Destination Dining: Ugly Duckling Is a Very Good, Very Delicious Excuse to Head to Victoria

Of all the excuses for a day trip or overnighter to Victoria, a creative French-Asian five-course tasting menu (well, six if you count the fortune cookie at the end) is possibly our new favourite.  

Ugly Duckling opened in 2023 just next to the famously skinny Fan Tan Alley in Victoria’s Chinatown, and chef/owner Corbin Mathany’s culinary prowess is a very compelling incentive for a getaway. (Ugly Duckling was even an honourable mention in this year’s Best Victoria category at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards.) On a recent visit to the humble brick-lined room, plate after plate of surprises arrived at the table as pedicab after pedicab of happy tourists rolled past the window. (Victoria!) 

As with many ingredient-driven restaurants, the menu changes even more often than the seasons; chef Mathany’s inspo comes from the produce at hand any given week, an enthusiastic love letter to his chosen West Coast home (he hails from Southern Ontario originally). As such, our tasting menu ($118, $85 for wine pairings) included delicacies like cured albacore tuna on a bed of Moonlight Farms tomatoes and silken tofu ‘tonnato’, butter-poached Haida Gwaii halibut alongside dreamy smoked potatoes and trout roe, seared Hokkaido scallops with XO emulsion and torn bread—but the reality is that future diners will likely find a very different set of dishes on offer.

That’s part of the magic of destination dining, though, isn’t it? To experience something outside your usual routine. Mathany’s French techniques and penchant for molecular gastronomy (oh, hi, tomato foam) put Asian flavours into an unexpected context. What better excuse to get on a seaplane? (And if you’re not the one flying said plane, you’ve got another good excuse: this time, to enjoy a cocktail or the thoughtful wine list with abandon.) 

READ MORE: Local Weekend Getaway Ideas

While You’re in Victoria…

THE HOTEL If you’re spending the night—and why not?! Live a little!—the iconic Magnolia Hotel is the place to lay your head. It’s walking distance from Ugly Duckling, and it’s also got that dreamy, old-school luxury vibe; crisp white linens wrap cushy, feathery beds, surrounded by lush wallpaper, drapery and carpets. In a city often considered more English than England, these are rooms fit for a queen. (Hot tip: the concierge desk will share handy little maps outlining well curated activities for your day on the town, whether you’re interested in a “Cocktail Trail” or “Bikes, Blooms and Brews.”) magnoliahotel.com 

THE BRUNCH You’ll need breakfast the next day, of course, so head down to the acclaimed Courtney Room, located on the ground floor of the Magnolia. It’s a perpetual contender for Vanmag’s Best Victoria Restaurant and the brunch proves that chef Brian Tesolin has it locked in, even first thing in the morning. The Magnolia omlette is packed with Dungeness crab and smothered in smoked paprika hollandaise; the tartine serves expertly smoked salmon atop perfectly crusty Working Culture multigrain bread. Strong, satisfying Drumroaster coffee and Silk Road teas highlight more of Victoria’s food scene. thecourtneyroom.com 

THE COLD BEER For a pre-flight beer, hit Boomtown. On a sunny afternoon, the staggered patio feels more like L.A. than Vic, and the tap list is extensive (and served in 20 oz. quantities the menu describes as “proper f-king pints”): the house lager shares billing with brews from 33 Acres, Driftwood and more. Cocktails and cider are on offer, too. boomtownyyj.ca 

GETTING HOME Harbour Air offers multiple flights daily from downtown Vancouver to Victoria and back again in under an hour each way—it almost makes it too easy to jet away for a fanciful feast, really.

READ MORE: 6 Great Day Trip Ideas from Vancouver