Oswego Hotel – O Bistro

Delicious, well-​prepared and fresh. Comfortable dining area, attentive service. Honestly, some of the very best food I’ve eaten in Victoria.

We eat in restaurants all over Victoria. Our first time here was a pleasant surprise. There is a new chef and new menu and it’s a winner. Very fresh, very well prepared. The service was very attentive and responsive. We were here on Wednesday, jazz evening and the atmosphere made for a very nice dinner. We highly recommend it and we’ll be back.

This place does a great brunch. The hash is out of this world. They have very good gluten-​free practices. I can recommend it highly.

I’ve been here a few times & it’s been very consistent! Great menu, wonderful martinis, not a bad wine list & I love that whenever I get my good from their kitchen it’s always nice & really warm, not too hot but perfect temperature, the only thing that I think could be improved is if the stuff had a bit more personality, not all of them of course but overall a really great experience every time!!!

Spent Christmas Day eve at Oswego Bistro. It was a set menu. The price was good considering what other restaurants were charging. It was a 3 course meal for $ 55 per person. Fig and goat cheese with vinaigrette salad was delicious. Salmon dish was excellent. Well cooked with tasty risotto and cheese. I had the turkey and mashed potatoes with asparagus and cranberry sauce. Portions were generous. Desserts included a personal sized cheesecake with chocolate crumble and specs of orange rinds. Tasted freshly baked for the day. I ordered the warm maple pudding with whipped cream. I could not eat past the entrée so I couldn’t tell you how the pudding tasted but I was told it was delicious. Not super sweet and whipped cream was light and fluffy. The Bistro is small and had only 10 tables. Very intimate. The food was fantastic and I feel I got my money’s worth for a 3 course meal on a special day.

I’ve stayed at the hotel a couple times and eat around DT Victoria considering multiple nights. The value @ O Bistro (20% off as a hotel guest) and tasty 3 course chef dinner specials using local ingredients was superb. Definitely do the wine pairings!

Went to watch the live jazz, which was just finishing as it is on very early evening. I decided to eat and ordered the Crabcakes with Aoli dip appetizer.
Long wait, 20 minutes. The Crabcakes were Salmon, the Aoli dip was cream. I asked the server about that and she went and got me actual Aoli dip to replace the dollops of cream on the plate. Not good, «Crabcakes» were cold and damp, not hot.
I was told by another customer that the chef was a temporary replacement for the last chef who was fired? Hope the new Chef can improve things.

It was my last night in Victoria, searching hopelessly for a great meal that doesn’t include 5 million tourists consuming my experience. Was I pleasantly surprised when I found this little hidden gem in Oswego Hotel.
In my experience, this is a great place to get away from the crowds to enjoy a great meal in a neighborhood setting. I enjoyed the cheese plate for starters, which was a great way to enjoy some of the local flavors. For dinner, the risoto was delicious. Since it was the last night, I endulged my inner glutton with a bit of dessert, which matched the quality and flavor of the rest of the meal.
I’m glad I got to find a great place for dinner in Victoria before I left, otherwise I think I would have been dreaming about old lady cruise wear for the rest of my life!

Hopefully I can help ration out the reviews here… I stayed at the Oswego Hotel and ate at O Bistro for breakfast and then had a glass of wine and some «snacks» before a later reservation elsewhere. My husband and I were pleasantly surprised with the quality of food across the board. The bread and edamame we ordered with our wine really was quite wonderful — it was exactly what we were looking for. For breakfast I ordered the omelet with a side of fruit — this is a perfect light breakfast which is just what I was looking for after a night of stuffing my face with Italian food. My husband had poached eggs and was also satisfied. Also, if you stay in the hotel you should get a 20% off voucher to use in the restaurant. Even if you’re not staying at the hotel I would recommend O Bistro for the relaxed, casual ambiance as well as the food and service. Lastly, the prices were extremely reasonable! Another pleasant surprise.

One of the best kept secrets in Victoria. Excellent food, fresh local ingredients, not fussy but very competently prepared. I’ve tried pretty much everything on the menu and have not been disappointed, including an amazing salted caramel chocolate tart, a vegetarian (!) cassoulet, and duck confit. The service is attentive and knowledgeable. Finally, the prices are very reasonable for the quality and consistency of the food.

— appealing, comfortable atmosphere, though lacked charm
— median age of the guests is well over 65
— bad food presented well — each plate looked terrific, but seriously lacked culinary expertise (steak undercooked)
— friendly service, but poorly trained staff (no refills on water or coffee, meal satisfaction check far too late into the dinner, plate clearing and bill payment took forever)
— ridiculous coffee cups (you need one tiny woman finger to get through the handle)