john's place

if you don't like it. i don't know what kind of food you like. whenever i come home i'm sure to hit upjohn'splace. i've tried many different menu items and have been amazed and delighted everytime.

for quality vs price, there's no better place to eat. i've been going tojohn'sfor over 15 years, and there is simply no more reliable a restaurant in town. not to mention, one where everything is from scratch with that kind of price point. everything they serve is made in house, and to order. i can't remember, out of the hundreds of meals i've had there, any time i've ever had to send anything back. the big test is where can i bring my grandparents to eat, that they will enjoy. they aren't picky, but they don't appreciate any lack of care. so naturally they loved john's, and always look forward to returning.
and the new menu is terrific. awesome that he put a wellington on there. very cool to see that kind of thing in a diner. he's known for his breakfasts, butjohn'sis hugely underrated for dinner. i always bug him to bring back his egyptian chicken.
much of his serve staff have been there for as long, or near as long, as he's been open, and they are fantastic professional servers.
this is a great diner and a mainstay, year in year out, of downtown victoria. once you eat there you understand why there's been a line up outsidejohn'splace for almost 30 years.

we visitedjohn'splace mid week and were able to walk right in and get a table quick. we were dining with our 1 year old, and he had fallen asleep in his stroller, but the staff were so great about accommodating and letting us keep his stroller at our table so he could continue napping. the restaurant has a really cool atmosphere and vibe. it feels very local and loved by the owner and staff who work there! the food was excellent! i had the catch 22, and loved my benny and waffle. it was debatably the best waffle i've ever had! i was a little skeptical of their cream cheese syrup so i asked for regular syrup too, and didn't end up touching it bc their in house special syrup was so good! my husband had the meatloaf breakfast, and everything on his plate was also amazing! very flavourful meatloaf! the staff were all very friendly, and food was quick and delicious! i would highly recommend this place!

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 atjohn'splace. 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"!

sorry to sayjohn'sis 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 forjohn'splace 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 tojohn'splace, 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 isjohn'splace is great and accommodating! love them!


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

awesome before the tv show and after. i have been tojohn'splace 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'splace 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!

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 tojohn'sand i'm disappointed that i wasted my time giving it a try.

good value - good food. thank goodness for the bluefox. now all the @#%*$ line up there it's slightly easier to get a breakfast table atjohn'splace. only slightly. always good food and good service. always busiest place in town but never disappoints. if you only visit victoria once you should pop in here.

first christmas in 30 years!. we're from washington and eat @john'splace every time we come to victoria! so excited they decided to be open for christmas dinner! even though we had a late reservation the generous serving of turkey with all the trimmings was hot and plentiful! and they actually had a choice of 3 holiday main courses: the turkey, roasted lamb shank, or veggitarian lasagna. they always offer a gluten free selection. we usually eat breakfast there (yummy eggs benedict) so a late in the day dinner was a new experience. the added bonus @john'sis his stellar service...deborah & hillary were so cheerful and attentive. a totally worthwhile holiday feast for only $16.95/person...including our chocolate sticky cake for dessert!

we lovejohn'splace! it's comfortable to bring the whole family here, the kids love it - the service is always fast and friendly..... and i can not get enough of the cream cheese maple syrup! yum

best eggs benny in victoria hands down.john'sis my hands-down favourite breakfast place in victoria. i've only ever had the classic eggs benny. that's probably all i ever will have as it's so delicious i have no desire to try anything else!

easter turkey dinner march 29 2013. my husband and i decided to find a restaurant for turkey dinner.john'splace came up on the web and we were excited to try it. great breakfast, always busy, sounded like a great idea.we received our dinner and all the brussel sprouts were raw. hardly cooked and we were unable to eat them. the potatoes were cold and very little gravy to cover it all. we sent back the sprouts and new ones came. the centers were cut out and they were still barely steamed, but they were hot. of course they came plain. no butter,no gravy, just steamed hard brussel sprouts. i couldn't believe it. even the pumpin pie you received with the dinner was inedible.the whipped cream was unsweetened so with the awful pie i walked out of there knowing i would never be back. even with the $10.00 voucher for the raw sprouts on my plate, i won't be back even for breakfast.

took my mum here for breakfast and we had a marvelous experience. we each ordered the waffle and were blown away by its fluffiness. the service was sweet and attentive and we were treated like family. thank youjohn'splace!

debra is terrific!. we went tojohn'splace the day after our wedding in december! debra served us and she was such a delight! we were tired after the wedding and she brought us back to life! great food too! so impressed i returned with my maid on honor a week later and again great food and service! much appreciated!

note: no i don't know (am friends with) anyone at the restaurant. i asked debra for her name for this review!