Brio not for soup-and-half-a sandwich crowd

Greg Hays and Silvia Marcolini have been setting new standards for dining in Victoria for more than a generation.
It’s fair to say that Hays, one of the original owners of the Herald Street Cafe, changed the local restaurant scene forever. Selling his share after a decade, he and Marcolini took the reins of the revamped Oak Bay Marina Restaurant, firmly pulling it out of the tourists-by-the-busload hell it had become.
Moving on, they purchased a parking lot to begin anew. Cafe Brio is literally something they have established from the ground up.
The exterior is crafted to look as though has been there for much longer than its eight years. Inside, there is exactly the right balance of class and comfort.
Warm mustard and terracotta walls host some of the owners’ art collection - just as well, since they never seem to be home to enjoy it.
The room is spacious yet cozy, with seating ranging from tables to roomy booths indoors, and al fresco dining on the patio in summer months.
Originally opening the restaurant for lunch, Hays and Marcolini eventually opted to concentrate on dinners. Fair enough.
The bill of fare created daily by Chef Chris Dignan and his team is not for the soup-and-a-half-a-sandwich crowd, who want to eat and be gone in 45 minutes.
My cousin was briefly tempted by la bourride, a chunky fish soup with fennel and saffron and thickened with aioli, but opted for the chilled beet soup ($7).
He paused after his first bite of a generous serving of silky purple coulis, topped with a dollop of sour cream blended with a little horseradish to offset the sweetness.
An unfailingly generous soul, he said, “You have to taste this.” I did. I would have kept it all for myself.
With options like pâté en croôte paired with frisée lettuce and bacon vinaigrette, I had some trouble picking my appetizer.
I eventually decided on something rarely seen on a Victoria menu—pork rillettes ($13), potted meat, topped in this instance with a puree of Gala apples, served with thin croutons, a small dish of frites tossed with truffle oil and flat leaf parsley, plus a little mound of crunchy celeriac matchsticks in sauce remoulade.
Though I did enjoy all the elements of this dish, the meat needed a little something — a pinch of clove, perhaps an herb or two.
A salad of organic greens followed, including watercress, nasturtium leaves, arugula, endive and oak leaf lettuces, tossed with simple vinaigrette spiked with truffles.
Dermot was amazed by the consistency of the warmed goat cheese that accompanied this dish, remarking that he’d realized, for the first time, how texture affects flavour. “Good God,” I thought, “He’s turning into Jacques Pepin.”
Entrées were excellent—a thick filet of pan-roasted halibut was presented in a pooi of warmed olive vinaigrette, finished with pancetta and capers.
Served with braised lacinto kale and thin slices of gold and green baby zucchini, it was simply superb.
Dignan’s standard requires Grade AAA Alberta beef or better, so I opted for a grilled sirloin steak ($28) served with a simple watercress salad garnished with shelled mussels in velouté sauce, and pomme frites.
The meat was perfectly aged and prepared, full of flavour; to say it was tender would be an understatement.
Local girl Kalyn Sarkany handles desserts and Dermot indulged in one of her creations, a rich toffee pudding sweetened with dates ($8), served with vanilla ice cream and a warm caramel sauce. I savoured a scoop of Sarkany’s caramel pecan ice cream ($3) with my coffee.
It is true that things cost a little more at Cafe Brio and that the portions wouldn’t thrill a truck driver, but you get what you pay for.
This is the essence of casual fine dining. Dignan et a! use only quality ingredients, organic wherever possible and I have never felt hungry leaving here.
The standard of service is much higher here, knowledgeable without being snotty, attentive without being invasive.
The wine list is exemplary and offers 30 choices by the glass, allowing you to easily match vino to each dish as you leap from one genre to the next.
There is a way to enjoy a three-course meal at Cafe Brio for $25.
Provided you are seated by 6:15, you may indulge in this specially priced menu, offering elements like a salad of tender hearts of romaine lettuce or oyster to begin, then enjoy a little gnocchi with fried sage and proor salt cod brandade served with a fennel and onion marmalade.
Finish off with vanilla bean crème brulée or chocolate terrine and you will still have time to get to the movies.

DINING OUT Pam Grant Times Colonist July 7, 2005 p.D12