Garrick’s Head Pub

One of the 3 best places in Greater Victoria to get hummus & pita! Beautiful presentation, and it tasted even better! Friendly greetings from staff. Quick service on 2 visits when we explained we were on a short lunch. Happy chatter gave it a great vibe. It’s quite clean and bright — lots of windows bring in natural light.
Date of first visit: July 2, 2015. Second visit: September 4, 2015. Last visit: June 2016.
Still happy with the food and service — will definitely return!

We were only there for drinks but overall, the bar staff was friendly and checked on us. Good cold beer. We happened to be there on a warm day so it was a tad warm.
I recommend this place based on the vibe. Good vibe.

Stumbled upon here after a terrible whale watching experience and they totally made up for it. Friendly service and very helpful along with a hugeeee selection of beers!
If you’re hungry, don’t fret, there’s also a good selection of food since a restaurant is connected with this pub. Anyways only a few hours in canada, I had to get poutine! It was really good, and I paired it up with a cider. Dangerous too because you can’t even taste the alcohol in the cider, the name is in my picture (escapes me atm).
Overall, for the short amount of time I was in Victoria, this pub was pretty spot on and made me really enjoy this city.

Great ambiance, service, and food.
My wife and I were looking for a place to get a quick beer & bite before getting back on our cruise and even though they were packed the service was quick and friendly; signs of a veteran kitchen and bar staff. The beer selection was great and there was something for everyone. An all around awesome place. Highly recommended.

Great beer selection and tasty yam fries.

Decent pub in downtown Victoria. Just did a simple walk in and ordered their fish & chips and have no complaints. An awesome beer selection on the tv-​screen up behind the bar to have a kind for every one.
I would definitely go here again.

So the first time we were ever in Victoria we stopped in for a snack and a drink to get out of the rain. The roaring fire really sold us on that. I had fish and chips and a whiskey! It was awesome. The next 4 times we have come we have stopped in to eat since the food was so good and the atmosphere so nice. Every time we go to Victoria we will be stopping here! Plus leaf jokes rule!

Great food and beer list for a British style pub. Super friendly service. Easy atmosphere right off the main drag in downtown Victoria.

First time trying out the Garrick’s Head Pub and it was great. It’s clean and inviting. We were greeted promptly and the food and service was fantastic. Definitely check it out! The veggie burger was delicious and we would definitely get it again. Never had french fries the way they make it! Just awesome :)

We came in and ordered Manhattans. They are perfect! They have tons of local beers on tap. Very friendly staff

Just moved to Victoria from Toronto and I find this place to be as good as some of my favourites back there. Excellent /​very large selection of craft beer on tap, which seems to rotate often. The service has always been very good. The food is much better than your average pub food (it’s still pub food it’s just very tasty). The beer battered fries are recommended.

Good for beers … Not good for wine … The service was very good… They changed my wine as I didn’t like it, without any problem… But even then, it was still not good… At the end. I didn’t exchange it again, as I didn’t want to be too picky. But I wouldn’t recommend having wine in this place. The ambience was nice, and people around very friendly… It is a good place to watch sports… And have a beer for those who enjoy beers…

After exploring Victoria for the day, I was looking for a place with beer and possibly good food. This place offered both! They were having a special on certain beers that were only $ 6 each, so me and my boyfriend got a few of those. For food, I got their shepherd’s pie, and the flavor was on point. It definitely didn’t look like a typical shepherd’s pie, but it tasted amazing. I would come back here.

Was looking for a proper craft beer selection somewhere after dinner and this place nailed it. I was able to try a bunch of different local Vancouver beers as well as introduce a couple coworkers to the finer side of real beer. The draft list and the service was excellent here, waitress was completely cool and she impressed me with her beer knowledge.
Can’t say anything about the food as we only came for drinks. Only down side is the next morning my jeans smelled like a pizza oven.

