Camille’s Fine Westcoast Dining

I had an amazing experience here for my birthday dinner! Camille’s has been in Victoria for a long time but is now under new ownership. I hadn’t been before but to quote my mother, it was «the kind of French food that was trendy in the 80’s». Well… Let me tell you, the new owners have done something AMAZING with this place!!! When I made the reservation, I mentioned it was for my birthday, and they greeted us at the table with flutes of champagne for the occasion. That was a really sweet touch! The menu (which is always changing, I hear) was not your typical restaurant fare. The pairings of flavors seemed different, but do they ever work well! Upon his first bite, my boyfriend said «they really know what they are doing here». Everything was delicious, and beautifully presented. The portions were decently sized, not too big but enough for sure. Dessert was to die for as well… All made in-​house, and very decadent. The prices are on par with restaurants like The Keg, but the food is a total step above. The service we had at the restaurant was great as well, and the atmosphere was super cozy. I will definitely be back for any of my special occasions — may have to come up with some excuses to be back here sooner! Would recommend to anyone. :)

Everything about this restaurant was perfect. the 5 course meal was paired with excellent wine choices. The waitress was one of the best I have ever had. Her knowledge was impressive and she even snuck me some recipes and techniques. Compliments to the chef!

Great location with romantic ambiance, a live musician playing classical guitar in the corner added the right level of quiet background music. Excellently prepared food with a deliberate attempt to make each option unique. They were quick to adapt menu options for all allergies and food preferences. Chefs tasting menu available.

We celebrated my wife’s birthday at Camile’s. We ate there for the first time last November during another excursion to Victoria. My wife selected the chef’s five course meal with selected wine parings. Every course was outstanding and every pairing worked perfectly with the food. I’m the vegetarian in the family and started with the heirloom tomato salad and had the green pea porridge for my main course. My meal was also outstanding.
The atmosphere is pleasant and the wait staff is attentive and knowledgeable. It was another fabulous night in Victoria made even more special by our experience at Camile’s.

very very good
venison rack was perfectly cooked, tender, subtle
lamb rack was delicious however over cooked
All in all this was a great evening wonderful appetizers and good service

My wife and I enjoyed our appetizers at this restaurant, but while awaiting our entrees, a small mouse scampered several times across the dinning room floor. The manager tried to locate it with a flashlight, which only caused the mouse to enter the adjacent dining room, resulting in several screams from startled patrons, at least one of whom immediately decided to leave, as did we. The manager seemed happy to have us leave as discretely as possible while she obviously should have been informing other diners of the problem and suggesting that they may want to leave as well. We quickly left the restaurant after being told by the manager that the building in which it is located is old and that mice frequently infested numerous restaurants in Victoria, including several that she named. It was an utterly disgusting experience.

Who wouldn’t want to experience this classic Victoria fine dining experience. It’s probably one of the longest standing finest dining restaurants in Victoria and in the same location on Bastion Square. It’s old school, quaint, discreet, quiet, unpretentious, romantic and lovely. The food is creative and I am sorry I can’t remember now what the dishes were called but they were all unique and delicious and beautifully presented, wild meats and organic veggies and everything fresh. Their menu is organic itself… always changing and introducing unusual combinations. The desert was a plate of five amazing morsels of sheer delight. Sometimes, on special occasions they have live jazz but not sure if that is regular. This is my go to place for special occasions!

I recently had about 5 colleagues join my team so I decided I should go up to Victoria and pay them a visit. Had one of them make a reservation for us, and this was what they chose.
Was a truly excellent choice and meal, and I can imagine this place would be romantic if you brought a date here. I think 5 of us ended up ordering a strip-​loin, and we all shared several bottles of a 2009 Châteauneuf-​du-​Pape (can’t remember the precise vineyard, doesn’t matter, was excellent). Loved the presentation of the the strip-​loin with the garnish and sauces artfully added to the plate and explained by the waitress.
My only complaint is that I think some folks thought we were too loud and got re-​seated. But the space is tiny with low ceilings (being basically underground) — and it’s not like we were partying Hangover (movie) style. Their loss :-)

Solid meal, but don’t make this a destination if you’re a foodie in Victoria for a short time. Had 20:00 reservations; wasn’t seated until 20:25 and waited another 10 minutes for sub-​par cocktails. Informed that the tasting menu was unavailable (this after being told that it was still available when we came in the door at 20:00…) so went the a-​la-​carte route. The food was tasty and apparently all local and seasonal, but none of our servers seemed to know any of the details about what they were giving us. This seemed out of place for a place with such an elaborate menu at this price point. I think I saw it mentioned elsewhere in these reviews, but the décor leaves much to be desired… it was as if my grandmother had decided to get stylish with her living room, circa 1982.
I don’t mean to slag on it completely. The food was very good and the staff were all polite. It’s just not high-​end, at least not in its current incarnation. I bet it was phenomenal 15 years ago. I lived in southern California for several years a while back and was excited to get some «Fine West Coast Dining», as restaurants which describe themselves as such are part of what I miss most about San Diego. This place left me wanting.

