Review Vista 18 - Victoria

The Vista 18 Restuarant and Lounge is located atop the Chateau Victoria Hotel. Got there just as the sun had set, and I can verify the view of the sunset to the west was amazing. We ordered Chicken and Prawns, and also 10oz strip loin.... the entire meal was very spot on. I had to make sure the waiter, whom was also bery delightful and tentative , to let the Chef know we acknowledged his expertise. 75$ each for a couple drinks and our meal including appetizers. I Definitely recommend this very clean and looked after gem.

This place is perfect for date night. The atmosphere is amazing. The services are great. Kevin was very friendly and attentive. The food was good but most dishes are a bit too salty for me. There are many options on the drink menu. They also have a kids menu with a few options. The view of the sunset was remarkable.

I had an exceptional experience ordering breakfast from the restaurant attached to the hotel. The bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast were not only delicious but also reasonably priced. Despite a mishap with my order, the staff promptly called my room and resolved the issue with utmost efficiency. The outstanding customer service exceeded my expectations, and I would gladly give it a 5-star rating. The food quality paired with exceptional service makes this place a must-visit.

The food is just so fantastic!! You can feel every piece melting in your mouth. The entrees are so good that makes you feel is the main course. Absolutely lovely. I can’t wait to visit again.

We had a wonderful dining experience here with great food and service and a fantastic view of the city. We had the fresh Oysters and Humboldt Squid as appetizers. Then the Sesame Tuna and Pork Tenderloin for our main course. Cheesecake and Three Truffles for dessert.

World class food, some of the best! Dinner server Michael left an impression nobody can ever live up to, what a service, such a caring gentlemen, treating diners like royalty. If not just for food, I’d come back just to be served by Michael again. Salmon and squid for dinner with a guava passion fruit juice was a very memorable combo, I’d have it again. Breakfast is great too, but service is just normal. Potato Green Apple soup with olive oil was the bomb for breakfast! The Artichoke Spinnach benny on their biscuit was really good, I packed one home too and it stays fresh and soft for long time. Wow wow wow! Great vegetarian and pescatarian options!

Vista 18 is an excellent choice for both dinner and lunch, offering an experience that goes beyond just dining. The views from this place are simply AMAZING, adding a spectacular backdrop to any meal. Whether you're here during the day or in the evening, the scenery is sure to enhance your experience. The food at Vista 18 is very good, striking the right balance in terms of flavor and presentation. While it may not be over the top, it is consistently enjoyable and satisfying. Additionally, their selection of drinks complements the menu well, offering a variety of choices to suit different preferences. I've had the opportunity to host a client appreciation event at Vista 18, renting out half of the top floor, and it was a fabulous experience. The venue lent itself perfectly to the occasion, with the staff providing excellent service and ensuring everything ran smoothly. The ambiance, coupled with the attentive service, made for a successful and memorable event. Vista 18 is not just a great place to dine; it's also an exceptional venue to host events. Whether you're planning a special dinner, a business event, or just looking for a place with great food and views, Vista 18 is highly recommended.

On November 5th 2023 my wife and I attended here for our Anniversary. I have never felt so at home and taken care of in a very long time. The food was of excellent quality an taste. Our host Tania we thank you so very much you are a princess!!. Drew our server you are a very wonderful man and excellent at what you do. Your knowledge and suggestions were spot on. To Alex we can’t thank you enough for the very special evening, and Carla you simply Rock!!. If anyone is thinking about going here do not hesitate it is 100% a class act. Al&Jen

A wonderful treat with a very satisfying Dine Around menu! Kevin was a very attentive, friendly and professional waiter who clearly takes pride in his work. The food was fresh, delicious and well presented. Always a pleasure dining here and we'll definitely be back!

Food is pretty good! We ordered the Smoked pork belly hash and Chicken and waffles. I asked for soft poached eggs but they were a lil bit overcooked but I didn't mind. This price is decently priced and also has a beautiful view of Victoria. The service was good too, I really liked our server, I think her name was Sherry? Everyone was very nice. Kid friendly restaurant too, a lot of families came to this spot.

This place always amazes me , never had a bad meal here! They do have a happy hour till 6 (if I remember correctly), food is delicious and service is great. Highly recommend. Free parking if you go into the desk.

