witchileiz

Hmm - as we are planning on moving to Victoria at some point (please God, let it be sooooooonnnnn!) - was interested in this thread.

I tried Googling Ma's cafe, Sooke, and came up with Zilch..... all I could find was Mom's cafe -which I expect to be the wrong thing completely??... I know these leetle diners are less likely to have a web presence... but I did think that there might be some reviews, menu, etc...

Actually, we are a veggie family, so good ol' home-style cookin' might not be our thing anyway, but still thought I would check it out... Any clues?

Largo

Just checked the itinerary for the trip and indeed it is "Mom's Cafe". Can't remember off hand what was on the menu. It seems though that most places do have meals suitable for vegetarians

james.mc

Oops! Got that wrong Apologies.

You are dead right, it's Mom's cafe.

Mom's Cafe
2036 Shields Rd, Sooke, British Columbia V0S-1N0, Canada
(250) 642-3314



It's a diner, so don't expect Candle lit romantic dinner for two. Quick, well priced meals.. big plates!!

Not sure if they do veggie, but we will be dropping in there in just over a week or so... If I remember I'll check and add it to this thread.

Sooke is about a 40 minute drive out of Victoria. Out of peak/commuter times that is!

witchileiz

Thanks both - always happy to visit recomended food places!

...and have a great visit, James - I bet it will feel slightly different this time around, knowing PR is just around the corner...

luvmeboys

Must be great if Elton Johns sitting there

james.mc

Cheers

Yep! You are dead right. This time around we'll be starting to pave the way for our new life. We've already got an account running at Scotiabank (in Vic) which will be converted to their StartRight Program when we have Landed. Initially when you look (online) it appears to be mostly geared to towards Far Eastern immigrants, but the offers apply across the board to all new immigrants, no matter where you come from.
Got a house firmly in our sights and will be looking into that more this visit as well.
Luckily we have no property to sell in the Algarve and no children to re-school, so we are reasonably plug & play i.e. unplug from the EU and plug & play in BC

Yep... I've heard he goes there often

rivingtonpike

Mom's Cafe is very much in the diner mode. The Poutine is pretty good - as is the fish and chips. When we lived in Sooke we went there all the time.

james.mc

Fish n Chips is on the list to check out next time we're in there.
Also, need to check if there are any veggie dishes for witchileiz and report back on here

james.mc

As promised.....

We've been here (Sooke) just over two weeks now. Great area and great weather. Nice people arund here too. The place is set to explode over the coming years and it's not hard to see why. Current population is set to double from around 11,500 to around 23,000 in the next 10-15 years from what I can gather.
The is also a big new Best Western Hotel now in town.

Weather wise over the last couple of weeks it's been a pleasant bonus Sure it's been raining a few times but I was sat out on our balcony the other day (Moonlit B&B) in shorts and a T shirt sunning myself.. in November, in Canada, he added for emphasis!
Heading back to the Algarve next week, where by all accounts the weather has been crap! To cap it all, they had a Tornado rip through the Algarve just over a week back as well!

Anyway.. back to Sooke!
Finally dropped into Mom's Cafe yesterday.
2036 Shields Rd, Sooke, BC, V0S 1N0


I had chicken strips n chips. Just 2 strips and fries, with coleslaw included, will fill you up!
Mrs Mac ordered a small bowl of soup and a BBQ chicken wrap... there was no way on earth she would have eaten the wrap on it's own let alone with a small bowl of soup. Happy to say that in most places we've been to they will box up what you can't eat for you to take home. Seems to be quite a common practice in these parts, so we did just that!

witchileiz
There are some Veggie items on the Menu... Veggie or Mushroom burger, plus they will substitute veggie burgers for any burger dish on the menu.
Also, Veggie Soups (depending on the day) plus fish options and seafood salads if that works for you. Breakfast menu before 11:00Hrs.. Omelettes, pancakes etc.
They do have Gluten free cakes also on offer.


Also... if you are in Sooke you should look up
The Little Vienna Bakery
6726 West Coast Road
Sooke, BC, V0S 1N0

Open Tuesday - Saturday 9am-5pm
CREPE SATURDAYS 9:30AM – 3 PM
CLOSED: Sundays and Mondays.
They do some nice stuff in there, Coffees, Teas, Cakes, Pastries, Brunch, Fresh Bread, Rolls etc... Plenty of seating and Free Wi-Fi too

Hawk13

Pretty sure their population (development) started to increase once the sewage treatment plant went in along with the sanitary sewer mains. It is a nice place but it is aways from Victoria and the cops like to hang out on that road - was a fun rip in the TR6 though.

