One of my challenges whenever I visit a city or town is to find a hidden gem or two, be it my first visit, or a place I have visited many times. On a visit to Victoria BC in the fall of 2023, I was able to find several new hidden gems, even though I have visited the city many times - from a store with over 50 different varieties of licorice to one that made me feel like I was in Paris enjoying a hot chocolate. From a parkade staircase art gallery to a backyard café and a spectacular roof-top view from the top of a parking garage.

Coffee, Treats & cute

We have been to Cook Street Village many times over the years, and each time we find something new as it evolves from a quaint ‘60s main street, to a modern 21st century urban village with more upscale shops and services, as well as a low-rise apartment blocks.

The big find this time was the Hidden Gems: Treat Shop & Café, located in the backyard of a former house now a business.

To get to it you must wander through and empty lot that is currently home to several food trucks, then you arrive at a backyard patio area and tucked into a corner of the patio is a tiny café with a walk-up window. It truly is a “hidden gem,” it even says so on its sign.

Here you will find a comprehensive menu from coffee and teas to bakery items and breakfast dishes. They even do custom cakes.

We loved not only the coffee and our muffins (full of blueberries), but also the quirky china. There is a tiny seating area below the takeout window that is great for people watching. It has be to one of the most delightful cafes I have ever visited.

FYI: You can find The Hidden Gem Treat Shop & Café in the backyard at 337 Cook St.

This is shared backyard patio for the various food trucks and the cafe.

Parkade Staircase As Art Gallery

One morning while wandering Yates St near Commercial Alley, I noticed what looked like several large circular paintings in the staircase of the eight storey Bastion Square Parkade. I had to investigate.

Turns out each floor has a colourful illustration of a different local wildflower with names I had never heard of – Purple Sanicle, Water-Plantain Buttercup, Slender Wooly-Heads and Jaumea Carnosa. And, for climbing all the way to the roof, I was rewarded with a spectacular view of Victoria’s downtown and the harbour. The flowers not only make the rather dingy staircase look a bit more attractive, but I expect they also serve as a unique wayfinding device to help people remember which floor they parked on.

Each illustration has a brief descriptor.

Parisian Hot Chocolate

Another day when “window-licking” I came across a storefront window with the words “Uncouth Chocolate.” Intrigued, I had to go inside.

The place was heaven for chocolate lovers like me. What really caught my eye was the hot chocolate menu, as coincidently that same morning, I was reading the hot chocolate chapter in David Lebovitz’s book “The Sweet Life In Paris.” Yes, the “old fashioned” thick and creamy hot chocolate made with the finest ingredients.

Turns out that is just what they offer with several different flavours - Classic, Salted Caramel, Chili Spiced, Chai Spiced, Intense Shot and Turmeric. While I didn’t have any hot chocolate that day, we did go the next day.

Sitting at the window and people watching while we savoured a fine hot chocolate made me feel a bit like I was in Paris. The taste was so intense, it felt like I was sipping on a sweet single malt.

It was so good we went again on our last day in Victoria.

FYI: Located at 703 Fort Street, the store is home to three local chocolate makers – Uncouth Chocolate, The Chocolate Project and Terrible Truffles.

The window seats were perfect for people watching, especially with the bus stop right there.

Licorice of All Sorts

When in Victoria, we always wander over to Quadra Village (Quadra St and Hillside Ave) as there are two thrift stores and bookstore we like to explore. Getting there, we have walked by The Wooden Shoe store many times but never gone in; this time we did. It is a quaint shop with - as you would expect - lots of cheeses and other Dutch items. What we didn’t expect was the wall of 50+ different types of licorice!

If you have a favourite you buy right out of the bins or if you go to the front desk and pick up a small sample pack. We bought two sample packs, as well as some cheese. We weren’t disappointed!

FYI: The Wooden Shoe is located at 2576 Quadra Street.

Always Good Things

Heading to Oak Bay from downtown, you could easily miss “Good Things Consignment” located at ground level of a residential building. It is not in Oak Bay’s main street but about halfway between there and downtown. Yes, there is often furniture and stuff outside, but you could easily mistake it for someone moving out.

Inside is a boutique-like, second hand-store that is full of treasures, from art to home accessories at every price point. Even if we don’t find something every time (which is rare), we love to browse the carefully curated displays.

FYI: Good Things Consignment is located at 1841 Oak Bay Ave.

Text & Typewriters

Along Johnston Street between Warf and Government streets you will find an eclectic collection of shops, from Juene Bros Tent & Awning to Still Life For Him…from Salvation Army Thrift Store to Dancing Lily…to Oh Sugar and ecologist.

My personal favourite is “The Regional Assembly of Text,” a funky stationery and gift store. Owned by two graduates of the Emily Carr University of Art + Design, it comes as no surprising this store feels more like an art installation - with desks and vintage typewriters that you can use, as well as vintage posters and cards that look more like museum displays.

Two of the unique features are the working typewriters available for a small fee to compose a personal letter, note or perhaps a poem and button making machine so you can create a custom souvenir or two.

FYI: It is located at 560 Johnson St., in the lobby of the 1891 Milne building.

MUGS mania

One can never have enough mugs, right? Who doesn’t want to take home a souvenir mug from every place you travel to. But these are not your $10 mug with the city logo, that often end up in the thrift store in a year or two. These are all hand crafted, mugs you can add to your collection and use for years.

If you wander north on Store Street (what a great name for street) from downtown, past the Value Village you will soon arrive at “Hands On Clay Collective,” a pottery store that sells nothing but hand-made mugs. Not only are the mugs works of art but so are the displays. There are literally 100s of hand-made mugs.

We would never have found this place, had we not been flaneuring some downtown side streets and stumbled upon “Hands On Pottery” studio at 810 Cormant Street. We peered in the window and seeing people inside, we tried the door. It was open so we wandered in a bit sheepishly but were quickly welcomed and given the royal tour by the owner. This is when we found out about the store on Store Street. Too much fun!

FYI: Hands On Clay Collective gallery is located at heritage red brick building at 1910 Store Street.