Until March 31, 2012, Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub and GuestHouses of Victoria is offering a getaway package SO good, even local residents should seriously consider booking it.
Subject to availability (their language, not mine), this is what you get for $159 plus taxes:
- One night in a fireplace-warmed room in Spinnakers GuestHouses (double occupancy);
- A three-course dinner for TWO at Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub;
- A breakfast basket of baked goods, fresh squeezed juice, Silk Road teas, and Spinnakers own (fabulous!) granola delivered to your room in the morning.
- A complimentary beer and truffle tasting at the gastro brewpub, where both the brews and chocolates are made from scratch;
- The option to purchase a second night of accommodation for $69.
The only aspect of this getaway special I have not personally sampled is the lodging. You’ll have to gauge that for yourself based on the photos and copy on the Spinnakers GuestHouses web page.
I’m positively weak for the gourmet sweets at Spinnakers, created with exquisite TCHO chocolate. (Get the scoop on the quality, exclusivity, and ethics of TCHO here.) Made on site and sold at the Provisions kiosk inside the front door of Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub, the chocolate truffles are accented with such exotic flavours as chili, lavender, and balsamic vinegar. The chocolate barks and clusters may include figs, dried cranberries, pecans, or almonds, and the astonishing butter-toffee chocolate bark will make you swear off those vastly inferior Skor bars forever.
The three-course dinner at Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub is no small add-on to this package. This excellent waterfront restaurant emphasizes house-made and fresh, locally sourced ingredients. To give you an idea, here is what I ordered for lunch on my last visit:
Goat Cheese & Beet Salad (half $6, and it was BIG): Organic spinach, Sea Bluff Farm beets (from Metchosin, BC)), Happy Days goat cheese (Chilliwack, BC) with candied almonds, tossed with Spinnakers barley-wine vinaigrette (made on site).
Local Mushroom Trencher ($8): Salt Spring Island shiitake mushrooms and button mushrooms sautéed with garlic, onion, and garden rosemary with grilled local squash, served open faced on fresh multigrain bread (baked on site) with Spinnakers Stout grainy mustard aioli (also made on site) and Kootenay Alpine Cheese Co. Alpindon cheese (Creston, BC area).
That breakfast basket included with the winter special will contain breads and pastries made fresh by Spinnakers’ resident bakers. Based on the lavender shortbread cookies and pain au chocolat I have enjoyed from the Provisions kiosk, you can look forward to a very happy wake-up.
Spinnakers (www.spinnakers.com). For reservations: call 250-386-2739 or email spinnakers@spinnakers.com
On the downside, Spinnakers has HORRIBLE service. Every once in awhile my husband and I go back thinking, “hey, maybe it was just that one server, maybe they’ve changed!” and not much later severely regret it. I won’t go there now except to pop into the shop to buy a cookie or treats for the dogs while out on our walk.
Thanks for your feedback, Deborah. Has your experience been that service is slow, or servers were unfriendly/disinterested, or mistakes were made with your order? I’ve had good experiences at Spinnakers myself, so I’m quite interested in what problems you’ve encountered there. Always good to hear what others have to say.
Cheers,
Anita
That really is too bad. I love Spinnakers and it’s always my first choice for eating out. The service has been great and the one time my order was not correct our server (who overheard my grandma getting excited about the truffles she just had to get on the way out) apologized and presented her with a box of truffles. That was a sweet thing to do!
Hi DM,
I am the Director of Marketing at Spinnakers and I too am curious about your experiences with bad service. Obviously I am sorry you have had more than one bad service experience here. I will bring it to the attention of our Front of House managers. But I am curious if your issues were about the friendliness of staff or the speed to which they attended to you. If you see this note, feel free to email me at kristine@spinnakers.com and I will pass it along to the managers. We can only improve our service thanks to customers like you who bring issues to our attention – so thank you!
Kristine
Thanks for sharing your experience, Vicki. That kind of generosity of service is a positive reflection on the restaurant. I, too, have enjoyed many good meals and friendly staff at Spinnakers. I appreciate you taking the time to comment here.
Cheers,
Anita
Thanks for your note, Kristine. I hope Deborah does get in touch with you.
Cheers,
Anita