The new Marriott Hotel has been open a little over a year and has been busy fine-tuning its restaurant. Any hotel dining room has a balancing act to perform. The food and beverage department not only has to have a restaurant that will appeal to local diners but it also has to see to the wants and needs of its international guests by serving breakfast, lunch and room service in addition to dinner. This can put a strain on the kitchen's ability to focus on evening service. Fire & Water serves both the hotel guests and locals admirably.
A business associate and I decided to try out the $25 menu. We were seated comfortably at a good-sized table with plenty of legroom. The room is carpeted and is quiet which is good for conversation. The staff seemed eager to please and within seconds we had bread, water and our aperitifs order taken.
Both the appetizer course and the main course offer choices. We both decided on the Melted Goat Cheese starter rather than green salad made with local lettuces, golden raisins and champagne vinaigrette. Our plates arrived bearing a warm goat cheese spread spooned onto endive leaves. It was a study in zesty flavours with the slight bitterness of the endive lettuce, the bright acidity of the cheese and the tartness of the green apple gastrique salad dressing (a syrupy reduction of sugar and vinegar) combining nicely.
We also both chose the same for the main course going for the Pork Tenderloin over the Pan-fried Sooke Trout. The pork was among the finest I have eaten. Having been brined in a salt-water solution containing rosemary and cooked perfectly to just the far side of pink, it was meltingly tender. The slices of filet, fanned out across the plate, were moistened by a sweet Marsala wine demi glaze and accompanied by a hash of bacon, cubes of sweet yam, parsnip and turnip with coating of stone ground mustard. A small salad of pea shoots added freshness to the dish. Kudos to chef Andrew Dickinson for such a fine dish.
Dessert was a single choice—which was fine— since we both loved the double whammy custard of Crème Caramel with burnt vanilla Anglaise—a simple dish but well-executed and the ideal finale to the rich meal.
Throughout the meal we stuck with the VQA wine pairings and particularly enjoyed the Nk'Mip Cellars Pinot Noir from North America 's first aboriginal owned and operated winery in the southern Okanagan.
Fire & Water Fish and Chophouse is a welcome addition to Victoria 's dining scene.
Bon Appetit – The Secret Diner
728 Humboldt Street, Marriott Victoria Inner Harbour, Victoria, 250-480-3828
