Lure | Victoria | 45 Songhees Rd. @ Delta Ocean Point Hotel

I went for lunch at Delta's Lure restaurant yesterday.

The food was on the pricier side but, man, was it ever good! The portions were small with the freshest ingredients (some local, as the waitress explained to us) and all prepared to what I thought was perfection.

We had the antipasta appetizer plate to start (between three of us), which for $23 was steep for the amount of food, but the offerings were spectacular.

I ordered the dungeness(sp?) crab entree for $18. It came with two diced portions of crab (roughly 1.5" squared), three avocado slices, two eggs, a little strip of goat cheese, two strips of bacon and lettuce. The waitress warned me the portions would be small but she said together with the antipasta appetizer I would be fine (she ended up being right).

If you're up for a swankier dining experience I highly recommend the hop over to Vic West to give Lure a try. But don't expect big portions relative to the prices. This place is all about engaging the culinary senses as opposed to stuffing you with copious amounts of food.

I love Lure at the Delta Ocean Pointe. It's a great spot to take a date because they treat you so well. As you say, small portions of good food. Go to the Ric's Grill Steak House if you want something fancy, good, and voluminous.

I had breakfast at Lure recently and if was incredibly good. Even breakfast was expensive, but if you want it perfect and tasty, Lure is a good spot.

So, all you single guys out there looking to impress head over to British Importers and buy yourself a proper suit and get it properly tailored to fit you correctly. Tell your sweetie you want her to dress up for a dinner date and make your reservations.

Everything is comfortable and quiet, you'll be able to talk and get a great meal. Easy underground parking. Just go over the Johnson St Bridge and take that first little off-ramp road and you are there.

I recently went back to Lure for dinner.

Started with the antipasto (duck pate, chorizo sausage, flat bread, olives, goat cheese, and several other items -- all delicious).

My entree was the lamb, served with cous cous and a small cup of vegetables (peppers mostly). The meal was absolutely fantastic. Hands down, some of the finest lamb I've had in a long time. I enjoyed the cous cous which is a traditional middle-eastern item that works particularly well with lamb.

The service was good and the gentle live piano music (played on a grand piano near the lounge) filled the room in such a way that a recorded set played through a sound system could never duplicate.

The only thing I would recommend Lure work on is its staff. While the staff are certainly courteous and friendly, some of them would benefit from the sort of training the Empress provides for its servers (I'd rate the level of service at the Empress at a 10, whereas the service at Lure an ~8).

I've always said Lure id the best restaurant in Victoria.

Heard tonight that Lure Restaurant and Lounge will be closing November 28th for renovations and will not reopen until the end of April 2014. 

Heard tonight that Lure Restaurant and Lounge will be closing November 28th for renovations and will not reopen until the end of April 2014. 

 

As a follow-up, we shared a lunch there today and talked to the waiter about the renovation.  Apparently, it's going to be a complete gut, major overhaul that will include outdoor patio seating at the restaurant level, and an expanded kitchen.  The Lounge will also look completely different with an expanded bar.  And... it's not just the restaurant and lounge, the lobby is scheduled to undergo renovation in January.  Pretty amazing - it's not like this place is a dive!

 

The restaurant and lounge will remain open during the reno but will be moved to other locations within the hotel.  That's great news since we enjoy the food there. 

 

Here's a sampling of some of those dishes (used your new multi-file Flash uploader which worked well except you have to then have to click on each image via "Add to Post" - extra steps but it does allow you to re-arrange your images).

 

 

Mesclun Greens with Scallops

 

Smoked Haida Gwaii Sable Fish

 

West Coast Parfait

 

Garden Omelette

 

Cranberry Pecan French Toast

 

Finally, here is the Flat-Iron Steak sandwich with side Caesar Salad we shared for lunch today

Edited by Gary H, 20 November 2013 - 08:09 PM.

Nice work Gary H

The restaurant and lounge renovation is underway.

 

Note the use of holiday wrapping paper instead of your standard brown construction paper on the windows.

 

 

 

They've completely enclosed the reno area with sound-proof walls and set up a temporary restaurant in the Songhees room, which also has a great view of the harbour.  The lounge was moved somewhere on the third floor.

 

 

 

Cool, do you think the lounge has a view onto the harbour?

They're using the Signature Club lounge on the 3rd floor as the cocktail lounge and yes it has a harbour view. We had a light dinner there this evening (we have a weakness for their flat iron steak sandwich).

BTW, the lobby is completely closed off for renovations, you enter the hotel via a conference room door. The make-shift check-in counter is directly across from the main elevators. The lobby is supposed to re-open in late March, the restaurant and lounge in late May.










In spite of temporary digs they still make an great tomato bisque soup! 

Nice. We'll check that out tonight.

The lobby renovation is complete enough for them to reopen. 

 

The check-in area really looks different.  They've replaced the single counter with three command and control pods.  I think this is the trendy thing in hotel design these days but it still looks like an airline check-in area - I'm expecting a conveyor belt behind them where they'll throw your luggage after check-in.

 

 

Of course the view is still to die for and they've put in new carpeting and some really nice tile.  However, they also appear to have eliminated any woodwork, opting instead for a whitewashed stone kind of look.  This makes the main lobby area quite stark and cold looking.  It seems they're going for the "uncomfortable" minimalist European look.  We've stayed at this hotel many times and I can tell you the chairs and sofas they used to have in there were really comfy compared to this new stuff. 

 

 

The railing in the foreground is just a painted piece of 2x6 so I expect it's just a place-holder for something more refined (at least it better be).  The sound walls around the restaurant/lounge are still up as they've got a couple more months of work to do over there.

 

That furniture is WAY too small scaled for that space. Nothing really looks finished at all to me.

And... the wait is over - new railings.  Quite underwhelming, but at least it is consistent with their minimalist Scandinavian theme.  Someone also needs to patch those holes.  Nparker, I think that's it for furniture.  It's funny, cause that's the kind of furniture you use in quick and dirty 3D models because it's easy to create.  Your modeler, like Sketchup, doesn't need to support organic surface modeling or NURBS for the more cushy furniture.

 

 

 

They could use a little more furniture in there, no? Some plants maybe?

That centre grouping of sofas would really benefit from the addition of a large round (or perhaps even square) area rug (in a contrasting colour) to better anchor and offset it from the rest of the space. Art work or a mirror is needed above the fireplace and plants or other colourful objects are needed in each of the seating spaces. Those conical tables are especialy odd and poorly placed. I hope they didn't pay much to a professional interior design firm for this endeavour, because it's just a hot mess.

At first I thought this was seating for the new outdoor restaurant patio but was told these are booths for inside the newly remodeled restaurant.  I have this feeling their new minimalist design found in the lobby is being extended here too.  That's nice wood, are they going to cover it with a cushion?  I would think for your seat but maybe not your back.  Is it going to look cool but be uncomfortable?

 

Edited by Gary H, 23 April 2014 - 08:34 PM.

That furniture screams "we don't want you to sit here". 

 

Thanks for the photos, Gary!

I remember being completely underwhelmed by the Ocean Pointe lobby the first time I went in, very soon after it opened. It was bland and uninspired. The more things change....

I received a brief tour today, lead by one of the hotel management team.  Lure re-opened just yesterday.  Within two or three weeks I'll be back, and I'll have a more comprehensive review.