This place is the worst The drinks are Uber expensive and the food is 2nd rate at best. read more

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Worst place ever. The service is deplorable and the food is questionable. Last time I went there there was mouse feces on the plate. When I complained they argued Never setting foot in that rat infested sorry excuse for a restaurant ever again. read more

My preferred location for a night out! The atmosphere is cosy and laid-back, and the cuisine and drinks are excellent. My partner had an old fashioned, and I had the amazing Gin ne sais quoi! Excellent cocktails. Outstanding hospitality from the hostess. We split some truffle popcorn and a shaft tiramisu. It excelled. Highly recommend this spot! We shall return! read more

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A great find in Downtown Victoria.......There cocktails are spot on and there food is Fantastic.

I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty bummed about mine and my friend's experience at Cenote this weekend. It started out great when our group of 10 was able to snag a table right away during a busy Saturday night. The hostess who sat us was lovely and accomodating. But unfortunately service-wise, that's where it goes south. Our server seemed to hate us the entire time. I'm not even kidding. We felt so uncomfortable. I want to preface this by saying that our group of ladies were very polite and respectful the entire time. There were a few times where we were probably a bit louder because we were laughing at a joke, but other than that, we didn't think we did anything wrong. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt and say maybe we caught her on a bad day. Anyway, we were mostly here for cocktails but some of us ordered a few appetizers from their dinner menu and fresh sheet. The pesto pasta, buffalo cauliflower, watermelon and goat cheese salad, and for me, the truffle popcorn. To drink, all my pals got the feature cocktail and I got a whiskey sour. We all loved our drinks. All my friend's food came out first, except my popcorn. I waved over our server after not receiving the popcorn and she said it would be out shortly. It didn't come out till 30 minutes later, when all my friends were already done with their food. Which to me is surprising because the popcorn should have been the easiet dish to prepare. If our server had apologized or communicated a bit better, I may have not been as annoyed, but since there was a lack of apology and/or communication, I wasn't the happiest camper. Thankful for good friends and good conversation so that I could be distracted. At the end, my friend got a take out box to put her pasta in and when our server came back with the box she dropped it in front of her and said "here" in a very rude, aggressive way. While she was taking our payments, she avoided all eye contact with us and again, just looked like she hated us. Or maybe she didn't want to be there and was taking it out on us. But it was just weird seeing her be more friendly to some of her other tables and then whenver she'd come over to us, be the complete opposite. It's a bummer because we would've loved to stay around here longer for another drink, because the cocktails were delicious, but we just felt so rushed and uncomfortable that we just decided to leave. read more

Cenote Restaurant and Lounge - Truffle popcorn - Lounges Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

I can't believe I never knew that this spot existed. With a great location downtown, Cenote is a very convenient spot to get to but hidden away from the majority of the public, due to its underground location. When a group of friends and myself came down here, based on a recommendation from one of our members, we had a reservation for 4 and got to sit on two INSANELY comfortable leather loveseats that are pretty close to the entrance, but still had their own private feel. There was also a little description on the wall of what a Cenote was, which helped to further establish the fantastic ambiance that there was down there. With fantastic art all over the venue, cheeky little figurines stood about here and there, and the splendid home-away-from-home feel, I was entirely in love with this spot. I tried the Spanish Peatnut to drink, since it sounded extremely interesting and good, and I was relatively pleased with it. It had a very smooth, buttery, peanut-y taste to it which I really enjoyed but the saltiness of the cocktail overcame everything else by the time I was about half finished the drink. No fault of the bartender though, this is just the nature of the drink. Additionally, I had the Cenote dog as a cool dinner item and thought it was quite interesting that they ask if you want one dog or two when you order them. It was really delicious, the tortilla crumbs and spicy cheese inside were really satisfying, and the fact that it comes in a hollowed-out bun with one open side was fantastic. To be completely honest, I LOVE hot dogs, love fun cocktails, and really enjoyed my time here. I have found myself a new spot for dates, hangouts, and general downtown excursions! read more

Cenote offers the best cocktails in Victoria, and it's not even close. Great food from the kitchen, outstanding service, all in a very relaxing atmosphere. My new go-to for food and drinks. read more

