Grad House Restaurant — Restaurant in Saanich

As a young scholar, I've been to a lot of graduate pubs for...research purposes and....networking. To those of you who 'just' go to a pub and drink, I'll let you in on a secret: most grad pubs have cheap beer, absolutely terrible food, and 'experimental' music.

In short: most grad pubs are terrible, and you probably don't want to set you foot in them. If not for their close proximity to classrooms and cheap food, I don't think that many of these pubs would remain in existence.

The Grad House at the University of Victoria, however, is a different story entirely. I've brought non-graduate students (read: people with money that can afford to go to 'real' restaurants) here and they are universally pleased with the food. There is a reasonable selection on the menu, catering to vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, and usually reasonably priced drinks. Prices are spectacularly low for the quality of food (catering to the grad student budget), which means you can really stretch your dime.

I'll note one item on the menu (which happens to be my favorite!): the chicken club actually has massive pieces of real chicken in it - you're not forced to stomach cold cut meat that you can get at a grocery store, and is served at many places around Victoria. All of the entrees that I've ordered off the menu are replete with fresh ingredients - you won't have to suffer reheated crap - and the portions are generous enough that a grad student can eat a meal there and just nibble for the rest of the day.

In terms of the environment itself, there is a 'lounge' area along with a more formal restaurant. This means you can choose the kind of 'pub formality' you want (though I will warn you that the couches by the fireplace do tend to fill up quickly). The serve staff is extremely pleasant on most days, though you may have to work a bit to catch their attention every now and again.

In short: if you're around UVic, and want a delightful meal with fresh ingredients and cheap drink, the Grad House is a wonderful place to spend...

The Grad Lounge is open to everyone, not just graduate students. It's a great place on campus, for sharing a drink with friends. They offer outdoor seating on a patio and the indoor space is large and comfortable. I have found the staff to be very friendly and welcoming.

When they renovated a few years ago, they got rid of their large television and pool table. I think that they should have at least, kept the pool table.

As far as their food is concerned, I can only attest to the quality of their burger and fries. Both were excessively greasy, and not to be recommended. Since the renovation, the price of their food went way up, and it seems that the quality went way down. It's particularly unfortunate for the...

I was delightfully surprised by the number of goodlooking items on the menu. Some places seem to overextend themselves and offer too much, other places just don't have much interesting to offer; this place is in the goldilocks zone in between. The atmosphere is good; there are board games in one room, a piano for (approximately limited) use, but overall it's got a really straightforward, comfortable vibe and décor - not too dark, dirty, or sterile. And for all that and the generous portions, the price is absolutely unbeatable. I'll be...