Reviews for stage. in Victoria, BC
Amazing food, cozy ambiance, best staff and a great view of the kitchen! Cheese, bread and olives were an amazing starter, even... lovelier, pairing it with their version of a white Negroni. For mains we almost go with the chef's feast, in the end we had thepoblanos, mushroom risotto ????????, and the pithivier. Didn't have room for dessert.. Really enjoyed every second atStage! Note: Getting a taxi in the end was an issue and after half an hour of waiting we just decided to walk back downtown. Read more
I’m rating Stage for its dining experience, not its wine bar experience, although I realize a large part of its clientele come... for the wines, which are excellent. Stage’s chef is creative and skilled, and I recommend trying out several dishes, whichare not small, but not quite meals. We had the zucchini plate, the eggplant, and the lamb belly. Each was unique and verytasty. The zucchini was the best: it was charred and served in a light tomato sauce with goat cheese and a bit of crumbledandouille sausage. The eggplant was also very good, perfectly cooked and served on a delightful, very green gremolata sauce(parsley, lemon, garlic) with pickled mushrooms (somewhat too strong) and breadcrumbs. The lamb belly was cooked sous vide andhad a sweetish white bean sauce with rhubarb. While we didn’t quite love the sauce, it worked well with the salty and fattylamb belly. Dessert of strawberries and cream was tasty, but we craved a finale as unusual as the dinner plates. Our server wasexcellent, although very busy. She knew all the details of the dishes and the wine list, and this proved important. Oneannoyance of the experience was that the food menu is so minimalist as to be a cipher. Ingredients and preparation for the sixor seven plates are not presented on the menu, so the server had to describe each dish in detail (she had them memorized, but wewere left trying to remember what each one had in it). This makes the dining experience more “personal,” I guess, but alsomore difficult. Wines by the glass are also not listed on the menu (nor are house cocktail ingredients), but they are verygood. Outdoor patio chairs are not particularly comfortable, although we liked the heat lamps. We recommend a lighted blackboardfor outside (not sure whether there is one inside) that lists ingredients and wines by the glass. Overall, this was a veryenjoyable, creative, and sophisticated dining experience that was also a bit quirky. Read more
Absolutely fantastic experience. Our server Jordy was the perfect guide; his wine recommendation was bang on, his insight on the... menu was so helpful, and his kind attentive demeanour really made our night. The food was out of this world, each dish full offlavour and with purpose. And the icing on the cake- a fantastic negroni. Don’t miss Stage. Read more
We visited Stage last night for our anniversary dinner. Not knowing the menu felt both exciting and scary, but we decided to go... for it because reviews were good and a friend of mind recommended. Our server was very knowledgeable and kind. He served me aglass of wine which I loved and all I said was I need something easy to drink, I trust you. We ordered 4 dishes(I won't botherexplaining because it always changes), all very delicious. It is difficult to define their style- Not really tapas and yet menusare meant to be shared...Dessert was vanilla custard and it was the best custard I ever tasted. Overall, I would say foods werevery rich; that being said, you may not want to bring a vegan friend there). Definitely will go back later to try again. Read more
Neighborhood bistro in part of town you need to cab to and from if you're based downtown. Like a lot of places like this, if... you're not a regular it might not feel very friendly at first, but we were seated at the bar and eventually won over the staff,so we ended up having a good time. Interesting menu, both for food and wine. Although we wanted to focus on local BC wines, wecouldn't resist a Dalmatian red. We split a few small plates, the artichokes and the financier dessert were our favorites. Icould see myself hanging out here if I were local. Read more
Sat at the bar with my daughter last night for a bite and a beverage. We were welcomed right in with no reservation. The... bartender knows his stuff and was efficient and pleasant. Watching drinks being made and asking about specialties makes for afun visit with the right bartender. Had the Mezcal cocktail which had a good balance. Followed up with the house rose vermouth.Not something I would normally have but very nice. We didn’t know what to get so we allowed ourselves to be guided into thegreat blue cheese with homemade bread (simple and delicious )and some pickles. We added some fries which in retrospect we shouldhave skipped as we really filled up. The cassoulet was brilliant. Duck confit that was intact but tender and fell apart with aspoon or fork into the white bean stew. The right amount of seasoning. We will be back! Great service and perfect for a lightevening out. Thanks! Read more
They are very busy. We were lucky to get a seat only because we went there at opening time. It was a comfortable space. We... expected to see a ceiling height wooden wine shelf stocked with wine. They had two kitchen metal shelves with wine. We asked forRioja sine we did not see it on the wine list. What they served was delicious – well chosen. We ordered bread, cheese,sardines, tomato, and pork with beans. Actually, that was too much food, and I had to finish the pork myself. The pork and beanswas super tender, slow cooked, just the right seasoning. The tomato was very aggressive, cooked with some hot Italian cold cut.The bread was awesome, THICK sliced and grilled. Perfect. Our table was required for the next seating, so we spent 1.5 hoursthere – very enjoyable dinner. Not sure if we would repeat this though, we kind of missed a decent charcuterie plate. Read more
Went here for a birthday dinner. We aren’t the easiest group of people to accommodate but the staff were absolutely just the... most amazing. They had in depth knowledge about the extensive and ever rotating wine list and were super helpful when pickingbottles. The food is arguably the best in Victoria. Atmosphere, service, food 10/10, slayed. Read more