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Ulla
Category: Restaurants Canadian (New) Canadian (New) [Edit]
509 Fisgard StVictoria, BC V8W
(250) 590-8795
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- 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
- Ambience:
- Trendy
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
17 reviews for Ulla
Review Highlights
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"Short rib Steak: Perfectly medium rare with accompaniments..." In 3 reviews -
"Mushroom and pecorino arancini - To me they were crispy..." In 3 reviews
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"More specifically the sous-vide apple, genoise cake, green..." In 4 reviews
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17 reviews in English
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Review from Utopian C.
Victoria, BC
12/20/2011
I'm absolutely in love with this place. Food is amazing and the plates look like work of art. We ordered some olives and polenta cubes with truffle mayo. They were piping hot and very flavourful. The cubes just melted in the mouth.
Being a vegetarian I thought I may not like what's on the menu as the choice was limited but Pastarami spiced tofu with cashew butter and kale was just out of this world. Everything on the plate was well balanced and complemented each other.
Cocktails are amazing as well. The bartender is very knowledgeable and friendly and so is the co-owner. -
Review from Tom T.
9/3/2011
So me and my Mom were travelling through Victoria BC for a few days. Now I live in Seattle and get my foodie fill of Portland area brunch spots and speciality bistros....so I had some higher expectations for a nice dinner. I wanted local, fresh, funky and well reviewed.
Enter YELP! I love going on and searching "fresh" or "local" and seeing what people are raving about. I read reviews for 10 places before I got to Ulla. WAY TO GO YELPERS, this place was BOMMMB!
We called for a reservation around 4pm for the same Friday night. All they had left was an 8:45pm spot. WOW...either really popular or potentially pretentious and possibly overrated.
OK...so we go hit the town for some drinks, and walk by around 7:30. We see it's kinda small (10-15 tables) and the bar is full (6 chairs). Everything is full so we come back. We got a peek at the menu, and thought it was totally worth the $22-26 entree price...it did not exactly matching up with the yelp $$ rating.
We come back. WOW! Place is still packed. 4 app selections, 4 soup/salad selections, 5 entree selections, 3 dessert selections. Waitress tells us the chef goes to get the freshest ingredients out there at the time and then builds the menu around those. WOW.
So we get lightly fried polenta ($8 a touch salty but still amazing). They are allowing us to split a bowl of corn soup ($10 not too creamy, in separated cups for us, amazing). They also let us split a main entree (pork tenderloin pieces with potatoes and peas drizzled with a green apple sauce...holy crap amazing) and dessert ($9 diced crunchy rhubarb with rhubarb sorbet...youve gotta be kidding me AMAZING). Wine was awesome, some great BC selections amongst some great ITL, SPN and ARG offerings.
We cant say enough about this place. Its still new, we chatted with the co-owner and our service was phenomenal. Take the time, spend the cash (you could do apps somewhere else earlier and then split everything on the menu). WOW. Amazing. -
Review from Poulina K.
5/19/2011
Two words LOVED IT!
Ulla is a small establishment that we came across while walking all over Victoria water front. I looked them up on yelp as we walked by and was sold by previous reviews without any later regrets.
The menu is relatively small, yet everything we ordered was divine in texture and flavor. These guys also earned points for artistic presentation:
- Albacore Tuna Takaki: perfect brief sear and a delicious ponzu sauce to compliment it.
- Mushroom and pecorino arancini - To me they were crispy balls of mushroom risotto with pecorino, so freaking tasty I could have eaten a dozen.
- Pork Loin - Melt in your mouth tender sous-vide loin, with fingerling potato nuggets, sauteed cipollinis (little onions)...I was in heaven, since I am a huge fan of pork.
- Short rib Steak: Perfectly medium rare with accompaniments to match and a balsamic glaze.
We sampled a number of cocktails. The bartender took so much care in handcrafting these it was fun to watch and twice as much fun to consume.
If every dining experience was this good, I would be broke and obese, LOL.Listed in: Swanky, Sexy, Stylish &…
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Review from Elaine K.
6/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
Wow. High 5 to our hotel for recommending this restaurant and another high 5 to Yelp for confirming that this is worthy place to check out!!
First off, this is a nice establishment. Coming from Seattle where everyone is pretty casually dressed even for a nice dinner, we (naturally) strolled in wearing t-shirts and jeans when everyone else was definitely wearing a fancier attire. Oops. That didn't seem to be a problem though since we received excellent service from start to finish. We were promptly seated at the bar since we didn't make any reservations but that may have been for the better since Adam, the bartender, took great care of us that night. He was attentive and knowledgeable about the food and the drinks on the menu.
