Stage - Victoria

Went here for a birthday dinner. We aren?t the easiest group of people to accommodate but the staff were absolutely just the most amazing. They had in depth knowledge about the extensive and ever rotating wine list and were super helpful when pickingbottles. The food is arguably the best in Victoria. Atmosphere, service, food 10/10, slayed.

Amazing food, cozy ambiance, best staff and a great view of the kitchen! Cheese, bread and olives were an amazing starter, even lovelier, pairing it with their version of a white Negroni. For mains we almost go with the chef's feast, in the end we had thepoblanos, mushroom risotto ????????, and the pithivier. Didn't have room for dessert.. Really enjoyed every second atStage! Note: Getting a taxi in the end was an issue and after half an hour of waiting we just decided to walk back downtown.

I?m rating Stage for its dining experience, not its wine bar experience, although I realize a large part of its clientele come for the wines, which are excellent. Stage?s chef is creative and skilled, and I recommend trying out several dishes, which arenot small, but not quite meals. We had the zucchini plate, the eggplant, and the lamb belly. Each was unique and very tasty.The zucchini was the best: it was charred and served in a light tomato sauce with goat cheese and a bit of crumbled andouillesausage. The eggplant was also very good, perfectly cooked and served on a delightful, very green gremolata sauce (parsley,lemon, garlic) with pickled mushrooms (somewhat too strong) and breadcrumbs. The lamb belly was cooked sous vide and had asweetish white bean sauce with rhubarb. While we didn?t quite love the sauce, it worked well with the salty and fatty lambbelly. Dessert of strawberries and cream was tasty, but we craved a finale as unusual as the dinner plates. Our server wasexcellent, although very busy. She knew all the details of the dishes and the wine list, and this proved important. Oneannoyance of the experience was that the food menu is so minimalist as to be a cipher. Ingredients and preparation for the sixor seven plates are not presented on the menu, so the server had to describe each dish in detail (she had them memorized, but wewere left trying to remember what each one had in it). This makes the dining experience more ?personal,? I guess, but also moredifficult. Wines by the glass are also not listed on the menu (nor are house cocktail ingredients), but they are very good.Outdoor patio chairs are not particularly comfortable, although we liked the heat lamps. We recommend a lighted blackboard foroutside (not sure whether there is one inside) that lists ingredients and wines by the glass. Overall, this was a veryenjoyable, creative, and sophisticated dining experience that was also a bit quirky.

Absolutely fantastic experience. Our server Jordy was the perfect guide; his wine recommendation was bang on, his insight on the menu was so helpful, and his kind attentive demeanour really made our night. The food was out of this world, each dish full offlavour and with purpose. And the icing on the cake- a fantastic negroni. Don?t miss Stage.

We visited Stage last night for our anniversary dinner. Not knowing the menu felt both exciting and scary, but we decided to go for it because reviews were good and a friend of mind recommended. Our server was very knowledgeable and kind. He served me aglass of wine which I loved and all I said was I need something easy to drink, I trust you. We ordered 4 dishes(I won't botherexplaining because it always changes), all very delicious. It is difficult to define their style- Not really tapas and yet menusare meant to be shared...Dessert was vanilla custard and it was the best custard I ever tasted. Overall, I would say foods werevery rich; that being said, you may not want to bring a vegan friend there). Definitely will go back later to try again.