A Few of Our Favourite Breakfast Spots in Victoria

I’ll start of by saying that we have curtailed the amount we eat out at restaurants, particularly since Covid. We’ve sort of broken that habit and more recently, skyrocketing prices deter us more than ever. While we don’t mind paying for a good meal, what really galls us is when you lay out the big bucks and you walk away unsatisfied or disappointed in the quality of the meal served. This makes us question even more, do we really even want to go out for a meal?

LInda is an awesome cook and we can create a great meal at home for a fraction of the price of a restaurant meal. If we decide we want to treat ourselves, we make extra sure we go somewhere we trust or if we want to try something new we spend more time researching reviews on sites like Trip Advisor to increase the odds that we will be happy with what we’ve chosen. Gone are the days we’ll just walk into a place because it looks good.

Eggs Benedict at home

One of our favourite meals is breakfast or brunch. There is nothing like a good eggs benny or maybe huevos rancheros, something that that is a little more hassle to make at home. Plus, sometimes it is just nice to be served, and there is no clean up at the end!

Around our home in Victoria, there are a lot of great breakfast/brunch spots. We haven’t tried anywhere near all of them and probably don’t intend to but we though we would share a few that we have tried and like.

Many years ago when we lived much closer to the city center, John’s Place was our go to food joint. Every second Sunday morning we would make the trek down to John’s and line up just before opening to make sure we got in and got a place to sit. John’s Place has been a Victoria institution for almost 40 years, a place to go for some great food whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner. Many of the staff have been there since the beginning so it was kind of like Cheers the TV show, “A place where everyone knows your name.” Sadly, we haven’t been in long time as we have become curmudgeons and don’t like to make the long trek into town or the hassle trying to find parking in a  downtown where parking is becoming increasingly difficult to find. However, if you are in Victoria looking for a great place to eat in the downtown core, John’s Place is well worth a visit!

Deborah our regular and favourite server with Linda at John’s Place!

Linda ready to enjoy a Chorizo Benny on cornbread at John’s Place!

One day when we had to take one of our vehicles in for some mino servicing, we decided we would wait for it and kill some time by grabbing some breakfast somewhere we could easily walk to. The Ruby on Douglas was just a short walk away and had some great reviews on Trip Advisor. We weren’t disappointed! The Ruby is a very small but funky little restaurant located at the Hotel Z. They have some really tasty and unusual choices for breakfasts. We’ve been back and highly recommended!

The Ruby on Douglas

Enjoying Huevos Rancheros and Eggs Benedict at The Ruby

Not long ago, on trip back from a medical appointment we were both feeling a bit peckish and decided to stop for lunch on the way home. We had to come back through town so we decided to stop somewhere close by. I had done some research while Linda was at here appointment and found Spoon’s Diner. They are located in the Super 8 hotel on Douglas St so there is good parking available in the hotel lot making for easy access. They have a classic funky retro interior, decorated with lots of pop-culture artwork. The food is pure comfort food with a bit of a contemporary twist. The servers were friendly and super helpful discussing menu items, of which there are many! We loved it!

Spoon’s Diner’s Funky Decor

Linda enjoying her breakfast Quesadilla at Spoon’s Diner

Spoon’s take on Huevos Rancheros

Closer to home on the Saanich Peninsula our choices are a little more limited, but there are a few. We used to like the White Spot, which is a chain restaurant, but they used to serve a pretty decent benny pre-Covid. Plus, it was really close and opened early, so it worked for us. Post-Covid, like many businesses, I believe they are suffering from staffing problems.  The last time we went, the benny was subpar. We don’t like to dismiss a restaurant from one visit, and this was our second time being less than satisfied.  It really looked to us that they were  scrimping on the food, sort of ‘penny wise and pound foolish’. Not that we need or want a lot food as we get older, but our benny’s looked small and pathetic on the plate.  The eggs were small and the piece of ham was about the size of a toonie! Their endless ‘smashbrown’ potatoes are awesome, but oddly, they didn’t put many on the plate to begin with.  Later when they asked if would like a few more potatoes, they brought a giant plate full, way more than we needed, which seems wasteful when they could of just added a couple more to the plate to begin with.

But enough complaining, not far away in Sidney there are a few more choices. One we really like is The Five & Dime. A ‘Finer Diner’ they call themselves and it is a fun and quirky spot to visit. Its turquoise, 50’s diner look complete with chromed bar stools is really inviting, and they serve a great breakfast, which you can order all day!

The Five & Dime Diner

Awesome Benny’s at The Five & Dime Diner

Another favourite of ours, particularly in the summer when you can sit outside on their patio, is The Roost. The Roost is actually a winery, bistro and farm bakery all rolled into one. They are located just outside Sidney in rural North Saanich and offer up a great breakfast. Due to staffing, you won’t be waited on, but you will have to order your food and beverages as you come in. You seat yourself and they will call you when your meal is ready to be picked up. You can sit inside in their comfortable homey, country style restaurant or,  have I already mentioned, you can sit outside on their very pleasant patio.

The Roost Winery, Bistro and Farm Bakery

Benny’s on the patio at the The Roost

Of course, this is by no means a complete list of breakfast spots around Victoria and the Saanich Peninsula, just a few of the ones we have tried and liked well enough that we would definitely go back again.

Enjoy!!