We explained our challenging food allergies to Adam (garlic and onion) which prompted a visit from the chef/owner of the restaurant. He emerged from the kitchen and went through, line by line, which items could be revised and how. We started out with the Albacore Tuna Tataki which was perfectly seared and seasoned. I had the Short rib Steak which was, again, perfectly medium rare (is there any other way to eat steak?) and the boy had Pork loin which was succulent and tasty. To finish, we shared the rhubarb/strawberries, dacquoise, yogurt mousse, sorbet - OMG! It was the perfect summer combination...sweet, tart, smooth, and refreshing!
I'd go back in a heartbeat to sample other dishes and to try some of Adam's concoctions! Thanks Ulla, for being such a classy, tasty establishment without the attitude! -
Review from Luisa D.
3/15/2011
Went here for cocktails while waiting for our table to be ready at another restaurant. Next time we'll try their menu too!
It's a cute little spot with big windows and a modern but comfortable atmosphere. We sat at the bar and Adam whipped up some delightful drinks for us. I ordered the cocktail special called The Meyer Lemon Thyme. He took thyme infused vodka, Meyer lemon juice, simple syrup and a 4th ingredient which escapes but you'll just have to go and try it yourself.
The friendly owner Sahara moved to Victoria a few years ago from Vancouver and was happy to find that her business thrived here. Her partner Brad was tucked away in the kitchen. The food coming out looked really good and I bet it was! -
Review from Beth C.
Victoria, BC
1/17/2011
My parents treated me to dinner at Ulla for my birthday recently, and I liked it very much. Bittersweet for me, Ulla is housed in the location formerly occupied by my then-favourite sushi restaurant, Tamami. I liked that Ulla kept some of Tamami's sushi plates to send out their bills with at the end of the meal - a nice nod.
The food is delicious, creative, and well-balanced, with really nice flavours. We all shared bites around, so over the course of the night I got to taste (more of some than others): the risotto pecorino arancini balls, the cirspy chicken roll, the polenta, the sous vide steak, the apple sorbet dessert and the hazelnut chocolate dessert.
Everything was wonderful. I rarely opt for vegetarian entree in a restaurant, but the polenta didn't disappoint, with delicious squash and garlic breadcrumbs and yummy greens with it. The crispy chicken roll was good, not mind-blowing, but the Israeli couscous that went with it was remarkably yummy. The steak was also very nice.
Of the two desserts, the apple one was better than the chocolate (I know, I'm surprised too). I also had a fantastic cosmopolitan, made with cranberry juice (not cocktail), and it was boozy and delicious and good.
The service is friendly and knowledgeable, and the waitress was totally game to answer my zillion questions.
It's definitely not inexpensive, but it's very nice for an evening out of good food and wine.
The menu is quite limited so far, but it's hard to go wrong when they do what they do well. -
Review from Emily-Anne P.
Vancouver, BC
3/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
I have been to Ulla on many occasions, but this last visit was worth the review.
I had friends visiting this past weekend and were waiting for our table at Brasserie L'ecole so I decided to take us down to Ulla and I am really glad I did.
We got there at about 545 and were early enough that we were able to take a seat at the bar. I ordered the Blood Orange Negroni, a seasonal drink that the staff concocted, and my gosh was it good. The bar tender on had adapted the negroni recipe slightly to account for the tastes of the blood orange and it was the perfect afternoon cocktail before dinner.
In the past I have gobbled up their amazing deserts, and I know they have a lovely dinner menu. I highly recommend stopping by if you're in the area for a drink, dinner or desert! -
Review from Katie F.
2/16/2011
Great resto in Victoria! This resto opened about 6 months ago so I was glad to have dinner here this week on my trip tothe island.
Great service and nice menu with fresh ingredients. The cheese/charcuterie/bread platters to start were FABULOUS! Great meat and cheese combos, and there was a wonderful salty type bread that was unique and very tasty. Would definitely have this again.
The meal was a solid 4 stars, and I agree, this place has the potential for a 5th star. Great service. The salad was fresh but did not stand out in my mind. The main was very tasty - I had a shortrib steak with some great sides. The meat was nicely done with great flavor. Desserts were nicely presented... I went with the chocolate cake, which had a centre of chocolate cake toppped with a crispy top. I found it a bit hard to eat with the hardness of both edge layers, but it was quite tasty.
