And what better venue than at a pub … and a gastropub, no less?

Victoria’s the Bard and Banker Scottish Gastropub is named after Robert W. Service – a man who was, well, both a bard and  banker. The building this gastropub calls home – all 12,000 square feet of it – was, for 126 years, a bank (under various names), which originally opened in 1862. From 1988 to 2007, this venue operated as a Christmas tree ornament store; in June of 2008, the Bard & Banker was born.

In addition to the breathtaking British Imperialist décor, this gastropub – complete with its full-service bar – serves splendid food & beer pairings (as your Hedonista discovered at a private media tasting). Owned by restauranteur Matt MacNeil, who is the founder and principal partner in the Victoria Pub Company (and who also owns the Penny Farthing Pub in Oak Bay as well as the Irish Times Pub, which is incidentally located up the street – that’s Government Street – from the Bard & Banker). Female servers dressed in what appears to be private Catholic school girl uniforms seems to be the M.O. at these establishments.

At the Bard & Banker, General Manager Mike Boyle is a food & beer  “pairist extraordinateur” while Executive Chef Richard Luttman ensures both potential mates (and no less than 30 beers on tap) are as true to the mantra of “keepin’ it local” as possible. Highlights of the paired tastings follow:

House-smoked salmon: Complete with the leaves of brussels sprouts and pickled shallots, this olive oil-infused salad brought out the honey flavor (sorry, that’s “flavour” to all you fellow Canucks out there) in the typically more bitter than sweet Victoria-brewed Lighthouse Lager.

Dungeness crab cakes: Presented here with daikon radish and lemon aioli and pan fried à la East Coast rather than deep fried, these tasty morsels matched well with the floral, Curacao orange, light malt and coriander notes of the (once again) Victoria-brewed Driftwood White Bark Wheat Ale.

Albacore Tuna: Peppered up and served with cabbage, lentils and shiitake mushrooms in a spicy lemon caper vinaigrette, this scrummy (that’s yummy + scrumptious) dish worked out very well with the medium-bodied Vancouver Island Hermann’s Dark Lager.

Papardelle Pasta: Smothered in chanterelle mushrooms, garlic, fresh herbs and parmesan, this pasta dish was surprisingly nice and light and gets mwashed down nicely by the Stanley Park 1897 Amber Ale, produced by Canada’s first sustainable brewery, Turning Point Brewing Company, located over on the Mainland in Delta, B.C.

Pots de Crème: OK, so this has nothing to do with food & beer pairings, as it’s straight-up chocolate with a butter cookie and a London Mist (Vincent Van Gogh espresso, dark crème de menthe, Godiva white chocolate liqueur, and vanilla vodka – but it’s chocolate and martinis, so who cares?

Regardless of whether or not you’re a lover of fine beer, the Bard & Banker will put the poetry back into your cuisine; and with all dishes ranging from approximately $5-$25, it’ll add the poetry without breaking your bank.

(Just couldn’t resist.)

Note: In order to comply with FTC Act 16 C.F.R. 255, Heed the Hedonist would like to disclose that it does receive media “comps” and/or media discounts – but not in exchange for favorable coverage, or for withholding unfavorable coverage, of the given venue/meal/performance/product/service.