The Butchart Gardens - The Dining Room

High Tea only is served during the winter. Very pleasant surrounding in a glass enclosed room with flowers! Beautiful small bites, hot and cold. Romantic atmosphere. Friendly efficient service.

We love coming here each year and would not miss it. Well done.

Very good but a bit pricey for what it is. You must factor in the entry cost to the gardens as well.

Had the misfortune to attend the dine around at buchart gardens. Wow. Spent $200 on a positively mediocre experience. The salmon was nearly non-existent, the alleged confit duck was an unknown hamburger of something , the lamb was okay but the microscopic piece was hidden under cabbage, who was the brainiac that’s came up with that combination??? And the dessert so over the top sweet, as to make it pretty inedible. The tomato bisque was easily the high light of the evening. The only thing worth sampling. Did I mention everything was cold. They got the wine to the table in a hurry, but everything else took forever. And the noise levels made polite conversation impossible. Thank god McDonalds was still open so we could get hot decent food in quantity, for something less than an arm and a leg. I would like a whole bunch of my money back please. And I promise never to breach the entrance way to your “restaurant” (and in this case I use the term loosely) again, for any reason. Thanks for a brutal experience.

Great ambiance and wonderful service! Very much enjoyed our dinning experience at the gardens

This was the best Butchart Gardens Dine Around yet!!

We love the Dine Around experience in the Dining Room at Butchart. It’s such a fun and relaxed evening, with outstanding service, a delicious and inventive 5 course meal delivered and described by their wonderful chefs, all enjoyed in a gorgeous and classy atmosphere.

We all agreed we will be back, our friends had no idea how wonderful it is to dine at Butcharts. Thanks to everybody who makes it such a great experience.

Great dinner- super flavours..

This was our first time at the Butchart Gardens dining room and our first time with their Dine Around experience. It was extraordinary.

Wonderful location even at this time of year!
The High Tea was a disappointment both in service and content. The server was lovely but unavailable. When we arrived no one was at the reception...nor was there anyone during the entire time we were there. It made for an awkward start, while we waited, uncertain what to do.
When the tea was served, no instructions were given as to how long to let it steep, nor was there any way to prevent oversteeping . The tier of food was bland in appearance....mostly brown or beige on white....no garnish. The pork croquettes were particularly unpleasant...mushy, minced interior served cold with a lingering aftertaste. Dietary restrictions were pleasantly and kindly adjusted for, however.
The location is lovely and truly pleasant this time of year. The high tea and entrance package is well priced.....but not the experience we anticipated based on another we have been to in a similar setting.

It was excellent

Our group of six really enjoyed our evening at Butchart’s. The meal was marvellous with wine pairings and chef interaction.

Such a great experience... we loved this romantic and intimate setting, and the food and tea were amazing too!

The food presentation and combinations of flavours was excellent. The wine pairing was spot on and it was a nice option fo those the wanted to try some different wines from those they normally would drink.
The value for dollar spent was very good.
The only drawback was a very long hike to the Restaurant from where parking was located.

Our 3rd Dine Around experience at Butchart Gardens. Not as stellar as previous years. Very small portions - smoked salmon course. Duck was dry. Dessert was a bit avant-garde. Loved individual presentations by chefs.

The five course meal was entertaining and delicious. The chefs were inspirational and obviously love their occupation. The restaurant was like dining in a solarium. We will return.

Our dine-around experience was a complete joy. The food was thoughtfully prepared and delicious. Each dish was creative and the entire meal was beautifully orchestrated. The service was outstanding, and each dish came out with one of the chefs who explained what it was and how they came up with the creation. The wine pairings were a nice addition and introduced us to a number of BC wineries.
We went with another couple this year and we all plan to go together next year.

Superb, unique food and thoughtful service
Music a bit too loud.

As always it was a wonderful experience with 3 generations of Mitchell's who I might add are very fussy eaters and the food was enjoyed by all. It was a lovely treat to finish off the Christmas season.

The Dining Room has a terrific ambience. The staff are very attentive and friendly, but not too much. The food is good. Portions are average. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience, especially being located at Butchart Gardens.

