Pluto’s Diner
1150 Cook St.
Victoria, B.C.
(250) 385-4747

E: I still say that Pluto is a planet, but when James and I were looking for somewhere closer to visit, the diner of the same name was the best bet.

J: Pluto’s has a long history in Victoria. It was formerly a Pacific 66 gas station and it’s history in the Victoria eatery & music scene is well known to locals. If I can remember past advertisements correctly (and someone please correct me if I’m wrong), I believe Loreena McKennitt used to perform at this establishment over two decades ago.

This place has style. I’ll give it that and it still retains it’s gull wing gas station look, the last of its kind in Canada.

But to sit down in a diner that seems nostalgic only to hear “Rage Against the Machine” and other similar style songs played on a radio? It’s either the owners/management figure it’ll keep a family friendly atmosphere or the employees have been fiddling with the dial. I’m not asking for doo-wop but I’m not asking for angry at the world songs either.

E: The place is begging to stick with a regular vibe, and I will have to agree with James on this.

At least we had a great waitress to serve up some interesting tastes. My eyes nearly sparkled when I saw the onion ring poutine ($7.45) on the regular menu. Their contest for a theme poutine was also cool too, and what I ate satisfied my crunch craving. I needed some kind of grease for the night.

J: I agree, Alana their server was good and these days you need great servers to help make a restaurant. Because I would’ve left after I tasted my Pluto’s Benny ($12.25). This dish was basically eggs on english muffins. Placed on top were grilled tomatoes covered in a pesto sauce and topped with bits of feta.

It looked good but that is where the romance ended. As I dug in, I tasted watery eggs and tomatoes that appeared neither grilled nor ripe. The pesto sauce was sadly muted due to the excess water from the eggs. I moved on to the refried beans side which contained not enough feta nor green onions to enhance the flavour. The feta and green onions were just sitting on the top with the greens numbering a mere 3-4 pieces. In the end, it was just your average refried beans. But hey, at least the fruit was good.

E: And so was my poutine. Although the gravy was rather lukewarm and basic shredded cheese (instead of proper curds) were used, I liked the idea of onion rings, french fries and roasted garlic being tossed together. They were decently crisped too. They satisfied the ‘greaser’ in me. Aaay!

J: While the Fonz here was happy I was left feeling empty. Pluto’s decor although very nice to look at seemed less appealing after the meal. The stars lost some of their shine. And let”s just say the prices here aren’t galactic but they are to the moon.

3 Blokes out of 5