Browns Social House - Victoria BC

Decor & Ambience - Pretty basic and corporate. Trendy sign work with random top 40 playlists. Clean and comfortable, like your Dads midlife crisis sports car, but you know there is something slightly off lurking under appearances.
Good for when you … - Want to meet up with co-workers, business meetings, casual drinks with friends or a potential date. They do have a decent happy hour. There are TVs for sports and the bar has a giant trough to sit around and scope out your next sugar mama or daddy.
Service - Woo boy, I have gone here several times, and every single time without fail it is pretty lacking. From really long drink waits (I know that bartender didn't pour my beer an inch below the rim), to weird food misunderstandings, it is a bit of trial and error. I served for a long time, so I can say they are probably great in giving new servers a chance to learn to navigate the hellish yet financially rewarding business that is the restaurant industry. Good on them! Someones gotta churn out our next generation of Earls Girls.
Food - It is decently priced for what you get, and the portions are okay. Nothing to write home about, you get what you pay for here.

Drinks - The drinks are good, when they're delivered in a timely fashion. You might have to explain what a side of clam means, but hey, we can't get every thing we want in life easy.
Hot Sauce Supply - Debatable. I've been offered sriracha and Tabasco when asking for a side of hot sauce. This is wrong on many levels. So you can get some sub par Franks from the back, for a small charge.
WiFi - Free
Hours - 11-late
Price - $$




CRITICAL SPOON RATING 



/7

Omakase Izakaya & Sushi Bar - Victoria BC

Decor & Ambience - Relaxed sushi joint, convenient location if you're in the downtown hood. Clean with pretty basic decor. Nice calming muzak played in the background, never seems to get too loud or bumping.
Good for when you … - Good for dining alone, or with a friend or 2. Excellent place to take a date if you want to impress them with your knowledge of nigiri or your chop stick game. Kid friendly, I've never asked, but they're so nice I'm sure they'd give you a fork if you can't navigate them chopsticks.
Service - Really good, almost too good. Those servers are all about the green tea refills. They're probably supposed to be that attentive but damn, I don't need to drink 12 cups of green tea no matter how small they are. Other than drowning by green tea, the service is good.
Food - The sushi is great. I love sushi. I really love sushi. Their sushi is fresh, prepared on the spot and always displayed beautifully. I wasn't so crazy about their ramen but it takes some mega ramen game to impress me. Specialty rolls are awesome but a bit pricey, basic rolls are affordable and tasty. Food is brought out as it is ready, which gives you time to finish all the green tea refills.

Drinks - The green tea is plentiful. I've never had a cocktail here, because I don't believe in ordering cocktails at restaurants that don't have a bartender, I'm too young for that much disappointment. They have import beers and a couple shitty domestics. Obviously if you're getting sushi, you're not going to be drinking Kokanee (am I right?) Kirin or Asahi all the way. Or you can totally impress your date and order saki, hot or cold, live a little.
Hot Sauce Supply - You don't need hot sauce at a sushi joint. But they probably have chili oil if you ask.
WiFi - Yes
Hours -
Price - $$, not gonna break your wallet, but if you're a millennial swimming in debt, save this for an extra special treat ("I bombed my midterms I need a pick me up!" or "I aced my midterms, go me!") That being said, its still my favorite sushi spot in Victoria.


CRITICAL SPOON RATING




/7

Smiths Pub - Victoria BC

Smiths Pub

Decor & Ambience - Classic english style pub, dark and brooding. Union Jacks placed strategically throughout (what up Monarchy) and a couple of TVs for game time. Some booths, regular tables and high tops. You can also sit at the bar depending on how lonely you are.
Good for when you … - Want to watch the game and get some pub comfort food. Chill place to sit with your friends or get lit up, just prepare for the glares from calmer folks, as long as you love you and your loud antics, ain’t nothing that can touch ya, just do you baby. Good for homework in the afternoon. Kids not allowed.
Service - Pretty relaxed servers, which is nice. Don’t go here if you want to be treated like royalty, because they’ll get to you when they get to you. I don’t know why you’d go here to be treated like royalty anyway, but I guess we gotta live within our means.
Food - Good old pub food. If you do crossfit, you only come here on a cheat day. Its oily, salty and probably cooked with a cows worth of butter. Satisfying but alarming, like hooking up with an old ex, or that tinder date who flexes in his picture.

Drinks - Great beer specials, nice local beers and decent cocktails.
Hot Sauce Supply - Franks, tried and true. Not gonna wow you but hey atleast its not tabasco.
WiFi - Free! Halleluja.
Hours - 12 - 1 or 2 am.
Price - $ - $$

CRITICAL SPOON RATING


/ 7

ABOUT

The Critical Spoon is a sass talking foodie from Saskatoon Saskatchewan, who has spent the past decade bouncing farther west until she landed in Victoria, BC. During university, while trying to find suitable places to study, drink beer, have existential crisis's while studying for exams, the Critical Spoon realized that websites like tripadvisor and yelp didn't filter out the things that were important to her. Namely, is it good for studying, is the coffee decent, is the beer good, and what hot sauce do they supply? Thus, the Critical Spoon was born.

This blog is for you if you've ever based your taco tuesday decision on the hot sauce the establishment supplies. (NOTE: Tabasco is not fucking hot sauce meant for tacos.) This blog is for you if you ever wanted to escape screaming children, hoards of crossfit bros or young adults who have given up on college to crush another beer or two. Or maybe thats the crowd you're looking for. Either way, the Critical Spoon is here to direct you to a spot that fulfills all the needs basic review websites over look!

Mostly based in Victoria, the Critical Spoon does make occasional visits to the mainland and will comment on the places she eats there. Its a hard job, but she does it, for you. And to remind herself where the good hot sauce lives!