordered a side of their cream cheese sauce, which is amazing on everything. overall, it’s a cool place to go to if love breakfast. we came here around 8:30am on a saturday, so we didn’t run into any lineups. we rate john’s place : address: 723 pandora ave victoria, bc website: http://johnsplace.ca/ more food reviews on foodology .

poor service, mediocre food. i went here with my boyfriend recently since our regular spots were way too packed. as soon as we stepped into the establishment we were ignored by the hostess. there were other people waiting that had already been put on the list, and the hostess saw us but she just kept ducking away and not greeting us or asking for our names to be added to the list. once we were seated i decided to still keep an open mind because they were sort of busy. halfway through our meal one of the servers asked us to move tables. we thought it was strange but obeyed because the table we were attached to was a detachable table from a larger table. we had been moved from a pretty decent table that we had to wait for to another table crammed against a wall right beside a family with small children. nearly ten minutes later, to our dismay, the table we were sitting at wasn't even given to a group of people, it was just another group of two. the food was mediocre as well, my benny that i ordered was warm at best. i will not be returning to john's and i'm disappointed that i wasted my time giving it a try.

aaaa-mazing. we've been planning on coming here for a while. very glad we finally did! best in vic, in my opinion. friendly staff and amazing food! if you have a chance to come to johns, you need to try the meatloaf!

nah. too packed. birthday singing was shrill and ingratiating. cornbread is good though. pies are nice, prices are alright. but not the best experience overall. been a few times. servers were nice though.

were we surprised to find this little gem in downtown victoria! john’s place seems to have been there forever (at least judging from the decor) and yet, i have never heard about this place. i must have been the only one though as the restaurant was packed. john’s place is a very nice breakfast place...i found the place to have a very warm and inviting atmosphere. the menu is extensive. you can literally create your own omelet out of 31 different fillings. there are also 10 different types of bennys and for those with a sweet tooth, 5 dishes with french toast, waffles or pancakes. there is everything for everyone.

dinner was good. we got poutine and the oriental salad portions were good prices were decent.
servers were attentive and friendly.

was overall good experience best servers we had in victoria so far.