The Clay Pigeon

Pretty tasty food. Loved the navajo fries.

[Out-​of-​Towner Review]
Roaming around a new city, super hungry, we finally decided on The Clay Pigeon. We walked to a handful of other places and used lots of «out-​of-​the-​USA» data to find this spot.
I think it reminded us of Sactown, with a mix of the City. It seemed like a cool little spot. And I mean literally, little. It wasn’t that big and seats were crammed together to maximize room for customers. We decided to sit along the window in bar seating.
Since we were on vacation, we figured lunch was a perfect time to start adult drinking. I went with the house red and J ordered a local IPA. Neither of which we were too excited about.
To be completely honest, I wasn’t really that excited by this place. J absolutely adored his meal, but me, not so much. I ordered the Graham Slam — golden graham breaded chicken breast, apple, arugula, (sans) grainy Dijon aoil + melted brie for an extra $ 2, also a side of fries. That means just my sandwich came to $ 17 (Canadian). J ordered breakfast and got the Grilled Cheese Benny — Cheddar, Sourdough, hollandaise + pork belly for an extra $ 3, also a side of house potatoes. His order came to $ 17 (Canadian) as well. Again, my ingredients tasted fresh, but the chicken left something to be desired. For that price point, I better have a nice serving of chicken breast, not a thin slice like I was given.
Also, this is where we actually learned about paying for our meal in Canada. Pay with USD which is on Par, meaning you pay the value of the meal in USD, even though the Canadian dollar is worth less. You can use your Credit Card, but your bank will inevitably charge you an International fee too, but it seems the less pricey option out of the two — unless you are making a large purchase.
Our server was okay. She wasn’t bad, but she wasn’t amazing. She just kinda did the minimal. We were asking her questions about anything ‘to do’ local and she didn’t seem really interested or knowledgeable. I can’t fault the restaurant for that, but it was just another thing that made the experience meh.
For what we paid, I’d expect better food…

I should have checked my earlier review (back in Dec 2014) before I tried this place again.
What a disaster.
Again, what we ordered was unavailable. Second choice was the lamb– heavily salted and small portion. There must have been something off, because the two of us that ordered lamb had it disagreed with us. Significant time spent in the bathroom after the meal– not a good sign.
Our appetizer never arrived (except on the bill). Asked waitress to correct the bill and took a long time.
Plates actually had chips on them.
One waitress had a blow out in the kitchen, yelled obscenities (at the chef) and then quit, causing a scene during our meal. THAT was the highlight of the meal.
Only one option for dessert, because, again, other menu items had sold out.
Whole meal, for two people, came to $ 75 (two entries, two coffees and a dessert). Very disappointing. Could have had a much better meal at so many other places in Victoria for far less.
Gave this place a second chance. Won’t be back. For REAL this time.

Mixed reviews here. Pulled pork grilled cheese was awesome. Chicken sandwich was tasteless. Side salad was great, Caesar salad not so much. Nicest service but very slow, waited 40 minutes for lunch. But we had time so didn’t mind. The eggs Benny at the envy table looked fabulous!

We enjoyed breakfast at this, tiny, quirky little pub. The décor includes a tie dyed wall mural with a pigeon. The service was efficient and friendly. very nice cappuccino and homemade tea and Virgin Betty (pickle juice). the apple fritter is sticky with big pieces of apple. Their potatoes are delicious with the house made ketchup. A good hearty meal.

Very good service with great food.
Lots of local beer on tap.
Would recommend to anyone.
Wow homemade ketchup was fantastic.

I thought this place was alright. I guess I was expecting more based on all the great reviews. The selection was limited so I went for a sandwich. The bun was sesame seed which in not a huge fan. The hash-​browns were great tho. Wouldn’t be too excited about going back.

Though the ratings we high, we didn’t have a good experience.
The coffee tasted watered down. When we asked for it to be replaced by an Americano, the shot of baileys was charged for and not put into the replacement.
The omelette tasted like it was microwaved, dry on the outside. It tasted greasy and very unpleasant.
We both felt sick after leaving! Would not recommend going here. They did take it off the bill, but an overall disappointment.

A must-​stop place for Canadian brunch! The menu selection is creative and witty — Captain Cruncher chicken Sammy and the Hipmosa (PBR, with honey) — and we loved the food a lot. The potatoes were very crispy and well flavored — fries or hash — you won’t go wrong. A last call-​out was the homemade ketchup (a blend of tomatoes, pepper, tobacco, and other spices) made me want to go back again — can’t live with Heinz anymore.

O.M.G. is all I have to say about this place. The décor is super cute. The service is great. The atmosphere is super chic. The food… seriously, the FOOD! I had The Sweet Tooth and what this is is one of their homemade apple fritters as the base for an eggs benny. Eggs benny on it’s own in my books, made properly, is a piece of heaven… this meal I died and WENT to heaven. I was hungover as all hell (Martini Monday was a LITTLE over done) and this brunch was the SH**. My boyfriend found it a little too sweet, but it was serious perfection with the apple fritter and the hollandaise and then the perfectly seasoned potatoes (best I had in the 5 days we were in Victoria), dead. Just kill me.
I’m glad we didn’t find this place on the first day of our vacation ONLY because I wouldn’t have wanted to go anywhere else and we did go to some pretty amazing restaurants while there. This was a highlight for sure. Do yourself a favour and go here.

Neat spot!
I would have given this place a 4 star if my salad wasn’t so oily. It is a great place for a quick lunch. Their menu is pretty interesting. However, my salad was a bit more oilier than normal, which kinda took out the healthy factor. The other items were good. Maybe the salad chief was having an off day. I would definitely give this place a second chance if I do go back to Victoria :)

BC Egg Sandwich tastes really good. Yummy bacon inside. It’s a nice cute place for breakfast and a afternoon drink.