Had a wonderful time here. The bartender is great with conversation, knowledgeable about all kinds of alcohol (and their history), is great with crafting well paired flavors, and knows the regular patrons well here. The entrance looks like comfortable livingroom meets dive bar. The quality of the liquor here, the friendliness and great service from the staff, and the amazing drinks I tasted while here will not be forgotten. The low point might be my choice of food entree - I had the Canadian Dog - which was a hot dog in a baguette, which didn't seem to have much flavor, and was hard to chew. But that did not affect the rating here - skip the dogs, try everything else, and have yet another drink. Highly recommended. read more

Cenote Restaurant and Lounge - Mezcal at Cenote. - Lounges Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Cenote not only makes me remember those amazing times in the Mayan Riviera, it also inspires me to share the good qualities this underground-semi hidden retrieval has to offer. Maybe you passed by many times, skipping it while thinking it would be a stinky-rouch dive bar. I agree, the exterior isn't appealing. Down there what counts the most is what you transmit. Art displayed in the walls; comforting-warm colours; movies projected on the wall for the coach section; a DJ doing what he likes the most. Little details in the decoration that show how much effort they put for a basement to feel so familiar. I'm easy to win when something satisfies my whole spirit. I welcome myself to Cenote's family. Food speaking, I have tried some winners, being the Canadian my favourite (so far). The baked Brie would be advisable if you're sipping wine. They have mezcal!!!! Even better, they have mezcal cocktails (say your byes to your friends). Chu chu your way out of the boring world with the "Midnight Espresso"; embrace that angry woman with the correct Bitchy drink; be a mean Mexican! Ride a beer with "unicorn" in the name. The staff rocks! Authentic, polite, welcoming. If they give you a wrong drink, they'll realize about it, apologize, bring you the correct one, and give you the one you drank on the house: yei！ I forgive the washrooms for being as they are. read more

3 stars for overall taste of the two dishes we ordered. Definitely decent. Where this place fell short was portion size in relation to price (small portions, higher price). Either they need to lower the cost of the pasta dishes by a couple bucks or fill up the portion more. Also my prawns were slightly raw. read more

Our absolute favorite! I always get the "Bootstrap" mixed drink, smokey chocolate balsamic goodness and do not get me started on the spicy cheese and bacon double dog stuffed baguette. Whenever we have a chance we head here for our go to orders, are seated by the hostess who knows us by name (so lovely), Scott the bartender is a genius, and what a hip atmosphere, funky/romantic/hip whatever you want it to be. So glad we found this spot. read more

Great cocktails, amazing people, delicious food(lamb sliders...so Good!) And a totally unique atmosphere Just Go There!!! This is coming from someone who's been in the industry for as long as you've been around! read more

The place gave of a Hip Jazz kinda feel had went to the Cenote Restaurant and Lounge for breakfast, we weren't in a huge hurry for our food. The server took our orders we had waited roughly 35-40 minutes for our food to eventually arrive which wasn't a problem non the less, the server apologized and said our meals were all covered. The meals were absolutely amazing from the look to its taste the food was on point !! Great Customer Service with great music !! Recommend if looking for chill and relaxed breakfast/dinner read more

What a great fun place! Super food and perfect venue! My 6 year old daughter loves it and has such fun with the awesome owners! Haven't been there late night yet but will venture soon when babysitting is present! Love it!!! read more

Cenote Restaurant and Lounge - Eva on the comfy couch @ Cenote! - Lounges Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

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After finishing a long shift today, myself and five friends went to go to Cenote hearing great things about the cocktails. Unfortunately when we walked in the wait staff stopped what they were doing and rudely stared us down. Once we sat at a table next to the door, another group came in. With plenty of room in the lounge they asked for an 8 top at 2 open tables. This server who looked like he had just crawled out of an 80"s porno who hadn't showered in a week rudely told them to get out and they refused to allow them to sit down. They were absolutely shocked and appalled and left. After seeing that we became super weirded out as well and decided to leave. We are all locals who work at restaurants around the city and will never recommend Cenote ever again. Extremely unprofessional and rude behavior like that is unacceptable. What a terrible experience... read more

