Stone Pipe Grill
2038 Otter Point Rd
Sooke, BC
(250) 642-0566

I’m very rarely in Sooke, but when I am, to find a good place to eat often means going off the beaten path. But on the main drag, Stone Pipe Grill, has all the fixins of being a very good diner for anyone visiting the area.

That’s especially true when considering the commute time to get here. Instead of deviating off the main road, people can stop in before heading to Port Renfrew. Whatever the purpose, for a hike at the nearby Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, or to take on the winter landscape, the choices do get limited unless a picnic is packed.

On a cold day, that’s when a good hearty bowl of soup is required. I opted for a simple shrimp and cucumber sandwich ($9.95) which came with their soup of the day, a Beef and Bean broth. For the price, it was a good and quick meal. The added citrus helped bring out the flavour of the tiny pacific shrimp used.

The bread was nice, fresh and local. But I really need to remember to ask for toasted. Sometimes a mix of warm and cold can make for a nice texture combination. At least the hard crust was used in the soup. That helped me finish that bowl up faster than the sandwich alone. Most of the flavour in the beef and bean soup sank to the bottom and it was more lukewarm than fresh off the stove. For soups of the day, chefs do have the challenge of keeping enough around to last before the switchover, so I can be a little forgiving.

But when meals come with french fries, that’s when I batten down the hatches. Either they’re good or bad. In this case, they were very soft and limp. With a name like Stone Pipe Grill, I’d be expecting hot and fresh off the fryer. Not in this case.

As long time readers know, I’m very particular about my french fries, and cooks must remember the double fry to crisp them right rule than to leave ’em hanging.

3 Blokes out of 5