Ayo Eat

A hidden gem, some of the best take out food in Victoria.

Great food, bana is awesome, price is right! I always get the satey ayam and I am never disappointed. It can be pretty spicy so if that’s not for you just let him know

i am in the service industry and there is always an understanding that the customer is always right.
i went to this place on a saturday afternoon, after reading good reviews on Unilocal for the food. the chef there told me he is not able to take anymore orders, i told him i could wait. so he said it would be about 30 minutes and he can start my making my order after that. he took my order but didn’t write it down. he told me to come back in 1 hr. so i waited for 30 minutes or so and saw that there was a line and few more people ordering. i didn’t know whether the chef was serious about taking my order because he had repeatedly told me at the start he isn’t able to take anymore order. so i decided to leave.
i returned to the same location the next saturday. i approached the same chef and asked him if the wait will be an hour as well. he stares at me rudely as he is infuriated. he then yells at me saying i didn’t not come back last time for the order. i apologized for this as i realized this was my mistake. HOWEVER, this belies all belief that the customer is always right in the service industry.
I wish the establishment much luck, but i certainly will be taking my business somewhere else where they treat the customer as they are always right.

I came here because of the great Unilocal reviews and it didn’t disappoint. it’s just a takeout joint — no seating except for a small bar in front that fits two people. food is all made to order so ours took about ten minutes. ordered the green curry shrimp and the nasi goreng. both were excellent. how I wish we had a little place like this in seattle, serving up Indonesian fare. alas, we do not. highly recommend.

Ah-​amazingly flavorful Indonesian food!
Its a hole in the wall but, so worth it!
We got the Chicken satay and Nazi goreng ayam… both moist flavorful… yummmmmy
Go eat here… get take out… so worth it!!!

Bana the owner is super friendly, the place itself is cool even its tiny place in the corner. The foods are superb. Me and my husband order Nasi Rendang and Green curry with shrimp, its worthed to go there along the way from Seattle. Gonna go there again if next time we visit Victoria.

This small take out with limited menu was a very pleasent suprise. Authentic food with incredible taste! Nasa Goreng and Sata made my stay in Victoria very memorable!

I am from Malaysia, and i have to say the dishes here are superb. The rendang can be a little spicy to handle but so goood! The satay is delicious as well, though i prefer my satays to be a little charred. Good for takeouts.

It’s a hole in the wall. Literally. And a one man operation too.
I was recommended this place by someone I was travelling with. The chef/​owner is quite an interesting personality too.
I had the green curry (vegetarian) as well as the spring roll. The curry is pretty spicy (very similar to Thai curry). If you aren’t used to eating spicy, I recommend asking for some extra plain rice to mix with the curry rice.
The amount of items on the menu is quite limited, but that’s understandable due to it being a one man buisness with very limited space.
The fried shallots sprinkled on top of the rice are the best!

This is a hole in the wall — I mean, there is nothing there but a tiny kitchen, but the chef is a master, and produces food worthy of the best Indonesian restaurants outside Indonesia. They say the proprietor/​cook has actually prepared meals for the Dalai Lama himself.
I’ve had the Beef Curry and the Fried Rice, and both were superbly prepared, expertly spiced. Take-​out doesn’t get any better than this.

Friendly little food stall that excels in everything it does and doesn’t skimp on the peanut sauce. Excellent.

Recently in Victoria for business, my boyfriend and I asked the hotel concierge what their best restaurant recommendation was. This turned out to be Ayo Eat — hidden in the far left corner of Market Square. We visited the take-​out window on a Sunday morning and ordered the beef curry, spring rolls and chicken skewers with peanut sauce. Overall, extremely satisfying and authentic meal. Flavours are unreal, I can’t wait to be back!

