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5th Street Bar & Woodfire Grill
Categories: Restaurants Nightlife Bars Restaurants, Bars [Edit]
1028 Hillside AveVictoria, BC V8T 2A3
(250) 380-4600
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Music:
- Juke Box
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for 5th Street Bar & Woodfire Grill
18 reviews in English
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Review from a N.
Victoria, BC
11/25/2011
I had a great time at 5th street. The service is always amazing and I am always impressed as they are so busy!
One of my favorite parts about this restaurant is the layout of the menu. They have cleverly sectioned off the food by price points for example there is a $5 section a $10 section and so on. I think it is a really creative way to arrange a menu. This place has a neat atmosphere with when you arrive you have the choice to go into the restaurant side or into the lounge side, they also have a really nice patio and I love the chunky woodwork that is throughout the whole restaurant.
They have a variety of beers on tap and in the bottle and a great cocktail list as well, I love the cesar variations that they have come up with on their cocktail menu one even has a chicken wing in it! (a must have!)
Some of my food favorites from this place (Of which I totally recommend) would be: the quesadilla, the buffalo burger and the cocoanut prawns. I will let you know more recommendations when I order something new from there!
I have not had a food item here that I have not enjoyed and I am excited to go back again. -
Review from John P.
Surrey, BC
7/9/2011
Great spot that combines a nice restaurant and a separate pub. Wood fired roasted chicken is the specialty and the wings are to die for.
Decent pizza, good soups, sandwiches. Very busy most times I've been for good reason. Lot's of parking. -
Review from Silja J.
Victoria, BC
10/4/2011
I usually go here to enjoy some good food for a very reasonable price. The ambiance is very casual, the service is good (enough), and the food isn't the same thing that you see everywhere else. I like how they set up their menu based on price ($5, $10, $15, etc..), so I don't feel guilty going there for an appy when I'm low on cash. They have a lot of local beers to choose from too. They have plenty of options for my vegetarian diet, and they will modify anything on the menu by request.
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Review from Emily-Anne P.
Vancouver, BC
4/4/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I once had a friend say that the Fifth Street Bar was the best burger in Victoria. At the time I didn't eat meat and had to simply take his word for it. Now you can simply take mine.
The burger is buffalo, juicy and fresh. The fries were awesome. All in all I'd suggest going for a burger.
What I find to be the best, however, is the super cheap beer. For under $4 a sleeve of local beer it's for sure the best place to hit on a Thursday. -
Review from Weirdie B.
Victoria, BC
Updated - 1/28/2011
Time for an update. I had dinner here with a large group a few nights ago. The service was great: Our main waitress was nice enough and visited our table regularly to make sure we had everything we needed. Our appetizers and mains came out quickly one after the other.
The two star review reflects the food. I've had some really tasty food here before, and some really awful, I-need-to-spit-this-out kind of food. It seems like they have a chef or two who have the best intentions to be creative but lack the skills to do it in a way that pleases the palate. The eggplant salad that I had was totally gross, it's "roasted garlic rock salt" completely overpowered everything and the "fire grilled eggplant" was, I'm sure, grilled at some point, but made it to the table stone cold. Their almond crusted little Qualicum brie was quite good, but the gooseberry grapes were extremely bitter and inedible.
I've had their baked flatbread, bison burger, chicken and mushroom fettuccini, and a few pizzas in the past, all of which have been excellent. I just wish that trying something new on the menu wasn't so much like walking through a minefield.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/15/2009
I love the menu setup at 5th Street. The patio is a great place to sip drinks on a hot afternoon. I… Read more »
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Review from Antonia W.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 8/19/2010
So I DID end up going here again with a group of friends after a 10 month break and having that horrible experience last time. It was pretty busy but we asked to sit in the bar side and they had plenty of table space there. Service was fine and our server came by to ask for drinks and then came back later to get our food order. Everybody got a main and we got an appetizer platter of pita bread with hummus to share.
The appetizer platter came, I took one bite and...... O_O you just know when they've given you pita bread that's not freshly made. First, the pita bread wasn't even hot, and second, it was chewier than the gum I was just chewing on. Seriously, why would they even think to serve it?! When the server came by to ask how it was, I had to mention "I think the bread is..... old..." and she replied "oh, like it's chewy? I'll get them to make you a new one" So that was all good and they brought out a new plate of hot freshly toasted pita that tasted loads better than the first plate.
