Bard and Banker

Really awesome vibe. Yummy pepper chicken wings, especially with the house beer! Hubby enjoyed the fish & chips one of each ale battered and potato chip crusted. Very good tartar sauce! A fun stop in Victoria!

Men's basketball gold Olympics on television. Fun to watch with a whole group of people.

Came here for a quick lunch snack. Got the Italian soda, a bowl of clam chowder, and the lobster cake.

The Italian soda was very mid. Nearly flavourless, but maybe that's some people's thing.

The clam chowder on the other hand was really delicious. Very chunky--lots of bits inside, and very thick. It came with butter and two large pieces of bread that were surely bread. No complaints.

The lobster cake was good in flavour but even my soft mouth hated the mush texture. It was falling apart on the plate as I broke into it. The salad on the side didn't quite fit either in my opinion.

Service was great. The patrons are quite rambunctious and it was really loud inside (there was a soccer game going on).

Our waitress Shay was friendly and welcoming

We started by ordering a few glasses of wine, a double scotch, and an old fashioned

The place is trending, it has a youthful clientele, we left around 9:00 pm and the place was completely full. If you want a happening place this is the one for beer, libations and bar food.

Had a great time here while visiting Victoria. Saturday night there was live music and the drinks were well made. I tried a whiskey flight that was very good. A little disappointed they stopped serving food. I would have ordered more drinks if there was a late night food menu.

Went back the next day for lunch. The pork belly poutine and French Dip were both amazing. The barrel aged old fashioned on happy hour was excellent. Will definitely come back when in the area.

Came here to celebrate an anniversary and it did not disappoint. The inside was beautiful with its lighting and wood finishes. We had the salmon and prime rib, and both were excellent. All the drinks we ordered were good as well. The only thing we didn't like was the hostess who was showing us to our table walked very fast ahead of us which we thought was rude. We noticed she did that to other couples as well so it should be something worth rectifying.

Bard & Banker is an awesome pub in Victoria's Inner Harbor area and a great spot for food & drinks with a group. Located in a historic bank building, they offer a pub atmosphere that is both elegant and inviting - truly a cool space to spend some time. They offer a good variety of standards - I would call it the nicer side of pub food.

We had the calamari, fried cauliflower, and pork belly poutine, which was a highlight. I had a half-rack of the ribs, which were good, if not exceptional. The crispy mashed potatoes as a side were bursting with flavor and the real highlight of the dish. Service was friendly, although a bit disorganized (entrees came out at the same time are our apps)

Stopped by for the long weekend and yes there was live music here. We got here at 10:15 pm and though the place closes at 1am their kitchen apparently shuts down at 10pm (bummer) so we went to grab a bite else and then got here to enjoy some live music and drinks! The live music was too loud to be honest for our liking almost deafening if you are seated in the front tables. We moved to a booth at the back of the restaurant. The service was terrible and there was nobody coming to take our orders. Finally we walked and placed our orfer for a canadian whisky flight. The flight was okay. Overall it is a nice place to hang out with loud live music but dont expect to have any convos with your folks. One of the very few places open till 1am in Victoria.

Very nice older building, lots of character, two levels for dinning and private rooms for events, service was exceptional, food was very good, had the braised pork belly routine which was very good, clam chowder was thick, rich and buttery. Prawn pesto linguine was very good as well. Adult beverage selection is very extensive. Highly recommend when you are in downtown Victoria.

Had to find a quick meal before leaving Victoria and since this place was on the walk back to Chinatown from The Empress Hotel I decided to try out their happy hour.

Off the happy hour menu I went with the Poutine, Honey Garlic Wings and Mac & Cheese Arancini (turned out to be Lobster Risotto Balls due to a typo on menu). The food in general was just ok, maybe a little uninspired. The best thing was the honey garlic wings which the larger portion size was a good surprise. The poutine I'm pretty sure was overly salted and that's coming from someone who usually tolerates a higher salt level. They brought out the Lobster Risotto Balls and mentioned that the Mac & Cheese Arancini stated on the menu was some type of typo. In hindsight, they should have probably let this be known when I was putting in my order. They were fried nicely and had that subtle lobster flavor, but I really wanted those Mac & Cheese Arancini. I went with the Driftwood IPA since I had one earlier in the day and it's a local beer. A very hoppy local beer just FYI.

I think the best part about the place is the aesthetic. It's a very warm, classic/classy vibe with lots of wood and leather booths. It's a sizeable place that is widely spread about two stories. I could see coming here just for a quick drink when I'm back in the area. Service was alright for what it was. It's very easy to spot since it's a larger restaurant so you'll be able to find it. It appears they run daily specials and have live music so the nights might be more busy, but it was pretty slow when I was there for happy hour on a random Thursday.

Cheers!

Ordered the pork belly sandwich and it was amazing. Had the clam chowder as my side and it was also tasty. Had a Moscow mule that was excellent. Wife had caprese sandwich and side salad. Pretty good overall, I'm not a fan of that much pesto. The service was excellent. Waitress was very friendly and attentive. Ambiance was also great. Very cool decor. I would certainly come back here again.