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Restaurant Matisse
- Hours:
Wed-Sun 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Price Range:
-
$$$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
17 reviews for Restaurant Matisse
Review Highlights
"...even better than the two foie gras I tried at Per Se in NYC."
(in 4 reviews)
"...had what was one of the best Creme Brulee I have ever eaten."
(in 3 reviews)
"...to express how warm and friendly the staff was here so as..."
(in 2 reviews)
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17 reviews in English
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Review from mike c.
9/12/2011
Wow.
This place is incredible. World class. One of the best restaurants I have eaten at in a long, long time.
These guys do not miss a thing. They even have giant, round, ice cubes in their gin and tonics, which were the best I have ever had.
Service was incredible. Lots of good recommendations on wine and food.
Best prime rib I have ever had and their house bread was the best bread I can ever remember eating.
Not cheap, as our tab for two people was around $300, but $140 of that was wine and cocktails, but you get what you pay for and it was definitely worth it.
Mike C -
Review from christine c.
Victoria, BC
1/24/2011
I dare say I may never end up at Matisse again.
It was a few years ago, but we went to Matisse for an anniversary dinner. The decor is really geared towards the older generation. Sort of stale and dated. Plus there are no windows.
Our meals were quite good from what I recall. What really stood out was the creme brulee. It was a masterpiece and if I could pop in for a casual dessert I may do just that. Service was exemplary... so why the lack of stars?
The meal could have been four stars in itself, but coupled with the price and decor Matisse leaves something to be desired. Another tale of falling behind when there are many better options in our wonderful city of food. -
Review from Andrew W.
Victoria, BC
7/8/2010
Did everyone else huff gas before coming here? This place is terrible!
Let me preface this by saying that I was excited to eat at Matisse after reading all the great reviews. I eat out in Victoria a ton and I'm always excited to try a new place, especially one that people say outflanks places like Brasserie, Brio, and Zambri's. My girlfriend and I decided to give it a shot a few weeks back and had a really bad experience.
First off, I'll start with the decor. It was like eating in my grandparent's basement. It's really poorly lit with a few small lamps on the walls, and the tables all have flickering fake LED candles that flicker in unison. There are doilies EVERYWHERE. Every single plate that was brought to our table had a paper doily on it.
The food is straight out of the eighties - there was parsley on every dish! My girlfriend ordered the vegetarian meal, which was concoction of bland mushroom risotto and flavorless steamed vegetables. I ordered their special, pan-seared breaded sole, which resembled a Captain Highliner fish stick. No joke. There was more batter than fish, and it was cooked to oblivion. It was awful. Worst of all, our meal cost over $80, which is more than what we would have paid at Brasserie, and took an hour and a half, despite the fact that there were only 3 other parties in the restaurant.
After recounting our experience to a few friends, I was told that the restaurant changed hands a few months ago, which explains a few things. It's a shame that this place has fallen from grace. Beware! -
Review from Eric K.
5/22/2010 2 Check-ins Here
If they gave out Michelin stars in Victoria Restaurant Matisse would get one if not two. My buddy and I came her for our third and final night in a row of four course French dinners. Considering the first two were Brasserie and Brio it had stiff competition but Matisse blew them out of the water.
First of all this is a pretty nice place. We ended up paying about $100 per person but they do have a pre fixe menu for $52 if I remember correctly. I would highly suggest dressing up if you dine at Matisse. I came in nice jeans with a dress shirt and suit jacket and felt that the jeans were a bit too casual. But that was just my perception, the staff didn't make me feel uncomfortable.
Speaking of staff, there were only five people working the night we ate there. And I mean five people including the two cooks. The restaurant is a family affair and we were served by the owner and his son. At the end of the meal we ended up talking to them for about ten minutes and they were very friendly people. They actually had been to Seattle quite a bit and we discussed Chez Shea, Maximilien in the Market, Rover's, Herbfarm, etc. They clearly loved food and enjoy finding the best food everywhere they go. I can't even begin to express how warm and friendly the staff was here so as usual I suggest people try it out.
Now, on to the food. Our amuse bouche was a small round watermelon which while being good didn't blow me away. After the watermelon I tried the escargot a la bourdelaise with double smoked bacon, shallots, garlic and fresh herbs, and a red wine reduction. Not only was the escargot high quality, but the red wine reduction blew my mind. They knew how great the sauce was and so they kept bringing bread for me to soak up the sauce because it was just too good to waste. I didn't leave a single drop of red wine reduction when they took my plate away.
Next I had the parfait de foie gras de canard, which was a parfait of Quebec duck foie gras, quince gelee, and house made seeding crisp bread. I started off by taking the crisp bread and putting small amounts of foie gras on them. I say I started off doing that because once I tasted the foie gras I couldn't stand just eating a little at a time. I had never had duck foie gras parfait before and I have to say it was one of my favorite foie gras dishes ever. Perhaps even better than the two foie gras I tried at Per Se in NYC.
