McRaes Bistro, Saanich

Myself and the brunette of my acquaintance took an evening stroll down Shelbourne.  We headed for McRae's for a pint and bite to eat, enjoying a spot of sunshine on a glorious May 1st.  We had decided it'd be nice to see a different local bar from Maude Hunter's.  And I really needed a beer to unwind from a long day.  So a short walk and we found the bistro half full and buzzing.  There was space on the patio, but no-one up front to seat people.

I just deleted many paragraphs on how long it took to get seated and served a beer. I re-read it.  It wasn't actually interesting.  Summary: it was close to twenty minutes.  The two servers were busy, the bar staff were busy, and no-one seems to have given the front of house staff a quick overview of how to deal with days when there's too much to do.  The experience is what your are selling when eating out. Make the customer feel welcomed and comfortable, and that goes a long way to making them happy and coming back again.

Good food and cold beer also helps but isn't enough on it's own.  So while getting served a pint of cold Hop Circle and Pimms Cup took far too long, there's no complaints on the beverages.  The Pimms came with a suitably large slice of cucumber and a shaving of lemon.  Something that always helps.  The pint of Hop Circle was $5.00, which is a great price for a good beer.  So that made up for the wait.  A little.

On to the food.  A Salmon Flatbread and McRae's salad.   The flatbread was side-plate sized, but smothered in cream cheese, big chunks of smoked, pink fish and a pile of arugula. Had to shove that aside and put it in the salad.  The bread was crisp on the base, but the dough was soft on top, golden and slightly chewy.  A really pleasant mix of textures. The fish and cheese were complimented with capers, making a savoury, salty mouthful that just combined things right.

The salad was a big.  I always think $10 for a bowl of greens is a little excessive, but they did a good job here, with some sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, shaved carrots and beets.  Lots of greens, from a variety of lettuce leaves. And tasty dressing, which was slightly sweet, but mostly tangy flavour.  I just guessed it had balsamic vinegar in it, which on review of the menu is correct:  a maple balsamic dressing.

Sitting out on the deck with a cold beer and good food and good company is a very pleasant way to spend a sunny Sunday.

http://www.mcraesbistro.com/ - 1652 McRae Avenue Saanich, BC