Pilgrimme

One of the best dining experiences in Canada. From start to finish, not a dish out of place. Chef is so absolutely dialed. The food was just so good. We wanted to finish every last bit of seasoning, broth or sauce. Service was so good. Relaxed but absolutely on top of everything. Wine pairings were all perfect. Loved the purveyors they chose. The atmosphere and setting was perfect. We cannot wait to come back. This will be an annual pilgrimmeage for us. Can’t wait to go back.

Travelling to a destination restaurant sounds like a plot line in the latest Netflix satire. "We trekked to Antarctic for the perfect ice!" Then there is Pilgrimme hiding away in the forest of Galiano. Get comfortable and enjoy the 3 1/2 hour tasting menu. The courses arrive never too slow never too fast. Each one is carefully explained without pointless nonsense. "What is Koji?" I muttered to myself. The server immediately zoomed to my end of the table and gave me a fascinating example and explained how it's prepared. No big deal you shrug - well for diners being used to "Course Two! More stuff" it was appreciated Unlike the dishes of Netflix satires - these ones make sense. They are small - packed with diverse ingredients and explode with flavours. And they're not weird. There were no "eeek!" moments across the 12 course tasting menu. Warning - an insanely great pizza pops up mid way through. Don't overdo it - take some home - otherwise reaching the finish line may be a challenge. My wife's husband can confirm this. The room is small and rustic accommodating 14 diners in one seating. The music is "arranged around the night and pace and time of year. All things taken into consideration . Darker autumn evenings and longer daylight in spring summer kind of thing . We like to play around with the timing etc." commented the owner when I asked. It's probably three hours from Vancouver to Galiano by car/ferry. An overnight stay is required. It's totally worth it. Eating at Pilgrimme is not a parody of adventuresome dining. It's a documentary.

The food and service were both excellent. Almost everything on the menu was delicious, and I especially loved the pizza and the duck breast.

One of the most amazing experiences I’ve had. The setting, the restaurant, the dishware, the lighting, the music, the wine, and finally - the food. It is hard to articulate how amazing it is. If you are close or not make it a priority to make your way here. I feel privileged to have had the chance to attend.

Pilgrimme is a hidden gem on Galiano Island that blew me away from start to finish. Each dish felt like a culinary adventure, with local, seasonal ingredients taking center stage. The menu is creative yet grounded, featuring thoughtful combinations like foraged greens and perfectly cooked duck. The flavors are vibrant, and the plating is rustic yet elegant, matching the cozy, down-to-earth vibe of the restaurant. Every bite was a revelation, and the intimate setting made the experience even more special. If you’re a foodie craving something fresh and unforgettable, Pilgrimme is a must-visit!

A must go to for foodies! We dined at Pilgrimme back in February and it was exceptional! You can only do the set tasting menu but it was worth every penny. The restaurant is small, cozy and welcoming. You don’t have to dress fancy, which was also great. The service was phenomenal with wonderful descriptions of the food/each course. We opted not to do the wine or drink pairings but it was an option. I highly recommend if you’re staying in Galiano to come here!

I book dinner here for my anniversary, it’s also a very good experience for their blind tasting menu. Most of all, it’s just a small but cozy restaurant, the ladies who serve all the tables are very polite and knowledgeable for all the ingredients of their food. The whole things take up to 3 & 1/2 hours for almost 12 dishes, it’s worth that what I expected. The taste of each dish is very unique and the presentation is at the top notch, my wife and I enjoy it very much. I am highly recommend this restaurant if you are traveling to Galiano Island, but you need to stay at least one night because this restaurant is only open at 7:00pm to 10:30pm, you also need to make a reservation because it just only have 5 to 6 tables per night.

We returned to Galiano Island after 3 years, and the last time we were here, pilgrimme was unfortunately closed for the season. Our trip was in the summer this time, so I made sure to make a reservation for their 10-course tasting menu well in advance. All I can say is, what an excellent experience! The food, flavours, and presentation were just absolutely amazing. Their ingredients are locally sourced and unique, and it makes for a very creative menu. Each course was timed really nicely as well, so there wasn't a long wait in between each course. We aren't big eaters, so we ended up packing courses 8-10 in takeout boxes and finishing it up the next day, and everything was still very delicious. Will be back next time we're on the Island.

