The Superior

As of September 2013 the Superior has changed hands! Stay tuned for more info.

Address: 106 Superior St.
Phone: (250) 380-9515
Website: thesuperior.ca
Price: $6-16 (tapas-style)
Notes: Small plates - small space in a beautiful, artsy space

The Superior is (unsurprisingly) on Superior street in James Bay. The restaurant is housed within a charming brick building which looks like it has been there for a significant period of time and probably used to be something else (oooh - found out what! "From 1912 to 1971, the vaulted brick building at 106 Superior Street in James Bay was the Seamen’s Institute, a retreat for young sailors far from home; in the ‘70s and ‘80s it was a Unitarian church, and for the past decade it’s been a gallery of high-end Asian art." check out Ross Crockford's awesome blog about the unknown history of Victoria here). I love the shape of the dining space - high ceilings with beautiful wooden beams.

The room has been done up with character; the experience of eating at the Superior feels a bit like dining inside an art gallery. Presently the room is divided into little nooks and crannies with lots of animal antlers. Although it does make the space feel a bit cramped and dark to have the strange configuration, I think that adds to the eclectic nature of the ambiance. Each table is adorned with a candle in a mason jar accompanied by some natural substance - grass, ice, leaves etc. which our server revealed is how the orders are designated behind the scenes as well.

The menu and the portions are not huge, but the execution of the dishes are excellent. Although you can come to the Superior for a proper dinner, the most value is definitely with a group doing some kind all sharing dishes tapas-style. Brunch is a different story - offering both individual brunch items as well as sharing-friendly options.

Service:
November 27, 2011
Really friendly service! A bit on the slow side (to get our food and to move through the steps of the service process), which was a bit odd as there was quite a high proportion of staff to tables. I feel like they could do with a bit of role-designation but perhaps that's just the efficiency nerd in me (I also feel that way in the ER). Either that or they were down a person...

Food:
November 27, 2011

The Rakovsky via foodspotting.com

This was my partner-in-food-and-life's choice - a puffy pancake with bacon and scrambled eggs. I had a piece, and everything was extremely tasty although the overall dish was pretty sweet. The bacon was very thick and smokey. 

Breakfast Tacos via foodspotting.com

These probably fall more under the 'tapas to share for brunch' category, and I wish that had been a bit more obvious from the structure of the menu because it was a bit on the small side for brunch. I really love the concept, and ended up making my own version at home the next sunday! The flavours were very nice - the vinegary pickled red onions (edited for correction thanks to the lovely @quenchwines) was good but I could have done with a few less pea sprouts as it made the whole thing taste like green instead of letting the taste of the chorizo and eggs stand on their own. 

Pumpkin Donuts via foodspotting.com

As I was still hungry, I talked my p.i.f.a.l. into breakfast dessert. I love all things pumpkin, and wasn't disappointed by these! They were made fresh and came to the table so hot I think I burnt my mouth because I was too impatient to wait for them to cool properly! The spices inside were impeccable, and the caramel sauce underneath was lovely and rich and sticky. Total sugar shock, but totally worth it.