Great addition to the Victoria restaurant scene! -
Review from kath r.
9/8/2010
Run! Before all of Vic and the lower mainland uncovers this gem!
Of all the meals we ate in Vic, dinner @ Ulla was our fave. If they'd been open the remainder of our visit, we prob would have taken advantage! Alas, Brad, Sahara and the team are a Tuesday-Saturday dining establishment.
Armed w my trusty new edition of EAT! I spent the ferry ride over browsing and marking the pages of places "To Go" on our weekend getaway. Ulla was top of my list. Purely bc I LOVE lamb and was enticed by the photo of their lamb sirloin, pea puree, gnocchi and morels dish. YUM.
We happened upon Ulla whilst walking around and took the opportunity to make a reso for later that night. When we arrived @ 9:30pm on the Saturday of a long weekend, the place was in it's 2nd seating and had the happy buzz of a place heading into THEIR weekend. The room was 3/4 full with satiated diners, remnants of deliciousness on dessert plates and friends gathering over wine. We were quickly enveloped into the fold and settled in with glasses of Rose.
The space previously housed a sushi restaurant - not that you'd know. The great architectural design with it's square cut out arch and face brick gives interesting character to the room, while the simple whitewashed walls w bright canvases and clean lines of the table-settings really help to bring a casual and inviting feel to the space and allow diners to focus on each other and the food.
Ullla, like many of my current faves are focusing on a (variation) 4-5-3 menu: 4 appies, 5 entrees, 3 desserts. In this way, I really like this approach; I think it gives the diner a glimpse into a holistic food approach and allows them the opportunity to see multiple and diverse uses for the same ingredients. And it minimizes waste as Chefs use the whole, local and fresh ingredients throughout the menu.
In an effort to 'spread the love' my friend and I decided to try a selection of appies (and bc the aforementioned lamb was no longer available, having sold out long before we sat)! No matter, it gives me a reason to cross the seas and return, for everything else we had was divine! Fresh, local, seasonal, market ingredients done well. Just the kind of meal I love !!!
We ordered:
*tomato salad special
*peaches and cream corn soup; a light yet rich and velvety concoction.
*octopus; tender w a lemony touch
*Momofuka Wings; um, dying. So good! Smokey with a hint of bacon goodness. Oh goodness.
*chocolate cake dessert plate w macerated cherries and heavenly whipped cream; we pretty much licked the plate clean!
In short: the service was warm, friendly and efficient. The food incredibly mooreish and the overall experience thoroughly enjoyable! In fact, it was one of those nights that reminds me why I love to dine out so much: when the venue + menu + service + company are all great = fantastic evening!
Thanks Ulla, I will most def be back. -
Review from christine c.
Victoria, BC
1/23/2011
Ulla is a fantastic restaurant and has true potential to hit a fifth star.
I enjoyed my birthday dinner at Ulla last night and arrived promptly for our 7:30 reservation. Needless to say it was another 25 minutes before we were able to be seated. Lesson learned. In the future do not arrive ferociously ravenous for ones reservation.
It's a lovely space in Chinatown with white walls, soft art and gorgeous chandeliers. My only complaint is that it is quite bright. No romantic ambience here.
My cocktails were fabulous. The sidecar was perfection and the blood orange negroni was very refreshing. The boy's bourbon sour was a smidge sweeter than we would like, but enjoyable nonetheless.
The boy started with the tuna tataki, which was the highlight of his meal. On the flipside the portion was incredibly tiny for the price tag. I had the giant octopus. The texture and flavour were there, but the saucy goodness wasn't. Meaning I wished more of the sauce had actually made it to my plate. For mains I had the scallops which were to die for, heavenly amazing and healthy too! One of the best scallop dishes I've ever devoured, surprisingly served with beans and peppers. Trust me when I say this dish did not lack saucy goodness. The boy had the shortrib steak on a bed of the most flavourful pomme puree. Also, an amazing dish. For dessert, this chocolate fiend decided to be adventurous and order the apple dessert. More specifically the sous-vide apple, genoise cake, green apple sorbet, vanilla yogurt. What an amazing and innovative creation.
I absolutely enjoyed my experience and will be back. -
Review from Dustin D.
Victoria, BC
1/6/2011
WOW, fantastic, so glad I tried this one out. My fiancée has the painful birthdate of December 29th, so I tried to make it special with our first visit to Ulla. Even though we were only a party of two, it was a bit tough to get a reservation, but we lucked out on our second try.