There was never a truer statement of farm to table than Pilgrimme. Everything from their menu is handpicked by the chefs in a figurative and even sometimes literal way. The flavours are very pure and unfortunately with the overly salted and buttered food of today's culinary world, most people's palates can't enjoy the ingredients as simply as they come at pilgrimme. However if you are a puritan, then this is the place for you. I wouldn't really choose to eat their sourdough off the menu but they do a great job with their protein (duck in my case). The ambience gives that middle of nowhere cabin vibes with low lighting but in a romantic not horror movie way...haha Hats off to the chef.

Went a while ago but forgot to write a review. Had a couple of different dishes and tried the pizza. Everything was excellent and very tasty. Nice cabin feel to the place. Great service as well. It's a little pricier but that's expected on a small island where everything has to be shipped in

A true unique dining experience. Three hours of delightful tastings which all were delicious. Exceptional food, staff & ambience - a wonderful evening.

This is a high end, world class restaurant that would compare with the best restaurants in the world. It isn't food, it's an experience. I ate there twice last week, once with my wife and once with another couple. The first night there were 18 people in the restaurant and the second time, there were 14. The first dish was honestly as good as anything I have ever tasted. It was almost a religious experience. For those that give a low rating for the price point... please go to MickeyD's or another fast food place. This is at the entire opposite end of the spectrum. I posted the menu, wine pairings and a few pics of the food. This restaurant compares with Michelin starred restaurants in Europe m which would have been slightly more expensive.

I used to love this restaurant before, but now it has become something else...$220 for paired tasting menu only on Saturday and Sunday !? $45 deposit is refundable only if cancelled one week in advance !!? They used to be humble and conscious about local community but now seem only trying to attract rich mouths from the city. Not impressive.

Great food and experience yet felt really unprepared to learn how much it cost per person. Make sure you fully understand the price!

Not sure where to begin - this is the best food I have ever had (sorry mom). It was an incredible experience and worth the travel to the island. I really felt lIke Chef Jesse was having a conversation with me through his food. He takes you on a journey with every dish highlighting incredible hyper local ingredients you didn't even know existed. The atmosphere was very hygge / warm nordic with a very local vibe and not pretentious at all. This restaurant deserves every alcolade available in the culinary world. I can't wait to go back.

So I ate here more than a year ago, and it's still on my mind. This menu challenged me and my partner to find anything appealing- it was all so foreign to us and our palettes. We ended up ordering a few dishes that did honestly not appeal to us on paper. Then we had our minds BLOWN. All this time later, and I cannot forget the snap of the kelp and burnt buttermilk sauce. To be that surprised, despite us both being real foodies- wow. I'm pining for this food.

I didn't know if I would enjoy the food because it certainly seemed kind of far out and weird, but I'd have to say all four of us really enjoyed our dinner when we visited Galiano the last weekend of July 2019. The hibiscus kombucha was surprisingly sweet and refreshing, and I won't bore you by going through every single dish but my highlight was either the boneless duck leg with einkom, mushroom, and seaweed or the alkaline noodle with turnip, leeks, and black garlic... or maybe it was the fig leaf ice cream? Staff were amazing and especially Elena (sp?) did a great job explaining everything to us (that's her pottery being used at the restaurant) and the cozy cabin-like restaurant was intimate and sophisticated without being too pretentious. And of course, my compliments to the chef, Jesse. Definitely a BC must-do!

My dining partner and I agreed this was one of the best meals of our lives. Every aspect of every dish was incredibly thoughtful, inspired and yes - delicious! Excellent service and ambience, too. All fresh local ingredients, innovative combinations and lovingly arranged presentation. Can't wait to go back!

Are you a foodie? Are you on Galiano Island? Then you must go to Pilgrimme​. There is an artist in the kitchen, or perhaps a wizard. Unbelievable fresh ingredients, lovingly treated, to bring out their best. Be surprised and delighted! Not fussy, just exquisite. Just wow. (note: this location used to be La Berengerie, and is walkable from the Marina/Campground)

True food artistry mixed with passion, talent and execution. The biggest take away was the connection to the West Coast in all the flavours. House marinated olives with fir tips were the best I've ever tasted. The pickled and fermented veg in various dishes was perfectly pickled and tasted like it was picked in the garden, pickled and served on the table. The Galliano slow cooked venison was amazingly tender. The last course was marinated sour cherries and a mouth watering housemade dark chocolate truffle. Overall a sublime food experience with heart warming service to go with the food. Worthy of all the accolades.

