With a view that rivals any in Victoria and a sophisticated year-old renovation, Lure has the potential of being one of Victoria's more elegant restaurants. What's clear is, at this point, there has not been much pressure for Lure to refine the details of their operation. Generally speaking, the experience of dinning at Lure is a positive one, but there is a lot of room for improvement.

We arrived, on time, for our 8pm reservation. We were greeted by a queue of people waiting to be seated. After several minutes of waiting we were told our table wasn't ready and that we could wait. I then suggested we wait at the bar. The problems with this scenario - it took too long to be told we had to wait, the host should have encouraged us to sit at the bar and there was no explanation as to why we were waiting when there were empty tables in clear view. I might have tried something like, "we've got a table with a great view coming up shortly, would you like to wait at the bar?" Of course I'd wait for that. Being Dine Around season, I try to be patient with overwhelmed staff, but I thought a little more imagination would have gone a long way in pacifying my impatience. 

We went to the bar. The service was mediocre. For some reason, as we sat at the bar, we had to initiate the bartenders attention for drinks and then for nuts (Ryan's blood sugar was a little low and nuts weren't coming on their own accord). When the hostess came to collect us for seating in the restaurant, we carried our own drinks (which I believe is contrary to the provincial liquor law) to our table.

At this point the service did improve considerably, but not  without flaws. The server did more or less everything correctly, but did so with a somewhat rehearsed sounding tone of voice and a little too much unsolicited chit chat. I don't think it was intentional, but she must have been a kindergarten teacher in a former life. However, other than being slow to bring bread after explaining that Ryan needed the bread to fend off a medical emergency (his low blood sugar) and not offering us any coffee at the end of the meal, her 'technical' serving skills were consistent.

For our first course Ryan and I both had the mussel and curried sweet potato bisque. Not bad, but the curry completely overpowered the mussel flavour and the puree could have been smoother. It would've been improved by using something other than commercially prepared Madras-style curry powder which has a musty flavour derived from turmeric, that dominates anything but red meat. It was tasty, but I expected something a little more refined.

For our mains, Ryan had rockfish with tempura mussels, purple potato, caper and green bean salad with mustard seed vinaigrette. The rockfish was nice and simple with a fresh flavour. Ryan liked the purple potatoes (a sweeter, starchier variety), but we both noted that mussels don't stand up well to the high-heat required for tempura.

I had the panko-crusted and house smoked trout with horseradish crème fraiche, pea shoot and cucumber salad with brown butter vinaigrette. Both selection I thought were good, with fresh tasting trout and reasonably distinct presentations. I particularly enjoyed the house smoked trout, as well as the pea shoot and cucumber salad - both very well executed.

To accompany our dishes we ordered the Kettle Creek Viognier. A little acidic for a viognier, it nonetheless paired adequately with our dishes. The wine list, however, speaks to one man's vision. The organisation of the list is a bit confusing, with a small section devoted to local wines, but then a smattering of BC wines also included in the 'reserve' list. Also, a little unusual, the reserve list is overwhelmingly red wines - unusual for a seafood restaurant. When asked, one of the server's explained that the sommelier views the, "white with fish rule" to be outdated. I agree entirely, but I'm not sure if that validates such an imbalanced list. I'm certain the sommelier has a good and defendable argument for his decision, but personally I thought that a) the BC component of the list could have been considerably more interesting; b) there could have been a better balance between white and red selections; c) there could have been more light to mid-body reds and d) there could have been more mid-range priced wines. The list, as it stands, gave me a good idea of what the sommelier likes.

Our desserts arrived and were both delighted by our selections. Ryan's a trio of chocolate indulgences and for me a trio of sorbet. Although it was melting much faster than the other two balls of sorbet, the kiwi-ginger stood out as the clear winner.

I was disappointed not to be offered coffee or a night cap before my bill was presented, but I'll probably appreciate it later tonight

Value of Food: 75/100 (a good Dine Around menu, not necessarily reflective of the regular menu)

Quality of Food: 73/100 (some nice ideas and fresh tasting products.) 

Service: 62/100 (not a lot of hustle, too long and an unexplained wait to be seated)

Ambiance: 82/100 (I like the space, some improvements could be made to isolate the lounge from the restaurant and improve the boxiness of the space and emptiness of the ceiling.)

Wine and beer list: 62/100 (some interesting wines, but too personal with inconsistent organisation)

average score: 71/100

  Reviewed: March 4, 2006

$25 Set Menu Appetizer: Curry Sweet Potato Mussel Bisque -with tarragon crème fraiche Or Mesclun Greens -pea shoots, grapes, apples and candied walnuts with honey and lime vinaigrette Entree: Seared Local Rockfish -local tempura mussels, purple potato, caper and green bean salad with mustard seed vinaigrette Or Panko Crusted and House Smoked Trout -horseradish crème fraiche, pea shoot and cucumber salad with brown butter vinaigrette Dessert: Bittersweet Chocolate Terrine -espresso ice cream, brandied honey milk chocolate Amaretto mousse Or Quince and Apple Crisp -gingerbread ice cream with Saskatoon berry syrup