Jam Cafe is one of Victoria’s busiest brunch spots. Long lines can be seen at 9am, but the trick is to come when the turnover begins. Usually that is about 8:45am. You will be most successful if you come in pairs as those seats open up more quickly. We had a group of 4, so that was more tricky to seat us.
They don’t take reservations and its on a first come, first serve basis. They serve all day breakfast and lunch.
I usually don’t like lines, but I really wanted to see why Jam Cafe is so unique and attracts people from all parts. They have been features on You Gotta Eat Here, so maybe that adds to the hype too.
They are only open 8am until 3pm.
Once you are finally inside, they have some pretty cool vintage items on their walls. Lots to look at.
Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice ($3.50) is very fresh and has a little bit of pulp. We also ordered their apple juice and it was pretty good too! Can’t beat the taste of real juice rather than the simulated stuff.
On the table, you will find hot sauce, ketchup on the table to add a little extra kick to your food.
Blueberry Triple Stack Pancakes ($13.95) were massive!! The three layers of extra thick pancakes is way too much for one person. You definitely will want some help devouring this. It is also served plain with maple butter.
You can also choose from different sauces like banana walnut, spiced double chocolate or cinnamon cream cheese swirl instead of the blueberries.
The size was so astounding that people sitting at nearby tables wanted to take a picture of it.
Old Town Breakfast ($11.95) has two eggs any style with hash browns and toast with your choice of sugar-cured bacon, sausage, ham steak or avocado. For your toast, you get a choice of sourdough, multigrain, rye or cranberry flax. This is a good choice for simple breakfast, plus those hashbrowns are crispy and oh so delicious.
The one above is with bacon and an over easy egg.
This is also the Old Town Breakfast with the scrambled eggs, bacon and an extra side of sausage.
The Little Charlie ($11.95) is their version of a hash with crumbled biscuit, hash browns, diced ham, green onions, cheddar and sausage gravy topped with two sunny side eggs. This is the half order and it is still quite massive. I can’t imagine how the regular Carlie Bowl would look like.
I found that there was definitely a lot of carbs from the crumbled biscuit and hash browns. They just soaked up all the gravy and didn’t leave enough sauce around.
Sugar Cured Bacon ($4) was thick and a tad sweet. It’s a nice change to the salty bacon.
At the end of the meal, you get Dum Dums. A fun treat for little kids….or big kids. It was a fun time at Jam Cafe, the food is good but their massive portions will be leaving you full for the day, plus you will have leftovers for later.
We Rate Jam Cafe:
Address:
542 Herald Street,
Victoria, BC V8W 1S5
Website:
http://www.jamcafevictoria.com/
