Waterfront Dinner at Aura

Tasting flights of award-winning organic cider on a ten-acre Saanich Peninsula orchard above the water, reservations required on weekends.

Fort Street's Italian-leaning West Coast institution: house salumi, 300 bottles of wine and a room that makes three hours vanish.

An 1889 heritage house in James Bay where the cooking is vegetable forward, the light is good and nothing is in a hurry.

A Tudor heritage manor ringed by wild oaks, with crackling fireplaces, heated patios, and Times Colonist dining wins year after year.

A brand-new marina room in Sidney where nearly every table looks out over the boats, wild BC seafood and an award-list of wine.

A deaf owned cafe on the West Bay Marina boardwalk, serving waffles, smoked salmon toast and an ocean view from 7am.

A tiny room at the far end of Sidney's pier where the halibut is worth the money and the Mount Baker view is free.

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

Thirty seats in Sidney, chef Matt Jackson's French-technique hyper-local cooking, and a 4.7 that explains why those seats go fast.

Sidney's teal boothed diner on Beacon Avenue, turning out stuffed Belgian waffles and five different hashes three blocks from the sea.

The hotel restaurant exception: Chef Peter Kim's seafood-forward Inner Harbour room where locals actually fight for a table.

Brentwood Bay's one table actually on the dock, open to 8pm Friday and Saturday, with kayaks tied up a few metres away.

The West Shore branch of Victoria's pink diner, where you can hand the menu back, say Mahoney, and let the kitchen decide for you.