I'm just starting the process of moving back, probably Victoria. Hope to be there June July'ish once the kid finishes high school.

witchileiz

Thanks for the tips, Mac! The bakery looks worth checking out. We will def make a trip over there to check out Sooke when we finally land. Sounds like you are having a great time, and am more than a little jealous! Will you be looking at self-employment there, when you land?

We are probably going to be in Victoria, but I guess it all depends on work. I am hoping to get work with either one of the Unis, colleges, or health authority, and OH is likely to end up downtown, so areas we are looking at checking out are: Gordon Head, Fernwood, Strawberryvale and surrounding areas of all 3, plus poss Brentwood Bay. Anyone have any opinions on any of those areas?

As we are still awaiting any action re med reqs, etc., I must admit, it does still feel a little like a pipe dream, at this (late) stage... but I am sure, once we are on to PPR, we will be all hands to the deck!

Anyway, I am sure you will continue to have a fantastic time, all the better with knowing your app is nearing finalization!

james.mc

Hi witchileiz

Glad you liked the information. I have to temper our enthusiasm for Sooke with a smattering of reality...

Anyone heading over to this neck of the woods (South Van Island) and needing to find work, would likely be better aiming for Victoria/Greater Victoria area. Here in Sooke (from what I can gather) it would be almost impossible to find a job.

We are going to keep commuting to the North Sea for a while (4-6 week trips) whilst we plant our feet in the area. It's what we do anyway from Portugal so it'll just be longer flights that's all. At some point I'll be setting up a local business to operate in the Sooke Region. So, on landing, we'll have no immediate need to find work locally.

If you were to buy into a tourist related business, B&B etc in Sooke you would likely do OK.

Sooke has quite a high percentage of what they call a Bedroom community. People living in Sooke because, compared to Victoria, they get more bang for their buck with property rental/purchase and it's a nice area to hang out during time off/weekends.

Apologies if I'm only talking about Sooke in this Victoria Thread, but it's the area I have most experience of at present. Maybe I should start a Sooke Thread instead.

james.mc

Hi witchileiz

Glad you liked the information. I have to temper our enthusiasm for Sooke with a smattering of reality...

Anyone heading over to this neck of the woods (South Van Island) and needing to find work, would likely be better aiming for Victoria/Greater Victoria area. Here in Sooke (from what I can gather) it would be almost impossible to find a job.

We are going to keep commuting to the North Sea for a while (4-6 week trips) whilst we plant our feet in the area. It's what we do anyway from Portugal so it'll just be longer flights that's all. At some point I'll be setting up a local business to operate in the Sooke Region. So, on landing, we'll have no immediate need to find work locally.

If you were to buy into a tourist related business, B&B etc in Sooke you would likely do OK.

Sooke has quite a high percentage of what they call a Bedroom community. People living in Sooke because, compared to Victoria, they get more bang for their buck with property rental/purchase and it's a nice area to hang out during time off/weekends. They commute from Sooke to Victoria on what is aptly called the Colwood Crawl.

Apologies if I'm only talking about Sooke in this Victoria Thread, but it's the area I have most experience of at present. Maybe I should start a Sooke Thread instead.

Hawk13

I lived there for a few years, along the "Gorge" area. All three areas; Gordon Head, Fernwood, Strawberryvale are nice. They are like any other area though, with pockets of not so nice. It depends on what you're looking for like, new house vs old house, schools, transit, etc.

If the OH is a cyclist, Victoria has a great bike network with the Galloping Goose trail taking you right into the downtown.

witchileiz

Thanks for the info, Hawk - I am actually more the biking type - so the trail suits me, but who knows, maybe I can convince the OH to take to the saddle! I guess it is hard to guess at where might be best until you acutally get there. We have a 6 yr old, so feeling the stress of 'getting it right early on' regarding location, as I don't want to ping pong her around schools after moving countries (she is quite shy anyway).

We like to dream that we are into a healthy type lifestyle (well, apart from a tendancy to indulge in a bottle of wine or so a little too frequently!), so I'm trying to scope out any areas with that kind of vibe, though I expect that you get the pricetag with that kind of thing... Anyway, thanks again for the input = always helpful...