Stage Wine Bar

Our last dinner in Victoria is a place that was recommended to us by the bartender at Brasserie l'ecole. Located a little bit out of town, in a section of Victoria called Fernwood. Parking is  a bit hard to come by, but it's worth it for a visit.  
  The people that I talked said that the bartender at Stage is amazing, so instead of wine, we opted to try some of their cocktails. Here is the Absinthe Orange , made with three different alcohols: Bombay Sapphire, La fee absinthe, Grand Marnier. Despite the amount of alcohol in this drink, what really comes through is the citrus from the orange and a hint of absinthe. And I loved the kitschy glass that this came in. 
Most of their food offerings are tapas sized and meant for sharing. Because we had already had Nachos at Irish Times, this was perfect for some light bites. We started off with the Sooke Trout. The portion was larger that I expected for a "tapas" and it was really good. I love it when they serve the skin with fish, especially when it's crispy. Rounding out the place were some green beans and a smokey cured bacon. The saltiness of the pork paired well with the trout, and the whole dish came to life when you squirted some of the juices from the grilled lemon. This was definitely a winner.
We wanted some meaty goodness in addition to the trout, so we got the Lamb Merguez Sausage. Again the portion surprised me, I guess I'm just used to the rather tiny servings of tapas in other places. The sausage was a bit drier than I was used to, but the chickpea ragout accompanying it helped to balance that out.

Take Note:

• Amazing cocktails, if you don't see it on the list, ask for it anyways, they might just surprise you
• Reasonably priced, three drinks and the food you see here for under $60
• Parking nearly impossible, but you can park at the Victoria High School front and back lots.

Looking for more Victoria ideas? Here you go!