Perhaps the food is better when ordering in, but the food was soggy and cold as a delivery. No sour cream for our Caucasian palettes! Quite expensive for what you get. read more

Best place in town to go for a cheeky-pint. The bar is great for striking up a conversation with a friendly stranger, and they have the best staff in town. Food is fantastic, and the music is awesome. Moe Sizlack once said, "seems nobody wants to hang out in a dank pit no more," but if you visit this subterranean watering hole -- you're sure to have a great night. read more

Easily one of my favourite places for a date or special night out, it's a great cosy bohemian atmosphere, amazing cocktail list and delicious food, I've been going for years and jve never had a sub par experience read more

Great, underground setting, friendly and knowledgable staff, with some of the tastiest food in the city. A must-see, must-eat, must-try dining and drinking experience. They also feature some beautiful, local art!! If you want a friendly, fun, and non-pretentious night of good food, music, and chill vibes -- seriously, look no further. Pretty soon, you will not be able to get a seat in this place because it's rising faster than Mercury. "Sink to their level" and check out this subterranean gem. read more

I love this place. I work downtown and go for lunch. I always get their omelette which is the best I have ever had. I always order avocado with it which is he freshest I have ever had when dining out . They even replaced the house browns for me with fresh tomato. They make a very good Lime Margarita not slushy but it is very good. I have been a few times but it has been a few months. I believe there hours had changed a bit which I cannot recall. This review should of been done awhile back. I will be coming to try dinner sometime . Also the staff is awesome, very friendly and helpful . All smiles read more

w eats reminds me of a New York type vibe 10/10

Great hidden gem. Great food and reasonable drink prices. It's a bit of an industry hangout especially early in the week when bartenders, cooks, and servers generally have the night off. read more

Got the nachos on behalf of reddit recommendations. The nachos were mostly broken up pieces and were not dressed under the topmost layer. Our server recommended a cocktail special which turned out to be 12$ read more

Such a lovely place to hang out and mingle. The drinks are fantastically prepared. The cocktails were very strong, not really a complaint. The menu for the drinks is probably the best menu I've ever seen. It made me laugh which isn't something I'd expect from reading a drink menu. read more

A group of us stopped by for a night cap as we had never been and wanted to try it. Unfortunately we were turned away at the door by the manager, I assume. We were going to be a group of 8 and he told us that there was no space for us. Being in the industry, I can completely understand this when a place is at full capacity. This was not the case, it was a Sunday night and there were a handful of people at the bar and group in a booth as we entered. I saw that he had a couch area with a booth next to it and ask if we split our group could we could sit there? He just looked at me and commented, "like I said, we do not have space for you." and walked away. I've never been treated so poorly by an establishment especially in such a small city like Victoria. As we started to walk out the group by the door had ask what he had just said to us and I stated that they didn't want our business. We exited and went upstairs to wait for the rest of our group. While waiting the group from the booth came up after us and said we can't give our money to place that treats people that way. read more

I had the pulled pork sandwich. I died and was reunited with the Memphis pulled pork I had at BB Kings in Tennesse 15 years ago, spit it out and came back here for seconds. But enough about my amazing food, the bartenders know their craft! Amazing drinks!! Everything is priced right and the ambience dark and cool. I will definitely be back. read more

Went here for a date night. Great drinks menu. Great vibe. We sat at the bar and watched the bartender make delicious cocktails. We didn't eat here, but I hear the food is good. Something to look forward to next time. read more

Comfortable, quaint atmosphere with delicious food and incredibly friendly staff. Tried the lamb meatballs with salad, catered to my low carb diet, and the lamb was cooked spot-on, not over-cooked. Solid! read more

Stuffed hot dogs (omg)! The staff is friendly and the prices are really great! A hidden gem of Victoria!

Went here last night and I had to write a review (which I never do). The atmosphere was so awesome, we loved it from the minute we walked in. The DJ was playing great music the whole time we were there, the food selections seemed really yummy (we got chips and salsa which was pretty good, nice spice), and the prices were good as well. Any place in Victoria that actually puts jalapeños on their nachos and four olives in their caesars is alright by me! The vibe was so cool but laid back at the same time. We loved it! read more