Located above the reversing falls on the Gorge Waterway, the Gorge Point Pub is a local landmark, if only because of its peculiar tropical style architecture.

I'm sure, that to many people's surprise, the interior is not a tropical design and is in fact a dark, traditional style pub. They have a lot of seating, so on busy nights around town, this is probably a good place to find a table. Unfortunately, there is no patio, but there is a half-outside smoking room.

It was the middle of a Monday afternoon, so the pub was pretty void of diners. We seated ourselves and were attended to quickly by a server. On perusal of the menu, we noted what appeared like a genuine effort to create a better than average pub menu. I especially liked that they were advertising Cowichan Valley chicken.

Patty was in the mood for wings, so he ordered the hot wings ($9). They arrived, hot and crispy with a blue cheese dip. While the chicken tasted fresh, the vegetable crudités that accompanied them were a little shrivelled (it didn't, however, stop Patty from eating it).

For his main Patty had a Reuben sandwich ($9) with clam chowder. The sandwich was big and fresh tasting, with lots of filling. Patty was happy, but as a Reuben sandwich purist, I would have preferred to see regular thickness bread, instead of the Texas-toast style. I feel the thick bread throws of the balance of this classic sandwich. The clam chowder was ok, but could have used some love - it wasn't very clammy.

I had the taco chicken burger with salad ($10). A tortilla chip encrusted chicken breast, with cheese and guacamole. The burger toppings were fresh and the bun toasted, so for the most part I was happy. My only complaint - the crusted chicken breast spent a little too long in the deep fryer and was a little dry and nuclear hot. If I were making this sandwich, I would flash the breaded breast in the fryer and finish it on the grill or in the oven. I also would have spiced it up a little. That said, the concept was sound, and the burger fresh. The salad similarly, was composed of a good variety of all freshly prepped vegetable.

While, for the most part, generic pub food, we were generally impressed by a few added touches. Freshness and local ingredients go a long way with us, but also reasonable portion sizes and attention to presentation got our attention. A little too much dried parsley for my liking, but I appreciated the effort. Same goes for the new looking, square plates. I don't really care that they were square, but it's always nicer to eat off tableware that hasn't had its finish removed by years of high temperature dishwashing.

Our one complaint - the music was loud and bad. The servers were enjoying it, but I think it's fair to say that 80s emo-tunes, should have a maximum volume in public places. The interior decor could use a little clean up and Patty wasn't overly impressed by the washrooms, but all in all, the food and service was decent and good value.  

 Value of food 79/100

Quality of food 74/100

Service 75/100

Ambiance 65/100

Average 73/100

Reviewed June 19, 2006