Shine Cafe

The Shine Café was recommended to me by a friend. Brought the family here for brunch. It was really good and the kids liked the diner/​café atmosphere. I had the Pacific Coast Salad… which was excellent. If you are in Victoria, I recommend you stop by this gem of a place for breakfast or brunch.

I have been looking at restaurants with a very critical eye lately as there are do many great restaurants in Victoria.
I had the Polish Eggs Benny. My wife had the chicken club with salad.
The bad: Hollandaise sauce was very bland. The hash browns weren’t very crisp. The perogy’s were under seasoned. Coffee was a little weak and we had to request raw sugar (who uses refined white sugar anymore?)
Salad dressing was balsamic and sesame oil vinaigrette which had a little too much oil in it.
The good: Perfectly cooked eggs. The chicken in the club was real chicken breast and cooked perfectly. Moist and tender. Quick friendly service.
All and all a good experience. Not the greatest but good nonetheless.

Excellent friendly service and the food is fantastic!

Finally, I get to write a great review in Victoria. It was A little crowded because of the 10k this morning, but we still only waited 10 minutes to be seated.
I had the Nemo Benedict and my husband had an omelette with mushrooms, feta, avocado, tomato and bacon. Portions were generous and priced reasonably.
My Benedict was exactly what I wanted, the Bearnaise was awesome-​creamy and smooth; With smoked salmon and a perfectly cooked runny egg I had the Scottish scone and they were new to me and very yummy (like a skinny potato pancake). My husband finished every last bite of his eggs, I managed to steal a mushroom and it was cooked scrumptiously.
The coffee was stout and hot, what more could you want? Too bad we go home tomorrow.

Oh my god. This place is amazing. We came from Vancouver for the weekend and googled an all day breakfast place. This place popped up so we walked in and right away the waitresses were great! Their bubbly, nice and they care. Now the food, I don’t even know how to explain it! Mouth watering, filling and you get what you pay for! The first day I got the «nemo» a salmon eggs Benny. I finished everything and wanted to lick the plate clean haha and the second day, my partner got the Canadian which was just as amazing and I got the province which was an eggs Benny with artichoke hearts, eggplant bacon and zucchini on a French bread!!! We also got a side of coconut French toast with coconut shavings and mango on top !!! RIGHT!!! COCONUT FRENCH TOAST? So mouth watering. We will definitely be coming back !!! And we recommend this place to everyone

Can’t go wrong with eggs benny at Shine, any time of day. Always tasty and well-​made, with lots of options to choose from. Service can be hit or miss at times. Get the chipotle hollandaise if they have it on special, it’s amazing!

Great service! This place knows what they are doing. It was a joy eating here and supporting them because they were so genuine and accommodating.
The granola is fantastic, although I wish they still kept it on the menu with the poached apples.

Good food, unpretentious but excellent service, relaxed vibe.
Quite friendly for single diners when sitting by the booth (leaving all the roiling patrons literally behind your back).

Great little find with a stellar kitchen. I had Robins Hash which was a blend of spinich, sausage eggs, onions and wedge hashbrowns.
Great service with only 10 or so tables.
The espresso was strong and firm

Pecan pancakes were great and a good portion. Hash was good but portion was small. Coffee was great for a breakfast place.

I am rating Shine Café 4 stars because their omelettes are just that damn good. I love breakfast. I personally think breakfast at the chain restaurants such as Denny’s, IHOP (Is IHOP all caps? Shows how much I like it.) etc are disgusting. So, when I look for a breakfast place, I look for cafes. If you are visiting Victoria and need a breakfast spot, this is it.
I lived in Victoria for about 5 years and when my boyfriend would visit, this is where I take him and he thinks it is amazing as well. I have been to Shine Café countless times. I now live in Vancouver and I sometimes have dreams about their breakfast.
I always make my own omelette at Shine and they never disappoint. The hash browns are a great side. Whenever I go to any breakfast spot, I typically compare it to Shine and I am yet to find something in Vancouver just as good. I just got really hungry for their omelette typing this review.
If you live in Victoria and HAVE NOT been to Shine Café. SHAME ON YOU!!!

The food is tasty, but it is not kid friendly or set up for more than two people at a table. This is a great place for a couple of twenty year olds to meet for lunch, with well made fresh food, but not so great for folks outside of that demographic.

