To celebrate a milestone anniversary, my husband and I overnighted in Victoria. While there, we packed in as much fun stuff as possible. The Victoria food tour experience with A Taste of Victoria is a top highlight of our mini-getaway.
Tours are such a great way to experience any city. Here are my top reasons why:
- Time-saving: City tours enable visitors to see many popular attractions efficiently, making the most of their time in a new place.
- Insider knowledge: Guides provide insights and stories about the city's history, culture, and hidden gems, enhancing the experience.
- Convenience: City tours offer hassle-free exploration, with transportation and logistics taken care of, allowing visitors to focus on enjoying the sights.
- Safety and security: Traveling with a guide reduces the risk of getting lost or encountering unsafe situations in unfamiliar surroundings.
For these reasons alone, whenever available I typically always book a tour in any city I explore. Keep reading to learn about one of my favourite tours to date.
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Our Taste of Victoria Tour Experience
We have taken many city tours, and I can honestly say that the Taste of Victoria Tour has been one of my all-time favourites.
During this food and history tour, you not only sample delicious food but also see places in Victoria you may not even know existed! (This was the case for us.) Plus, you get a fantastic history lesson along the way.
Andy, our tour guide and owner of Taste of Victoria, is extremely knowledgeable. You can tell he has done his research, and his love for the city shines through.
It was also amazing to see the mutual respect and admiration between Andy and all the shop owners we were introduced to. Upon leaving our second stop on the tour, the representative handing out tea samples said to a few of us, “Have a fun tour! It's not hard to do with Andy as your guide”.
Andy was well out of earshot when this comment was made, so it was a genuine response. And this was just one of many examples. Read the many wonderful reviews about this tour here.
What to Expect
During the two-hour walking tour, you experience 6 – 8 tastings. Along the route, you stop at several points of interest, accompanied by a history lesson.
On our particular tour, we stopped at approximately 12 – 14 places. Andy provides the perfect amount of time to eat or drink your sample, snap photos, and listen to the information about each location.
Only once did I feel a bit rushed…but that is solely due to being an extremely slow drinker of alcohol (my husband calls me “Nurse Nancy” for a reason). I only finished half of my cider sample when it was time to start packing up. (Again, I need to point out that everyone else in the group managed to finish their drink in ample time).
The Taste of Victoria Stops
On our Taste of Victoria food tour, we stopped at eight tasting locations. The tastings are sample-sized, yet you will NOT go away hungry. Being on the 11:00 am tour, we were extremely glad we decided to skip breakfast.
We sampled meatballs, two types of tea, cider and beer, pirogi, macarons, fresh-baked bread, and biscuits.
Each tour is a bit different, as Andy caters to dietary and group needs, as well as restaurant or shop availability. So your tour might look slightly different than ours – but I guarantee it will be just as good!
Good Eats in Victoria
Whether you visit them while on tour or not, I urge you to check out the following Victoria establishments on your own time. Based on how many locals frequent each shop, I'd take a guess that these are among some of the best food and drink establishments in Victoria.
These guys are so good they opened up a second location in San Diego. We sampled their famous meatball, and I'm drooling just thinking about it. Even at 11:00 a.m., the place was hopping with locals ordering dishes for their evening meal.
This beautiful shop in Chinatown makes you feel like you've entered a pastry shop in Europe. The macarons we sampled were as beautiful to eat as they were to look at. There were so many to choose from, but I decided on a Raspberry (deliciously tart) and a Salted Caramel (it's easy to see why this is their best seller).
You may recognize this place from the Vic Food Guys spotlight on CTV. This is the only dedicated biscuits and gravy brunch spot in the Victoria area, and well worth a stop. While I loved the savoury sample, the chocolate and banana morsel had me yearning for more.
Yes, an establishment dedicated to pierogi! Who knew such a place existed? I'm so glad it does. Sült combines an Eastern European classic with world-inspired flavours and toppings, all while using Canadian-sourced, seasonal ingredients. These guys know flavour and do it well. It was the perfect ending to our food samples.
(We also stopped at La Tana Italian Bakery, which has since closed).
Drink Tastings
With its health benefits, Matcha has become all the rage. During our tasting, we learned about this unique green tea (how it's produced and harvested, its tradition, and, of course, its health benefits). Every couple/family on the tour purchased a tin of Matcha – it's that good!
Since 1992, Silk Road Tea has created the world’s finest, freshest, award-winning, organic teas, skin and body products. And it all started in Victoria’s Historic Chinatown. I noticed that many of the tour locations we visited served Silk Road Tea.
The Churchill Pub takes pride in offering a huge selection of various fermented and distilled drinks. They have 50 of Pacific Northwest's finest craft beer on tap! If craft beer is your thing, give this place a try.
The Walk
While it is a 2-hour tour, the walk is relatively short between all the stops you make and the time it takes to eat or drink your samples. The tour covers roughly 2.5 km (1.5 miles), which totals about 30 minutes of leisure walking. And yes, for those wondering, the entire tour is wheelchair and stroller accessible!
You start your tour at the Victoria Public Market, an approximately 15-minute walk from hotels and resorts in and around the harbour.
Walking to the start of the tour is advised if you can manage it, as parking is at a premium near the Public Market. Also, many spots located near the Market only allow parking for a maximum of 90 minutes (not enough time for your tour).
If you must drive to the Victoria Public Market, use the nearby city parkades at either Johnson St. or Bastion Square.
The Takeaway
Overall, we were extremely impressed by Andy's Taste of Victoria food tour and feel it's great value for what you get. You can read the many exceptional reviews if you need further proof. A Taste of Victoria food tour is rated #1 out of Victoria's many food and drink tours.
Other Ideas in Victoria
For other great ideas, check out a few of our other posts for the Greater Victoria area.
Disclosure: The experience was sponsored by A Taste of Victoria. Opinions are my own. Each Taste of Victoria tour is slightly different, so you may not necessarily experience the same locations we did.
This article contains affiliate links. If you happen to book a tour by clicking on the provided tour link, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
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Thanks for the review! It looks awesome Kim! Great idea for an anniversary, we might do this this year.
You should! It’s my absolute favourtie tour I’ve taken to date.