Just off Victoria’s Inner Harbour, a stone’s throw away from the Seattle ferry terminal, you will find an elegant little place that goes by the name of Niche. It has all the character of the newly renovated heritage home it lives in, but with a modern progressive feel. The room is cozy, with a beautiful dark wood finish and the candlelight is all the light you need. The room is divided by a fireplace, which really would have been the icing on the cake, had it been in use. Just past the hostess stand, you find a little bar and lounge area, perfect place to enjoy one of their innovative cocktails. (Try the James Bay: whiskey and figs, I had the lazy greyhound: rum and grapefruit, refreshing and delicious). There is also a dining room upstairs, though regrettably, I never made it up there for a viewing.
As I arrived, the server took my reservation and then proceeded to spend several minutes struggling with the computerized reservation system. I was unsure of what was going on, as she did not bother to fill me in on the proceedings. So, I awkwardly hung around until she finally made sense of the reservation and took me to my table. Once seated, I noticed how exquisitely this restaurant was furnished. The chandelier in the front hall is stunning, like tiny bubbles floating all the way up to the top of the ceiling. The white linen napkins looked just perfect, proudly sporting a silver ‘n’ monogram. Even the water glasses made me want to refurbish my kitchen accessories. The art is light and modern in contrast to the dark and rich room.
After receiving our pre-dinner cocktails, we did wait a while to get the rest of our order in. Our server seemed to have very little support on the floor and was therefore quite discombobulated throughout the whole evening. Although the room didn’t actually fill up until closer to the end of our dinner, our server seemed to be in a state of confusion from the get-go. We received an amuse-bouche and it was enough to make us forget this fact for the time being. It was duck wrapped in rice paper, pea shoots, and mustard sauce. Needless to say, our mouths were amused and we looked forward to what was to come.
Next came our appies; I had a tomato broth, with a spoonful of tuna on the side. The broth was spicy and yummy, with the tuna offering a nice palate cleansing. Also served with this was a delightful vanilla cracker, which finished the dish off beautifully. My guests had the salad and the sweetbreads, the latter being exceptionally tasty. The sweetbreads were nestled in perfectly cooked linguine, and cut into bit size pieces. The capers finished the dish off perfectly, cutting right through the richness of the mustard sauce and the sweetbreads themselves. After enjoying our appies, I couldn’t help but notice everyone around us tucking into bread. Am I ever glad I enquired about that one! The light and nutty bread is served with an eggplant and lentil dip, and it was simply scrumptious. We waited for what seemed a while once again and our main courses came. I had the veal, so tender, so delicate and perfectly drenched in blue cheese. It came with sun chokes and beets, although to my disappointment, no beet was to be found. Upon inquiring about this, the server responded that she might not get a chance to find out why the menu may have changed, not the answer I expected, but moving right along. My guests had the shellfish in a fennel tomato broth, 3 mussels, 2 clams and 1 oyster, all done to their complete satisfaction. They even spooned up the remainder of the broth then mopped up the rest with some bread, all signs of a perfectly executed dish. The wine pairings were somewhat disappointing although I do not feel I can talk about them, as the wines on the menu that were ordered were not the wines which appeared on our bill, so I can’t say for sure what we actually had.
Our dessert came and I had the cheese plate, a delicious Dutch cheese called Beemster served with candied walnuts and the most decadent fruit bread I have ever tasted. Big chunks of fig made this bread so heavenly paired with cheese, it’s ridiculous. The chocolate pate came with sea salt in the middle, innovative, but not to our personal tastes. Alongside the salted chocolate was a delicious fruit sorbet, although what flavour, we remain unsure. Niche is putting out a high quality product, a trend that Victoria is seeing more and more as we grow into the smallest big city that ever was.
- The Secret Diner
T: (250) 388-4255, 225 Quebec St.
