Will be staying in Victoria one day and four days in the Ucluelet/Tofino area.

Any good/unique dining? No Italian please,
looking more for restaurants that utilize local products in their cooking and/or have a unique dish or atmosphere to them.

In Tofino, Schooner or Sea Shanty both have very good seafood (Schooner has a more sophisticated menu and wine list), Sea Shanty has a better view! Tofino Chamber of Commerce web site has a restaurant section and some links will have menu information.

http://www.island.net/~tofino/

The best fine-dining in the area is probably the Pointe at Wickaninnish Inn (near Tofino). Beautiful location, sophisticated and inventive menu and wine list featuring West Coast items. A real winner.
http://www.wickinn.com/

The Tin-Wis hotel has a restaurant with native Indian items, but we found the service there pretty poor.

In Victoria, there are many, many good restaurants. Cafe Brio does have a Tuscan influence on their menu but they feature local items. Highly recommended, but no view. Menu at:

http://www.cafe-brio.com/

Pescatores Fish House does seafood in innovative and classic ways...

http://www.pescatores.com/

Milestone's (on the Inner Harbour) has one of the best locations in the city. Get a booth by the huge windows (open to let the seabreeze in) and look out over the harbour and the Empress Hotel. Stay until sunset and watch the Legislature building get lit up with thousands of lights. Very comfortable seating, mixed menu, good quality. No web site!

Sooke Harbour House and the Aerie Resort are famous for their menus and winelists, but are further out of the downtown area. You would have to drive to them, but it might be worth it if you want something really special.

For casual fare, Spinnaker's Brew pub, Swan's Brew pub, the Harbour Canoe Club and SouthBay all have excellent locations on the water and nice views. Menus vary and can be quite tasty, as are some of the local beers.

One of my favourite spots in the city is the BlackFish Cafe (on the Innner Harbour, where the floatplanes take off and land). It is a small casual cafe but I love to sit on the floating patio (on the water) and sip a BC dry sparkling apple cider and watch the floatplanes come and go...

I've heard and read alot about Sooke Harbour House and believe I really want to try this place. Is Sooke Harbor House west or north of Victoria?

The Wickaninnish Inn, The Aerie and also Hastings House are all Relaix & Chateaux
members, I was surprised to see three R&C members on Vancouver Island. http://www.relaischateaux.com/site/us/home
For Breakfast in Victoria, I received two suggestions. "The Blue Fox" and "John's Place". Any comments?

"I've heard and read alot about Sooke Harbour House and believe I really want to try this place. Is Sooke Harbor House west or north of Victoria?"

Well, from downtown Victoria, you would go north a bit to Hwy 1 or 1A and then you go west on Hwy 14. It's about 25 miles total. Here is a map...

http://www.sookeharbourhouse.com/shh/map.html

They also have some sample menus...

and more info on The Aerie is at their web site... I have stayed and dined at the The Aerie and it was fabulous! People were very nice, casual but oh so elegant at the same time.

http://www.aerie.bc.ca

You might be interested in The Gourmet Trail, an exploration of some fine dining on Vancouver Island. Check it here:

http://www.aerie.bc.ca/05.html

For breakfasts or lunches, I think both Blue Fox and John's place are great! The Blue Fox was the ONLY place I would go for omelettes for a long time, but it became so popular and they crowded so many tables in there, that I don't go there anymore. Aim for a weekday or off-hour if you don't like crowds and elbows. Also, no view (although both are interesting areas to walk around) and no outdoor seating, although the restaurants/buildings have some colour!

My first choice these days is Ogden Point Cafe, because it is right at the breakwater at Ogden Point (where the cruise ships dock) and has an outdoor patio. The food is casual and cafeteria-style but often surprisingly good and there are few places to compare with the view. You can go for a short walk along the breakwater (out to the lighthouse) or along the Dallas Road seawall and then go for breakfast or lunch at the Cafe.

Here is a short blurb with limited photo:
http://www.helprite.com/ogdenpointcafe.html

Depends what you like, but I love to be outdoors or at least to be able to see the ocean -- that is why I moved here!!!

By the way, theWineGuy is in Victoria at Sooke Harbour House this weekend. I am hoping he will let us know about his trip. See this thread....
http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...ML/006849.html