10 Acres Commons

So I’ve discovered this amazing beautiful restaurant & so glad it’s become one of my favourites!!! My experiences here have been nothing but sensational, my food is always on point & delish!!! They always accommodate me or my friends no matter how busy it is, the staff is supper friendly & always go above & beyond my expectations! It’s rare to have an extended family out of your circle, this place has become my # one!!! About time Victoria had a high end place with great food & drink features… Anything from bar food, charcuterie, sushi or an amazing perfectly cooked steak or crab & lobster taylored to my demanding expectations! Thank you for being something that exceeds my needs!

Come for the seafood, stay for the MICE!!!
Came up for the weekend and was looking forward to the place as our local friends had taken us here a few years ago when it was The Pescatore’s Oyster Bar.
Although the place has been renovated, in an albeit confusing style, to say it has gone downhill since our last visit would be an understatement! Not only was the service poor, the entrées bland and overpriced, but the oysters that I remember enjoying so much were mutilated, inedible pieces of mush! Apart from the beer (which is hard to mess up) the meal was a disaster from start to finish!
To top it off my wife and I saw a TOTAL OF THREE MICE eating food scraps off the floor during the middle of our meal. I brought this to the attention of a server who made a joke about it and said, «it was an old building»!! We will NOT be coming back and would STRONGLY recommend against choosing this place for a night out. Victoria’s restaurant scene has improved so much over the years and this place has CLEARLY not caught up with the times!
UPDATE: I looked into the Vancouver Island Health Authority inspections report page and noticed that The Commons Bar was recently slapped with a HIGH HAZARD RATING!!!
«During the last inspection, significant problems were noted related to food handling and/​or sanitation procedures. This may include such things as potentially hazardous foods stored well above correct temperatures, use foods from unapproved sources, extremely unsanitary conditions. The facility’s current operation significantly increases the risk of food borne illness and the operator must take immediate corrective action. The facility is approaching the maximum level of risk considered acceptable for its continued operation and we may close it if conditions worsen or the operator fails to eliminate the hazards.»
Foodies be warned!!!
M.J.C.

Stopped in for the Dine Around menu. Crispy calamari appetizer was spicy and sweet with fried sliced jalapenos and a nice dipping sauce. Entrees: fish and chips, seafood stew and shellfish steamer with frites were all good (although we realized when we got home that they forgot the frites). The dessert freak at our table loved her crème brulee and the New York cheesecake was massive and delicious. Service was good and friendly. All in all, a good experience. (I wish they would take reservations on Open Table, but we had no need for a reservation the night we went.)

We came into town late on a weekday with a hankering for seafood. The concierge at all the hotels pointed us to this particular restaurant. Oh my Lord the Oysters are to die for and are complimented by a wine list from heaven (especially the french whites). The chowder is probably one of the best I’ve ever had in texture of the fish morsels and flavour of the cream broth. The chowder stands alone amongst all the chowders I’ve tried across the continent. Moving on to the prawn tempura roll we instantly wanted to order another but that thought was lost when the wild sockey salmon on a bed of roast kale entered the fold. Believe it or not the Kale and the unique oil that complimented it created the perfect contrast the to the salmon making for a mellow and balanced ending to our meal. We cannot stop talking about this meal for we are seafood lovers and this is the perfection we crave. Thanks for the experience we will be back and as far as I’m concerned you’ve nailed it!

I like this place. But one thing that bothers me is, I go here with my Asian friends, the bill comes with an extra 20% survive fee every time.
But I go here with my Canadian friends, the bill doesn’t include a service fee.
I always put tip on my bill AT LEAST 20%. Yes, I’m going to put 20% tip on anyway but… bothers me a little bit. Other than that, I like here.

I’m not one to post negative comments but people need to know that the ‘new’ Commons restaurant doesn’t measure up to the old oyster.
I used to frequent the Oyster patio in the summer — it was Victoria’s hidden gem of a patio with fish tacos that were amazing.
I should have known that a sunny patio with no one on it means not good restaurant.
We sat down on the patio and were one of three tables. The new chairs are not comfortable. It took the server at least 10 minutes to get to our drink order.
We ordered the nachos and calamari. The nachos were 20 bucks and didn’t come with salsa or pico de gallo. I asked for some and the second manager just rolled his eyes and said we don’t have any. How do you serve nachos with no salsa? The calamari was 17 dollars and only 7 pieces. There were more pieces of cut up jalepeno battered and deep fried than calamari.
Beer was ok — but why serve Sapporo? That is definitely a wrong choice with so many craft beers here in victoria.
Overall, the service underwhelming, food over priced and much lower in quality.

This seafood reboot is more than a little fishy.
A welcome update to the atmosphere and décor of the former Oyster Bar, but service and food quality very much in need of improvement.
Our server tried hard to explain the menu and drink offerings, but was simply out of his depth — no, Maker’s Mark is not a rum. And the appetizers ordered fell flat thanks to easily avoided errors — not enough cutlery for the table, not enough chips for the ceviche, and no real interest from the server to check in on our meals.
We ordered 2 different «steamers» for our mains — both were very heavy on the clams but light on the mussels. My Spanish style steamer was so salty that it was almost inedible, and was ultimate returned to the kitchen unfinished. A restaurant that prides itself on seafood really ought to be able to deliver a great bucket of mussels — other joints in this town certainly do.
At the conclusion of the meal, our server forgot our table entirely and we were ultimately left to eventually wander up to the server station ourselves to request a bill. A lackluster finish to a lackluster meal.
Wait for this place to work the bugs out — I won’t be back anytime soon.

This place just opened replacing the old oyster bar and I must say that the renovation is much improved. I had the chance to watch game 5 at the bar during their soft opening. And even though it was their first night the bar serving staff were running like an oiled machine and beyond helpful and knowledgeable.
I had the pulled pork Vietnamese sandwich that was good but perhaps a tad salty– but the environment was awesome well laid out and I can’t wait to spend summer on Victoria’s newest downtown patio!
Would recommend