Lunch @ Irish Times Pub in Victoria, BC, Canada - 30 January 2023

The other day, I was in Victoria, and decided to check out the Irish Times, a "modern Irish pub," which is typically, kind of like a modern luxury car. Heavy on the modern, light on the luxury. Fortunately, they did everything well.

Well, they say life is short, eat your dessert first, so we'll start there. Up top we have a sticky toffee pudding, a warm cake with caramel sauce, powdered sugar and vanilla ice cream. It's the epitome of comfort food in a dessert.

Up next, we have a Full Irish Breakfast. Given that I was a the Irish Times, it seemed somewhat fitting. If there are any people from Ireland reading this, maybe you can tell me how authentic this is. Here we have scrambled eggs, black pudding, banger, fried ham, fried potatoes subbing for hash browns, a banger that had been butterflied (which I found curious), fried mushrooms and baked beans. I nixed the fried tomato, since that's not really my thing. Everything was terrific, even the above mentioned sausage, despite its seemingly odd presentation. I wasn't used to black pudding in a slice, though. When I've had it at other other pubs, it's typically been as a whole or half sausage.

At the bottom, we have my appetizer, a lobster bisque. I know. At an Irish pub? Well, I had one last week at another pub, which I reviewed previously, and while I don't think it quite held up to that standard, it was still very good.

Overall, it was the ambiance and decor that won me over more than the food at Irish Times. Not that it was inadequate, but I've had better here on Vancouver Island. 17 Mile Pub had obviously been renovated some time ago, but the food was at least slightly better and at a lower price point.

I'd certainly go there again, but compared to 17 Mile and Penny Farthing, It probably ranks 3rd. That's hardly condemnation of the place, but it all depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a fancy pub with good food a large Irish whisky list, Irish Times is the place for you. If you're more concerned with food and want a more traditional or neighbourhood pub feel where you're not surrounded by TVs on all sides, Penny Farthing is probably the best.