Indonesian food is hard to find in Portland. So I was happy to see that Victoria had a little place with all my favorite foods.
Ayo only has a few menu items. All I cared about was the beef rendang and nasi goreng. Both appear to be made off site and reheated in a microwave. then topped with freshly prepared fried egg and sauces.
Some people don’t like this style of cooking but it is somewhat authentic. I have eaten in Indonesia many times and see a lot of reheating going on.
Anyways, the food was great. the nasi goreng was flavorful and the rendang was spicy and rich. I only wish I had brought home a couple extra servings.

Searching for «hole in the wall» while in the vic… just to get a flavor for the local fare. Indonesian pops up! Ok, we try. OK, WE LOVE! Bana is great and his food is pretty tasty. Limited counter seating, otherwise its a mostly takeout operation. Beef dish and the spring rolls are oh so good. Would visit all the time if I lived or worked nearby! Kind of hard to find, second floor of the mall.

I’m from Jakarta, grew up on good Indonesian food, and Bana’s cooking reminds me of home! Makananya enak2, (delicious food). I was visiting Victoria, came upon Ayo Eat by chance, and had the best meal of my visit. Bana is very personable and helpful, and I also enjoyed chatting with him. His menu is small, but I returned to try almost everything; the quality is all excellent. This place is a must! Terima kasih Bana. Sampai ketemu lagih.

Five-​star food and inexpensive prices, but only a tiny eating counter and no drinks. Plan on taking your food to the courtyard to eat.

Great little «hole in the wall» restaurant. The food ever-​so-​discreetly captivates your taste buds with every bite. By the end of the meal you’ll find you’ve suddenly fallen in love with beef rendang and nasi goreng! The price is very reasonable — a nice change of pace from everything else in Victoria. Bana’s friendly demeanor helps enhance the eating experience as well! This is a definite must-​try if you ever find yourself in Victoria.

Despite the «meh» food, I’m eager to support Bana’s indy business for his kind and gentle approach to people.
I read about this local hotspot and was very eager to try it. I went for a dinner. It was a slow Monday and I found the owner (Bana) having a quiet, seemingly in-​depth conversation with the lone customer. The woman seemed completely willing to sit there in conversation without need for her food. I instantly felt good about experience to come. How refreshing, an eating experience that’s about the human interaction, not just the food. My brief interaction with Bana reinforced my positive impression.
The food was unfortunately «meh». Somewhat more greasy (frying based) than I would have liked. Found that I was clearing my throat quite a bit afterwards. I was impressed with how tender and lean the beef was but found the prawn chips to have not been very crispy. (I heard the microwave being used twice while my food was being made.)The sweet and sour preserved veggies were a relief to my conscience (more than a delight) though I wished that there was more. The price for the portion size and service was reasonable though not inexpensive.
On a sustainability front, I wished that the containers weren’t made of Styrofoam.

WOW! I think I love this place and I’ve only eaten there once. This take out spot is basically a kitchen in the wall at upper market square. The menu is all of 5 items long, but you can be confident that each one is made to perfection.
My friend had the Nasi Campur Beef Rendang and was very happy with it, the beef smelled amazing. I had the thai green curry with chicken, bamboo shoots, basils and peppers. Stunning freshness, flavour balance, flavour depth and an obvious deft hand behind it all.
The owners bio/​work history is on the wall, stating he has cooked for the Dalai Lama, and was head of thai, indonesian (and one other, i forget) cuisine at a major asian hotel. He’s very welcoming and friendly, his good personality alone makes you want to return, the food guarantees it.
This is seriously authentic thai/​asian/​indonesian cuisine, if you don’t like this, stick to cheap buffets (because if you don’t like it, you probably don’t deserve it and you must have zero capacity to appreciate true authentic international cuisine). Yes that’s a bold incendiary statement, but I whole heartedly believe it to be true. It doesn’t get much more fresh or authentic than this.
I strongly recommend giving ayo eat a try.

Man. So dang satisfying! I had the nasi goreng, Erik had the green curry and we shared both. Without relying on saucy-​ness this food delivered maximum impact flavor and just enough spice. Go stop by this little doorway and sit down at the picnic tables below and enjoy the sunshine. Hi five!