Overall, we had a fun time, we entertained ourselves with many things including tablecloth viking hats (FUN!), but it actually took 50 mins from ordering to getting the food on our table of 5. Service was much better this time than last, except the stale bread and long wait still leave a bad taste in my mouth and I would probably think again before coming back.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/30/2010
If I reviewed this a year or two ago, I may have given them 3 stars because the food is pretty… Read more »
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Review from Mark H.
Victoria, BC
2/22/2011
Five words: Food Poisoning and Bad Service
Eat here at your own risk. This is the longest review they deserve. Its one thing to not enjoy the food, but it is another to leave the place offended by the staff every time you go. I really just can't see myself ever going back here unless dragged by friends.
Obviously the staff don't give a crap and maybe this is because of how they are treated by the owner. Who knows. I would rather eat at McDonalds. -
Review from Debalina D.
Victoria, BC
8/22/2011
Location, location, location! I feel lucky that this place is close to my apartment. There isn't a whole lot of decent places to eat around the Hillside/Quadra area. Whenever I have a visitor, I take them here for a quick meal. I don't love the place, but I like it. The food is consistent, like a Cactus Club or Earls. The atmosphere is nice too, busy, but you can hear the people you are with talking. Also a great casual date place too.
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Review from Beth C.
Victoria, BC
Updated - 6/26/2009
I'm updating my review to one star, and right now I feel like THAT is too generous. Don't go here. Just don't.
I had never before walked out of a restaurant, in my entire life. I'm still kind of in shock about tonight.
My parents missed me and offered to treat me to dinner - hurrah! We got to 5th Street Bar and Grill, with a reservation, at 6:30, hungry.
The waitress took our drink and food orders. She seemed sullen and disinterested right off the bat, but I don't really care, as long as she's a good waitress (for those playing along at home, this is what we call foreshadowing). My stepdad had a beer, my mom and I stuck with water for the time being. We ordered our food at the same time as his beer, because we were all really hungry.
10 minutes later she comes by and asks my stepdad if he'd like another beer. He says no, but a glass of wine would be lovely. My mother says she'd like a glass of the same. When I ask for more water (which she would not be bringing on a separate trip, but when she's bringing the wine back anyway), the waitress looks irritated and nods without looking at me.
I'm already pretty unimpressed, but again - a waitress doesn't have to be likeable to be good at her job.
She brings their wine and my water, and that is the last we see of her for - without hyperbole - 35 minutes.
I run into a couple of friends, and they visit with us and say hi. Then the din becomes too loud for them, and we tell them we've been waiting a long time, and they look at each other and leave to go to a restaurant up the street, San Remo.
I don't think anyone noticed they left.
During the 35 minutes the waitress didn't check on us even once, we tried to catch her eye numerous times and even called out once, but again - it's loud, and she clearly wasn't paying any attention.
At this point, we've waited 45 minutes for our food. You know what? It was a busy night. Sometimes that happens. But to not come up to the table to a) offer more water; b) see if anyone needs more wine; c) apologize for the wait; d) explain what's taking so long or E) LET YOUR CUSTOMERS KNOW THEY ARE EVEN REMOTELY IMPORTANT TO YOU is completely not okay.
After trying multiple times to get her attention, we flagged a different staff member, who kindly said she would get our waitress to come over. She does, and when she does, I said "Excuse me, but we haven't seen you in a reeeeally long time, and we've been waiting for our food for 45 minutes, and we're starving. Could you please check and let us know what's going on?"
I grant you - I wasn't smiling, I was a bit peevish, sure. Justifiably. But I was in no way rude. I didn't raise my voice, I didn't swear, I was just -with good reason - a cheesed off and ignored customer.
She replied "you know what? I've been around, you could have flagged me down. But whatever. I'll check on it." and walked away.
Are you frickin KIDDING me??!
At which point my stepfather said "That is IT!" and grabbed our stuff. As my stepfather was walking to find the manager, explain that we were leaving and why, and ask for the bill, the waitress yelled at him "Hey! You still have to pay, you know!"
....
I asked her name three times (she finally told me. It's Laura.) and told her the way she had treated my parents, and me, was completely not okay. She interrupted me and argued that "NO, the way YOU spoke to ME was unacceptable. Just because I'm a server doesn't mean you can be rude to me".
