Haro's at the Sidney Pier - Sidney BC

Last year we had spent our last evening before heading back to Edmonton at the Sidney Pier Hotel. I love Sidney - it's quiet to the point of being kitschy, there are always sail boats in the distance, and everyone there seems to have a cute dog. Plus, my parents lived there for about 15 years, my grandparents retired out there, and I spent most of my preschool years there too. So we took last Saturday to head out to Sidney and explore once again.

After exploring the water front for awhile, and perusing and drooling in this place, we decided to try Haro's at the Sidney Pier Hotel for lunch, since we had only made it there for drinks last year.

We arrived just as they were opening for lunch at 11am, so were sat down immediately. While I wish it would have been warm enough to enjoy the patio, we still had a pretty lovely view...

Like most restaurants we encountered in Victoria, Haro's seems to try to focus on utilizing local ingredients, although at some points on the menu, it seemed like more of a show than an actual passion for the ingredients themselves. I went for the 'steamed gulf island mussels', with Spanish chorizo, almonds, garlic, shallots and smoked paprika cream ($15), while Charles went for a pulled pork sandwich with fries (~$15).

We were provided with a bit of whole grain bread before our mains, which we happily munched on after skipping breakfast to grab the bus out. And soon after we had polished of our slices, our mains appeared. Charles' sandwich was alright - the pork was tender, but he thought the sauce was a little strange (something about the sweet and sour combo wasn't working here).

I really enjoyed the mussels - they were cooked well, and were perfectly sweet and fresh, however I can't say the chorizo-mussel combo here was my favourite. I love having a nice piece of bread to sop up the sauce that is inevitably left with mussels, so I was sad to find only a dried out piece of focaccia on the side of my plate for this purpose, especially after we had started the meal with some really good whole grain bread.

Our visit to Haro's was pretty good, but I wish we would have waited in line to get into some other 'breakfast' style spots up Beacon Avenue, especially the 3rd Street Cafe, where the line was out onto the sidewalk. But I guess there's always next time!

Haro's Restaurant + Bar
9805 Sea Port Place
250.655.9445