The Palms, Inspired Kitchen & Cocktails

We just had drinks and appies and the appies were so good especially the Prawn one. Our waiter seemed a bit preoccupied. He might have been the only one on. Restaurant was not busy but he just wasn’t as friendly as we would have liked. I would like to try this restaurant again though.

Great place for Cocktails in a very nice atmosphere.

The NYE event was simply awesome. The food was over the top, service was pleasant and efficient. We enjoyed our evening very much nd will definitely be back for another evening meal soon.

A Very Happy and Healthy New Year to all of you!!
Darren,our host totally `made the evening!`
To begin with our cocktails were perfectly mixed and delivered to our table by our most gracious waiter.
Our turkey dinner was generous enough for Henry the 8th...but discerning enough for the likes of `Jacques Pepin`!!!!
The flavour of the turkey was so natural and true to form!
The pumpkin pie and coffee were an appropriate finish to our lovely meal!
Our host and evening were five star.

Went for Christmas dinner... food was mediocre at best.

Amazing three course Turkey Christmas dinner! Beautiful location.

Have had mixed experiences. Attentive service!

The food was terrible

Food was great and Jim mixed us some tasty drinks and was an all around pleasant chap. Ambience is warm and inviting. A great date night. We’ll be back.

I find it strange that the restaurant is called The Palms. It feels very unpalmy. And has the strangest art work that is neither local nor related to the theme of The Palms. So the atmosphere just feels strange.

Service was friendly and efficient.

Food: the chicken was excellent, every flavor combination worked even though the plate was visually busy. But it was very good.

The duck was however raw and cold. A disappointment.

The dessert - creme brule. More of a mouse and a layer of water on the bottom. So ...disappointing.

Mixed on the food and atmosphere.

Delicious food, great service and beautiful ambience.

What a great place- we loved the food, the drinks, service and ambiance and would definitely recommend! The Caesar salad (prepared table-side) was as good as it gets- a must-have! We moved over to the bar after dinner and enjoyed the lively vibe and wine in there too.

The service was very slow but the food was delicious

Overall, the experience was fine. The food was fine and the service was fine.

1st visit
We are big diners out 4 times a week
Wanted to try it out having been a restaurant owner
Was intrigued to see Caesar salad’s table side
This was my forte

Sat down ordered pellagrino
And bottle of wine

Wine appeared open with h cork
Was informed COVID rules ?????
I had dined at 3 different restaurants in last 5 days and all were opening at table !!

Questions to waitress was told it is the law
Hope the don’t get caught!!!

I said ok
Came to take order
Caesar salad !!
Oh sorry we are not doing that Only in kitchen pre made

I said come back
That is why I was there
It is customary to inform diners of what is not available when the menu is presented

Ordered the Argentina shrimp sslad it was excellent

The carpaccio was well presented but only a pass

Had lamb chops again well presented and prepared
But very gamey taste
Previous frozen

Overall 3 stars
Will give another chance but servers need to be more informed

Great restaurant lovely waitress met the owner food & atmosphere excellent will definitely book a meal again soon.

Cook was off ill and owner needed to fill in, food was not great for price and the cappuccino was not a cappuccino. If you can’t deliver as sold please tell your patrons and let them move on.

Great service, excellent cocktails and well spaced during the pandemic.

Food is okay. I'd say the pavlova was not cook properly, the sugar in the meringue has crystallized that it left a texture that was unpleasant - think of eating raw sugar. It was way too sweet, perhaps too much sugar in the cream and in the meringue. The crab donuts/beignets can be improved.

The ambience is left to be desired. This place have been through a lot of changes such as it's name, menu and the styling of the restaurant. The bar looked outdated.

Perhaps an off night, calamari was “fishy” tasting and strip loin was over cooked (ordered rare and came med well). Service was very good.

It’s tough to create an ambience during the pandemic when everyone has to be far apart and the music level low. Still, good music can go a long way to creating a vibe. This was all over the map from Top 40s to techno, from hard beats to slow jams. We had ear whiplash. The online booking needs to clearly indicate which seating area is which. We wanted the bar side and ended up in the restaurant because the website gave no indication that helped us decipher how to book. Food was good, as were the drinks, though we left after one because we just weren’t feeling it.

Fantastic food and fantastic service - the gentleman waiting our table was so quick, and so friendly but in a totally chill way (he had bought a house in East Sooke, we chatted about that). The food was perfect, we were not expecting it to be so good. Just beautiful lighting too. All the stars!

We had another OUTSTANDING experience at The Palms! This was our 3rd visit in the past 2 months. Amazing service & food EVERYTIME! Highly recommended! The Palms is now one of our favorite restaurants in Victoria!

Veneto was such a fun and fabulous restaurant, that our next experience in the same space as "The Palms" was likely doubly disappointing as a result.

The server was manic in her behavior and long stories, and the owner strolled around the restaurant w/o a mask, chatting up his latest foodservice venture which is basically boil-in-the-bag fresh prep. Turns out our pretty decent turkey dinner was entirely pre-made boil-in-a-bag dinner.

