Rebar Modern Food


 50 Bastion Square, Victoria, BC, (250) 361-9223 
An oldie, but a goodie, Rebar is a familiar face, particularly among Victoria's veggie community, as well as weekend brunch goer's.

A loosely vegetarian menu (includes limited seafood, dairy and eggs), the food is hearty with a pleasantly therapeutic quality. While vegetarian, the food isn't necessarily super-healthy, as fat maintains a central role in many of the dishes. In other words, you can feel like you're doing something good for your body, while still enjoying your food. For the same reason it's the perfect hangover food.

On this mid-week morning Patty and I arrived at 11am. A bad time to arrive, since there is a service gap between 11-11:30 am as the kitchen shift from the breakfast to the lunch menu. We were told to come back in half an hour. A bit inconvenient I thought, but I was later assured by a former employee of Rebar that the transition time is absolutely necessary due to kitchen size and menu complexity. For whatever reason, this is not the case on the weekend.

Usually, when I dine at Rebar I order the enchilada. I love the enchilada. However, today, I decided to order the vegan burrito ($11.50). Served with a small serving of yam fries, guacamole and some sort of barbecue sauce, it was a very nice meal. That said, its veganness was apparent, as the burrito crumbled quite severely as I cut into it. While not dry, it clearly lacked a binding agent. The flavour was nonetheless tasty and I enjoyed the accompaniments. In future, I must say, I will likely return to the enchilada.

Patty ordered the Reuben sandwich ($11.50), made with tempeh instead of beef and also included sauerkraut and beets as filling. Served on rye bread, there was a substantial amount of fat used for the grilling process - not an issue for Patty. Overall the Reuben was a success, " For a guy who doesn't go for veg, it was pretty damn good!" Patty said.

Patty and I both enjoyed drinks from the extensive list of fresh fruit and vegetable juices. While delicious and nutritious, it's a quick way to add $5-10 to your bill.

Besides the hostess being a bit obsessed with maintaining the integrity of 30 min respite for the kitchen, the service was good, quick and friendly. The ambiance at Rebar is always the same, quick paced and funky, with a good dose of granola on top.

I'm hard pressed to get some of my more meat-centred friends to embrace Rebar, but most non-veggies walk out completely satisfied. An institution in Victoria for many years, Rebar has maintained their reputation for fun, creative and accessible vegetarian cuisine. Not a sophisticated restaurant, Rebar feeds you well, but you could probably get away with turning up in your PJs. 

Patty says...

As Christabel stated earlier I am generally not a vegetarian cuisine lover. I try to eat enough veggies to curb the onset of scurvy, but most of my meals include an animal part of some sort. This being said, I have to bow to the skill of a chef who can make flavourful vegetarian food. Meats are generally an easy way to add fat and flavour to a dish, in the absence of meat it takes a substantial amount of skill to create flavourful food.        

Wine notes

A British Columbia-centered wine list, Rebar isn't really a wine kinda place. Their selection is small and acceptable, despite the appearance of a cheap Jackson Triggs. That said, they do have a fairly extensive selection of beers from Philips and Tree breweries. The beer list, in my opinion is not only more interesting than the wine list, but I think it pairs better with the hearty, heavily seasoned and often spicy food.

 Reviewed: September 8, 2005