Charter’s: The Catch of the Day
Overlooking Cordova Bay and the breathtaking Olympic Mountains, Charter’s Restaurant at McMorran’s Beach House has been welcoming patrons to its idyllic escape beside Haro Straight for over eighty years.
Driving to the restaurant with the windows down, the salty smell of the Pacific Ocean is intoxicating; it’s hard to crave anything but seafood at this point. Inside Charter’s, the linens are white and the hurricane candles create a soft, romantic glow in the dining room. Much memorabilia drape the walls expressing how easy life seemed pre-WWII when George & Ida McMorran first dreamt up their entrepreneurial vision. Plastic crabs and lobsters crawl up fishing net clad around pillars in the room. However, the real thing can be seen in the restaurant’s 100-something gallon aquarium featuring brightly coloured cichlids and rainbowfish… none of which were on the menu.
The greatest feature is the floor-to-ceiling windows that allow Charter’s diners to enjoy a completely unobstructed view of the rolling bay as chilly waves wash up on the nearly deserted beach. Look closely into the distance and you might even see tomorrow night’s dinner jump from a swell.
Faithfully local, Charter’s Restaurant features West Coast cusine laced with indigenous ingredients from the Saanich Peninsula and surrounding Gulf Islands. Starters including Calamari, Pacific Clams & Mussels, and the Award Winning Beach House Clam Chowder start at $7.75. Along with inspiring pastas, lamb, and steaks, Chef James Page presents in irresistable array of from-the-sea selections. From red snapper to halibut to salmon, Charter’s also serves whole Fresh Dungeness Crab. Four hand-selected options are offered to guests as being personnally endorsed by McMorran’s third generation of owners having been chosen as particular entrèes that may be “some of the best you have ever tasted.” Mains average approximately $22.00, and they are served with appropriate accompaniments and are attractively presented. The dessert menu is ever changing to satisfy the current season, however the Crème Caramel was a delicious fini and highly recommended.
By maintaining the values of its original generation of owners, Charter’s Restaurant at McMorran’s Beach House preserves the definition of what it means to remain authentically local on lower Vancouver Island.
Charter’s Restaurant at McMorran’s Beach House
5109 Cordova Bay Road
Victoria, BC
658-5527
http://www.mcmorrans.com/
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