Sooke Harbour House

My experience with Sooke Harbour House was amazing! We booked the sunroom and patio space for our daughter’s twin baby shower and it was nothing short of fabulous! The event coordinator noted every detail and request to make the vision for our theme happen. The food was as delicious as it looked with a beautiful presentation. The views made for a stellar backdrop and we even had a pod of orca make a surprise appearance during gift opening. Such a magical moment for our guests, who were overwhelmingly impressed with everything.

This recently renovated resort on Vancouver Island is beautiful and tasteful. The grounds are impeccable. The view is amazing. The management and staff was courteous and smiling. The service was top rate. Our room with a fabulous view and everything in it met and exceeded our expectations. We loved our entire time there. We enjoyed this magical spot in the off-season, in March, which made it more affordable.

The Sooke Harbour House Restaurant is back! After our dinner last night, my friend who has a long history with this storied restaurant, pronounced our evening to be “sublime”. This culinary legend has been revived - and re-envisioned - with both food and decor designed with style and verve to suit the times. The seafood dishes we ordered - scallops and salmon tartare - were exquisitely prepared and presented like wee works of art. The extensive drink list included my favourite BC wine and a variety of fun mocktails. The restaurant knew the two of us were celebrating our birthdays and turned our poached pear confection into a plated birthday card complete with chocolate drawn chef. We lacked for nothing - especially time. We were shocked to realize that we’d been at our table for two and a half hours and never felt pressured to wrap it up. Our thanks to the skilful and hospitable team who treated us so well - Barb the gracious hostess, our knowledgeable server Eriko, and Maggie the talented artist/pastry chef. You should see the adorable firefighter cookies Maggie created for their Sooke Firefighter fundraiser. Think dalmatian, fire hydrant and firefighter hat - all too beautiful to eat - yet we will. Kudos to Joanne, the committed manager who is setting the tone and weaving the magic. This experience is not to be missed.

The setting for the restaurant is quite lovely, as is the restaurant itself. Staff is friendly and cordial. However, something has to be done about what is called ‘Manhattan Clam Chowder’. The menu stated it was a tomato consommé, baby potatoes, charred corn and celery leaves. In actuality, it was a pile of the tiniest clams, 3 small pieces of baby potatoes, 2 celery leaves, 3 small tomatoes and about a teaspoon of the corn on a bed of about a half inch of very thin broth, possibly the water the clams were boiled in. The piece de resistance was the 3 stones (that weren’t supposed to be there) in the chowder. Aside from that surprise, this dish cannot and should not be called ’chowder’. It was simply a clam dish, very poorly prepared. The Frisée Caesar salad should simply be called a Frisée salad, as a classic Caesar is traditionally made with Romaine lettuce. But that’s just my opinion. Save your money, go to Deep Cove Chalet instead.

My favourite hotel I have ever stayed at! It's clear no expense was spared in the renovation. Helpful, friendly staff who seemed genuinely invested in ensuring we had a great experience. Our room was spotless and the view was incredible. We will definitely be back. Highly recommend!! A+++++