olo restaurant

nice presentation. not enough to eat!. well. my friend and i had heard so many good things about this place, we had to give it a try. we went this past new years eve.

he had beef steak. i had medallions of pork. both were presented nicely. the taste was about average. not bad, but not fantastic either. the portion's were very small. you would need to have a couple of cocktails and an appetizer before hand for this meal to satisfy your appetite, in my opinion ( and i'm a skinny guy, with a small appetite to begin with!).

price wise- for $13.95 a dish, our dinners were what you would expect. unfortunately, they were $25 each. oh, well.

the service was ... ok.

i went with great expectations. i will give this place a second chance sometime in the future.

a night out. its about time victoria got a restaurant with an attention to details approach that deserves the credit. i tried a variety of different dish's and was wowed and enthused with the smoked octopus. the mains were good and the presentation of the dishes were colourful and eye catching.

a splurge. we decided to splurge for our date night (which happens far too infrequently) and stopped in at ulla. luckily they were able to seat us even though we didn't have a reservation. the service was great, the drinks delicious and the food was quite tasty. a good experience but expensive. i wouldn't go often because of the price but for a special evening, i'd go back.

cold room, temperature & atmosphere. squash soup very bland. pork good. service good. noise level in room almost precluded conversation.

delicious. we had a truly lovely dinner here. the squash soup was wonderful and i had the short rib steak. it was quite unigue! a slow roasted meat served medium rare. terrific. my friend enjoyed her pork equally as much.
we had very good service and a very pleasant evening.
will be back for sure.
the menue is very limited but we did not have difficulty finding an appy, main course and dessert - plus a bottle of wine we enjoyed.
the only thing i would change is they served the bread cold!

as skeptical as i was about going on a food-related trip to whistler , i was even more skeptical about making a similar trip to vancouver island. i'd been to both places about fifteen years ago, but i figured that whistler had probably evolved more. the o

great food... but bring a blanket. hi. had a fabulous dinnner there last night. my only complaint is that the restaurant do something about the freeezing cold room. i looked around at times and most people (men and women) had their jacket on. i think that i was colder being inside then i was when i left and went to my car. put up some cozy drapes or turn on the heat.... not sure if i will return till summer.... because maybe then it will be warm enough to sit and enjoy my food.

wonderful atmosphere, service, and food. we have wanted to go to ulla since it was first discussed on urbanspoon. we finally went last friday, and it was great to find such a wonderful restaurant in victoria. although the restaurant was small, it was well worth the wait, and the ambience and the food were perfect. in general, it was a relaxing place, and it was a great place to go for a romantic friday night dinner.

ambiance: warm, nice special decorations (bookshelf on wall), and nice pictures.

service: the waitress was excellent, and very attentive. she explained every single ingridient carefully. the service was friendly, and we felt very comfortable there.

food: we had the octopus as an appetizer. it tastes wonderful, and well-cooked. we had lamb sirloin and ling cod, and the ingridients on the dish mixed well with the main dishes. these are all local, and organic products. for dessert, i had the chocolate cake, and it tastes very well, not too sweet, but didnt affect taste.

value: i think the price that i paid was well worth it. food, service, ambience were excellent. i cant wait to go to ulla again soon.

up there with the best of victoria. this small restaurant with it's understated decor is one of the best places i have eaten in a long time. service was attentive yet unobtrusive. the food was fabulous. beef tartar was delicately seasoned and tasty. lamb was tender and perfectly cooked, with a delicious accompaniment of gnocci. my partner in crime had balls of fried mushroom risotto as a starter, which was the dish of the night. her ling cod was also perfectly cooked, but less interesting than the other dishes. homemade icecream and cookies, and a decadent chocolate cake rounded out the evening nicely. we will definitely be back!

second tasting at ulla even better than first. i went back to ulla again the other night, as part of an event where we were hosting an out of town guest. i had the arancini and the lamb. the meal was stupendous and the service perfect. ulla is even better than i first thought. it did victoria proud. is it the best in town?


-----29 aug, 2010-----

refreshing fine food. i ate at ulla last night with my wife on a rare date night. we usually count on our reliable favourites--stage and the brasserie--but took a chance on a new place with great reviews on this site. and it was well worth it.
ulla is serving refreshing fine food with simple, well chosen ingredients. the menu is small, but presents plenty of intriguing options. the food is plated beautifully and every main accompanied by creative and enticing sides (e.g. short rib steak with cauliflower ravioli). we had the tomato soup with tasty cheesy toasties, beef tartar, the tender grilled octopus, and the ling cod. the latter two were especially delightful, with the ling cod, which can sometimes be served a touch understated for my taste, a crispy, light winner with perfectly balanced sides. we'll definitely be back.

my one quibble is with the lighting. lighting matters--especially for those of us with young kids out for a night alone--and i don't think ulla has yet mastered the atmosphere in a room that is slightly challenging on this front. they get beautiful natural light with the sunset pouring in huge warehouse style windows and the starry round fixtures overhead are lovely. but the overall effect somehow serves to diffuse attention around the room, rather than encouraging a more intimate focus on each table. i'm hoping that they'll dim the overhead lights and add candles (or the like) to each table. that way we'd get the sunset along with a lovely table-by-table vibe.

but this one is a winner. you can add ulla to the short list of best restaurants in town.

super!. had the cod which was perfectly done but not something i'd have again, because the other items on the menu are a lot more exciting. my dining partner had the lamb and it was a show stopper. the wings seemed like an unconventional addition to the menu but i liked them - big, juicy, packed with flavour.
both the servers were very attentive and helpful and cute.

i really appreciate when a restaurant takes care or completing every aspect of a diner's experience and can hold its own, and this is one of the few in victoria that achieves it. great ambiance, service and food, good spot for a date or a mid-sized group dinner.

not just a meal but an experience. wow, i went to ulla last night with one of my friends, and was very impressed. i ordered the peaches and cream corn soup, how can you go wrong with bacon, cream, corn and mushrooms, it was delicious!! my friend ordered the salad on special which she loved. i then had the short rib steak, which was so tender i cut it with a fork, accompanied by tortellini filled with cauliflower puree, which i thought was cheese, also a king oyster mushroom, again delicious. my friend ordered the lamb with pea puree and salsa verde with mint, i tried a bit and it was very good, none of the gamey taste lamb can have. we split a bottle of spanish wine which was excellent, they have a very good wine and drink list. we then finished off with the dessert, we order both, one was a flourless chocolate cake with cherries and chocolate mousse, delicious it melted in my mouth, also the strawberry rhubarb sous-vide, on a cake like vessel with strawberry puree and yogurt mousse (you'd swear was cheese cake). we ordered an amazing dessert wine which was perfect accompaniment. atmosphere is great, decor is awesome and so is the building itself, nothing pretentious, you could dress up or down. i would have to give it 5 out of 5. i can't wait to come back, the place is small so you may have to wait without a reservation but it's worth it, i haven't had a meal like this before.
erin

we were really looking forward to our visit to ulla, especially after reading the credentials of the owners/chefs. we were not disappointed. the meal was fabulous & the service was excellent. we will defineately be returning to ulla! 5 stars!

simply perfect. we had dinner there on sat night and we are still talking about it. the octopus was melt in your mouth. the rockfish was amazing. excellent wine and the chocolate cake is to die for. superior service. we will be going back again and again.

wish there was an option to select 'love this'. went this past weekend... fabulous!!