Crowning the Chateau Victoria Hotel, in the heart of downtown, Vista 18 shines in all regards. The panoramic view can easily distract you from the restaurant’s atmosphere, but when you are able to draw your focus back into the dining room the unhurried palette of warm, earthy tones calms your senses. The room echoes a chic, art deco boutique hotel and is jazzy in both sight and sound.
Our waiter is the youngest waiter we have had in a restaurant of this caliber and we are treated to the best service we’ve had in any restaurant in quite some time. The service is informative and almost too fast, but we don’t mind, as the food presentation is a definite work of art. While we sip our wine, we nibble on a starter of warm potato bread with artichoke and olive tapenade which has actually been hand made by our waiter!
We begin our meal with a cool salad of winter greens, with poached pear slices, toasted hazelnuts and Parmesan crisp which all result in an amusing texture. The salad is dressed with a Merridale cider vinaigrette which I find too subtle for the sharpness of some of the greens, but it a clean start to the meal.
I select the lemon basil marinated sablefish, and having never had this fish before, I am a bit reluctant, but am reassured by the waiter that I will not be disappointed. The fish is not fishy, but gentle and moist, served with braised kale that is nice and firm without being soggy. My meal is accompanied by roasted garlic and mascarpone risotto cake, which is tasty, but the flavours of both the garlic and the mascarpone are lost on me. My dining companion opts for the cherry marinated bison flat iron steak and the waiter states that it may be more gamey and tougher than expected. Quite the contrary - it is fabulous - cooked to a perfect medium rare, it is not tough or gamey, but tender and juicy with a softer texture than beef. Perfectly paired with the bison, the sour cherry jus is flavourful, but not overpowering.
Still sipping our wine, we are not quite ready for dessert, so our waiter brings us a complimentary cheese tray compiled of three local cheeses, white grape jelly, homemade rice crackers and candied hazelnuts. We finally order dessert and are presented with another work of art. Two orders of warm banana pound cake arrive looking like pineapples - individual pound cakes, topped with a scoop of coconut ice cream, adorned with a single gooseberry. These masterpieces are warm and sweet with a moist middle of banana heaven. Delicious!
Dining at Vista 18 offers a spectacular experience for all of your senses, so come and enjoy.
Happy Food – The Secret Diner
740 Burdett Avenue, Chateau Victoria Hotel, Victoria, (250) 382-9258