My Husband and I have been going to Galiano Island for an annual romantic getaway for the past 5 years and we had never heard of Pilgrimme until a friend mentioned it. We were delighted!!! The service, the food, the ambiance... an amazing experience! I was smiling after every bites and looking at my husband like "I can't believe this!". The research into each plate, the freshness of each product, how professional the staff were, we just fell in love with the place and will include this to our annual Galiano getaway. They also have one of the best restaurant website there is out there, you can tell how proud and passionate they are and the hard work behind all of it.

Amazing experience worth the journey! The staff is calm and relaxed. The food speaks for itself and contains the spirit of the island and the region.

This will probably be my most memorable meal of 2016. The family style service allowed our party to try almost the entire menu. The combination of local ingredients I have never eaten before in my life, along with the some of the most delicate presentation I have seen, made every bite incredible. If you go, be bold, be adventurous, and be prepared to have your mind blown. If you're anywhere in the pacific North West this is worth your time to travel to the gulf islands. Special thanks for the very knowledgeable staff too for the attentive service and the much needed explanations.

I had a good meal here with my husband on our trip to the island. I had heard about how the meals here are created from locally sourced ingredients which are often foraged. I made a reservation a week ago. It was hard to get through and my emails were not answered, but after calling a few times and leaving my name and number, I heard from them and got in. I was surprised to see they had 3-4 empty tables. Perhaps they prefer to keep the dining room less crowded. The restaurant is located in a wooden house which looks like a fairytale castle. I appreciated that they have shared plates so everyone gets to try things. Our server recommended we have four items for two people, and we took it. We started with sourdough and potato bread, which was delicious and did smell divine. This was followed by a dish made of charred leek. It was crunchy and tasty, but it was supposed to include herring as an ingredient, however we found out that the herring was only a flavour, and that was a bit disappointing for me. Next was my favourite dish of the evening, duck's egg with duck crumble, which was complex and delightful. Then we had squid with herbs and a broth. It was a bit too salty for my taste, but still good. I matched them with two glasses of red wine, a merlot and a gamay, which paired perfectly. We decided to follow our meal with three desserts: the truffle with cherry, the sorrel sheep pannocotta and chocolate pot de creme. All of them were very good, but not exceptional. Our bill was just over 100 bucks before tip and it was fair and less than expected. I would love to come back to try their other original creations and have a unique dining experience.

What a special place! You can taste the love for Galiano in the food. We tried the tasting menu and didn't regret it! The waitress explained each dish beautifully, each dish arrived in good time on beautiful plates and always tasted fantastic. The location and ambience is relaxed and romantic. If you're on Galiano you must eat at Pilgrimme!

I had dinner at Pilgrimme the evening of July 23/16. It's going on 6 weeks now since that meal and I have thought of it with adoration so often that I am returning in a couple of weeks. The location itself is unforgettable. It's set in a cottage at the edge of big Northwest evergreens like something out of a fairytale. The menu is as unique as they come and one would wonder how it would all translate to the plate. Rest assured absolutely nothing was lost in this translation. My date and I shared several dishes and they were all, without exception, palate poetry. I will fess up and tell you that two different dishes of the five that we shared brought actual tears to my eyes....a sidestripe shrimp with chewy sprouted grain and a kale shell broth was as genius as anything I've ever tasted. A salted chocolate caramel dessert....I can't remember the official description....made me want to weep with gratitude. Everything else was outstanding as well. Our servers were gracious and engaging and knowledgeable. While the wine list is very limited and is perhaps the only weak bit in the plot, what we did order was perfectly complimentary. The summary of all of this is that Pilgrimme was the most amazing and unforgettable meal I have ever had. A couple of years ago I went to French Laundry in Napa Valley expecting something pretty spectacular and was utterly disappointed. I was expecting something like this, and I certainly didn't know that I would find it on an idyllic gulf island just a short distance away. There is a refined rusticity and thoughtfulness in every detail of the space and food that blew me away. My fingers and toes are crossed that enough people will make the journey to experience all of this....it's in such a remote location and is so incredibly reasonably priced for the amount of effort and work in each dish that I hope it is sustainable for the proprietors. You'd best run fast....