My husband and I visited Camille’s for a nice dinner while we were on our honeymoon in Victoria. Wonderful food! The restaurant is small and cozy, but has a great ambiance. They have a different menu daily. The servers were nice. We had champagne on the house because we were on our honeymoon which was a wonderful touch. Dinner was amazing. Best halibut I’ve ever had. Also. as my husband says. «Best place ever.»

When I think back to the very best meals I have EVER had… well many of them were enjoyed at Camille’s.
I would recommend reservations but have walked in off the street.
Camille’s uses locally sourced ingredients and it certainly shows in the quality of their food. Whether it be salads or local trout, chicken or salmon Camille’s food screams fresh! The ingredients are fresh indeed. The menu is small & seasonable & I tend to enjoy Camille’s more in the summer than in the winter.
The great thing Camille’s does with all those fresh ingredients is that they combine many flavours that will simply dazzle your taste buds. ALWAYS take a bit of everything on your plate with your fork, combine them all and simply savour the beautiful combination of flavours. YUMMY!
Now I have eaten at Camille’s dozens of times and my only knock is that I have had a few meals that were not amazing. The question is, when you are expecting amazing and don’t get it, is the food bad? In this case, no it is not. But I have come to have very high expectations when I choose to dine at Camille’s because I have had such spectacular meals here.
Camille’s is on the more pricey side. Say $ 25 – 30 entrée’s. They also have a simply massive wine list! They are always knowledgeable about wine pairings & what will compliment your dinner selection so I would highly recommend asking for suggestions.
Street parking can be challenging to find downtown but if you park in the Yates St. parkade near the bottom of Yates (water) then it’s a very short one block walk to the restaurant.
Arguably the best restaurant in Victoria along with Paprika which is simply stellar.
If you like fine dinning, excellent service, beautiful romantic atmosphere, Camille’s is an excellent choice.

Camille’s is located in Bastion Square, in the heart of Old Town Victoria. It is nestled into the cozy nooks of heritage building across from the Maritime Museum. Gayle and I dined here during our last night in Victoria and very much enjoyed the food, the service, and the comfortable, casual and romantic atmosphere within this historical setting.
The restaurant was first started by Camille Slevan and his wife Elizabeth in 1987. They ran it for not much more than a year before ill health forced him to sell. When the present owners came in, the name remained.
The building was built in 1898 and designed by Francis Rattenbury, a noted architect of many of Victoria’s finer structures including the Empress Hotel and the Parliament Buildings. Originally it was called the «Law Chambers» building and housed six very luxurious lawyers offices, two on each floor. The building was across the street from the Court House (now the Maritime Museum), so it was a logical location for the young towns’ premier legal minds to be housed. Each suite boasted a working fireplace and a spacious walk-​in vault that are still in the building today. The vaults and fireplaces are still here, as is the small back dining room that originally housed records storage. The old, prominent and huge beams still pretty much hold the building up to this day.
Like other Victoria Landmarks (e.g., Pioneer Square), this Building is rumored to be haunted and a number of «ghostly» encounters have been reported by various occupants over the years. Could it be that the Law Chambers were built near the site of Fort Victoria’s original jail house and gallows, and that many hanging victims might be buried under the very ground beneath? Victoria also has a long history of crimes of passion and unsolved cases. Maybe that explains the 2 small neck bites that Gayle mysteriously got here and that I now have to keep a clove of garlic handy? Just Kidding My Lady!
Gayle and I had a wonderful meal here and we were well taken care of by who I think was one of the Owners. Camille’s also uses local ingredients (and sources) as much as possible, with the Owners also dabbling in artisan chocolate (of which we received a sample). My only quibble was that the wine pricing between glass, carafe, and bottle didn’t seem to mathematically add up. At the same time, the recommended wine pairing for our food was spot on. We also sat at a nice table, that featured a divider that gave us a wonderful degree of comfort and privacy. The background music was also of the right volume and selection. I further enjoyed the piece of art on our wall, although our host was more apologetic about some visible electrical cords (and her planned upgrade) that were just above the piece.
The food was excellent. In fact, Gayle and are still raving about the fruit crumble/​home made ice cream with liquor dribble dessert that we shared and almost couldn’t finish. For the main courses, I had a marvelous halibut dish, while Gayle relished here lamb course. We also shared a generous appetizer that included a salmon salad and a companion dish (See Picture). All that and at a price (with tax and tip) less than Afternoon Tea at The Empress! We left happy, full, and wishing that we could stay in Victoria just a little bit longer.

