Delicious and affordable takeout food in Victoria

Young adults in University tend to be living on a budget, but it’s no secret that University students often crave delicious food to fuel and reward themselves at busy times during the school year. I’m someone who really enjoys cooking healthy meals at home, and I will share some recipes in a future blog post, but I also can get busy and lazy and crave takeout sometimes.

Below are 5 takeout places in Victoria that are delicious, healthy, and affordable.

1. Red Barn Market

Red Barn Market is a local chain of small grocery stores that are only on Vancouver Island, so take advantage while you’re here! This local market gets most of their food from local vendors, so you know the quality of the food is high and you can support local businesses.

I don’t grocery shop here as it’s more expensive like a Whole Foods, BUT, I come here to get lunch from their sandwich/wrap bar. This sandwich bar operates like a Subway where you choose exactly what you want in it, but this bar has many more topping options that are healthy and the portions are big!

My personal favourite order is: a grilled spinach wrap with garlic mayo, chipotle mayo, white cheddar, sun-dried tomato turkey, bacon, spinach, sprouts, pickles, red onion, jalapeños, and carrots. Their bacon is the best I’ve ever had, even some restaurants in Victoria strictly use ‘red barn bacon’.

Price: $10 for a sandwich/wrap, and up to $15 for different combo options (drink, chips, bakery item, etc.)

2. Oak Bay Bon Sushi

As someone who’s from the mainland, I’ve found that the sushi restaurants on the island are more expensive and not as yummy. Oak Bay Bon Sushi, however, is a high quality sushi restaurant with reasonable prices.

Oak Bay is a short 5-10 minute drive from UVic campus, and is a lovely little area with beaches and local stores to explore.

This sushi restaurant is takeout only, so grab your sushi and take it to Willows Beach nearby or take it home to get cozy and watch your favourite show!

Price: $10-20 depending on what you order. Combination sushi (in the photo) is about $12.

3. Tacofino 

Tacofino is a delicious Mexican restaurant that started in Tofino and now has locations on Vancouver Island and on the mainland. The food is so good that I couldn’t even take a photo before munching it down.

This location is downtown on Pandora Avenue, which is an area of town where finding parking can be tricky! I suggest going 6pm onwards when parking is free, and downtown is less busy.

You can sit in the restaurant, on the patio, or take it to a nature spot nearby or back home to eat. The menu has items like tacos, burritos, gringas, nachos, dessert, and drinks. The burritos are MASSIVE! I suggest getting a few tacos/gringas for a filling meal that you can finish, or a burrito if you’re looking to take leftovers home.

My favourite items: yam taco, bean taco, bean gringas, and steak burrito.

Price: $4-8 for tacos/gringas, and $12-15 for burritos.

4. Island Poké

I never used to be a fan of raw fish, but Island Poké made me discover how delicious the taste and texture of fish can be when you pair it certain foods.

This downtown restaurant also operates like a Subway where you can pick exactly what you want in your bowl, or you can order a bowl off their menu. The portions are big and provide many of the nutrients we need everyday. All ingredients are high quality and full of flavour.

My favourite bowl to order: large bowl with half brown rice half salad base, 2 scoops marinated tuna, 1 scoop tofu, kale, cilantro, carrot, cucumber, sweet onion, green onion, seaweed salad, crab, pineapple, edamame, ginger, sesame seeds, and nacho crisps.

Price: $14-17 depending what size you get.

5. Cold Comfort 

Cold Comfort is a mouth-watering small ice cream shop that is hidden along North Park Street in Fernwood near downtown Victoria. It’s only open until 7pm on weekdays and 8pm on weekends, and their flavours sell out quickly so be sure to get their early!

This ice cream shop provides unique flavours and has many dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan options! I’m not vegan, but when I went they were all out of the regular ice cream so I tried a vegan option and it was still the best ice cream I’ve ever had!

Everything is made freshly by Cold Comfort, even the cookie crusts for the ice cream sandwiches. They sell pints of ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, and some snacks/drinks.

Price: $5-10.