Penny Farthing Public House

Quaint old English atmosphere, typical pub fare. Beer was good while the food was lackluster. We had the cauliflower and fish and chips which both tasted of burnt grease. Has potential but they need to pay attention to detail.

Service: bright, happy, helpful, energetic staff to see to your taste buds desires, known or not.
Food: French onion soup was hot, rich, and thick with onions. I liked the light touch of cheese and bread so as not to over power the main ingredients: onions. The sodium level was higher than I like, but not overwhelming. The pulled pork short rib meat was a tab cold but still packed full of flavor. The bread for the sandwich was airy and crunchy at the same time. The dip was lightly flavored and a welcome addition. The fries were thick cut and crispy.
Beer: the options were plentiful and well suited to pair with the food options. The IPA (fat tug) hoppy and refreshing. The brown (dark matter) was smooth and artfully flavored with a hit of nuts and a finish that rolls like velvet across the tongue.

First of all, the name made us titter, because we’re immature. The service was lovely, and there was plenty of seating. I tried to order my (underage) daughter a shandy, and got (properly) busted for it. They served us anyway… the casear salad was right on the money, as were the wings. Their poutine is just what poutine is supposed to be… gloppy, gravy infused goo. Note to self: if you order poutine, you’re gonna get poutine… all in all, if I lived in Victoria, I’d go there again and again (even if I remembered to avoid the poutine.)

A group of six of us ate here and we universally enjoyed the food, especially the turkey club and lamburger. Prices are a dollar or two higher than I would prefer, but I imagine the rent is pricey in Oak Bay. Lots of good beers on tap and a good wine list. There are regular meal specials like two for one fish and chips which help keep the cost under control.

Came here last Friday shortly after proposing to my girlfriend at Abkhazi Garden. Devon and his team were absolutely amazing and provided us with an outstanding time. Tremendous ale selection and some complimentary bubbles to mark the event. We got tons of high fives and congratulations from staff and patrons alike. We can’t wait to come back and try the food next time. Highly recommended!

Ran out of beer tonight or beer would not pour.?? A pub with no beer… to be avoided.

Very great place. The food is great and the service was wonderful. We will go back again. Worth it.

Caught the bard, Rolland Barret, playing here because we love his music. We enjoyed a great evening with a group of friends.

It seems like a nice pub — clean with a wide selection of beer and food — though the vegetarian options are limited. I had the vegetarian burger. The ingredients listed beans and brown rice but I didn’t detect one bean. There were some seeds, lots of rice, oil, and breadcrumbs. It was kind of gross.
My partner had a kale salad with tuna which she enjoyed. I don’t particularly like raw vegetables so the kale salad wasn’t an option for me.

Been here a few times and always wonder why I’m there. Drink (but esp food) service is painfully slow. Tonight the table next to us waited 30 minutes for bread. We waited 30 for a side; waitress plain forgot about us. Drink glasses were taken away without the offer of a refill. Then as we were paying the waitstaff were standing around complaining about their place of employment.

Having not been here at night I don’t know how fairly I can judge it, as pubs at day are often so vastly different to pubs at night. Now, that said: it was a very nice place to be. The staff were unobtrusive rather than friendly, but that was mostly what I was looking for in Oak Bay.
It’s a dear friend’s local and he swears by it, and I can see why. The food was good, with the poutine being somewhere between as good as that of the Beagle and that of the Penny Farthing’s Scottish sister the Bard and Banker. It was well-​made and without fault, even if it didn’t shine so brightly as the Beagle’s.
I wish the menu reflected a little more the excellent ingredients available in Oak Bay, from the lovely butcher and the excellent sweet shops. It was a standard vicpubco affair, if lighter on the vegetarian options than the downtown pubs. It’s the English pub of the set, so my expectations weren’t so high as they could be, but I was comfortable and charmed nonetheless.

