Tasty Tapas
Maybe Victoria, BC isn’t the place you’d expect to find great tapas. Then again, our world is getting so small, and migration is essentially unlimited, you can find great food from around the world almost anywhere. We’ve had ethnic food all over the world and for my money, if you look hard enough, you can find excellent examples of that same ethnic food right in your back door.
One of the great treats of travel, in my mind, is finding great food. It’s no the purpose of the trip, but it tells you something about the people of the region. Whether it’s their authentic regional dishes like we has in Croatia, or their homeland dishes in their new found homeland, people are proud of their heritage.
At one of our Airbnb stays on Vancouver Island, our very kind host told us of a place in Victoria, run by a family member (I think it was a brother-in-law) that has great tapas. Simply enough, it’s called The Tapa Bar Restaurant. Not to be confused with the similarly decorated and right next door Bodega (also looked good), the tapas place is along a narrow walkable alley between Government Street and Broad Street.
The decor is really nice, a quiet setting with soothing background music. We both ordered drinks then pored over the menu. What drew us in, besides the recommendation, was the seafood ceviche. We ordered 3 tapas including papas bravas, chorizo fondue, and the ceviche. The papas bravas were fried potatoes with garlic aioli and chili tomato sauce, the chorizo fondue was served with tortilla chips, and the ceviche also came with tortilla chips. All 3 tapas were delicious and we split them between the 2 of us. The ceviche tasted really fresh with great splashes of citrus while the papas and fondue were both rich and hearty.
After the tapas we ordered a pasta plate to split. We ordered the Fettuccine con Salsa Rose with shrimp instead of chicken breast. It was so good! With portabella mushrooms, basil, a tomato cream sauce, and topped with goat cheese, it was the meal we had hoped it would be. It was the perfect ending to a busy day sightseeing in Victoria.
So for a great tapas meal in Victoria BC, you can’t go wrong with The Tapa Bar Restaurant.