By this time I was extremely happy with all of my choices and excited to try my entree. I had ordered a AAA beef tenderloin topped with foie gras butter, red wine and black truffle sauce. In my notes from the meal I said the red wine and black truffle sauce was "crack" and it basically was. Just like the escargot I finished every bit of sauce on the plate before letting them take away my plate. And on top of the great sauce the tenderloin was absolutely perfect. I asked how it would best be cooked and they suggested medium rare and it turned out to be the perfect succulent cut of meat.
To finish the meal I had the pain perdu d'grand marnier, a grand marnier croissant bread pudding with a warm cognac butterscotch sauce. The dessert wasn't quite as good as the rest of the meal but it was still extremely good. The butterscotch sauce was not overpowering and the bread pudding had the perfect texture and soft sweet taste.
Matisse was just the perfect combination of everything. The service was great, the interior of the restaurant was small but not claustrophobic, the meat they used were super high quality, every sauce made you want to have every last bit of it without taking away from the rest of the plate, and the food wasn't too heavy.
Per dollar I don't think I have ever had a better meal than the one I had at Matisse. If you are trying to avoid some of the $200 and up Michelin three star restaurants in the states head over to Matisse and be ready for the perfect night.
I can't wait to come back here. I will be back. Soon!Listed in: Top Restaurants, Victoria May 2010
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Review from Craig F.
Victoria, BC
11/13/2010
Sooooo good.
Normally, I have a threshold for "fancy" food that stops when I see foie gras in a lot of the dishes. Usually, it means that the atmosphere accompanying the food will be stand-off'ish and pretentious. Not so with this place.
The owner of Matisse came to our table and spent several minutes explaining the menu to us in the most genuine and friendly way we could have hoped for. We felt like we were guests at his house.
The food was absolutely delicious. For an appy, we shared the crepe of the day, which was filled with dark-beer beef stew. I could have had 2 or 3 of those and gone home happy.
My main was the Chicken Supreme and my wife had the Lobster Thermadore. Both were really tasty and just the right portion size.
For dessert, I had what was one of the best Creme Brulee I have ever eaten. I may have also stolen some of my wife's delicious chocolate pot de creme. :P
Overall, it's not the kind of place I can afford to eat at very often, but when I'm looking for a special evening with great food and friendly staff, I'll be making a reservation. -
Review from Ron O.
Victoria, BC
3/11/2011
We dined at Matisse last night. We originally tried to get res at another French restaurant but it was booked up. I'm very pleased we couldn't make it in as Matisse exceded our expectations in both service and food quality. Having dined at a number of high-end French places in Vancouver I kind of expected This to be
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Review from Jean K.
10/31/2010
Matisse is a solid 4.5, with some dishes rating a 5. Their lobster bisque is outstanding, my DH (a connoisseur of this soup) called it one of the two best versions he's had the pleasure of eating over our 36 yrs of dining out at many top-level restaurants. We live in the San Francisco Bay Area and dine out regularly.
Pros:
- Beautiful restaurant inside, elegant and classy without being stuffy or pretentious
- Excellent waitstaff
- Classic french cuisine, and NEVER oversalted as so many current bistros do
- Many entrees can be added to the pre fixe for a modest upcharge, allowing plenty of substitutions.
Cons:
- Quite expensive compared to many equally good Seattle and Portland restaurants
- List of specials was so long, it was difficult to remember all of them. Instead of reciting them, a printed sheet would be much more helpful.
- Their version of Tournedos Rossini uses foie gras butter, instead of the slice of foie gras which is how I prefer it.
Desserts are excellent. The excellent creme brulee comes with a sugar cookie cut-out of Matisse's "Icarus", which is the symbol for the restaurant. It's a lovely decorative touch (and delicious, as well). -
Review from Tom L.
6/28/2010
Well I went to Victoria for the weekend and ended up trying this little french restaurant in downtown Victoria. I really hadn't planned on going here, but I read some of the reviews on Yelp and decided that this might be a nice little romantic restaurant.
We got to the restaurant and were asked by the staff if we had a reservation. Apparently this place is pretty popular. We got lucky. Someone had canceled their reservation. We were promptly shown to a table. The restaurant was nicely decorated. The thing that stood out the most for me at least was the giant wine glass that looked like it could fit several bottles of wine. Talk about a wine hangover.