What a charming little pub! Situated in the gentrified, quiet neighborhood of Oak Bay, Victoria, one could easily believe they’re relaxing for tea in a cricket grounds club house. The menu offers a few notches up from regular pub faire (mussels, pork belly, braised beef short rib, etc.), yet still manages to satisfy those in need of fish (and oysters) and chips, burgers, salads and traditional British pub grub. Note, this does not convey every unique dish they offer. Blue Mac & Cheese, Charcuterie Plate, Halibut Cheek Sliders, Lamb Burgers, Prime Rib with smoked horseradish mayo. The menu is as vast as it is intriguing and delicious.
EXTRA: The locals look like they could have easily been drafted out of a 1980s British Mystery TV show — English accents, cricket sweaters and badged club blazers abound!
Love it.

Food is decent, but we’ll have to see about going back. There’s a lot of other good restaurants in Victoria.

Pretty good split pea soup, nice and thick but where’s the ham? Everyone knows you need to throw a hambone in there. Salad delish. Halibut fish n chips greasy, fries were good. Typical pub grub.

What a cool pub, in the Oak Bay area. I wish we had a pub in Orlando, FL that looked like this one. Lots of options on tap, but I went with a local… Blue Buck Ale. Very nice.

Awesome pub. We stopped in here during a bike ride that turned to rain and had lunch and beers. The bartender, Marina, was totally awesome and chatted with us and kept us entertained. The locals rolled in and were super friendly.
My wife had the fish tacos and I had fish and chips and both were excellent. The place was clean an had an overall good vibe to it. Would definitely go back.

Nice English Pub in the heart of Oak Bay!
On our annual trip to Victoria, while shopping around the village of Oak Bay we stopped at the Penny Farthing for Dinner. We had gone here on our 2010 trip and enjoyed it so planned a return visit.
It’s a very cool «English» pub, they have many in Victoria, but I think this is worth the short drive from Downtown Victoria to hit.
I got their special of the day which was pizza and a pint… OMG…the pizza was soooooooo delicious! I got the one with sausage. I was hesitant because pizza is my FAVORITE, so didn’t know what to expect from Canada since I grew up in a city that LOVES pizza… Chicago.
Well they did not disappoint! It was a personal pizza with 8 pieces… thin crust but not too thin. I did eat the whole thing myself! :) Oh wait, my friend has one piece! LOL! It was just sooooooooooooo good I could not stop myself from eating it!
Great place to go for food and that English Pub feeling!

i’ve been here a few times and now with the new menu change (or revert back to the old deals??) I am very happy happy! Who can compete with a pizza (mmmm… delicious bbq guiness chicken with pineapple) and a pint of local yummy beer. I would ask for a side of dippin-​licious blue cheese dressing to top it off.
Oh, and say ‘hi’ to «THE BOYS» who come in on Wednesdays too. Sometimes they may offer up their smuggled in treats — like portugese cheese!

My morning started with getting sick on the ferry from Seattle to Victoria on a particularly choppy trip, then catching a Grey Line hop-​on, hop-​off tour of the city, luggage still in tow, to get a sense of the place, since I had never been on the west side of Canada before, or the Northeast in general.
According to the Grey Line brochure, Oak Bay had quaint shops and could be a good place for lunch, so my mom and I disembarked, not knowing anything about the area.
We walked down the street, which was lined with small produce vendors and little boutiques, and considered the tea room before settling on Penny Farthing after checking out the menu posted outside. The exterior of the place was also inviting – very English pub style and clean-​looking.
I had a veggie burger which I think had a bit of cheese in it that I pretended to ignore along with fries and HP sauce. As an American, it was a delight to order the HP sauce, which is probably less exciting to Canadians and Brits than for someone who has to go to Little India in Artesia, CA, to get it. The menu was more expansive and fresher than a typical pub, hence the «gastro» prefix.
The service was friendly and prompt, and the ambiance was relaxed and cozy. I sat next to two older gents, one of whom had a righteous toupee, which I can only think he wore to keep his head warm as it couldn’t have fooled anyone. It seemed like a great neighborhood place.
After coming in a bit tired and still slightly queasy, I left feeling full, warm, and satisfied. If I had had more time, I would have grabbed a pint and settled in by the fire to while away the Saturday afternoon, listening to chatter and unwinding.

The service was cheery and helpful. The ambience just what one would hope for. The beer list is extensive and the food exactly what one would expect. I particularly like that each day of the week has a special deal well worth using to save a bit of money and which encourages sampling different items from the menu.
Worth checking out.