No, it certainly doesn't, but that is not the case here at all, so it's irrelevant. She had hungry customers, upset that she had ignored them for over a half hour, and her attitude sucked from the get-go, even before her outburst. If 5th Street had any sense, they'd get rid of her. But they won't. The manager, on our way out (who was smart enough and nice enough to at least comp the one beer and two glasses of wine) agreed that her behaviour had been poor and that he'd have a talk with her. But I don't see it happening - people don't take good service as seriously as they used to. If an employee of mine spoke to someone like that in front of me, they'd be out on their ear. The service industry is not the place for her, as she clearly doesn't "get it".
Laura, it isn't rocket science. You have customers. They rely on you, and that is what you are being paid to do. Check on them. If you don't give a sh*t whether they have a good experience or not, make sure they think you do. Try not to sulk and be outright hostile more than absolutely necessary.
I've gone to Fifth Street Bar & Grill often because I live right by it. I can't see going back, now. I had a friend who stopped going there because he received such shoddy service, and now I can see he wasn't overreacting. My company goes there for its corporate lunches. I hope I can talk them into going somewhere that deserves - and cares about - the business.
But I'll miss the nearby beer, and the buffalo burger on the menu.Listed in: My Neighborhood
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/14/2009 First to Review
As of June, 2009, I'm updating my review to one star. This place SUCKS. Both the food and especially… Read more »
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Review from Renee E.
Vancouver, BC
6/24/2011
Really enjoy the food here, prices are great too!
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Review from Jennifer H.
Victoria, BC
2/22/2011
It wasn't my date's first choice to come here, but it turned out to be a great choice. Once it was sorted out that sitting next to the frequently opening door to the patio issue was settled and we were relocated the remainder of our evening went smoothly. There is no reason to have reserved tables sit empty for that long. Why must customers without reservations pay with poor tables? Nothing makes me happier than the first come first serve routine at other establishments.
The flat bread was tremendous, it was salty, spicy olive goodness on a crispy thin crust pizza-like shell. I had the short ribs (upon recommendation of the waitress) and they were equally as delish. A mustard and maple glazed portion with a huge helping of creamy mashed potatoes. The stars really started dropping when the dessert arrived. The Chocolate-bottom Creme Brulee left me looking for more creme and less chocolate. The chocolate at the bottom of the dish was a hard brownie like sugar cube, which did nothing but get in the way and there was too much sugar on top leaving it tasting burnt. -
Review from Kat S.
5/25/2010
This review is based soley on the cheap beer special.... I did not have food.
I was visiting from out of town and a friend suggested this place. She warned me the service sucked but it was cheap. Actually our server wasn't that bad. She checked on us a few times, and despite being a bit slow at the very beginning, was quite attentive later on, even though we were just having beer. And she was relatively pleasant, not surly like many of the other reviewers have mentioned. Anyhow, maybe we just got lucky.
The patio had heat lamps which were pleasant in the still cool evening air of May.
The beer special was Piper's or Blue for $3.75 a pint including tax. Done!
The bathroom was pretty clean when I used it. Yay! -
Review from Brett C.
Toronto, ON
11/15/2009
Upon sitting down at our table I was not sure what to expect from this restaurant. The atmosphere was nice, but the menus were somewhat cheap. So I wasn't sure if the food was going to match the decor or the menus.
Luckily the food went towards the decor. My ribs were good, with the meat practically slipping off the bone. Service was also good. It definitely wasn't mind-blowing, but I didn't feel like I was ripped off either. -
Review from Brad W.
Victoria, BC
Updated - 1/25/2010
Just an update to recommend the flat bread as an appetiser (basically a pizza shell baked with an excellent tapenade spread over top), any pizza as an entree, and the apple pie or chocolate chip mint ice cream sandwich as a dessert.
Also, many of my friinds speak very highly of the ahi tuna burger as well as the wood fired chicken dinner. More detailed review to come.Listed in: Top Restaurants, The Places I Go Out
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/14/2009
Everyone (except Vegans) can find something they like here. Menu choices are well priced,… Read more »
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Review from Graham I.
Victoria, BC
4/24/2009
You know when you wanted to like something, were predisposed to like something, and then you end up not liking it. Welcome to 5th Street Bar and Grill.
