Copper Room, Sooke Harbour House Hotel

Best fine dining in Sooke. Way better than Wild Mountain with much better service and views.

Upon arriving we were greeted by friendly staff and breathtaking views of the Olympic Mountains and forested East Sooke Park. With slow autumn season it was very intimate and quiet in the dining room. The service server (Weston) was very attentive. Our appetizers, main courses and desserts were presented artfully and full of flavour. Next time, we will try happy hour and choose to sit in the Copper Room. The only thing missing in the dining room was a cozy fire in the dining room fireplace! Hopefully, the restaurant will make good use of it this fall and winter.

We were excited to try Harbour House, have been meaning to come and we brought friends. Food wasn't worth the price and wasn't terribly good. Three of us had the rigatoni,'portion was good, but for $32.00 it was over priced. The sausage used in the dish was tough, should have been a ground sausage not cut sausage. focaccia bread was good, really good, but why wasn't it warm? Overall, unexpressed. Uncertain if we'll return.

Great service, great food, great atmosphere. The rigatoni was incredible, especially when paired with an order of focaccia bread. Kudos to the cooks, front of house workers, and everyone that keeps the restaurant running.

It was to be my birthday lunch. The views were incredible but everything else was utterly disappointing. We had expected good food and service. Sadly, my birthday lunch became more and more distressing, and unsatisfactory. Our service was abysmally slow. Other groups arrived, ate and left before we had received our main courses. Our ordered drinks and complimentary mimosas arrived AFTER our food was delivered. We had asked was it possible to have two main courses halved and served on four plates. Our waiter said that was doable. A waiter, not ours, arrived some 30 minutes later with three main courses on three plates. He said he would come back with more plates. Some 5 minutes later another waiter brought us 2 plates. We cut the food up ourselves and re-plated it. Of course, the French fries were lukewarm and the tuna burger barely warm. The whole experience was a disaster. My birthday treat ruined.

The good: lovely building, beautiful view, and friendly and attentive server. Areas for improvement: front door host service was poor. Brunch menu was not inspiring and our visit (on the weekend), no lunch menu was offered. Food was average. Deserts were not available except for one item. Lots of surfaces needed wiping or painting, and the floor needed sweeping. All in all, we were expecting fine dining, and travelled to Sooke for it. In actuality, we could have got the same in town.

We had to wait 30 minutes before we were shown to our table, even though we had a booking. The host was unapologetic which we should have expected as she'd previously, and rudely, directed us to some "seating" by the front door which consisted of two chairs on either side of the room . Once we were sitting we had to wait another half an hour before anyone acknowledged us. We could see it was busy but an almost hour wait before we even had the opportunity to talk to our waitress was ridiculous. When our server finally approached, it was only to offer water. We had to insist she take our order, which arrived 25 minutes later—and was incorrect. At that point, we were too frustrated to care. The dried coffee stains on the mug and the rock-hard English muffin suggested our food had been sitting out for quite some time. It's a real shame, because the location and ambiance are lovely. Unfortunately, the service and attention to detail fell far short of expectations. We won't be returning.

This review is considering 2 experiences, the first back in July and the second in August as I understand the establishment has changed ownership again. The building and patio itself is stunning, the ocean view is fantastic.

The service both times was brutally slow. Long waits between food, even to get a drink can take 20+ minutes. Staff seemed very stressed and confused. The drinks are very pricey, the beer selection is small.

Our first visit we went for the buck a shuck oysters which were incredible so made up for the poor service. The rest of the food was just okay, very small portions for high price. Our second visit (new ownership) we saw they have removed all of their specials including the buck-a-shuck from the menu, but the server let us know it was their last day offering that deal. Disappointing move!

It seems they are trying to appeal to wealthy American tourists and want to appear as luxury, but do they not offer 5 star service or quality. They need to decide if they want to go 100% for just tourists, or appeal to the locals who they will rely on the rest of the year outside tourist season.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 1

What a gorgeous venue we so enjoyed a walk on the spit before dinner. Our server, Nina was amazing and our view spectacular. The menu looked awesome. However the crabcake was not really edible and did not taste like crap at all. Additionally, the hotel did nothing to mitigate a large, incredibly loud, invasive wedding party sitting quite close to us That impaired our enjoyment during the second half of our meal. 

Great location, food and service. Bartender makes great margaritas and food is solid. Various seating options including, outside, bar and dining room.

As usual, SALLY was,our waitress. SALLY is always very professional, friendly and very attentive to her clientele. SALLY is very knowledgeable and can answer any questions about the menu a client may have SALLY is an obvious asset to the Company she represents.

Travelled from Sydney, Australia and had a fantastic experience. Exceptional food and service. Highly recommend

The staff and service were excellent. We had the fish and the chicken. The chicken was a very small portion and unfortunately dry. It was served on a bed of shredded veggies that were over salted so impossible to eat. The drinks were outstanding so kudos to the bartender.

I have wanted to come to Sooke Harbour for decades and it was exceptional. The sable fish and Dungeness crab cake were noteworthy as was the salmon crisp. The atmosphere in the covered and heated patio was serene. We will be back!

Service was great and the food was delicious. Great location to enjoy a very reasonably priced happy hour menu.