West Coast Tasting at The Courtney Room

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tiered scones, clotted cream, lavender-kissed preserves and 21 loose-leaf teas under the Empress chandeliers: pinkie-out grandeur, done properly.

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

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.

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

Floor-to-ceiling harbour views and a West Coast kitchen at the literal edge of the Inner Harbour seawalk.

Fort Street's beloved all day breakfast room since 1991, with art crammed onto every wall and a benny list that runs to double digits.

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

The Oak Bay brunch where the chefs also own a Saanich farm, and the farm writes the menu.