Anyways after taking in the decor I took a look at the menu. Right off the back I noticed that you can order an entire course instead of individual menu items. I wasn't that hungry so I just went for a small apetizer to share, salad, and entree. For the apetizer we order a seared tuna with aioloi truffle sauce. The tuna was very tender and flavorful. The little bit of truffle there added just the right amount of earthyness to the dish. My girlfriend and I just scarfed the stuff down. The salad was made of local tomatos with a pesto like dressing. I'm not sure what the dressing was made of but it was good. This is just my personal taste, but I could have done with a little less dressing. I like the tomatos to speka for themselves. On the other hand it was a beautiful presentation. The tomatos came in a variety of colors and sizes. For the entree I order the duck leg. The duck was absolutely delicious. The skin of the duck leg was crispy and the meat was very tender. It literally fell off the bone. The duck laid on a bed of mash potatos, which didn't taste overly processed. There were also some steamed veggies on the side.
Overall I had an excellent experience at the restaurant. I would definitely recomment Matisse to anyone looking for a romatic evening with someone special. Oh and judging from stuff we heard from staff DEFINITELY make a reservation. -
Review from Ardis H.
8/7/2011
We went to Matisse for the first time about a year ago. It exceeded our expectations. I took a friend in March and my husband and I made the trip to Victoria mainly to eat there again this past week. The best anywhere. The fresh fish is always so good without over doing it. The soup it to die for. The chef has such a talent for making everything taste like it was just caught or just picked. You feel like you are John's guest for dinner. The service and the decor I think is very warm and romantic. We love it and can hardly wait to go again. We eat out a great deal and this is truly one of our favorite spots.
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Review from joe w.
Victoria, BC
1/7/2009
The finest French restaurant in Victoria, incredible menu and service, excellent value, great memories.
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Review from E K.
5/29/2011
This is the best meal we ate on Vancouver Island. Exactly what I'd expect from a high-end French restaurant. Knowledgeable service, formal but relaxing atmosphere, nice wine selection. We are a younger couple (under 35), and did not find the atmosphere to be stale at all, but intimate and classy. My husband and I both had excellent seafood mains (he - fish of the day; me - seafood en croute), and the oyster starter was divine. It was a slower meal than we are used to, but we actually really liked that; it gave us a chance to enjoy the meal without feeling forced to scarf down each course as the next arrives. Will definitely be back on our next stay on the Island!
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Review from Jen S.
8/25/2010
I have no idea what Andrew W. is talking about - there no reason why you couldn't love this restaurant for its service.
We visited Matisse on August 20.
The owner, Jon (although I don't know if I spelled that correctly) is one of the best restaurateur I have ever encountered - he is hilarious, he has impeccable manners, and he caters to your every whim. As he was joking with us (but not really joking) he will not say NO to anything we want.
His service staff is wonderful - Jon and the wait staff really made the night feel special. (By the way, the owner has been the same for quite a while - not sure what the review said about being a new owner).
AND...the food was spectacular! If you want a cozy, romantic place with wonderful food and awesome service, I would recommend Matisse in a heartbeat. It is truly a special place. One of my favorite restaurants in the Northwest. -
Review from Stacey E.
9/21/2008
They arranged a 7 course set menu with wine pairings for our large party last year and it was one of the best experiences we have had fine dining in Victoria.
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Review from J C.
7/24/2009
An intimate, lovely place. The owner of the restaurant comes to greet you, seat you and help you pair the food with wine. The food was incredible -- We both had the 4 course meal with salad, soup, entree and desert. I had the rainbow trout and the hubby had a steak. We both loved our food! We didn't expect it since it's a French restaurant, but the steak was the BEST we'd ever had. They take the whole night to make the food & serve you. We got there at 6:30pm and did not get out of the restaurant until pass 9:30pm. This is not a place where you get in & out within an hour & a half! Expect some delays in between courses.
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Review from Jeff B.
12/28/2010
My wife and I travel to France and we love good French food. This little place had a wonderful atmosphere, clean and classy. The owner was on the floor and made sure to talk to everyone. The food was delicious and the service was top notch. A thoroughly delightful and romantic night. (Actually reviewed 2 Sept.2009 and just finished it)
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Review from Judy M.
8/23/2008
One of the best restaurants we have have ever experienced, and more reasonably priced than we expected.
Intimate, exceptional service, and food to die for! -
Review from Doug F.
12/21/2009
A 6 hour cruise stop over in Victoria with no plans? Spend 3 hours over a fantastic dinner at Matisse. Local friends who live here recommended this charming little place and I can't thank them enough. John the owner greeted and seated us and asked us how much time we had to get back to the ship. We enjoyed great cocktails and a reasonably priced recommended bottle of Pinot Noir.The next few hours were memorable. Lobster bisque, foie gras, amazing fresh seafood and the bread pudding WOW!!!!!! One of the 10 best meals of my life. The service was flawless and the price was more than fair. I cannot express just how wonderful our experience at Restaurant Matisse has been.