I’ve been here twice now and absolutely loved it! I can’t remember the name of the person who made our drinks but the rhubarb 75 cocktail is incredible and one of the best I’ve ever had. The servers are great and just an overall wonderful place to have a cocktail or some delicious food. Can’t beat the view either!

A convenient downtown Victoria location, with a fantastic 270 degree wrap around view of the inner harbour. The food was excellent and the service staff were professional and very friendly. Made for a memorable dinner with friends.

We went in for me and my friends 18th birthday. Amelia was fun, helpful and very knowledgeable about the menu. She did a great job creating a laid back lovely experience. Food was fantastic, views absolutely worth it. Will be back the next time we are in the province!

Came here for HH, excellent service. Once we walked in the host immediately greeted us and sat us down at a table by the corner. I have been here many years ago and always enjoyed the vibe and views here. Still pretty happy with Vista 18. Their food was yummy and the drinks were unique. Overall great spot for HH and a pretty reasonable price!

I went for a brunch here on weekend. The view and ambience was great and we had good service too. The ice-cream here is a must try. The breakfast platters are huge too and very budget friendly. Will definitely visit again soon🥰

What a view! Too bad their “tapas” sucked. I had the curried crab wontons which left me wondering if I ate them or rubbed them on my face! Very greasy and only flavour was curry. My companion had the chicken dinner tater tots which she reported to be also greasy and bland in flavour. They advertise 2 for 1 at happy hour but the base price is still steep for what you get. Come for a drink and the view then go eat someplace else!

The restaurant is located at the top of a hotel so for me at least, i wouldn't have thought to go there to eat since you can't see the restaurant on ground level. The food was okay (nice presentation and didn't taste too bad) but a bit on the pricey side of course . I think the view is the most attractive feature about the restaurant.

First time here, my husband and I were expecting pretty big things! Very cool view in general, however our seat gave us a view of a wall and Blanshard street. We did make reservations a few days before, but still could not be accommodated when requesting a harbour view. The staff were all very friendly, and we appreciated that when it came to sending back our first entree (the cedar plank salmon). The salmon itself lacked all flavour, and the squash was undercooked and underseasoned. My husband described the squash as "offensive". When our waiter discovered we were unhappy with the food, she encouraged us to order something else and took the salmon back to the kitchen. We ordered the ravioli to share, and were once again gravely disappointed. I have never had undercooked pasta at a restaurant before - and am flabbergasted that my first experience was at Vista 18. The ravioli itself was stuffed with an overwhelming amount of goat cheese and topped with a chunky, under-salted, oily red sauce. Overall a disappointing experience. We won't be back.

Gorgeous view with mediocre food. Portions were small and I would be pretty upset if I were paying full price for the appies. We happened to get there in time for their 2-1 appie special that runs from 3-5pm.

Pricey but over all good food and staff. Definitely check this place out if you don't mind spending some $$$. Took my girlfriend here and she loved it.

I had taken my wife to Vista 18 for our Anniversary dinner a week ago. Both her and I are "foodies" and as such love good food. Our experience at Vista 18 was at best so-so. The view was excellent. It truly is one of the better views of the city and is a great romantic backdrop. However that's where the exceptional aspects of Vista 18 end.My wife and I ordered an appetizer to share, the Goat Carpaccio. This dish was underwhelming at best. The frisee salad that came with it was merely the endive with a drizzle of olive oil. As such it was completely tasteless and failed to provide a backdrop to the carpaccio, which as well really had very little flavor of goat. I could have been eating something from the Save On Deli at a far far cheaper pricetag. Moving on the main course, I genuinely enjoy seeing what restaurants do with vegetarian dishes. As such I tried the Crispy Cracked Pepper Polentagrilled zucchini ribbon, cherry tomato salad, goat cheese crumble, crispy basil.The one outstanding piece of this meal was the crispy basil. The leaves were flash fried and had a unique flavor and texture to them so well done there. However the rest of the dish was ...apathetic at best. The polenta was neither crispy nor peppery. I actually asked the server if there was any pepper in the polenta. It was no different than purchasing once again, something from Save-On and adding a bit of panko breading. Very little flavor from their Culinary Creations menu. The cherry tomato salad was piled in the middle of a little "log shack" of polenta, and was just cherry tomatoes, a few herbs and some goat cheese. Once again, very little seasoning, and really wasn't anything different than anyone could make at home. For $24, I expected ...something more. Heck, there was no application of skill to this dish. It felt poorly put together, and poorly executed. My wife had the Pork Chop, which was just a touch overdone (dry on the outside) and with little seasoning to augment the pork. The "winner" on her dish was the variety of vegetables which were done fairly well and a surprisingly good poached golden beet.If you do go, recognize that you are going for the view, and not the food.

