Pagliacci's

The restaurant was packed Sunday night for dinner when we arrived at 7pm. The doorway was crowded as the host stopped by infrequently to take down names. Parties of 2 were seated the quickest whereas our party of 3 waited much longer to be seated. We managed to score seats at a booth which provided ample room as they were playing table tetris to clear an area for the live band playing at the restaurant.

I'm rating the food 3 stars and adding an additional star for the ambience of the live entertainment. I flipped back and forth between the Dempsey's Lasagna and Meat John Doe. I probably should have gone with the earlier as I couldn't imagine an Italian restaurant messing up on spaghetti and meatballs. The menu described "Meat John Doe", spicy meatballs and linguine in tomato sauce with parmesan.

We were given free garlic bread. The bread was toasted perfectly but it was too salty with the garlic portion. My wife went with the Dine Around special, which consisted of the Veal with risotto, a salad, and a dessert for $30. The entree on its own was priced at $28 so she thought she was getting a good deal.

Our entrees arrived on a hot plate but the food was not temperature hot. It felt like the food was left under the heat lamp for a tad too long given how busy the restaurant was. My linguine was under sauced even after trying to mix it in with the tomato sauce. The meatball was not spicy on its own but contained a layer of spicy tomato sauce on top. The meatballs had good flavoring with the spicy sauce but didn't stand out on its own, plus the meatball tasted dry on its own. My wife's dish looked disappointing for the price as the deal was nothing special. The veal was overcooked and hard to cut with a steak knife. The marsala had good flavor and went well with the edible parts of the veal. The risotto needed a bit more time to cook through as some of the rice was still hard but overall above average in flavor.

The dessert option with her meal consisted of vanilla gelato, NY cheesecake and marble cheesecake. She went with the NY Cheesecake and it was just that. Good but not outstanding.

Service was a bit slow due to the restaurant being busy so our waters took a while to get refilled but overall the waitstaff was friendly. I don't plan to come back next time I'm in Victoria.

OMG. Vancouver clams are legit good. We ended up ordering 2 lbs worth of it during happy hour at Pagliacci's. Definitely a must stop for us whenever we are in Victoria Island. On the menu, it's listed as "OCEAN'S ELEVEN" and u can get either their mussels, Vancouver clams, jumbo prawns, or all 3 on a lemon, butter, garlic, & chili sauce that was so good we were scooping them up with the clam shells and dipping out bread in them. We got all clams because they were so good.

We also tried the SCROOGE MCDUCK which was their duck wings and it was tasty but you only get the drumette part of the wing so it wasn't my favorite. The KRABBY PATTY was their crab cakes and they were Delicious. It was a bit on the pricey side so we decided to order more of the clams instead but I would definitely get them again next time we come back.

The 33 acres IPA was light and delicious. Even for someone like me who doesn't normally like beer it was refreshing.

The staff was fast and friendly, the place small and intimate on the inside with comfortable booths on the sides. They also have space outside for those who want the fresh air. Definitely a nice looking place to enjoy a meal and drinks.

We came here for dinner because of a personal recommendation and because of the reviews I had read. I think we walked in at the perfect time because we were seated almost immediately, even though the restaurant was absolutely packed.

This felt like an Italian grandmother's kitchen who didn't turn anyone away and found a seat for just about everyone, eventually. That is to say the space between tables and seats was minimal, but hey this staff would be great at Tetris.

The food was good and enjoyable. I'd say the winner was the Minnesota Fats dish, or their version of arancini. These were light and the filling was flavorful and cooked to perfection. The second best was the New York cheesecake, which was a great way to finish.

We also ordered the lasagna, the crab cakes, and a slider. These were good, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend them as hits.

I did really appreciate that the meat in most cases was only beef and wasn't mixed with any pork since we don't eat pork.

This is a solid Victoria Italian restaurant. It was recommended by a hostess at The Empress, and we did enjoy it. Nothing spectacular, but good food.

