john's place

omg. the hollandaise is like pure butter, which is amazing. the eggs were cooked perfectly and i loved the cornbread option. my husband had the nutella french toast and we both enjoyed the cream cheese maple syrup, which tasted like a layer of icing. mmmm. great atmosphere and service too!

not worth the drive . . .. i don't know what the big deal is about this place, they get a bit of tv time and all of a sudden it's a hit ??

went for breakfast on a tuesday morning, the place was not busy.
two breakfast orders cost $21
the eggs were not cooked properly, nothing was special at all . . any greasy spoon serves better food for less

the waitress was far from polite, we had no thank you or even a smile

we will not be back

over-rated. overpriced. over crowded. you can do better. why wait 45 min for something you can get anywhere in 5 mins

a simple review from vanfoody - overall: positive. i had the the 222 headache. i chose the belgian waffle w/ fresh strawberries and bananas and cream cheese syrup, scrambled eggs w/ cheese, and the italian chicken sausage

the bads:
-it's a small place, considering how busy it gets
-usually has at least a 15 minute wait
-can get pricey depending on what toppings you put on the waffle

the goods:
-great "cream cheese syrup"
-great breakfast
-decently priced
-good coffee
-high quality food

overall:
the best scrambled eggs w/ cheese i've had at a restaurant. the waffle was delicious. the italian chicken sausage patty was great, had the right amount of spices. the cream cheese syrup is a must!
i would definitely eat here again.

best benny. got to go have eggs benny here. everytime i am in vic i go back! love it, great homemade hollandaise sauce. huge portions and a fun laid back ambience. good people watching spot.

love it. i saw johns place on the food network and i thought i would give it a try!
we went when it wasn't to busy, so no wait to get a seat! when we got there, we were welcomed like we were family! they started a conversation with us right away to know us! they even entertained my 5 month old son!
i ordered there famous eggs benny with home fries! and when i received the meal; it was huge! the home fries were basically a whole potatoes cut in huge pieces and the eggs benny were cooked perfectly and the sauce-- sooooo yummy but very rich! i also ordered a lemonade, and they were right on top with refills! - they give you a straw and when you get a refill they get you to reuse the straw- pretty smart!!
anyhoo, we got dessert as well! and i got the 2$ cheesecake and this wasnt any small piece. for 2 dollars it was huge! very good but again very rich!
the price is very reasonable. i would recommend everyone to try it out!

found this place online and decided to give it a try, based on reviews. the line outside for breakfast was an immediate good sign. :) the cream cheese syrup for the belgian wafle was incredible and the baja burrito was excellent. we'll definitely eat here again on our next visit!

amazing breakfast. perfect service . and the the pictures of celebrities is great a perfect place to eat

cool atmosphere, good staff and yummy comfort food.

the most disgusting food i have ever eaten. good service but horrible food had their famous classic eggs benedict and let me tell you the eggs were very over cooked and the holandais sause was revolting!

how do you screw up breakfast?. i had the english breakfast which was clearly cooked by someone who never had an english breakfast before...or cooked one. the scrambled eggs had not been whipped enough as the end result was inconsistent: hard yellow chunks with white threads. the sausage was hard like gristle. the tomatoes were doused in cumin(?) (not appetizing at all). no fried bread, no black sausage, no bacon. while the potatoes were good, some were not cooked and were raw. overpriced, too. sad state of affairs. are food standards in victoria so low that this place passes for good?

an old fave, great most of the time. i've been going to john's place since the 80's and i love it for the decor and my own nostalgia. i recently went there with my kids for dinner and the service was excellent. the complementary herb bread was super yummy and i loved that they had organic wine on the menu. the food was so so, however, maybe it was just an off night? it was a friday night just before christmas but the restaurant was only 1/4 full, which really made me wonder. my daughter had fish and chips and the batter was not completely cooked so we asked for a replacement. the replacement fish was very fresh and delicious, and the restaurant comped her meal. my son said his burger was a little bland and i'd have to say my chicken souvlaki was also a little bland. i've had many great meals there so i'm sure we'll be back to give it another try.

we flip, we flop. we have been coming here to johns place for the 5+ years that we have been together. i have been coming here considerably longer than that.... since the 80's if i can remember that far back.

i like the chiang mai soup. always have. love the bread too. more places need to give you bread or something to nibble while you wait for you meal. john's place seems to be updating their menu more times than i've notice in the past. maybe that's a good thing, i guess we'll see.

now, it's not been all roses here. i can recall some pretty crummy nights where we had been forgotten about, or the food was terribly slow.... one of my least favourite things is when you get there and you wait and another table seats well after we have and they get their food first... yeah, that's happened too. so why do we keep going back?

well, it's like family here.... and sometimes i don't like my family as much... but ya still love them, right? the food is homey. the staff are usually very friendly and will stop and chat with ya,.... if it's not terribly busy. the atmosphere is like that of a teenagers bedroom. i don;t mean messy, i mean loaded... the walls are absolutely covered with photos, and posters and art and concert hangings and whatever else i missed. they show off their desserts as you walk in you can't help but notice the huge pies. and, they have a jukebox too! what a nice touch!

really, this place is a go-to for us. we like it. try the soup, if there is any left.

will we return? sure, next time i want to try a piece of that wonderful looking pie!

students' delight: good food, big portions, fun atmosphere, and cheap!. recently had the chance to eat here with some fellow young liberals for the liberal party of canada in bc's biennial convention this weekend. a couple uvic students recommended the place, so off we went!

there was a bit of a wait (what you'd expect for a busy place, voted #1 brunches in victoria, on a saturday morning), but the servers were all running their butts off and working very hard! the woman who served us was very warm and charming.

i ordered a massive three-egg omelette with cheese, green onions, and peppers. it came with arguably the best hashbrowns i've had (chopped potatoes deep fried to perfection), and two slices of multigrain toast. the total came to about $8 with hst, which is not bad at all!

the decor is delightfully tacky; definitely a funky place to eat :)

i usually judge the quality of a restaurant by by the variety of its clientele, and was pleased to see people of every age and walk of life sitting in the packed little brunch place. clearly lots of people can agree this place is top-notch!

i come to victoria a few times a year from nanaimo, and so the next time my family does victoria's tourist in your own hometown, i will be sure to make this one of our brunch stops!

great staff, blue fox killer?. a friend and i enjoyed our brunch here, the food was good and plentiful,...we both had the hevos rancheros.
*is it just me, or when you say "hevos rancheros" do you alway sing it to the elvis tune "viva las vegas"?!*
despite being there on a very busy weekend morning, the staff there was exemplary, efficient, warm, and funny,...really, good people made the difference here.
i wrote the owner an email later that day to give him the same feedback.

i consider this the dining antithesis of the blue fox,...similar food, way better experience.

cheers.