The lack of a greeter and the really anti-social attitude of our server really put me off this place despite the fairly solid breakfast. There was another waitress working that day and she seemed much more enthusiastic and efficient so if you get her, you’d probably have a much more satisfying experience.

Great restaurant. My husband and I went to Vista 18 for our 10th anniversary. The servers were thoughtful, considerate, and attentive; after initially seating us at one of the tables, they suggested moving us to a better table with a nicer view; the food was good. Overall, a good dining experience.

Awful food experience and waste of money. Save your funds for another place as Vista 18 serves sub-quality food. What a disappointment for what could have been a lovely night of good food and fun - it was quite the opposite. I will never return to Vista 18. What are they thinking?

Good enough. I like this place. good views of course, good atmosphere and nice booze. however the food will hit you right in the wallet and never on the tongue or in the stomach unfortunately.

Went there last night for dinner, the greeter was ackward after about 5 minutes she finally helped us. We were sat away from the very loud music thankfully. After 25 minutes we got our first drink.<br/>The food was just ok.. Nothing great expensive! My boyfriend has the wild boar and the meat was two quarter sizes. Don't got there on a budget!

Nice View. Went for a late breakfast sunday aug.17th<br/>No reservations but were able to be seated <br/>fairly quickly.If it wasn't for the view we would<br/>have been totally disappointed. Service was<br/>not the problem the food was. Better step it<br/>up a notch or two or you will be relying on the<br/>tourist dollars to get by. Unless they read these<br/>reviews.Good luck .Oh and do something about<br/>the ripped upholstery. <br/>Looks terrible.

This side of awful. I wish I had read some reviews of the restaurant before I wasted time and money on this grossly overpriced establishment. Lovely view, good service but the food was something else. The basket of bread contained a few slices of day-old bread not even warmed up. The only thing about the beet soup was that it was at least hot. The lamb was utterly tasteless, limp and grey, and the rib part was mostly a lump of greasy fat with a few slivers of meat clinging to the two bones. The kidney "chips" might have been thin bits of charcoal, and were inedible.The dessert was supposed to be a chocolate bread pudding, but the bread part probably came from the same batch served at the beginning of the meal: dry, hard and heated up with a few bits of chocolate. Ugh. Absolutely dreadful. This meal was probably one of the worst I've had in a long while. Do not waste money on such insulting swill for the sake of a nice view.

This is what I call a first and last. It was a complete joke..This was not fine dining at all. The waitress was soooo rude it was insane and the food was seriously bought at Walmart or Costo and called to be from a butcher. Eating here ruined my Valentines. Save urself the trouble and go to Macdonalds

Good service! Meh food (dinner) & great view. I would go back for their good breakfasts. Dinner is not worth it. Food was cold too.

Beautiful. This place is the perfect spot for date night. It has amazing views, the servers are professional and the roast chicken is scrumptious! They also have a really nice Reisling that goes well with everything. And live jazz music some nights. Just perfect

Incredible views, tasty snacks. <br/>Professional service - it's all good.

Very nice!. Ate here twice in late 2012. Both times the service was excellent and the food was first rate. Hosted a staff Christmas party here and couldn't have been more satistfied with the quality of the meals, service, ambiance and reasonable cost.

Wow, is all I can say!. Went to Vista 18 for an anniversary dinner and the service from Haley was spectacular. A favourite of ours for years the Vista 18 (formerly the Parrot house some 20 plus years ago ) is always worth it . The mussels , tenderloin and rhubarb desert were to die for. Thanks again for a special night we will not forget. We will be back again !