All in all the place is now a pretty sad remnant of a restaurant that was previously a great experience but is now a great commissary kitchen for the new owner.

We won't be back any time in the near future and they won't care.

Elevator music, really?! Been here before when it was Veneto (high top seating in the smaller bar area) and vibe was more upbeat (precovid so taking that into consideration). But crowd is clearly twenties and early thirties (which I fall into) and the music put us to sleep. On top of that the food was mediocre at best. Carpaccio was really good, but poutine, burger, and cocktails were forgettable. Not sure if I will be returning, too many other options in Victoria

will definitely come back. More warming and friendly staff maybe?

Great dinner with friends.

Portion are way too little.... not worth the prize they charge!

Nicely refurbished space with modern open decor. Service was quick. We had the seafood Benedict and Argentine shrimp, both of which were quite good.
We were there for a Sunday brunch and were surprised to find only six items on the brunch menu - all breakfast dishes.

The space is amazing! The cocktails are some of the best I have ever had and the food was great.

We saw an advertisement in the local paper offering 25% off brunch at The Palms in the Hotel Rialto (formerly the Veneto restaurant). We made a reservation for Saturday brunch and headed down to give the new guy a shot. Sadly we left our 25%off offer at home but thought for sure that the restaurant would honour their offer given that this is the first day serving brunch in a relatively new and reimagined space. We checked with the hostess when we arrived who advised us that not having the coupon was no problem. We ordered a mimosa and a caesar - both of which were only satisfactory. We found the brunch menu to be quite limited. There were only 7-8 items to choose from and fully half of those were a variation of an eggs benedict. No problem. The service was entirely satisfactory and the food came in good time but sadly not as hot as hoped but - no problem.
When we went to leave we asked the server to confirm that we would receive 25% off our bill. She returned to advise us that without the coupon from the local paper her manager would not approve the discount. While this was disappointing and irritating, we had already determined that since the food was only satisfactory, we would not be back for brunch but might come back to check the food and drink for happy hour one day. No problem. None of this was going to ruin my weekend until, on our way out, we overheard the manager advise the server to give the table of men in the corner the 25% discount even though they did not have the required paperwork and claimed as we had, to have left it on at home. Now we have a problem! Since there were only two tables - we two women and the two men - we can't help but feel the sting of discrimination from the manager. We won't be back - partly because of the casual and petty discrimination by the manager but mostly because the food wasn't particularly good. The news guys had their shot and they blew it.

One of the few snazzy, upscale bars in Victoria. Good service and interesting drink & food selection.

I Came in for a birthday dinner with friends and had a lovely time! The food was delicious and the ambiance is sooo cool. There was a DJ playing great music as well!The manager came by after to say hello and ask how we enjoyed things which was a nice personal touch :)

I have been waiting for the Palm to open since I read about it in June. So we took a trip to Vic from Cowichan Valley and booked into Hotel Rialto and the Palm Restaurant. We started out a the bar for duck poutine and a lovely Sangria. The poutine was fantastic as were the refreshing Sangrias.
OMG. Dinner started off with a cocktail of gin, Aperol and Campari! Dinner was duck for my husband and lamb for me. Both perfectly cooked and presented and so tasty ! We shared a Caesar salad , however I really look forward to table side Caesars in the future. Pavlova for dessert and then a great 25 yr old Nicaraguan rum. What a great experience with dining, drinks and staff! We will return. Thank you!

I gave an overall of 3 because all the staff was very respectful at keeping distance and wearing mask however, I could not understand why the person that sat us was not wearing a mask and was also leaning over our table talking to us. Our party was all wearing masks out of respect for others as was the rest of the staff. This made us uncomfortable.

Great atmosphere, friendly staff, nice vibe backed by a DJ. Food is fresh an local. Beautifully presented and delicious. Would go back in a heartbeat. COVID stay away and let this place grow and inspire.

Wine & food was delicious! Ambiance awesome. Would highly recommend The Palms!

Congrats on creating a lovely classy warm dinning experience. The menu had some fresh veggies from local farms and sustainable caught fish which is both very important for my dinning out choices. The Seafood chowder with swimming scallops was a Delight!
Thank you Hotel Rialto for your addition to fine food in Victoria!

Just had dinner at The Palms last night and it was fabulous. The food was delicious - (we highly recommend the wagyu carpaccio, the oysters, the duck, and the lamb) - the cocktails fantastic - (the Ole Smoky and Now Let's Play were particularly scrumptious) - and while not extensive, the wine list has been curated with care - (the reds we tried from Tommasi and Liberty School were perfect). And to top it all off, the service was impeccable. Oh, I almost forgot... the espresso martini was one of the best I've ever tasted. My one and only complaint is that the music was a touch too loud.

And for those who might be concerned, the COVID precautions are well thought out and well-executed, from taking everyone's temperature before being seated, to appropriately spaced tables, to the traffic flow to and from the bathrooms.