BC Legislative Dining Room — Restaurant in Victoria

A lovely, calm dining room tucked away in the back of the historic BC Legislature building. The food reliably hovers between very good to excellent, the waiting staff are friendly and knowledgeable, the tables feature crisp linens, and the rooms are lined with interesting period photographs. It's a charming, relaxed environment -- a treasure that surprisingly few Victorians still know about. If you opt for lunch, consider ordering one of the current features (that's where the chef gets to be creative) and don't hesitate to ask your waiter/waitress for their recommendation. Everything I've ever had was yummy but I think their preparation of fish is especially good. Reserve some room for dessert if you can, for the selection is amazing. And the brewed (and very decent) coffee is bottomless!

Reservations? Absolutely, you should phone and make a reservation for lunch, as you'll have scant chance of getting a table otherwise (the number is on their site). More spontaneous diners will find that breakfast and mid-morning coffee are a better bet. Either way you'll have to go through security and forfeit (temporarily) one piece of photo ID to get into the building, so be prepared for that.

How do you get there? Do a search on 'Legislative Dining Room' or 'Parliamentary Dining Room' - either one will get you to their homepage, although the latter is how they describe themselves on their site. The month's featured lunch entrees are posted there, along with links to their permanent breakfast and lunch menus (in PDF format). The public can visit the dining room any non-stat-holiday weekday except for lunchtimes (11-1) when the Legislature is in session: that's when the dining room is (quite reasonably) reserved for the building's staff. (The webpage links to the current calendar for reference.) Hours vary slightly -- again, check the homepage for the specific day you're considering -- but in general you're always safe between 8:30 am and 2:00 pm.

When you arrive, you'll pass through security and receive a pass to clip onto your clothes. Next, follow a line on the floor through a series of hallways and down some stairs. This route may prove challenging to some people with physical disabilities, so call the dining room to check on elevator access.

P.S. Note that the Parliamentary Dining Room is NOT open for dinner and never has been (despite what one Google reviewer says). It is also not air conditioned -- they rely on open windows to provide cooling breezes -- so if you're very sensitive to heat, it's best to visit on a day that's not too...

I called to at 9am on May 24 to try and make a reservation. Whoever worked that day (a woman) as the person to answer the phone was the rudest person I’ve ever encountered in customer service.

Situation: we called to ask if they had room for a group of 7. She answered like she could not be bothered “uh sorry we don’t, we only have a table for 4”. Alright understandable. We hang up. I call back 5 mins later to see if we could just put our name down for the 4 person table (a few of our free group decided to let the rest of us go since some of us really wanted to try) and with the most ATTITUDE the lady says “ I already told you: WE. DONT. HAVE. ROOM. FOR. 7. People”. I reply “yes I know, I just want the table for 4.” She responds “Yea. No. Not available”. Like what the hell is wrong with her.

This lady needs to realize that her attitude is simply not okay. I understand that people don’t have the best days that that’s alright. But you need to be able to separate your emotions and your work life, and if this is how she normally is, she should NOT be working in customer service. It was embarrassing for her and it was one of the most unpleasant interactions I’ve had. Imagine being one representing the parliament and acting like this.. not...

So, I've always looked forward to visiting the legislative dinning with my hubby, we finally were able to make a reservation a week prior. I had booked our reservation for just 2, but obviously life happens, and things change... my toddler had to come along with us making it a total of 3 people. Our reservation was for April 12th at 11am. I got there and explained to the lady that we were now 3 as opposed to 2…the lady at the front desk was super rude and her manner of approach towards us was horrible... she was like you should have called to let us know... don't you know we are busy over here... the tone of her voice made us want to leave and I was like if this is a big deal, I’ll rather just leave. I don't have an issue with her telling us all that, but she really needs to get a proper customer service training on how to approach customers as well as speak calmly to folks no matter their race.... you don't talk down on folks or make them feel stupid. Sadly, I don't remember her name. Nevertheless, the server was nice, and his...