Don't waste your time and money!!. On bad service and disgusting food. We are dead serious about this - hospital food taste better. My spouse and I tried their four course special Xmas dinner menu and the food was beyond disappointment. We had a 3 onion soup, green salad, salmon fillet entree and some apple pie. Our onion soup tasted like warm powdered beef and onion water that was too salty to even use as gravy. The green salad drowned in it's tasteless dressing.. but our salmon main course was the most horrific.. overcooked frozen pink salmon with no seasoning whatsoever. Our server did not once come by and ask how our food was tasting and even when she was clearing half eaten plates. The servers were too busy gathered in their little corner chatting away. We will never return again. It's too bad this restaurant has such a great view of the city.

Meal was awful , tough duck, dry pancakes. Very disappointing as we often stay at this hotel.

Worst service I've ever had . It's supposed to be a fine dining place and they use fake candles . View is beautiful but other than that they really don't have much going for them .

Great View.... We loved the view and the martinis but the food was questionable. The carpaccio was not cold and tasted off...a few of us had upset stomaches the next day too. Steak was over cooked and veggies almost seemed to have been microwaved. <br/><br/>It's a shame that such a beautiful restaurant is going to waste; dead on a Friday night. Maybe a smaller, better excecuted menu would make the difference.

Seafood hot pot is amazing!

Accommodates vegans. Service was relaxed and friendly (not fast) but suited our group of four as we were there to chat and enjoy watching the sun set. One of us is vegan, and our server and the chef accommodated him with a wonderful tofu Stir fry that may have been the tastiest of the four entrees - and the other three were excellent. Edamame beans were nicely seasoned with a touch of mint. Happy customer, will return.

Wish I had looked up the reviews before going. We were a group of 5 people and not one decent thing was served to us. The steak was overcooked and tasteless. The pastas were hard and really bad. The fish was fishy and salty.....When we complained they brought us a free dessert which would have been a nice gesture except it was HORRIBLE. DO NOT EAT HERE! WAY WAY WAY overpriced for what you get.

The City's Best. In a number of areas i find it the best<br/>1. location - right downtown, on the 18th floor of a hotel<br/>2. view - AMAZING<br/>3. food - delicious and beautifully presented<br/>4. price - reasonable, for a hotel VERY inexpensive<br/>5. service - especially one of the female servers - wow, can we say friendly and extremely POLITE.<br/><br/>when everything comes together like this, it makes for the perfect dining experience!

Go for the view only. Thought it would be nice to take the BF to Vista 18 for some views, small bites and jazz - date night. The view on this perfect sunny evening was simply amazing. The bites were tasty for the most part but very salty (salt hangover next morning) and a touch pricey. The music was background jazz and too loud at that (surely the musician could have cleaned up a bit...). The service started out very friendly and accommodating but as soon as the waiter heard my BF say that he's just have water, he pretty much disappeared. Asked another waitress for my second drink and had to go up to the bar to get/pay the bill. The only reason I would go back would be to show out-of-town visitors that view.

I would not eat here again. We are staying in the hotel for 8 days so we Went there the first night. The cheapest entree is linguini chili, $18.00, the "tastes" salads $14.00. There were some words in the salad description that we didn't understand. The waiter could not explain to us what these items were. The jazz is nice. The view is nice. The beer selection is limited, not good for Victoria. The food is overpriced. The portions are tiny. We may go up for a drink before we leave, but not to eat again.

We went to Vista 18 for brunch today. The view is of course spectacular. The food was mundane at best and looked better than it tasted. The toast was like cardboard and cold. The service while friendly when it happened was spotty at best. Ordered coffee. Had to ask for it 10 minutes later. They were not busy but the service was SLOW. The staff were more interested in chatting with each other or patrons than working. It was a gorgeous sunny day so the view was amazing but we were so disappointed.

Steak was great, service good. Chairs uncomfortable. Overall it was acceptable. I expected more elegance and an overall more classc table service for the price, such as salads prepared at your table etc. Great view though.

