In my many years of travel, both business and personal, I have had the good fortune to dine at many fine restaurants. From Brennan’s in New Orleans, to Umberto’s in Whistler, the Blue Fox in San Francisco to the Four Seasons in New York. And so many other fabulous places. 

However, last night my dear Sheila treated me to dinner on my 83rd Birthday in a small restaurant located on the main drag in UCLUELET, BC.

PLUVIO! This little place probably serves most certainly the best dinner experience I’ve ever enjoyed. 

PLUVIO has only about 8 bar high tables and a couple of seats at the kitchen bar. It’s owned by Chef Warren Barr and his partner Lily Verne-Downey, Learn more about their amazing story here. https://www.pluvio.ca/about-us.

We had a reservation at 6 and were told we had 2 1/2 hours to dine. We were seated at a table with a view into the open kitchen where 3 cooks were doing their magic. Two men cooking with a young lady plating. Chef Warren finished the plated selections adding various toppings like flower petals, fried Kale etc. with watchmakers perfection.  Occasionally he dove into the kitchen to help the cooks, one time to grind the ingredients for the tortillas. 

Our server, Katherine, was very charming and efficient. Someone had advised her of my special day( can’t imagine who) & soon a birthday card arrived signed by all the staff.  Katherine asked our names and for the duration called us by name, a very nice touch. 

We opted for the three course menu.  The 5 course looked like too much food. There were 4 options for the Beginning, the Entrée and Dessert. We perused the very descriptive menu and made our choices. 

Then Katherine arrived with an Amuse-Bouche. Miniature tarts filled with devilled egg potato salad topped with caviar, served on a tray of seeds. In another bowl filled with small rocks were two chocolate profiteroles stuffed with a delicious salmon mousse. Oh so good. And what a presentation! 

We ordered a bottle of PLUVIO White Field Blend, a wine created at AVERILL Creek Vinyards in the Cowichan Valley. A Pinot GRIS with a touch of Reisling and Chardonnay. Cold, crisp, perfect. 

We ordered another appie, a house specialty, the HUMDOG. A-what? A tiny hot dog bun, baked in house, stuffed, not with a Weiner,  but a slice of Humboldt Squid. Winner, winner, a real humdinger.

The starters arrived.  Bison Tartare for Sheila, Tuna Crudo for me. The Tuna was on a corn tortilla with toasted beans, raisin tomatoes and Mole Amarillo.  The Bison included cornbread crumble, Pickled Mustard Seeds, Tarragon, Fermented Radish, Seedy Crackers. How delicious were these? You really had to be there. 

Soon after recovering from the starters our Entrees arrive. Sheila’s was Poached Lois Lake Steelhead (Sunshine Coast) floating on a bed of Kelp Gnocchi. The Gnocchi were like little pillows of deliciousness. My selection was the Grass Fed Boneless Beef Short Rib. Grilled lightly, then in the smoker for 2 days then popped on the grill again just before serving. Who does that? The Kvass jus was scrumptious as was the cheese curd mashed potato served in a separate pan. Had to share that with my partner. The beef was perfectly done and the middle was as tender as butter. 

At the same time a wooden box arrived with bread and two slices of indescribably scrumptious corn bread with a small dish of Sake infused butter. One could easily devour an entire loaf of that cornbread. At least I could, and would were I given the chance. 

Would we like anything else to drink? Some in house made Limoncello,  of  course. One small glass to share. Wow. Powerful, almost like an Italian Grappa. Too strong for one of us. 

Finally, the dessert course. In front of me was the ‘Forest’. Spruce Sponge, Local Blackberry, Chocolate and Candy Rocks.  A you kidding? And for Sheila, the ‘Garden’. Raspberry Mousse, Garden Sorrel, Lemon Sponge, Raspberry Sorbet, Crunchy Meringue. Deliciousness personified. 

Before departing, Katherine took our photo with a new version of a Polaroid Camera and gave us a print. Special touch. And then a wood box appeared filled with rocks and shells.  We were advised to search for treat amongst the shells. Two Chocolate truffles. A little white box was provided for the trip home. Talk about attention to detail! We had never experienced anything so splendid as PLUVIO. 

What a dinner. It’s hard to find the adjectives to do it justice . Perfection in every way. Service, congeniality, ambiance, taste, creativity, artistry all rolled into one most pleasurable evening. If you want to impress that special someone, this is the place. 

If you are planning to visit the Ucluelet/Tofino area, you simply must include dinner at PLUVIO in your itinerary. Book ahead. This joint is super busy.  

You can check out the menu here. https://www.pluvio.ca/menu

PLUVIO is open daily for dinner only. Located at 1714 Peninsula Road, Ucluelet, BC. 

You must go! Really. You must!

Just saying…

Tofino has a number of fine restaurants and one I have enjoyed several times is SHELTER. It was casual, pub type food with a big open and covered patio. It was on the highway on the edge of town but unfortunately burned to the ground just before Christmas in 2022 after 20 years in business. 

Recently SHELTER reopened at the Tofino Resort & Marina in premises previously housing the Hatch Pub and the 1908 Restaurant. 

On our last visit we tried to go for lunch but unlike the original the new Shelter only does dinner and Happy Hour opening at 4:00 PM daily. 

Last night we had a reservation for dinner and we were really impressed. The former pub area is a welcoming warm room that was nearly full. We were ushered to the dining room, impressive with large water view windows, lovely soft lighting and very pleasant background music. 

Service was prompt and very cordial. Our server Dave, a bloke from Wales, was charming and efficient. We shared the delicious Meares Island

 Seafood Chowder which was loaded with seafood and accompanied with an enormous piece of Garlic Toast. 

Our entrees were a House Burger without the bun but including cheese, bacon & tomato and a side of Cole Slaw. The Tempura Battered Lingcod was superb and included excellent Tartar sauce and the best ever Cole Slaw.  

We enjoyed our diner so much we plan another visit before heading for home. This time we will try a table in the cozy bar. 

This is a great spot. Great food, service and ambiance ! Check out their website and menu here. 

https://www.shelterrestaurant.com/menu

Just saying…

 It’s always fun to find a new to you joint for breakfast or brunch and on Saturday a quick shopping trip to Duncan led us to BRUNCH ON 3RD.  What a find!  Located on the edge of downtown Duncan, this converted old house is an ‘always a line up’ kind of place. About 4 groups were ahead of us at 1130 but the wait was not long. 

Once seated, service was prompt and friendly. The menu has all the usual brunch items, a variety of Eggs Benny including one with Duck Confit. Several kinds of French Toast and lunch items too, Grilled Cheese, Beef Dip etc. 

Sheila opted for the Roasted Tomato Soup with Croutons while I quickly honed in on Huevos Rancheros, one of my favourites. The food arrived quickly and was really delicious. 

At the next table a couple were enjoying two Flights. One was a flight of 3 Prosecco Mimosas, including Cranberry and Orange. The other flight was 3 coffees each with a different Liqueur. They looked fabulous. Next time we shall try them. 

If you are passing through Duncan, it’s worth a stop. Open from 8-2 Tuesday to Sunday. Here is their website. https://www.brunchon3rd.com/

Located just off Canada Way at 148 Third. 

Try it. It’s Funky, fun and downright delicious. 

Just saying…