Was on a tour in Victoria when we were getting hungry and looking for a place to eat. It was around 3ish so not really mealtime but we noticed there were quite a few tables full of people and saw a couple walk in so we figured hey, this can’t be bad.
Sat down and looked at the menu and OMG they have fried pickles!!! I love fried pickles but they’re hard to find! So of course we got them and they were great! perfect fried-​ness and plated like a structure or monument of some sort. My father went to grab one and toppled the whole thing over though. JENGA!
They have a very decent selection of beer and I got the Vancouver Island Pilsner. Also ordered the Down Under burger which was quite good although I think I was missing the pineapple… And the fries were absolutely perfect. The server was also very friendly and came to check in on us throughout the meal. Was very happy that our random lunch selection ended up being a great meal.

Fantastic fun and flavorful! Good energy and food. Service was print and friendly! Having a great time. Had warm date Dessert that was to die for!

Down under burger sounded a bit funky but it was really good! The gigantic burger which was big enough to share had cheddar cheese, bacon, fried egg, beets, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, red onion and dill pickle. They only cook the beef well done.
What was underwhelming was the spinach salad. Totally on a different level from the burger. Skip it.

Awful staff I would never return. Got laughed at when I asked for something with blackcurrant cordial in. «We’re not that up market» she said. A $ 2 bottle of cordial would make you upmarket? The waitress was the colder than winter in the Yukon, miserable as could be.

This is a very nice pub in a great part of Victoria. The pub itself is a great place to hang out — lots of natural light, nice views of the surrounding architecture, and a fantastically long and comfortable bar to sit up at.
The staff were very friendly and laidback. There are 55+ beers on tap here, and they seemed to carry almost every local craft beer available. More importantly, they served it well — perfectly cold and in proper pint glasses. The specials — choices from Philips and Vancouver Island Brewery — were on at $ 6 including tax, which was a good deal.
The food was also great — I had a chicken burger for about $ 13, which came with perfectly cooked fries and was nicely presented. It wasn’t AMAZING, but it was certainly above average. And with a perfectly poured beer to wash it down, who can complain?
A great pub for relaxing on a weekend afternoon. I hope to return.

How I heard of this place: When we arrived at our hotel (The Bedford Regency), we were surprised to see that our stay included two CAD$ 25 gift cards for food at Garrick’s Head Pub. Our first meal would be courtesy of the gift and a short walk around the corner towards the start of Bastion Square.
Type of cuisine: «Nestled in Victoria’s beautiful and historic Bastion Square, Garrick’s Head Pub has been a local fixture since 1867, in the days when Judge Matthew Begbie presided over the local court house. Simply put, we are one of the oldest English pubs in Canada and maintain Victoria’s largest selection of craft and import beers on tap. If you’re hungry, we offer traditional English pub fare in a bright and relaxing atmosphere. «
Ambiance: «Customers are welcome to linger around our wood-​burning fireplace to warm away the cool days and nights. As of 2012, our newly expanded front room offers ample space for dining and socializing and in the warmer months, our outdoor patio seating, overlooking the square, is a fantastic spot to enjoy the sun and to watch the crowds go by.»
What I ordered: On our first visit, we shared a half size of Nachos (CAD$ 9) of fresh tri-​coloured chips topped with sliced jalapeños, sliced black olives, green onions, diced tomatoes and three melted cheeses, served with salsa and sour cream, and the Down Under Burger (CAD$ 16.50), a house-​made 7-​ounce, 100% beef, charbroiled burger topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, fried egg, beets, pineapple, crisp leaf lettuce, fresh tomato, red onion and dill pickle. We substituted the fries for poutine (CAD$ 4.50).
On a return visit, Sunday, 1 June 2014: We returned to use our second CAD$ 25 voucher and selected the Caesar Salad (CAD$ 10.75) with Chicken Breast (CAD$ 5.25): fresh romaine, grated parmesan, bacon bits, croutons and a creamy Caesar dressing loaded with garlic, topped with Parmesan crisps, and the full size Fettuccine Funghi (CAD$ 12.75): fettuccine in a wild mushroom and garlic cream sauce.
What I loved: Of the two visits, my favorite meal was shared on Sunday with my husband — the creamy, crisp Caesar salad and the hearty, garlicky, abundant fettuccine fungi.
Why I loved it: Simple, ample and varied seating in a casual space; not to mention the large portions for such a reasonable price in such an historic establishment.
Cost: Average (CAD$ 11.25 — CAD$ 16.50 per entrée)