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The Dutch Bakery & Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea with a huge variety of pastries, cookies, cakes along with many savoury dutch specialties including our original croquettes.
We had breakfast here last on a week day, you seat yourself so we picked a booth. The place hasn't changed in years but we don't mind as its quite cozy. You see all the old photos taken in the 1960's and the furniture looks the same. The service was ok too. Breakfast was very cheap and we were full. Later I bought some of their famous beef meat pies, flying saucers (giant almond paste cookies), mocha cream shortbread cookies, cake slices.. Everything there is amazingly good and tastes the same as it did 40 years ago.. I always try to return when I visit Victoria.
I am in my late thirties and actually appreciate the old style of this place. It reminds me of places my mum took me to when I was a little girl (yes, this type of stuff was "retro" when I was young too LOL!).
The food is good. Sandwhiches, bakery items and tea (yum yum).
However, a little advice to the servers....
I know that this is not "fine dining" - however, when you clear dishes and put them into the bussing trays PLEASE DO NOT THROW THEM IN. The noise was very irritating. I was constantly jarred by clattering and clanging of dishes, cutlery being tossed into the bussing trays. Just gently place the dishes in. It is much quieter and wayyyyyyy less irritating. I liked pretty much everything else about this establishement - it is just the unnecessary noise that keeps me from returning.
I've been Dutch Bakery's biggest fan since I was a little boy. Maybe that is why the aging decor and elder clientele make me so happy. Here is all you really need to know:
Everything that comes out of Dutch Bakery is good. Cakes are superb, cookies are delicious. The bright and shining star of this establishment is the Dollar Roll.
The Dollar Roll is approximately 4 inches long and the diameter of a Loonie. Start with a 1/4" bead of whipped cream, wrapped in a piece of cake. Roll this into a layer of marzipan and drizzle with chocolate! There has never been such a delight!
Any visitor to Victoria must try a Dollar Roll. They are only available here. Imitations are not worthy to look at.
Go.
My daughter and I went here for breakfast and were very pleased with how yummy it was, and how affordable. Service was fine. Waitresses were good to get us seated quickly with our wheelchair, even when coincidentally there were 2 other groups with wheelchairs there. Tight fit, though. Bakery items delicious, as well. It felt strange to me though that the place is exactly as it was 20 years ago when I was a UVic student and would come in for a treat.
I have been going here for a very long time, the food has always been really good (for a greasy spoon), the best part is the bakery, this place has the best baked goods and like everything else in the restaurant, nothing has changed since they opened up way back when. This place gets busy and the staff either hate their job and are counting down the days until retirement or they are simply overworked and don't know how to smile.
Call me post-modern, but sometimes when places try to retain their original decor and furnishings from the 1960s or 1970s it doesn't necessarily give the place an old world charm. This place is in need of a major renovation, but given the fact that the average clientele age here was 80, I can see why they keep it like this. I (who am 34) went here for lunch with a colleague and we both had a sandwich and coffee and I believe she had soup. Anyway, the food was good enough and the price was reasonable, but the server was this woman who was probably a former SS camp guard, and I have never felt ageism before but the level of service she gave everyone around us (all of whom, no surprise, were also in their 70s) was saddening to say the least. Smiles all around, but not if you're under 40! I have never ordered anything from their bakery although from what I hear they do a pretty darn good job in that department!
Anyway, on word of mouth alone, I'd likely buy cakes and sweets from them. As for lunch, I'll probably go back for my 70th birthday when service is likely to be friendlier.
| 1. | Aegean Cafe (17 m) |  |
| 2. | Street Level Espresso (22 m) |  |
| 3. | Fort Street Cafe (36 m) |  |
| 4. | Cactus Club Cafe (52 m) | |
| 5. | Finnerty Express (53 m) | |
| 6. | Siam Thai Restaurant (55 m) |  |
| 7. | Starbucks (55 m) | |
| 8. | Special Teas (55 m) | |
| 9. | Golden Chopsticks Restaurant (55 m) | |
| 10. | Sookjai Thai (55 m) | |
