01
Downtown Drinks Guide
Marilena Cafe & Raw Bar
Toptable's elevated West Coast room — globally sourced seafood, a Japanese-leaning raw bar, and a serious dinner menu of towers and steak frites. Named Canada's Best New Restaurant.
Best Bars, Pubs & Cocktail Rooms in Victoria, BC.
The best bars in Victoria — natural-wine rooms, craft cocktails, and spots where the drinks are the whole point.
6 current picks · 24 archive links · Updated June 2026
Quick answer
Where to start
Start with Marilena Cafe & Raw Bar, Tourist Wine Bar, and Rabbit Rabbit. The archive links below are worth a scroll for the backstory — just check hours and details before you head out, since they change.
- Current picks
- 6
- Archive support
- 24
- Coverage
- Drinks Guide
Best Bars, Pubs, Cocktail Bars & Wine Bars in Victoria, BC
Plus where to catch a match, find oysters and a sake list, or close out the night downtown.
Treat this as a shortlist, not gospel. Start with the current picks, raid the archive links for the backstory, and always check hours, menus, and reservations before you head out — these things move around.
The archive isn't filler. It's here when an older Tasting Victoria story still explains why a place, neighbourhood, or dish is worth your time.
- Strong pub, drinks, wine, sake, beer, cocktails, or happy-hour fit
- Good room for starting or extending a night out
- Useful downtown or neighbourhood location
- Listed in the Tasting Victoria editor picks
Local picks
6 places
02
Downtown Drinks Guide
Tourist Wine Bar
A small, low-lit natural wine bar with a tightly edited list of bottles and a snack-driven menu of charcuterie, oysters, and chef's plates that change weekly.
03
Chinatown Drinks Guide
Rabbit Rabbit
A snug, sexy wine bar in Chinatown with a low-lit room, an ever-changing bottle list, and a kitchen turning out shareable plates built around local produce.
04
Bastion Square Drinks Guide
Wind Cries Mary
Cozy ambiance with dimmed lighting and a beautiful courtyard patio. Nose-to-tail butchery drives a dynamic, ever-changing menu paired with a deep cocktail list.
05
Downtown Drinks Guide
Humboldt Bar
An intimate cocktail bar inspired by the 19th-century naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, with a nature-driven cocktail list and a recent spot on North America's Top 100 Bars.
06
Downtown Drinks Guide
Citrus & Cane
A tropical cocktail bar with rum-forward riffs on classics and a leafy, low-lit room that channels old Havana. (Currently between locations — check the site before you go.)