When visiting Victoria in June, we stopped here for lunch one day since we were exploring the area. This place is pretty small but they were able to accommodate my party of 15. The lunch menu has a nice variety of sandwiches to pick from. and since there were so many of us, we all ordered something different and pretty much got to taste a little bit of everything. My favorites are the tuna sandwich and the fried oysters sandwich. I can’t remember the name of our waitress but she was very sweet and never let our glasses go empty. This place is nice and the food was good, but it’s not a place I would have to visit again.

I spent two days in Victoria and always look to the locals for a great place to eat. I kept hearing about this place and after going for breakfast I wanted to eat here for very meal. Don’t miss this place if you are in town. The food was phenomenal and the servers were a lot of fun and the prices were very reasonable.

I’m usually a tight fisted scrooge with my 5’s, but Canada has such incredible restaurants, I’ve had no choice but to make it rain cinco’s like they’re going out of style!
Clay pigeon is not fancy or pretentious. The price’s are reasonable, and the menus are coated in plastic. The daily specials chalk board, and tie dye paintings on the wall are all casual and low key. But the high end comfort food is as well prepared and delicious as you’ll find anywhere in Canada. This isn’t just greasy bar food, while they took inspiration from many comfort food classics like pot pie and wings, they served them with masterfully inventive preparations.
I got the duck confit wings with maple bourbon sauce, and basque lamb stew with sausage, turmeric crème fresh and Parmesan mashed potatoes. My family got the slow roasted chicken pot pies with perfectly crispy crusts, and beet salad with arugula, pumpkin seeds, and blue cheese, and cornmeal crusted crispy oysters with sriracha aioli. If you’re not salivating reading this, then frankly, you’re not the foodie I thought you were.
Clay Pigeon has a good sized menu, which include many healthy options if you want to behave yourself, and many times more indulgent items if you don’t. A short but diverse list of local brews on tap include a style for every taste.
Our waitress was just as impressive as the food. She was extraordinarily enthusiastic, helpful, and attentive, and so knowledgeable about the dishes that despite being thin, she’d clearly eaten her way through the menu multiple times, an achievement I’m very envious of and hope to someday emulate. If you want Canadian comfort food, elevated to the highest possible level, and served with a a down to earth attitude, then fly on over to the Clay Pigeon!

Overall, I really enjoyed this spot — good location and even better mimosas. I’m a huge proponent of brunch (it is the most important meal of the day!), and I had read good things about The Clay Pigeon.
The only reason I’m subtracting one star is due to the fact there was a hair in my apple fritter. Don’t get me wrong — everything leading up to this point was delicious and savory. I really wanted the rest of that apple fritter breakfast sandwich — so good. I’m willing to give this a try once I’m back in Victoria again!

Decided to have some breakfast here based on the good reviews. My BF had one of the breakfast sandwiches with brie and some other stuff (I forget) and I got the kale florentine. The kale florentine was super bland. The roasted potatoes were good, but everything else was just not flavorful at all. The sandwich was good, but we couldn’t really taste the brie, which is the main reason why my BF chose the sandwich. He also didn’t like their choice of bread, which was basically a sesame seed hamburger bun. We weren’t super impressed, but maybe next time I’ll try one of their benedicts instead.

Love. Service is brilliant and friendly. Setting is warm and cosy. Food is incredibly decedent. And all day breakfast lets us sleep in!
Their house made sauces are to die for and the root chips are not to be missed!
Prices are good for every budget starting at $ 5 and going up to $ 15 for a plate. You’ll leave feeling super-​satisfied so you don’t have to worry about hour-​after-​regret!
There are some incredibly healthy options (kale slaw anyone?) mixed in with beautifully cheese filled choices.
Will definitely be back next time I’m in Victoria.

Très agréable, les assiettes sont copieuses, les produits sont de qualités, les saveurs extra! Je n’aime pas beaucoup les Marshmallow, mais suite au plat principale j’ai eu envie de prendre un risqué pour le dessert car je savais que ça serait bon. Et WOW c’était délicieux.
Je vis au Canada depuis longtemps et il est difficile de trouver des cuisines audacieuses à prix doux avec un service attentif ! ENJOY le CLAY PIGEON !

Everything I said in my previous review still rings true — this place is still charming, the service is still wonderful and their sandwiches kick ass.
However, I did recently have the opportunity to sit and eat here, instead of getting a pity dinner to take back to my hotel after drowned ratting myself in their front door (see previous review).
I popped in here with the mother unit on Mother’s Day weekend… which blissfully, wasn’t packed to the eyeballs.
Here’s the highlights:
1. Sassy server who plunked down with us at the table — charming.
2. Calamari sandwich on fresh baguette — you ingenious devils you.
3. Gluten free bun option for my GF mother — bonus points.
4. Kale coleslaw — trendy, but so ridiculously tasty that it works in their favour.
5. The whole meal (2 mimosas + 2 sandwiches + salad) not breaking the bank and making me look like a total adult in front of the mother unit when I foot the bill? Priceless.
I’m still an enthusiastic fan of this place — running man and all.
And for gosh sakes, have the calamari.

Sandwich, Soup and Cocoa!
Hot Cocoa-​Whatevers
Daily Soup-​Fresh ingredients and AOK.
Fried Chicken Sandwich– As good as it gets!
This is a little café that sits on a pretty busy corner. It’s warm and the staff is nice. Seating can be limited and cramped. Seems like the menu is primarily breakfast and sandwiches.
The Daily Special Fried Chicken Sandwich was Amazing. The chicken was perfectly fried and super juicy and flavorful on the inside. The bread was good and all the ingredients were fresh and tasty,
Overall, everything was AOK. The Fried Chicken Sandwich, however, makes me a fan!