Hanks A Restaurant

If I was a chef/cook, I'd eat here. And if not, I'd still pretend. Dynamite flavor, ample servings and attentive professional service. Plus a bomb 90's/early oughts hip hop soundtrack? Pasta was al dente, beats were banging, and a good time was had by all.

I unfortunately only enjoyed 1 of the several dishes that we tried (but the portion was super small and not worth the price). Most items were burnt, too salty, or both. The burger's flavor was flat (all I could taste was the dry beef and overwhelming burnt cheese). The chorizo tostada was more like potato tostada with a sprinkle of majorly salty chorizo. There were no good veg/salad options to balance out any of the heaviness. Each dish came out quite sporadically... I could ramble on.

Our service was fairly awkward throughout the night. I was lastly shocked at how many people they turned away at the door simply because they had not made a reservation, even though half of the restaurant remained empty the whole time we were there (presumably reserved spots that simply no-showed).

Even with all the other good reviews, I really doubt I would give this place another try even if someone else paid for the meal.

I've only been here the one time, but man oh man will I be back! This small, intimate restaurant is perfect for those looking for something romantic, local and very charming. There is only about 15 seats in the entire restaurant and I don't believe they take reservations. It's more of a: if they have room- you better take advantage of it.

I wish I was able to go into more depth as to what these guys do- but pretty much everything they do is made in house from scratch. They have a small team but a knowledgeable one. Hank's is a great place to go if you appreciate the art of cuisine. Ask questions because everyone there is super friendly and wants to teach the community about what it is they do.

Check it out if you're walking by and you see room! It's worth it.

Very small restaurant, lovely staff
Burger was salty, cold bun
Cauliflower excellent

Fun - lots of character and an amazing effort. Staff really cares and tries... A small sit at the bar "it's about the food" place. This place is on the edge of being 5 stars,not quite there yet, but easily could be ... the base of each dish great but then lacked that final complex searching for changing /balanced flavor complexity. That said the 150 day aged beef with beet reduction was terrific by any standard as was the home made ham. The dark truffle dishes relied too much on the truffles. The pasta very good but was missing that last aromatic, herb or cumin finish ...wine list interesting but could be a bit more sophisticated. Also the tightly measured pour is a bit clinical and counter to the warmth and vibe of the place. I am being tough because they really could totally nail it with that last push...

Just amazing.
Everyone here is super nice, always happy to strike a nice conversation, give you recommendations and the story behind each dish.
It's clear that they are passionate about food and are excited about their menu, which is always changing and featuring amazing local handpicked ingredients.
Don't be afraid of their heavier dishes, they are worth it!

Fancy fancy place...
Every meals was so original and amazing !!
I heard they change the menu once a month or something so I hope I can go back again.
But it's a bit pricey so maybe on some special day :)

This place is pretty small so maybe it's hard for a big group to come in when it gets busy. We saw a lot of people who tried to get a table but were told the waiting time and left.

Also the staff were good. Our server was friendly and another looked drunk ... I mean he looked happy.
:)

I'm looking forward to going back :):)

By far my favourite restaurant in Victoria. Never the same menu, never a less-than-spectacular meal.
This is my happy place.

Beautiful place, good food, always busy. The cheese, the burger, the pasta, all beautiful, thanks!!. I will back.

When this was Hanks Untraditional BBQ I gave them 5 stars. They changed my perception of BBQ and I went home to change my own BBQ recipes. I can't say any one establishment had that much of an impact on my own creations. It was a small place with a small menu and everything we tried was exceptional.

The last time I went by in February they were closed for remodeling (according to the guy at Blenz on the corner). We waited and returned to Hank's A restaurant excited but also a little scared. I'd seen an article in the local free rag about how they were going to cook whatever floated their boat at the time. I also followed their Twitter feed and saw how much they wandered around between cuisines. A bit apprehensive we wandered into Hank's again.

The environment has changed a bit. As what they cook has broadened it seems they needed more kitchen so what would have been half of the bar/counter space is not blocked off making a very small restaurant tiny holding maybe 25 people max. Worse is how you feel in Hank's. There are very dim bulbs hanging from the ceiling and the walls are painted black. Trendy or depressing? Our group of 4 unequivocally agreed to the latter. We sat in the booth that used to be the hallway to the back door. We were surrounded by black painted wood on three sides and a dim bulb that barely lit up the area enough to see. We looked longingly at the 4 top tables near the streetside window and sunlight. That is probably the only decent place to sit in the entire restaurant and there's only two of them.

Adding to the low light problem was a menu that's been hand written by someone who could have been a doctor. We had to ask the server several times to read it for us. If you're going to have cutesy handwritten menus have someone write them that has legible handwriting.

Both of our servers recommended the pork chop with gnocchi so we got that and a grilled cheese. The pork chop was exactly how you'd expect it - a bit tough and boring. Years ago when I worked in a restaurant we had a saying for some foods - inferior. There were some things that just aren't aimed for greatness so you just avoid them. No matter how talented you are they're not going to be great - spaghetti and meatballs comes to mind. Pork chops fit into that category. You can braise them, marinate them, cover them with sauce but they all still taste the same.

The gnocchi however were excellent. They were small, had the right chew to them and were seared lightly. The sauce with them was largely a basil heavy marinara and was lovely.

The grilled cheese is not what you think it is. It's a fairly tough rustic baguette cut open and grilled with some nice cheese inside it and a roasted chili pepper puree. Too tough for my mother to eat so she ate the tomatoes and lettuce that came with it and I ate her grilled cheese. I took one bite of the grilled cheese and thought Ooh! that pepper puree is nice. Then I took another bite and it started tasting a bit strong. By the time I got done I was so over the pure that I was scraping it off. Some things get old fast. As an hors d'oeuvre this would probably work but as a main plate it gets old.

So where does this leave Hanks? Lots of swinging at the ball and a few hits. Like a lot of restaurants that rotate their menus and try different things they don't have the time to perfect anything. The two guys running Hank's are clearly talented and they're willing to try new things but nothing we had was really great. There was always something that dragged the experience form a hell yeah to a shoulder shrug.

You can have a truly great simple dish like a smoked duck leg with a fresh lemon and rosemary potato salad that makes you exclaim or you can have a complex dish that tries to check a lot of boxes and a week later you can't remember. Hank's Untraditional BBQ was the former, Hank's A Restaurant is the latter. Sorry Hank's. If it's on the plate and I have to convince myself to eat it then it shouldn't be there. At Hank's Untraditional BBQ I didn't think, I just tasted until I ran out of food.