Camille’s Fine Westcoast Dining — A savoury meal in a historic building.
I don’t think I can stress how much I enjoyed my dinner at Camille’s. I was only in Victoria for the Victoria Day weekend, however, I would’ve probably given this place a second visit if I ate here on the first day I was in town.
Unfortunately, their menu seems to change daily (an indication to maintaining fresh ingredients) so I can’t specifically list what I had ordered. I can, however, dictate that if they offered the halibut ceviche again, it’s something worth trying.
As an entrée, any fish or duck dish will be paired with fresh seasonal vegetables and sauces. I was in a rush during my visit and I regrettably gobbled my medium-​rare duck (which was perfectly cooked, by the way). Had I more time, I would’ve savoured every bite.
The venue itself is situated in the basement of a historical building designed by an esteemed architect — Francis Rattenbury, the same architect that designed the Empress and Parliament Building in Victoria.
Service here could’ve been better and it did take some time for food to arrive, but in spite of this, the plating was excellent and the flavours of each dish was phenomenal. I left the restaurant wanting to return as soon as possible. I just hope that the quality of food will remain the same when I’m back in town.

I’ve been told that Camille’s is a classic Victoria restaurant so I was looking forward to my dinner here when in town visiting for the night. Came here with a big group so we had part of the restaurant blocked off for the night. The restaurant was open to working with the host so we were able to have a tapas style menu of their dishes. This was a fun way to do things so I had a nice sampling of their items.
The bread service was great with super fresh pitas and a nice selection of dips and hummus. The dolmades were average, the salad with mushrooms and chicken was excellent, the black cod was melt-​in-​your-​mouth good, and the sausages were interesting (not sure what spices the meat was blended with, but it was a different twist). The weakest dish was the flank steak… it was a bit gristly and had bad texture. We finished with some lovely chocolate mint ganache squares. Mmmm.
It’s a bit dated in terms of décor but the service was lovely… someone in the group forgot their extra dessert and the server actually ran after his car in the street! Talk about great service! Food was solid but it’s not one of my favorites in town.

This is a small place so I would recommend making a reservation if you want to eat there. The only issue we had with our meal was that the service was REALLY slow. The food gets top marks. We had a hard time trying to decide what we wanted since everything on the menu looked amazing.
I had the goose, which was a wonderful leg, breast, and goose confit and kidney salad. My favorite part was the leg. I had never had kidney before and was pleased with it.
My husband had the lamb and it really was the best lamb we have ever had. The best part was the loin. The plate also had a really nice rack piece and sweetbreads. I have also never had sweetbreads before and was a little worried to try it. It was actually really good!
For dessert we enjoyed the stawberry-​basil ice cream.

During my recent weekend trip to Victoria, I learned a few things about the quiet little town. 1) It’s a beautiful city, 2) It’s definitely not a food town, and 3) Camille’s is definitely not «fine west coast dining».
Do not let the charming décor fool you, like it sure fooled me. Walking through the front door, you’re welcomed not by a person (maybe they were too busy cleaning out their hair brush in the kitchen?), but by a charming reception area, candles dripping with wax, and beautiful crystal chandeliers. During my brief stay in Victoria, I noticed that almost all of the restaurants are adorned with impressive crystal chandeliers (even the McDonald’s), which I can only guess is to ploy you into thinking that each place is classier than it really is, and serves better food than it really does.
The first indication that the dinner was going to be a disaster was the stale bread that was served at the beginning of our meal. Who knows if it was yesterday’s bread or last week’s bread, but it was so old and stale that it couldn’t even be sliced. After trying to cut a slice for myself, I realized I would need a chainsaw to make that happen, so I gave up. I wish I had walked out the door then…
We ordered the charcuterie plate and quail for appetizers. I’ve never had quail before, but I’ve heard it is quite delicious. Fortunately, my taste buds are brave and resilient, so I’m not going to let this over-​cooked, poorly plated dish prevent me from trying it again at another place. The charcuterie plate was also a huge disappointment. The bread served on the plate was also extremely stale, so much so that it couldn’t even be bitten into.
Onto the main courses… Pork tenderloin and duck. Each main dish was served on a large plate, with far too much going on. The cluttered, nonsensical variety made it seem as if they were using my plate to compost the leftovers served to other tables earlier in the evening. My pork «tender“loin was served with «crispy» pork belly. The tenderloin was the opposite of tender, as it was tough and dry, and the crispy pork belly was a gelatinous disaster of a dish I thoroughly enjoy when it’s done right.
However, the most unpleasant part of the meal is when my boyfriend found a hair in his dish. I get it, these things can happen, but after a disappointing meal, the hair was the tipping point that made our experience at Camille’s go from bad to worse.
Bottom line, very disappointing meal. I wish I would have gone to the fancy McDonald’s instead.

