The Penny Farthing
2228 Oak Bay Ave.
Oak Bay, B.C.
250-370-9008

E: Has it been a year already? With James‘ limited schedule, sometimes we don’t often hit old haunts as often as we like. In Oak Bay, we wanted to revisit the Penny Farthing. And at the same time, met up with Mike Rowe of Forkjoy for a casual get-together.

J: I really miss the Penny Farthing, it’s a great place to get together with old friends or potentially new friends and Mike seemed a likable guy. My intention was to find a quiet place in the back opposite of where we sat last visit but the back was too busy. I settled for the upstairs and although it was drafty (who says hot air rises) we managed to find a spot near the stairs to suit us.

E: And the Monday special of two-for-one fish n’ chips looked all too tempting. It was standard pub-fare style food, and although it was made with a stone fired Scottish ale batter, perhaps we should have ordered from the regular menu.

J: The cod and chips were still welcomed by me, sure the chips were average faire but the cod had a nice meaty taste I could sink my teeth into. The coleslaw however was disappointing to say the least. In fact, it never should’ve arrived on our plates. It tasted unfinished, like the cook decided to shave some cabbage and lettuce and add a few drops of mayo before walking away to answer the phone.

E: That makes me wonder why every place that serves this dish has to fail on the sides. From Red Fish Blue Fish to here, why can’t a eating establishment make a proper coleslaw? Does it have to be left up to the five star restaurants? I’ll stop editorializing now.

At least the cup of seafood chowder was decent. It had a good flavour to it that accented with a creamy good smoothness. Had I ordered a bowl, it would’ve gone very well with the fries. Unlike my buddy who aspires to be a UK citizen, I don’t drown my chips in ketchup. I prefer to have it with a good creamy flourish.

J: I didn’t drown the chips in tomato sauce, okay I did but it was the fault of the glass bottle as I used a knife (loaned by Mike) to get what little I could onto the plate. But what I ended up with was a spill. I should’ve heeded the uninteresting coleslaw as an omen of things to come.

3 Blokes out of 5