The GOODS from OLO

Victoria, BC | Victoria’s popular locavore restaurant OLO leaps into spring with a bevy of fresh and flavourful menu offerings and cocktails to welcome guests this season. Fresh off the heels of Dine Around Victoria, OLO introduces new innovative dishes highlighting the best of Vancouver Island’s organic and locally sourced fare as spring ingredients arrive through the kitchen doors daily.

A proud member of the Slow Food Chefs Alliance, Owner and Executive Chef Brad Holmes has always been passionate about growing, buying and eating food produced on Vancouver Island. Working directly with an incredible community of local farmers, foragers and fisher folk, Chef Brad and his team take great pride in establishing a stronger food community, and continue to push the envelope by bringing the best regional ingredients to OLO’s menus.

“Spring is a super exciting time,” Chef Brad Holmes enthuses. “Wild foods are some of the first to arrive in spring. Our foragers are likely to bring us things like miner’s lettuce, watercress and sorrel. Then the farms aren’t far behind with their first tender crops.”

Feast with friends and family over OLO’s wildly successful four-course Family Meal ($55 pp), which encourages guests to laugh and break bread over a rotation of seasonal shared plates. Serious foodies will enjoy sampling the five-course Chef’s Tasting Menu ($65 pp) – a delightful tour of individually plated dishes that showcase Chef Brad’s love of flavour and dedication to the island’s local bounty of spring ingredients. Vegan and vegetarian options always available ($55 pp), as well as optional wine pairings.

Weekend brunch at OLO is the perfect excuse to kick back with friends and enjoy lovingly sourced local food. Spring menus highlight fresh creations, such as the sweet soufflé pancakes with poached rhubarb, honey and yogurt, and smoked salmon with poached eggs, roesti, beets, nasturtium and hollandaise. Or enjoy hearty lunch dishes, such as the fried chicken sandwich with sambal garlic mayo, endive salsa and crispy fries that are hand-cut daily.

Adding to OLO’s all-local craft spirits bar program, Bar Manager Matt Cooke has developed a tantalizing list of spring cocktails, including the Red Rum Flip. A collaboration between Matt and fellow bartender Wylie Mason, this rich and flavourful concoction is a late winter treat made with local deVine Black Bear spiced rum, dark winter ales from local breweries and is sweetened with house-made boozy cherry juice squeezed from last year’s Okanagan harvest. Taps are turned for spring and thirsty patrons can also sip on an updated selection of beers from neighbouring breweries and enjoy rare local and Canadian spirits. Or complement a meal with OLO’s curated selection of B.C. and international wines; the restaurant is honoured to have received the bronze award for Best Wine Program at the 2017 Vancouver International Wine Festival.

OLO is excited to be featured in the TELUS Optik Local mini-series, Origins with David Hawksworth. Chef Brad Holmes reunites with his longtime culinary mentor, Chef David Hawksworth on the new programme featuring food explorations across B.C.

Located at 509 Fisgard Street in Victoria, B.C., OLO is open seven days a week, Sunday to Thursday from 5-10pm. Friday and Saturday from 5-11pm with brunch served Saturday and Sunday 10am-2pm. Weekend brunch seatings are available on a first ­come, first ­serve basis. For dinner reservations or group bookings, please call (250) 590­8795 or visit Olorestaurant.com.

DETAILS

509 Fisgard Street | Victoria, BC
Telephone: (250) 590-8795 | Email: [email protected]
Web: www.olorestaurant.com | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

HOURS

Sunday to Thursday  5pm – 10pm
Friday & Saturday 5pm – 11pm
BRUNCH  Saturday & Sunday 10am – 2pm

GALLERY

THE TEAM

Brad Holmes, Chef / Co-Owner
Sahara Tamarin, Co-Owner

ABOUT OLO

Relationships are forged over food at OLO – whether its friends and family enjoying a boat-to-table brunch or Executive Chef & Owner Brad Holmes finding farm-fresh ingredients from hard-working neighbours. Delicious food, laughter and good conversation are always on the menu.

‘Olo’ means ‘hungry’ in Chinook Jargon, a derivative language of English, French, Chinese and Chinook, and just like the Pacific Northwest was once a gathering place for traders, OLO is where the community comes together when hungry for more than just a meal. Serving up fresh local produce, Chef Brad is part of the Slow Food Chefs Alliance and switches up the sustainable menus depending on what’s coming through the kitchen doors every day. Each dish celebrates life in B.C., using only the best ingredients available and working with amazing farmers, fishermen and foragers to provide an experience that captures the essence of Vancouver Island.

Handcrafted seasonal cocktails showcase the best of Vancouver Island products and the bar program highlights the region’s bounties with an impressive selection of B.C. distilleries, breweries and rare Canadian whiskeys. The thoughtfully curated wine list focuses on small-batch producers that showcase the Okanagan and Vancouver Island’s best wineries, alongside premium international selections.