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La Belle Patate
Category: Restaurants Fast Food Fast Food [Edit]
1215 Esquimalt RdVictoria, BC V9A 3P1
(250) 220-8427
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Late Night, Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Drive-Thru:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
9 reviews for La Belle Patate
9 reviews in English
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Review from Matthew L.
Edmonton, AB
4/9/2012
Now that I'm living in Edmonton, I'm somewhat wistful for La Belle Patate. I used to live a block away from here and it served as my crutch whenever I was too lazy, tired, or depressed to actually make something healthy for dinner.
The fries are thick, fresh, and crispy. The cheese curds are large and squeaky. And the gravy is wheat based and vegetarian.
Snobby Quebeckers will likely scoff at this place, but as I've never been to Quebec or had "real" poutine, I don't really care.
Burgers are decent, but still of the much-too-well-done Canadian variety. And regarding the Poutines, I'd skip the smoked meat, but go for the Chicken and Pea variety.
Also, if you've never had Birch Beer, make sure to try it once. La Belle Patate imports it from Quebec.Listed in: The Underdog Challenge
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Review from Jean-marc L.
Victoria, BC
1/9/2012
After living in Western Canada for the past 14years and only able to go back to la belle province once a year, this is the best poutine west of Quebec so far. The Hand cut fries are great, the gravy still needs a little work but still the best I've had in a long time. The curds were a little large but hey they have curds!! The Prices are reasonable too. The Steamed Hot Dogs and smoke meat are a great touch too. If you are looking for a quick bite to eat and want a taste of Quebec fast food, this is the place to go. Friendly people but yes be warned, it is a hole in the wall. If they could keep up the cleanliness better, this place is a must go!
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Review from Kyrsten J.
New Westminster, BC
6/3/2011
Poutine? In Esquimalt? The area where I grew up where all you used to be able to find was fish and chips and Chinese food?
Not bad, not bad at all. The burgers here are big and generous, and the fries are lovely - and the price is right. There are even some guys who work the grill that have Quebecois accents, making me feel a-ok about our choice for dinner.
A warning - like the similar location on Davie in Vancouver, the small poutine is big and the medium is bigger than your head...be prepared! -
Review from Eric B.
Victoria, BC
4/26/2010
Not the prettiest interior to be eating but the poutine is pretty good.
The fries are crispy and cut to the right thickness and the gravy is rich and ladled on heavily (a bit too heavily) but the curds are a bit too large and thus don't melt easily.
Definitely better than the poutine you get at fast food places but not quite top level either. I would go if you have a craving and going to Vancouver or Montreal isn't an option. -
Review from Beth C.
Victoria, BC
7/23/2010
I wanted to like this place better - a diner-style food joint with a specialty in poutine sounded pretty great.
But it was only so-so. Between the three of us we tried the chicken poutine, the classic poutine and a loaded hot dog (with onion, bacon, cheese and coleslaw). The hot dog bun was soggy, the wiener seemed boiled (would be much better if they split and grilled it), the bacon was overcooked, the cheese was processed.
The poutine was a bit better - decent gravy, very good fries. The curds were authentic and squeaky and good, but to maximize the melty deliciousness of poutine, they'd have to be smaller than the very large curds you get here.
The atmosphere is basically like someone's laundry room.
And the part that really sucked, was that it was a warm summer night, so we took one of the outside tables. We were in the middle of eating our food when the two employees came outside, sat at another table 6 feet from us, and both smoked.
....mmm, secondhand smoke with my food.
Don't you people have a back door you can smoke out of, with a milk crate to sit on? That's how every other restaurant I know lets their staff smoke. NOT right next to paying/eating guests. It was kind of gross.
Two stars instead of one, purely because the poutine was pretty decent. But next time, I'd get it to go, and it's the only thing I'd get off the menu. -
Review from Dustin D.
Victoria, BC
9/9/2010 1 Check-in Here
2.5 stars if I could. I've had better poutine, though not in Victoria. The interior and exterior are a bit shoddy, the couple times I've been in it just had a bit of a dirty feel. Staff is either good and helpful, or indifferent.
The poutine itself is not bad, it's also not great, at least they use real squeaky cheese curds. The fries are a nice size for the purpose. The gravy is a bit on the salty side. I personally felt that the servings were overpriced.
If you just GOTTA have poutine, by all means go, it's far from terrible, but don't expect a nice dining experience, even in a funky, hole in the wall kinda way. It won't beat anything from a half decent place in Vancouver or Montreal, but as far as Victoria poutine goes, it's not bad. -
Review from Sean R.
12/28/2011
dude, this place is good.
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Review from Jennifer H.
Victoria, BC
11/7/2009
The poutine at La Belle Patate is as good as it could ever get west of Quebec. It's basically a hot dog stand, aka steamer here, with a roof and door. They use actual curds, hand-cut fries and homemade gravy. Order the large and you will have to share, or if your appetite permits keep it for yourself. There is no shortage of gravy, but beware low sodiumers as it is a tad salty. So why only three stars? The location is shady and I have never been a fan of staff smoking in front of customers. In reality I rate this place at last 3.25 stars.
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Review from Laura A.
Winnipeg, MB
4/24/2010
Thanks to lunch with a friend the other day who mentioned she was making home made poutine, an hour to spare on Saturday turned into a trip to La Belle Patate.
Recommended via twitter when I asked where one should go for great Poutine in #yyj, I was in equal measure impressed and not so. Always first in line when it comes to the opportunity for hanging out in a fun and funky greasey spoon, sadly, dirty is another story and when I have to use a newspaper to swipe left over food off the counter before I sit down, well, a joint can lose its' charm pretty quickly.
So, the Poutine, star attraction of the day...Potatoes...outstanding; Gravy...totally nummy; Curds....would have been happier if they were a little more melted and, we should have taken the dish to go to allow more time for the melding of flavours.
All in all, glad we went as I have literally been dying a little inside with every day that went by without a visit, but I do have to say that I'll try out the other suggestions I received before heading back. Also would like to say that I soooo wanted La Belle Patate to be a 5 star absolutely awesome, but it just wasn't so...maybe next time?