Ulla is located on the bottom of Fisgard in what used to be Tamami Sushi (Which I'm very sad that it closed, but at least it was replaced by something equally as stellar). They've redone the interior quite nicely with interesting light fixtures, a few paintings spread around and a large collection of chefs books on one wall. It's a very open dining area design and you sense a certain level of energy and vibrancy when you walk in.
I'll recount our meal as best as I can remember (cursing myself for losing a copy of their menu that I had brought home with me). I started with the pecorino arancini with a truffle mayo sauce and frisee salad (basically cheesey rice balls with a light salad). My partner had the beet and goat cheese salad with butter lettuce. One bite in and I knew this was going to be a great meal. The flavours were very rich, complex and well balanced, each bite I took was small and slow to savour every nibble. My salad was light, crisp and had a simple yet intriguing flavour.
For mains I had the sous vied pork loin on cabbage with cracklings, a gastrique and a celery root puree that had a few more elements I can't recall. My partner had the crispy chicken roll with Israeli cous cous, carrot puree, bacon and onions. This was my first time having anything cooked sous vide and it was delicious, very different texture than most cooking methods. Both our dishes were outstanding and the wine pairing offered by our server was perfect. Speaking of, our server was very knowledgeable about each dish, very informative and professional yet friendly and personable, great combo of traits to have.
We finished up with the chocolate dessert, a chocolate rice krispie type base with a soft ganache style middle and a thin hard brittle on top. I felt like a top chef judge as I raised my spoon to strike the brittle... *CRACK* as I hit it... beautiful :)
I strongly recommend trying Ulla, they are the hot new kid in town and they have set the bar high. -
Review from Melanie W.
Victoria, BC
5/7/2011
Ohhhh Ulla.....how I love thee!!! As my food snob friend said...."usually I will say, that was a good meal for Victoria. This time I say, that was a good meal, period." He is an exceptionally tough audience because I have had several great meals in Vic, but Ulla really nails it.
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Review from Isaac H.
6/25/2011
Kudos once again to the Yelp Foodie Community on identifying Ulla as a true Foodie Find in Victoria to rival the best of Vancouver & Seattle. Definitely an up-and-coming gem of the past year; experience it while it's still getting established.
Farm to table concept with a elegant and efficient menu and a great wine list. Fine dining but utterly down-to-earth. The owner/manager receives you and seats you; she's not pretentious about it at all but if you engage her she'll share with you details about the restaurant, its inspiration, its concept, etc.
Our server told us we couldn't go wrong and as cliche as that sounds, nothing we ordered challenged that assertion. Excellent pairings were fully on point (not the priciest selections on the list either). Had the crispy polenta with truffled mayo, cod with romanesca sauce, beef rib steak, and the chocolate cake. Each was simple and elegant with understated depths and flavor. Service again was top-notch; our server came at the right time during each course; was insightful and authentic without being pushy.
If I had to nit-pick; the dining area is well finished; the washrooms still need some polish.
If you have the opportunity, hit up Ulla before it becomes one of those places you can never seem to get into! -
Review from Christine W.
Victoria, BC
2/20/2011
A very pleasurable outing. Great wine list and the food is second to none. Haven't had a meal out in Victoria like this in a very long time. Loved the inventiveness of the menu and the attention to detail. Recommend the tuna tataki and the giant octopus for appetizers. My husband enjoyed his short rib steak and I was truly impressed by my ling cod with gigandes beans. Can't wait to go again!
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Review from Alice B.
9/8/2011
This place is fantastic. My partner and I went there while we were on vacation. The place is cozy but nicely designed. There were mostly locals in there, and the head chef came out at some point to chat with regulars. Our waitress was very knowledgeable about all the BC wines, and also told us that the waitstaff and the chef have a group dinner before the restaurant opens mostly every day so that everyone knows what the food tastes like and what the specials are for that night. I got the lamb special and my partner got steak. Both were excellent. We also got a strawberry rhubarb dessert that was quite refreshing, although I wouldn't have minded trying anything on that dessert menu!
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Review from Wendy C.
7/10/2011
Small portions but flavor in every bite. Tomato salad had the most amazing cherry tomatoes. Buttery salmon was cooked perfectly. Crispy on the outside but tender and moist on the inside.
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Review from Kate J.
Victoria, BC
8/24/2010
Great restaurant. Lovely food in a nice room. Quite charming and yummy too!
