Northern Quarter, Downtown Victoria

The Friday Night Quiz at the old Fort Street Cafe was a night of legends.  Much loved and admired, so much so I still get hits on my post about it years after the Fort closed down.  But Benji and his team are back, with Torin Egan.  Torin ran the food at the Superior Cafe.  Another place I really liked, and that is also closed now.  So if two old favourites team up, you expect good things.

The Northern Quarter is the result.  Looking to have some of the vibe of live music and entertainment from the Fort, with interesting food and drink of the Superior.  It captures aspects of both, I feel in my two visits, but with something different.  It misses the rough, underground (literally) feel of the old Fort Cafe, and also the high art decor of the Superior.  Instead, it feels more like a big open loft apartment, with a big open space from the up front stage to the square bar at the back.  There's copious art on the walls.  There's lots of solid, tough wooden tables, regimented into rows.  The floor is polished concrete, the ceiling has a wavy set of slats hanging from it.  These probably do wonders for the acoustics.

I went in for a quick brunch this past Sunday.  In short, it's pretty good.  It didn't hit the top level of places in Victoria (Glo, Blue Fox, Picnic Too, etc), but it's a solid second tier in Victoria.  The best features of the Eggs Benedict I had were the bacon jam under each soft poached eggs, and the house made tomato ketchup.  Both had pep and zing to them, that worked with the dish. The eggs were soft with a nice runny yolk, but a solid white, so the whole thing kept it together, rather than being underdone and oozing.  The garlicky hollandaise was fresh and not over rich.  I would like to have seen a bit more garlic bite in it, but not everyone wants their breakfast to make them reek all day.

The coffee was plentiful, smooth and rich.  It was kept topped up by an efficient floor staff who made an effort, and went that bit further than just asking for my order.  Benji was working the floor, making sure all his guests were looked after, saying hi to everyone he knew, and making friends with those he didn't. The staff were all great.

I like the space, and I like the effort they are making to get good local music in, have social events, and bringing back the Quiz night.  They have a firm vision to have good food and good entertainment, to build a local scene for all sorts of talent.  I will hopefully convince my group to dine here again for a second opinion.