New Victoria restaurant operated by Canucks owner's Toptable Group
For a city of its size, Victoria punches above its weight when it comes to culinary pursuits.
That streak continues with a new fine dining restaurant opening along Douglas Street in downtown Victoria, which has peripheral ties to the Vancouver Canucks.
Renovations to the space at the Rotunda building at 1525 Douglas Street have long piqued the curiosity of people walking by.
Now, after four years in the making, Marilena Cafe and Raw Bar is set to open at the end of June.
"[It was] 2019 when we embarked on the project," said Marilena executive chef Kristian Eligh.
The eatery will be operated by Toptable Group, the restaurant group owned by Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini.
Aquilini thinks Marilena will be a fine dining hit in Victoria, especially in the hands of Eligh, who went to culinary school and finished his apprenticeship in B.C.'s capital.
"I grew up in this great city," he said Thursday.
Eligh was also culinary director for the Hawksworth Restaurant Group in Vancouver.
The executive chef says that Marilena Cafe and Raw Bar is designed for Victoria, however.
"We're a seafood-centric restaurant highlighting local and imported sustainable seafood," he said.
"We're catering to Victoria. It's very important that everybody feels comfortable in this space," he added. "The hospitality and food will exude that."
While the Canucks may have ties to the restaurant, don't expect to find any TVs at Marilena,
You can expect there to be a team dinner, however, when the Canucks hold a training camp in Victoria in September.
And like any good team, it's all about putting on a show at home.
"Simply, we want to be the best restaurant in Victoria," said Eligh.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.