Service is glacial, mostly indifferent, and because its so loud - not very accurate. Its a big space that they keep very clean but even with all the wood and art still feels too cold, dark and loud. The atmostsphere should be better because all the 20 somethings seem to be enjoying themselevs but its just not.
The food is ok. The menu offers some interesting variety - thai green curry, hummus, pizzza, buffalo burger, mussels etc but when it comes out of the kitchen its just not that much better than average. The Fries are really nasty and its the sort of place that just should not have crappy fries.
I would really like to like it, I know I could like it if it was just a little better, I am sure its not me - its them. -
Review from Sebastian W.
Victoria, BC
11/24/2009
What to say about 5th Street? Well it exists. And it has food. It's kinda a dark place, and its full of surly, unhappy servers. Prices are reasonablish.
I'm a "Three strikes and your out!" kind of guy, and after about 5 strikes, decided to eject them off my palate.
The Good: Umm... well the food USED to be good.
The Bad: The food used to really be good. It's gone beyond downhill. What used to be good french fries has turned into frozen, then warmed floppy fries. The portions got smaller. I had a burger one time that was actually more of a "gushy" texture, as opposed to a nice meaty texture. It was like eating flavourful, warm play-doh, but the play-doh would have probably tasted better. Again, i used to LOVE the food here, so its a huge disappointment for me. Seriously, what the hell happened?
The Ugly: The service. It's like they purposefully hire surly, snotty servers. I just don't get it. I mean, you've seen it in other reviews, but i'll give a few more examples:
1) My father visits town, we think, hey, let's go to 5th Street, he might like it. We waited forever for our waitress, and then forever again for the drinks to come, then she had to "Be right back" to take our order, which was forever. She came back with attitude.. we dismissed it, whatever. The food was pretty good, and she asked if we wanted dessert. My father asked to see the menu and she handed him the drink menu and walked off for another 15 minutes. She finally comes back, my father asks for the White chocolate creme caramel with goose liver creme fraiche (or something like that) She replies that she didn't know it was on the menu, and my father said "Its not, you gave me the drink menu" Instantly, she starts crying (i'm talking sobbing here) says something to us whilst swearing (i'm totally not kidding here) and we never saw her again. Someone else threw down our bill and walked off.
2) I ordered takeout. Picked it up, went home, discovered they gave us the wrong pasta (there's two on the menu, and easy enough mistake i guess?) I call up, the girl on the phone apologizes and says they'll make us some new ones if I want to come back and pick them up. I go back, the bartender says to me "What?" I explain the situation, and he replies "Well that is the pasta you ordered." I refute his claim, as really i know what i ordered. Suddenly, "Big C" (my mortal waitress enemy, she's such a fucking bitch, she is involved in at least my other 3 service complaints, and I can guarantee i can point out a few reviews that specifically involve her) comes up asking what the problem is. I re-explain. Big C, Bartender, and Phone Girl, go into a whispering huddle for 5 minutes, come back and inform me they'll make my food, but I won't get a refund (which I explained from the get go, i didnt want, i just wanted my damn food..) 20 minutes later, i got it thumped down on the counter, not a word said, and Bartender walks off.
Again, this place really used to be a good place. It's a hole now. Email me for more stories, or check out the other reviews. Save your money, go eat somewhere that actually tastes good and you don't get treated like crap. -
Review from Amanda M.
Victoria, BC
1/28/2010
Speaking only for the pub side, 5th Street is by far the most frequent place I have attended. I find it cozy as it is slightly on the darker side and has lots of tv's displaying any of the important sports. The back sitting area and right at the door have benches with cushions that are able to sit larger than 8. There is always a drink special and a wide variety of beers on tap. A friend had a long island iced tea and thought it was great.
All of the food on the menu is made in the restaurant. The menu warns that food may therefore take longer, but I have never experienced an abnormally long wait time. I am a big fan of the chicken fingers that come with a delicious and unique coconut flavoured dipping sauce. The menu is by far the best priced (broken into $5, $10 and $15 dishes) for the best quality when you are looking for a relaxed evening. -
Review from Ryan N.
Vancouver, BC
2/7/2010
This is one of my regular spots. It's not quite as good as it used to be (I feel like they've cheapened up the menu without lowering the price) but it's still pretty damn good.
The atmosphere is nice, and price wise, I honestly think this is the best value in Victoria. Their beer prices are outstanding.
It gets really busy on Friday and Saturday nights, so make reservations or take your chances on the bar side.