4.5 stars for the food and service. I got the Nemo eggs benedict (w/​smoked salmon, red onion, avocado) and well-​seasoned hash browns. There was a bit of a wait and the interiors were unremarkable, but the food and friendly staff made up for it.
The prices seemed to be the norm for brunch in Victoria — $ 30 after tax and tip for me and my friend — but considering that the full order of bennies lasted me 2 meals I really can’t complain.

Get here early because there is a lineup here! Line was forming when we arrived 15 minutes before it opened. Shine is homey food, with great pricing. They have great french toast, and use real maple syrup, not maple favoured sugar water like a lot of breakfast places. The hash browns are excellent, some of the best I have had. We were here for Thanksgiving and had the turkey benny. It was… amazing! They used bread stuffing instead of english muffin for the bottom. Was so delicious. Just really, really good stuff!
Great service too, waitress was always around to refill coffee and open to food modifications.

Victoria is notorious for its breakfast venues, several of which have been featured on The Food Network’s ‘You Gotta Eat Here!’ The Shine Café is one such place. After hearing about it several times from coworkers, I decided to give it a go while my brother was in town.
There are 2 locations: one on Johnson Street and Blanchard, and one near Oak Bay Avenue. The downtown location is small and intimate, and– provided that you make it there early enough (we got there at around 9), you won’t even have to wait for a table. The interior is full of natural light, and seems to exude a welcoming vibe.
Our server was very friendly, and promptly brought some delicious (not to mention INCREDIBLY strong) coffee. Being a huge coffee lover, this alone gives it brownie points in my book. As for the menu, it was pretty extensive, but covered all the bases– eggs, omelettes, pancakes, French toast. My brother, being. ‘a man of simple tastes’, opted for the Shine. I got Karin’s Brunch (which featured a menu of different vegan items, of which you’d select 4). I chose chili sesame tofu, spinach & mushrooms with garlic, granola, and sourdough toast.
It was phenomenal. The spinach was perfectly seasoned, the granola was crunchy and substantial– my only complaint was that the tofu seemed a little bland. But a little hot sauce easily remedied that.
A good place to meet with a friend on a weekend. The portions aren’t gargantuan, but would probably be too much for little kids.

My SO and I shared the 000 eggs Benedict this AM and had plenty o loving breakfast. No split charge and a convenient spot before out on our day’s sightseeing. Tasty potatoes too. This version of EB combined a slice of turkey with a yam mash, onion ring and garlic hollandaise — admittedly it sounds a little strange but the flavors worked well.

We go here for breakfast every single time we are in town. I like the Blanshard Street location much better than the Fort Street location. More often than not there is a wait for seating which is ok. It’s totally worth the wait. We try to order something different each time, but love their pesto hollandaise! I like my eggs well done and they get it right every time! More than I can say for other places. The staff is great, they are so friendly and accommodating! I like that when you order the benny’s you can get a half order because it’s a lot of food. I highly recommend this place for breakfast, brunch or whatever! Totally worth the wait unless you’re lucky enough to get in before everyone else!
The atmosphere isn’t fancy, the walls have some funky art and their are cute smaller sculptures. The place is clean which is nice. The service is pretty fast even when they are packed, so table turnover goes fairly quickly. Enjoy, I really recommend it!
I had to change my rating and drop it by a star which makes me sad. My hubby had the eggs benny special — stuff pork — and not long after he was very sick all that day and part of the next. I think maybe the kitchen didn’t keep it warm properly or something for him to react that way. Sorry.

Came in 15 before close and they still served us pints and brunch. The staff are SO nice! The phillips on tap is a win! I had the half california benny and it was sooooo good. The potato hash wasn’t my fave, a bit burnt and too warm (temp) bright happy décor, I love this place!

Really delicious breakfast. I enjoyed the coffee too, quite big portions.
Good place to go during the week as on Sunday the wait is very long and seems to go on like that for most of the day.
I found the atmosphere a little stark, but it didn’t really matter as we really enjoyed our breakfasts.

My friend and I came here around 1pm on a Saturday, and we waited about 20 minutes for a table. I loved how big the menu is — lots of selection, and the food came pretty quickly. I had the Pacific Omelette ($ 12.95) and a latte, and was stuffed afterwards. My friend had the breakfast hash ($ 12.95), but didn’t think it was as good as the hash at Floyd’s.
I’d definitely come back here again, but it’s not my favourite brunch place in the city.