The Tudor House Pub

In the early morning hours of July 16, 2013 a fire burned the Tudor House to the ground. Link with more information via the Times Colonist.

Address: 533 Admirals Rd.
Phone: (250) 382-5625
Website: www.thetudorhouse.ca
Price: ~$16 for a main
Notes: Same old decor, same salty customers, brand new & awesome menu

The Tudor House pub is about as pubby as a 'modern' pub can pub and still be located outside of the United Kingdom. The decor triggers nostalgia in me somehow, even though I'm definitely not old enough to feel nostalgic about blonde wood panelling, carpeting and keno screens. It's a medium sized pub, with several distinct areas including one section with the largest grouping of  dart boards I've seen in Victoria.

Their physical location may be their biggest barrier to being more popular than they are. Esquimalt has such a negative reputation in the city — and they are definitely in deepest, darkest Esquimalt territory. Still, the neighbourhood is cleaning up and good things are happening in recent years to that stretch of culinary scene (eg La Belle Patate).

The people regularly who call the Tudor House their local are certainly a rough & salty pub crowd. Eavesdropping on the conversation of the retired gentlemen at the table next to us would certainly of made me blush if I wasn't in favour of profuse bouts of swearing on occasion myself. Certainly didn't put me off, but the overall package is more suited to the setting of your post-sporting beers rather than a romantic date night although if your mileage may vary on definitions of 'romantic' and 'date' then maybe not so much. If you're looking for good food without pretentiousness or a dress requirement the Tudor House would definitely be a good choice.

In the past year they have transformed their "traditional pub food" (read: boring, greasy) menu into something quite delicious. Now the menu items are creative and well executed while still maintaining a pub-style selection of items and pub-style presentation. They also have an excellent selection of specials, including 2-for-1 appies on Tuesdays (although the waitress did point out that this does not include the nachos or the poutine). Their drinks menu has also transformed itself, and the beer and wine selection includes all the local beer or wine you could possibly want.

Food:
February 11, 2013
Another local blogger, Janice of realfoodmadeeasy.ca has been telling me to visit the Tudor House ever since they redid the menu. I've had the Groupon sitting on my phone for so long now, but somehow we never got there because I had an image in my head of unappealing pub food. Now I know better!

Lettuce wraps

I wasn't planning on ordering an appetizer, but they had a fabulous special on where you could choose an appy, a main and a dessert for $24. Since we had a Groupon, I decided to go for it and ordered the wraps as I have a fondness for Korean lettuce wraps. I would definitely order these again! The value was absolutely there, even at full price (but especially on 2 for 1 appy tuesdays!) or as a nice light dinner to keep a few drinks from becoming a few too many. The flavours were all very savoury, and I enjoyed the two side sauces very much. The house-made cucumber 'kimchi' wasn't too spicy, and it was a very nice touch. 

Thai Beef Salad

This was my partner-in-food-and-life's choice. I have spoken before about the much missed thai beef salad at Canoe, and we thought it would be worth checking out if this came anywhere close to comparing. The noodles in this one were not the same as the old favourite, but the flavours and overall execution were close enough to satisfy that craving for the first time in many years. 

"Shephards Pie"

When I ordered this the waitress was clear to check that I had noted the very important quotation marks. Essentially it was the dish deconstructed - the meat was slow roasted, not ground, and the potatoes were pan fried with garlic, not mashed. It was massive and very tasty, with the gravy sealing the deal. 

Carrot Cake

My p.i.f.a.l. was excited to see that there was a dairy-free option on the menu, but also that they make all their desserts in house. The carrot cake was quite good, although I was reassured that the one I made as a birthday cake a few months ago was still better than any that exist in town. 

Creme Brulee Cheesecake

This was the moment where the service shone brighter than the food: a few bites in, working my way in from the tip to the base, I realized something was not quite right. Nibbling on a bit of the crust to test I discovered there was definitely something not right going on. I've tasted that same off taste in crumb-based things before — not sure if it's rancid or what. I was a bit sad, as the combination of creme brulee and cheesecake (my two favourite desserts) was appealing, but I was also stuffed so I was secretly thankful. The waitressed handled it extremely well (see below) which meant it was a small blight on an otherwise unexpectedly superb meal.

Service:
February 11, 2013
This server was pretty fantastic, I have to say. She had clearly been there for a while, and was very comfortable with her job and knew how to make customers feel welcomed and well taken care of. She answered all of our questions with confidence, had no qualms about me using my expired Groupon (I always cringe when I have to ask that...) and cracked a few dry jokes along the way. Also her shirt was awesome (back to the tudor in the style of back to the future...)

I was also extremely impressed with how she handled the off-food situation. The apology was sincere and the offer of a substitution was immediate; she even refused to let me not take it, offering to pack me it up to go since I was too hungry. She also slipped a deal for next time, which was completely unnecessary but I would be lying if I wasn't looking forward to going back to take advantage of it.