For the barflies in Victoria...

[Eqty]

We are going to be in Victoria on Monday 8/23 from 7:30 to midnight. With such limited time avaialable I was thinking about organizing a pub crawl for our group of 15. If anyone has been to some of the pubs in Victoria I would love to hear which ones were memorable. Did any of them have a specialty that you can recommend? Are the pubs close enough together that we could manage about a half hour in each one without walking all over British Columbia?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give. Since many ships stop here I'm also cross-posting this on the Alaska board.

-Bob

[scottbee]

We are going to be in Victoria on Monday 8/23 from 7:30 to midnight. With such limited time avaialable I was thinking about organizing a pub crawl for our group of 15. If anyone has been to some of the pubs in Victoria I would love to hear which ones were memorable. Did any of them have a specialty that you can recommend? Are the pubs close enough together that we could manage about a half hour in each one without walking all over British Columbia?

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can give. Since many ships stop here I'm also cross-posting this on the Alaska board.

 

Victoria is very much Canada's craft-brew capital; with a number of excellent local breweries and brew-pubs. The two "can't miss" brew-pubs are Spinnaker's and Swan's (see map below); plus there are numerous other great pubs in downtown Victoria; but with limited time, and a huge selection, those are the two I'd start with. Now; getting there;

From the cruise terminal, walk north on Dallas Rd to "Fisherman's Wharf" and grab a harbour ferry from there to Spinnaker's. From Spinny's to Swans; walk up to Esquimalt Rd, and grab the #6 bus into downtown (runs all the time, or even a taxi; it's about a mile). From downtown back to the cruise terminal, a #30 or #31 bus (along Douglas St), drops you right back in front of the cruise terminal

 

map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=100934763039761071004.0004665d7f3e28f06866d&ll=48.419062,-123.36462&spn=0.021789,0.066047&z=15

[Putterdude]

If you want to stay in the downtown area, which is quite compact, there are several in easy walking distance. They would include the Sticky Wicket in the Strathcona Hotel, the Irish Times, the Garricks Head and Darcy's.

 

http://www.strathconahotel.com/the_sticky_wicket_pub___restau.html

 

http://www.irishtimespub.ca/

 

http://www.bedfordregency.com/pub.htm

 

http://darcyspub.ca/

[cs4225]

I don't think the Bengal Lounge in the Empress Hotel could be considered a pub but we stopped there after our Butchard Garden Tour and had their signature drink the Bengal Tiger. Forgot what was in it but it was really good. Later before returning to our ship we had some local beers at Garrick's Head. We ate a plate of their chicken wings seasoned only with salt and pepper and it matched perfectly with our beers.

[MHF]

If you want to stay in the downtown area, which is quite compact, there are several in easy walking distance. They would include the Sticky Wicket in the Strathcona Hotel, the Irish Times, the Garricks Head and Darcy's.

 

http://www.strathconahotel.com/the_sticky_wicket_pub___restau.html

 

http://www.irishtimespub.ca/

 

http://www.bedfordregency.com/pub.htm

 

http://darcyspub.ca/

 

Putterdude, "you da man" ! DH will need a draft Guinness by the time we reach Victoria. We'll wave at you as we pull into Vancouver on the 12th.

Thanks!

Melissa

[porsena]

And I'd add a couple of downtown brewpubs: Canoe, and Swan's Hotel. They're both close to the water, the former with a nice outdoor dining patio (try the fish and chips). They're not too far apart. Swan's is the closest, maybe five to ten minutes' walk from the pubs above and fifteen scenic minutes by foot from where the terminal shuttle service drops you.

[scottbee]

And I'd add a couple of downtown brewpubs: Canoe, and Swan's Hotel. They're both close to the water, the former with a nice outdoor dining patio (try the fish and chips). They're not too far apart. Swan's is the closest, maybe five to ten minutes' walk from the pubs above and fifteen scenic minutes by foot from where the terminal shuttle service drops you.

 

While the other pubs listed are good pubs, Spinnaker's, Swan's and Canoe Club are BREW pubs making excellent on site beer. If you're only going to visit a couple of pubs, those would be my choice.

[bcscot]

Swans is the place (if 15 of you can get in). Spinnaker's & the Canoe are a little farther out & harder to find unless you take taxis. I don't think 15 of you will fit into a water taxi, :eek: even if they are still running. If you need anything more than Swans, you might be better sticking to the 'Garrick's Head' (in the Bastion Square area), the 'Irish Times' & the 'Bard & Banker' in Government St. & the 'Sticky Wicket' in Douglas St. The 'Bengal Room' at the Empress is also a great spot (good curry buffet). They are all in the downtown area.

 

Enjoy your visit.

[porsena]

It's too late for this season, but I'm bringing the thread back because today's paper says a new brew pub will open on Bay Street, in the Rock Bay area, on Oct. 1. It's called Moon Under Water and will be an English-style pub, initially with three in-house taps plus a fourth for another local product. This will bring the number of brew pubs in Victoria back to four.

[bcscot]

It's too late for this season, but I'm bringing the thread back because today's paper says a new brew pub will open on Bay Street, in the Rock Bay area, on Oct. 1. It's called Moon Under Water and will be an English-style pub, initially with three in-house taps plus a fourth for another local product. This will bring the number of brew pubs in Victoria back to four.

 

Thank you for this information. It sounds interesting & I will look forward to trying it out.