Q at the Empress

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Sense of Place, Plate by Plate

Q at the Empress occupies one of Victoria's most storied settings — the Fairmont Empress Hotel on Government Street, looking out over the Inner Harbour. The view alone would be reason enough to visit, but the kitchen makes a compelling case of its own. The cooking is rooted in Pacific Northwestern cuisine: an honest, expressive approach that lets the abundance of British Columbia's coastline and Vancouver Island's fields do the talking.

The restaurant's wine program has earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, a recognition that speaks to the care taken with the full dining experience — not just what arrives on the plate, but what's poured alongside it.

The Raw Bar and the Tides

The raw bar is the heart of the menu. Freshly shucked West Coast oysters come with red wine mignonette, cucumber green chili granita, and fresh horseradish. Chilled Dungeness crab arrives with calamansi, buttermilk dressing, green apple, and dill vinaigrette. A Halibut & Spot Prawn Ceviche Verde balances lime and jalapeño with taro root chips. For a full showcase, the Seafood Tower brings together snow crab, West Coast oysters, cold and hot smoked salmon, candied sablefish, poached prawns, and herb-marinated mussels.

Hand rolls — available in the evening — are served in pairs and lean into local sourcing: Tofino shrimp with ikura, Dungeness crab with avocado and brown butter aioli, or a plant-based Spring Garden roll with grilled asparagus and cherry blossom shoyu.

Evening Mains and the Broader Menu

Dinner opens up the full range of the kitchen's ambitions. Pan Roasted BC Sockeye Salmon comes with Parisian gnocchi, roasted fennel, prawn butter, and miso hollandaise. Sablefish arrives with a star anise soy glaze, forbidden rice, and winged kelp dashi — a dish that reads as distinctly Canadian in its layering of Pacific ingredients. The AAA Beef Tenderloin with sauce bordelaise and fork-mashed German butter potato offers something more classical, while the Duo of Lamb — a za'atar-spiced chop alongside BBQ-glazed lamb belly with honey chermoula and preserved lemon yogurt — shows the kitchen's willingness to reach beyond the coast.

Desserts hold their own: the 10-Layer Midnight Bloom Chocolate Cake with hazelnut buttercream and rose tea ice cream is a showpiece, while the Signature Empress Honey dessert, made with Little Qualicum fromage frais ice cream and dulcey honey mousse, keeps things local to the last bite.

The Room and the Bar

The cocktail program draws from Pacific Northwestern flavours and the seasons. The bar runs daily from 11am to midnight, with lunch and dinner service and walk-ins welcome alongside reservations. The setting — warm, refined, with sweeping harbour views — makes Q at the Empress equally suited to a long weekend lunch or a considered dinner with a well-chosen bottle from that award-recognised wine list.