Tacos & Tortillas at MAiiZ Nixtamal

A bright, clattering Mexican brunch room inside Market Square, where the benny lands on a potato pancake under pulled pork.

A Market Square cantina since 1985, with over a hundred mezcals and bartenders who'll happily narrate your descent into agave enthusiasm.

Victoria's neon-lit Korean pocha pub, where you pile the table with tteokbokki and pour each other rounds of soju all night.

Yunnan-province home cooking on Fisgard: handmade dumplings, rich beef noodle bowls and food that punches above its price tag.

Steak frites and French red by candlelight in a Chinatown schoolhouse that doesn't take reservations for two, so arrive early.

Brad Holmes rewrites the menu weekly in a tiny, loud Chinatown room, so come curious and ready to share everything.

Walk-in BC oysters shucked to order on Blanshard Street, with all-day Sunday happy hour and a 4.8 you can actually trust.

Victoria's long-running Ethiopian-Eritrean room, where dinner is one shared platter by hand and the closing act is a from-scratch coffee ceremony.

Handmade roti, all-day curry, scotch bonnet heat: the buss-up-shut that tells you everything about who you're with.

A tiny chandelier-lit Fisgard Street patisserie of glossy macarons and cream-filled Paris-Brest that sells out before you have decided.

Victoria's Chinatown tasting menu that critics keep whispering 'Michelin' about, with just enough seats to feel like a genuine secret.

Victoria's Korean spot for crispy three-glaze fried chicken, a bubbling army stew with cheese, and a 4.5 that keeps the room packed late.

A 50-seat Fernwood wine bar in a charmingly creaky heritage building, built for daily-changing small plates and old-world wine.

Fort Street's oven-roasted Korean chicken spot where the lighter, juicier alternative to deep-fry has a near-perfect 4.7 to back it up.