They have specials on drinks and appetizers during their happy hour from 3:00-5:00. We got the Krabby Patty (a tiny crab cake, but good) and the Pete Rose Headfirst Slider (includes two meatballs) for $6 each.

My wife got the La Scala (a pasta Bolognese), and I got the meat lasagna. Both were good.

Our server was exceptional. Very attentive and ready to assist.

The place has a lot of pictures all around it. It feels a bit like a Manhattan restaurant. Seating is really crowded.

Not worth the hype. Food was overrated. We had 3 dishes- nothing that was wow or super flavorful.

Bar none, the best Italian food we have ever had (including the food we had in Italy!). The Mr.Roberts seafood lasagna was amazing, the Dempsey lasagna was also fabulous. One of our party ordered from a "choice menu" with three options and had the best halibut and Scallops he's ever had! The Manhattan Transfer was only marginally less spectacular. We were amazed by the Chianti we shared. It was memorable the place was totally packed but it didn't matter because the food was crazy good!

Absolutely delicious!! The impeccable service on top of delicious menu items, truly made our first dining experience in Victoria memorable. This restaurant was referred to us by several people at a recent visit to a store when we asked for recommendations for dinner, and we weren't disappointed. The bread, Meatballs and marble cheesecake overloaded my taste buds with yummy deliciousness. The ambiance and impeccable service was top notch. I think our tall. Dark and handsome young man waiter, whom ithink was named Xavier, was not only a cutie patootie, but full of charm and personality:) The small world Italian charm of this restaurant surpassed our expectations.

Came with hubby and one of our sons, with high expectations as hubby started his career cooking at the Nanaimo location. Pagliacci's did not disappoint. From the deservedly famous focaccia through appies, pasta entrees, and desserts, we were blown away. The service was great, the ambience was awesome, and we will definitely be back.

Stopped in for happy hour and had a great time! The focaccia bread was tasty (more on the oily side) and delicious! Tried the duck wings, clams, crab cake, and risotto balls. The duck wings ended up being a surprise hit- tangy and tender. The meat came right off the bone. Had the Catalina wine mixer to drink which was like an alcoholic lemonade. Loved it! The space is small and tables are close, however at the early hour, it wasn't a problem. Parties all seemed to be a table away so it didn't feel crowded.

I was on the fence and a bit nervous about the food since I read mixed reviews online. We waited approximately 20-30 minutes before we got a table when we came around 7pm on a Monday evening. The good thing was that we got to dine with the live music since it started at 8pm and we basically got the table around 730, so by the time we were enjoying our meal, the music started.

We came with our toddler and it was very generous of them that they served kid's pasta complimentary (you can either choose the pasta plain w just butter and cheese or w tomatoes sauce) and kid's shirley temple. My toddler was very very happy with their dinner (she loveeedd the live music too).

The star of the meal was the Hemingway (tortellini), we ordered large and smaller stomach can certainly split the plate. It was very flavorful and not too rich. We did not opt for the baked version. The LA strada was good too, .y hubby liked his plate clean!

For dessert we shared the black and white checker cake. It was 16 CAD, but the piece was quite large and 3 of us shared it.

Service was friendly, but the keep in mind the restaurant is compact and always busy so you do get seated close together. They also have outdoor seating, but you won't get to enjoy the live music if you sit outside.

We certainly recommend this restaurant for a great meal with live music (starts at 8pm).

Stopped by here for the happy hour on a drizzly Saturday afternoon while waiting for the return clipper to Seattle. We just wanted a few light appetizers as we would be doing quite a bit of walking afterwards while waiting for the boat.

The waitress seemed quite put out that we would only be having appetizers and not ordering entrees or alcoholic beverages. At that point the service was subpar but let's skip to the good stuff.

For the appetizers we had their complimentary bread, which like everywhere in town was divine! We also had the arancini 3/5, the crab cake 5/5 ( I ordered a second one) and the meatball sliders 4/5.

Decent prices for happy hours apps but I would hesitate to return given the hostile vibe of the waitstaff if you aren't ordering entrees (the waiter acted the same to the couple next to us who ordered one drink and 3 appetizers).