Flying Otter Grill — Restaurant in Victoria

Went for lunch to the Flying Otter yesterday. It’s been a couple years since I’ve been there (pre-Covid) so I was looking forward to it. We walked into the restaurant and I noticed that things had changed. They’ve now adopted an “order first then get seated” setup. Not realizing this, it took a few moments to figure out what we wanted and place our order. Apparently they hadn’t received their food delivery yet so they were out of some menu items (of course they were the items we wanted to order). We ended up ordering a 2-piece cod fish and chips with a side salad, a sirloin burger and a cup of their seafood chowder, as well as a couple of drinks. The prices were a bit higher than average but that’s understandable considering the location.

We took our seat and within minutes the food arrived. The portions were very generous. The pictures don’t really do justice, especially the fish and chips which my mom got into before I could snap a pic. The food was all very tasty and nicely prepared and very hot. The atmosphere is hard to beat - overlooking the harbour planes and whale watching boats in our beautiful Inner Harbour.

The only issue I had was with the order/pay first setup. Quite honestly, there’s really no benefit to it in my opinion. Customers are put on the spot to make their order before they’ve had a chance to look at the menu. If there’s a line up then you feel even more pressure. And even though there were two people taking orders, if those two employees and the two food runners took orders at the tables in the traditional manner, it would’ve made the experience that much more enjoyable and wouldn’t have been any more work than the current system. In fact, when you count someone coming to our table to bring our drinks, then bring our food, then bring our cutlery, it would have been more efficient. And nobody asked us how our food was once we had tasted it, likely because nobody was actually looking after our table.

All in all the experience was good, the food definitely worth going in for. But I will think twice about going back for the simple fact that I prefer traditional table service. When I go out to eat at a restaurant I want it to feel like I’m in a restaurant and being served....

Not sure why I don't come to this restaurant more often; I enjoyed the ambiance, location, food, and menu items. It's a reasonable place to take someone for a date- however not too intimate, pretty casual for a setting.

Date dinner with the Hubby almost a month ago (haven't reviewed), didn't know it was two for one appetizer Saturdays. OF COURSE we ordered the two-for-one! Why not? It's there, if it wasn't something we enjoyed, we didn't have to order it or come back, so there was nothing to lose.

Had no regrets on the selection; ordered the wings with Apple BBQ flavour, and the calamari. Be warned, the calamari does have some spicy kick to it- and I like spicy. Still delicious. Wings were crispy, even with the sauce- just a personal preference.

For the entrees my husband ordered the Halibut burger - but somehow ended up with the two-piece halibut fish and chips- he went with it, and didn't have any regrets. The batter wasn't overly thick, and the fish was thankfully not dry. My own order was spicy prawn tacos, and they were lovely. nice, light, refreshing. It comes with a side, but thankfully I chose this, because the appetizers were filling enough. The fries were nothing remarkable, but I did enjoy them.

We arrived around 5:30pm, to which dinner was just getting started- the tables were about 90% full, and our food still arrived at a "reasonable time" (we were in and out in an hour, without rushing our order and dinner). The atmosphere was overall good; didn't feel rushed, didn't feel like we were inconveniencing anyone when we asked for refills of our drinks. I will, of course, come back again. Even for a somewhat price-conscious person, I'm very satisfied with my visit.

Highlights for me: Accessible washroom Two-for-one Appetizer Saturdays (excluding a few items) Easy parking Good service and food

Take...

We are longtime residence of Victoria and have had many friends and family. Recommend this place to us. We were walking by on a Friday evening and saw the fish and chip special and thought we would give it a try. The atmosphere was fantastic, the service was great. We were impressed when we received our one piece and two piece fish and chip special as the portions looked very large. The fries were fine. The tartar sauce was fine. The coleslaw was OK. The fish was terrible. My husband and I both eat fish and chips quite often and love to find new places to get them. Although the portions were large, the fish had that large black vein down the middle with the foul taste, overall it was not good. Fishsticks from the store would have been better. Neither my husband or I could finish our portion. When we let the waiter know they offered to take our one drink off the bill. We eat out a lot and spend a lot of money at restaurants and I was flabbergasted that this was the minimal concession they would offer us for this poor meal. We were told that because it was the special they couldn’t help us with the price. I was under the impression that specials are there to bring people in not to serve them subpar food at a low price. I think specials are a great way to get people in the door and show them the kind of food you want to offer people. This was a very poor representation and it will take a lot to get us back there. I hope no friends or family ask us to go here to eat as we will likely be declining. Heading out to get my husband some dinner, for the second time this evening. What a waste of a...