Always one of my favourite places. Seating was perfect for family visit. Music was canned and a little loud in our seating area. I prefer to be near the piano at Christmas. Will make sure I mention that next time.

The Butchart Gardens High Tea is in the most beautiful setting. In early January, we had high tea at 3:00 pm, which meant that we got to enjoy tea while watching the holiday lights come on as twilight approached. So relaxing, yet energizing. Highly recommend it!

We’ve been to this restaurant several times and it is lovely place to visit when hosting guests from out of town. Service is prompt and friendly and it feels like a treat. The food was just a bit too salty this time though, although presented well. Also, the prices seemed a bit higher than normal.

Really enjoyed the ambiance of the dining room. Even with a large group at the next table we were able to enjoy our dinner. Each of us had a different entire and no one was disappointed. Wonderful meal and atmosphere. Server was knowledgeable about the food. Good selection of wines. Will definitely go again

Excellent meal, so beautifully presented. Our server was very friendly, however, she was a little scarce later in the meal for additional coffee service. Gorgeous setting with all the festive lighting and view outside the conservatory. The only negative was the noise from cutlery being dropped on the ceramic floor 4 separate times by a bus person... everyone stopped at the noise. Perhaps more training on how to deal with heavy handled knives when clearing tables? This is our 18th year of dinner as friends at the Dining Room at Christmas and we will be back next year for sure.

The ambiance was lovely, it was quite cozy and comfortable despite the rain outside. Our server was knowledgeable but we felt the food was overpriced especially considering you had to pay to get in which we didn’t realize. Because the rain was so bad when we went (January 2/2020), we thought w just might have dinner but found out at the entrance booth that we still had to pay for two adults even to access the restaurant.
We found the menu innovative for the Christmas season but flavours were a bit strong in some of the dishes (wagyu beef w strong salty anchovy, and Ling cod broth spicy peppery).
Additionally the road to such a well travelled place is not the best, especially trying to turn left against ferry traffic onto Keating cross road is quite tough.

Excellent, lovely for an annual birthday treat
Always end our festive season with this visit, as our bdays are 1st week in January good place to celebrate 🎉 🎉

Really nice supper, good food, good waiter. Really nice setting.

Great view of the Christmas lights and wonderful food.

For New Year's Eve...it was absolutely incredible, the live piano music and the meal was exceptional, flavorful, service was on point, a perfect evening! Thank you!!!!!!

Excellent treat for New Years Eve after the gorgeous Gardens!

My first experience at this restaurant did not disappoint. I will be back .. the food was incredible

Skip the after dinner esspresso, everything else I would order again!

Awesome Christmas dinner!

Pros:
The restaurant and, of course, the gardens are beautiful
Service was outstanding
Food presentation and selection was great
Bread was excellent

Cons:
Very expensive for what you get. With the cost of the park entrance and then the pricey choices, it ends up being a very expensive meal.
Food was mediocre. We had the lingcod, lamb, Caesar salad and creme brûlée. Lingcod was over salted and I think there was a bad mussel as I was sick for the next 24 hours. Lamb was ok, but a very small serving for the price. Creme brûlée honestly tasted like packaged vanilla pudding.
Had the prices been more reasonable, I would not have been as critical of the food.
I will never eat here again as I would rather spend money on an exceptional meal outside the park and just eat a sandwich while at the gardens. Had such high hopes as this restaurant was highly recommended by a friend.

We booked for 4 pm new year eve dinner only to be told dinner did not start until 5pm. Thankfully they had a table at 5. No where did it say that only tea was served from 1-4 pm.

The best gluten free high tea I’ve ever had. Other places give you a chocolate peanut butter ball and a gluten free cookie from a box (not that I’m not grateful for that, too!). BG actually duplicated all of the items in the regular tea, including pastry items like mini quiches and sausage rolls. The house is beautiful and cozy, especially at Christmastime. The tea itself didn’t quite match up to that I had at the Empress (though I paid a surcharge there), but overall everything was so lovely.

Both the food and service were impeccable! This was our first time to have tea at Butchart Gardens, even though we only live 2 blocks away. We bought a seasons pass on our way out of the Gardens so that we can now go back on a monthly basis!!

Family Holiday Memories