We've been written up in the "Victoria Times Columnist"
as well as "Where to Eat in Canada" and we were recently
rated on the Zagat Survey. Please read below to see what these
reviewers had to say.
ZAGAT SURVEY
Food: 21; Decor: 24; Service: 22; Cost: C$31
"Stunning views" of Juan de Fuca Strait (enhanced by
"binoculars placed at every table") alone would make
it "worth the long drive" to this "remarkable"
Sooke inn, but it also makes points with "very fresh"
Eclectic fare (with an emphasis on seafood), served by an "energetic
staff"; moreover, even on "rainy days" or "foggy
weekends", it's "cosy" for lunch, afternoon tea
or "a romantic dinner."
WHERE TO EAT IN CANADA
"Almost everyone in Victoria has visited Point no Point
at some time in their lives. It's a favourite area for weekend
walks, the scenery being uniformly spectacular. The resort has
been here for 50 years. Their teas were famous in Miss Packham's
era, but Stuart and Sharon Soderburgh, who took over twenty years
ago, still offer raisin scones with real whipped cream, finger
sandwiches, berry crumble and carrot cake, plus a pot of loose
tea - all for $12.95. In the last year or two Jason MacIsaac and
Jason Nienaber (they're joint chefs) have been turning out dinners
that compare with the best. Lunches are simple - seafood chowder,
spinach salad with poached pears and walnut vinaigrette and a
Cajun-chicken roll-up. But in the evening you might start more
ambitiously with a risotto of morels and sweet corn or ravioli
with spinach and ricotta and go on to something like veal osso
buco, roast chicken with tomato and rosemary or pork tenderloin
with a purée of squash. After that there's a rich chocolate
mousee and bread-and-butter pudding in a rum-and-caramel sauce.
Everything tastes as it should. There's a nice short wine list
featuring chardonnays from California and the Okanagan. The Beringer
chardonnay is an excellent buy at $46.00 and so is the Quail's
Gate at $39.00. You'll find Point no Point on Highway 14 fifteen
miles north of Sooke."
VICTORIA TIMES COLUMNIST
Despite the name, many good points
Point no Point Resort is well-known as a romantic getaway
spot. It's not so well-known for its food. It should be.
It gets very little in the way of hype or word-of-mouth, but
chefs Jason MacIsaac and Jason Nienaber are creating outstanding
meals in a singular style that deserves more attention. The dishes
embrace simplicity, but not at the cost of luxury.
Like a lot of other chefs in town, the Jasons value fresh local
ingredients. Once armed with the good stuff, they employ a low-key
approach that uses little in the way of rich sauces. So without
great quantities of wine, cream or demi-glace, what prevents these
meals from being boring? Well, a little olive oil and butter never
hurt, but above all else, MacIsaac and Nienaber have the sensitivity
of safe-crackers when it comes to the control knobs on the kitchen
range.
These guys know heat and how to use it on fish. We so enjoyed
our dinner we had to remind ourselves to take in the view. And
quite the view it is. From the simple little glassed-in dining
room attached to the resort's lounge, the Olympic Peninsula and
the Pacific Ocean spread out in reference-defying scope.
Each table is equipped with a set of binoculars that weren't
even required to watch a bald eagle fly byw ith its take-out dinner
firmly clenched in beak.
The potato gnocchi with Dungeness crab and organic sorrel ($10.95)
sees soft pudgy fingers of potato dumpling lolling in a grainy
Dijon mustard cream sauce, their texture and form echoed by some
healthy chunks of crab. The quiet flavours of the crab and potato
are not crowded out by the mustard, and the whole ensemble is
encircled bya useful slick of chive oil.
The fennel walnut tart ($9.95) is an inventive savoury with walnut
chunks and chopped fennel studding the egg and crème fraîche-filled
pastry. The accompanying super-fresh greens could have survived
with a regular vinaigrette but instead they receive a beguiling
swatch of sticky, sweet-and-sour balsamic and apple cider reduction.
As we are almost within casting distance of the ocean, anything
other than fish seems to be not of the moment. The west coast
halibut ($23.95) is a less on what can be done with a flame, a
pan and some oil. The big fillet has a golden brown crust that
you can actually tap with your knife. Beneath this tawny mantle
lies tender, moist fish, a result of perfect finishing int he
oven. Instead of sauce, the fish receives more of a condiment
in the form of an olive tapenade. At first this seems too strong
an approach for the white fish, but gradually flavours meld and
the dish strikes a perfect balance.
The wild spring salmon ($22.95) holds similar pleasures. The
fish is grilled, but with a temperate hand that negates any risk
of dryness. Here the dressing is a salsa verde of basil, parsley,
mint and anchovy. As with the halibut, the salmon and its topping
arrive as two distinctive flavours on the plate, which enhances
the appreciation of the fantastic fillet.
As the meal evolves, the elements elegantly coalesce. How Point
no Point tackles the issue of starch is another facet that indicates
these boys are always thinking. The salmon sits atop a knoll of
clean-flavoured white beans and the halibut comes with Israeli
couscous. These affable little pasta pearls marry with other flavours
on the plate with a chameleon-like adaptability.
Vegetables receive no less attention. Tasting so fresh that one
can almost hear their cries as they are torn from the soil, each
little cluster of bok choy, carrot, asparagus and creamed squash
are good enough that you can imagine chowing down on a bowl of
them in front of the TV.
As we work towards the end of our main courses, we realize that
even though we are getting full we don't want to stop eating.
When the mouth overrules the stomach, things are going well. As
a restaurant critic I encounter a lot of crème brûlée,
but here the vanilla bean rendition conforms so honourably to
what the Gods have inscribed into their recipe book of stone that
it is greeted like an old friend.
The walnut maple cake is a coarse, moist, rustic slice that seems
to contain an entire sugar-shack of maple syrup. It sits bullseye
in the middle of some quality caramel and crème anglaise
and is a delicious departure from more typical offerings.
Reminding us that this is a small resort, the wine list is brief,
but there should be a bottle to accompany anything on the menu
and the mark-ups are low. Service is friendly and I have a soft
spot for anyone who says "swimmin' scallops."
Great food, great view, nice people, not outrageously expensive,
cool name - it turns out that there are many points.
POINT
NO POINT RESORT RESTAURANT REVIEWS