Don't bother, you'll regret it.. We wasted a birthday get-together meal here, won't make that mistake again.<br/><br/>t had been a few years since the last time I was there, I had this vague memory of a poor experience but figured it's been a while & maybe I was wrong. Nope - entries so bad they had to be sent back (honestly, total fails, hard to believe the kitchen sent them out) - replaced with something more expensive (rare steaks) which took 30+ minutes in spite of almost empty restaurant & thin rare meat (i.e. very fast to cook) and in the end the more expensive items were put on the bill. Under the circumstances any establishment with any decent sense of customer service standards would have comped the meals in question.<br/><br/>Trust all the negative reviews - you might get lucky and have a decent overpriced meal, but it's not worth the gamble considering how many great places there are to eat in town for half the price.

Well the view IS nice. Food was passable nothing more, my old fashioned wasn't even that, and the service was absolute terrible. It wasn't a busy night, and we weren't a demanding group, but everything; placing orders, receiving food, getting bills, took forever. The only thing they have going for them is the view, which is very nice, but isn't nearly enough to make up for all of the other short comings.

Go for a drink, enjoy the view, eat the jazz. In the dining room, the menu aims high but it doesn't deliver. Both the the meal and service, especially when based on the high prices, were very disappointing. As for the bar, and the small bites menu, when I went early at 5:00pm the food was edible. However, a week later, sitting down at 9:00pm, the chef couldn't even make french fries. -How do you mess up french fries? or had the chef gone home and the waitor was cooking? The minature yorkie was awful. The only barely edible items were the edaname and forbidden black ball. To get the best out of Vista 18- go to the Bar, enjoy the outstanding view and have a drink either before or after going out to dinner elesewhere. Or EAT THE JAZZ- Thurs-Sun 8-11 a great option to enjoy the best of Vista 18 the view and avoid the tourist trap.

The food was overly expensive for the quality of my dish, which was the lamb. The furnishing needs updating. Service was good, although he did not know if the trout were fresh water or not:) inside joke maybe.

Retro furnishings but awesome view. Love to go for the panoramic & beautiful view of the city. It's the best place to watch the sunset over the inner harbour. <br/><br/>That's what you pay for, and delicious desserts :)

We enjoyed an excellant steak dinner befor the theatre

We had a fantastic dinner there last night. Food was awesome. Great wine list. Spectacular view.

They seem to think they are the only restaurant in town. The menu is the usual hotel fare and priced accordingly - stick to the tapas and eat in the lounge.

The food is way over priced. I'm never going back, the food was terrible.

They have gone downhill a lot lately

Appys and Martinis. We went to Vista 18 while staying in Victoria, we live in Washington. We first went to the lounge in the lobby of hotel, where the vibe was very nice. The furnishings were modern and the one drink we had was nice. Later in our stay we went upstairs to Vista 18 on Martini Monday. The furnishings up there were kinda 70's but the service and the drinks made up for it. The bartender made the best martinis i have ever had, and the hostess made sure we did not get forgotten when another large group dropped into the bar. We ordered appys which came out quickly and someone else brought them too us, who was just as friendly as the rest of the staff. We did look at the menu for dinner, which seemed too expensive, but the drinks and appy was reasonably priced. The view up there was amazing, although people complained they couldnt sit at the best table; you would only have a bad view if you ate your meal or enjoyed your drinks with your eyes closed. I wish we had something like this at home, and I would love to come back. (Especially if there is good weather here like we heard)

The food was just "OK". Ifound the hostess to be somewhat inflexible. The place was virtually empty and I had a res for two, she placed me I'm a borth in the middle of the resturitant. I then asked for a window seat(18th floor) and pointed to a table. She simply replied "that table is reserved".......there were at least 6 other window seats that remained empty during my 170 dollar meal, in a booth(felt like I was at white spot). The waitress was great, good knowledge of the food and very polite. The décor was dated. My table cloth was wrinkled, kind of resembled a chip bag

Perhaps the combination of being in a hotel and not on street level, Vista 18 may often be overlooked when contemplating a dinner out. The excellent food, sustainable approach, locally sourced ingredients, and amazing views of the city, should put Vista 18 at the top of your list for your next romantic meal.<br/>

I have like liked the food in this restaurant in the last few years, though I have not been there for about a year now. Sounds like things are not going well there based on some of the recent comments at Vibrant Victoria about the place .

Victoria's only rooftop restaurant offers panoramic views of the city as well as delicious eats. You should order the...