First impressions indeed are often correct.
Camille’s is located in the basement of a Bastion Square building. Entering its inside, the atmosphere felt heavy, dense and dead (no music was playing when we entered, though music did begin to play later). I just about wanted to turn around and walk back out the door.
We had 8:30 reservations on a Saturday evening and were seated in a room with grandma-​ish decorations.
This could have been a four-​star review because there were a couple of delicious dishes, but the round-​robin service to our table from four waitresses was terrible — lazy, indifferent and rude. In fact, this was the worst service I have experienced anywhere in several years.
Never once were our water glasses refilled. Never once were we asked how our food was. Never once were we asked if we’d like another round of drinks.
At the end of our meal, we were the only patrons remaining in the restaurant, with no staff around. For a good fifteen minutes we sat there and wondered if we would ever get our check. Very surreal. Finally, I poked my head into the curtained kitchen to get some attention. I saw the waitresses just standing there in a circle shooting the breeze. I asked them to bring us our check and finally, one of the girls came out with the check and plunked it on our table without a word and walked off. Considering the prices here, service was unacceptable.
The seared scallops appetizer was great (brought to us by the male chef) and so was JP’s duck. The risotto in my pheasant breast dish was really delicious, but the overall appearance of the dish (served on a wide and narrow plate) was sort of cuckoo and cluttered. Going from left to right, there was a pile of risotto, then slices of pheasant (I didn’t like the seasoning of the pheasant), then more risotto, a beet wedge, a carrot, a few drops of creamed spinach, then more slices of pheasant, then more creamed spinach, and a final spoonful of risotto at the far right of plate.
Overall, the food was decent (and so were our martinis), but the crappy table service was a real buzzkill. We won’t be back.

We had an excellent dinner here when visiting Victoria. The food is excellent and the service is nearly perfect.
FYI: It doesn’t come cheap, though.

This is one of those reviews that I would prefer not to star, as in many aspects, Camille’s delivered above and beyond expectations. But the overall experience did not deliver precisely what we had intended.
My parents and I greatly enjoy fine dining establishments. We have few dietary restraints and enjoy experimenting with food. My wife is a strict vegetarian who is allergic to goat cheese and abhors bitter greens (specifically arugula).
For the one «fine dining» meal during my parents’ trip to Victoria, I chose Camille’s due to a special note on their website stating:
«For our Vegetarian customers — we always have some vegetarian dishes on both the appetizer and entrée menus. What most of our regular vegetarian customers do however is just speak with their server about what they like to eat, and what they would prefer not to eat. Our chefs will be happy to prepare a special plate for you containing what ever is fresh and local that day within the boundaries of your particular diet.»
At first, the experience began swimmingly — a semi-​private and comfortable table, delicious and relatively inexpensive wines by the glass, hearty, delicious bread, and expertly executed appetizers.
While the appetizer menu contained a delicious salad with rapini, egg, more veggies, and a delicious vinaigrette, the sole vegetarian entrée included goat cheese. Because of this, and the note on the website, we made a special request to the chef to create a dish for my wife.
What she received in return was a stack of grilled eggplant and peppers, with an artfully placed smudge of potato purée on the side. All for about $ 24. Sure it was tasty, but not fulfilling — there was no protein on the plate, which we found to be disappointing.
But there were many other positives as well, such as
*tender, flavourful goat cheese ravioli
*an expertly executed halibut dish with couscous
But my mother found herself wanting more from her Pork Tenderloin.
I admire everything that Camille’s does for the local food community and would be willing to give it another shot if I could be assured in advance that my wife could have a satisfying meal.

If I am going to drop 100.00 for a meal for two, it better be excellent!
Camille’s is the real deal. They are not messing around and your money will not be wasted. They are all about sustainable and local food. We started with a chanterelle mushroom soup which was heaven. I then had the tenderloin of beef which was lovely. My husband has the duck atop a savory tart-​delicious!