We came here on a Friday night at 8pm. There was a large table seated in the middle of the dining room and they sat us next to them. As the evening progressed, the table got louder and louder. Then two more people showed up to just drink with the large group. Their volume increased to the point that all conversation between my husband and I was impossible, no matter how loud we spoke. This was not how I was expecting to spend my evening. The staff at the restaurant did nothing to quiet the table. We finally just got up and walked to the bar for the check. The waitress apologized and said they were locals, perhaps indicating that they won't quiet the locals no matter how loud and drunk they get? It is a small dining room and I would ask, if I ever came back, is there was a large party booked that night. I would never dine here again with a large party - it is much too unpleasant. The food was all excellent. My only issue with the food was that it was all very much in the same taste range. I had had an excellent meat at Nomda Cocina in San Miguel de Allende, where the flavors and textures ranged dramatically from dish to dish. Here, they were all very much the same.

Such rude service - steer clear of the blond hostess here (I dont know her name and can only single her out with appearance). When I arrived at the restaurant, there was no space, but a nice asian lady gave the effort to check with the kitchen and other staff and politely told me I could come back in 30 min and have a table. I came back in 30 min, and was told by the blond hostess to wait for another 20 min - which was ok. But she defensively added "we never promised you a table, you may not get one even if you wait the whole night". I said that was not what i was told. To which she replied angrily and confrontationally, "well i didnt tell you that. i dont know when guests leave and cant predict how much capacity we have in the kitchen so we can't promise you anything, but you can choose to wait. I can't guarantee anything because thats not how our business works, we are a sharing plate restaurant." Its ok to waste half an hour waiting and wait some more, but to get that nonsensical response in a rude demeanor is a slap in the face. It is not the first time I am at a sharing plate restaurant and I have worked in the industry. She could have simply told me they overestimated their capacity and apologize nicely as a hospitality professional would, and I would be on my way despite losing half an hour - its really ok, it happens. Instead, she chose to be self-righteous, arrogant and treated us like we are begging to eat there and causing trouble in her life. I am no fan of pretentious restaurants who do not value or empathize with their customers. I hope this restaurant would understand which of their hostess cares about customers and which doesnt.

I have never had a better meal in my life. Eating at this restaurant is an experience that every person should get to have. The ambiance is intimate, with only about 24 seats in dining room, and the service is so friendly and helpful you feel like you're among friends. We had yellow pea panisse with pickled Galiano vegetables, duck and pheasant country pate with a cherry sauce, and an order of potato bread, pickled and smoked herring with charred radicchio and Galiano apples in vinegar, and beef heart tartar with duck egg and powdered seaweed. We spent about 45 minutes talking about which dish was our favourite and could not pick. The flavours were complex and sophisticated, and developed through a variety of cooking and preserving techniques, but the food was so completely shaped by Galiano Island that it really simply told the story of life on the Island. I can't wait for my next visit.

This place fed me one of the best meals I've had in my life. I love the use of fermented and foraged food, and the execution is amazing. A few highlights : Grilled fermented wheat bread - this bread had way more rich and complex flavours than I've ever had out of bread. Huge umami gets pulled out by the char that comes from grilling. Octopus - octopus has a tendency to either be undercooked and rubbery with an undeveloped flavour or overcooked and rubbery with flavour, but dried out. This was perfect, soft, almost buttery, it was served with vegetables and chickpeas, but could have just been on its own. Shaved venison heart - - so much umame, without being weird.

We went there for brunch.....amazing location and food to match, you won.t be disappointed.

Pilgrimme: Over wrought, over rated, and over priced. A lot of heavy flavours in one dish that overwhelms the palette. You are unable to taste all the notes of the dish placed before you, which is a shame because all the ingredients are fresh and top of the line. If you are not drinking alcohol (perhaps because you are pregnant, driving, a recovering alcoholic,....) bring your own beverage or choose between tap water or a small commercial bottle of sparkling water, oh and bring your own lemon too. The music felt like it was more for the kitchen staff than for the clientele. I cringed a little each time the server came around with an amuse-bouche and said "Here's a snack for you" Please do yourself a BIG favour and do not use the rest room. I thought the rest room to the left had an unfortunate event in the sink and toilet so I turned quickly to use the one on the right only to discover the toilet and sink had large orange/brown rust stains and a dirty soap container to boot. I guess similar stains were what I mistaken for an unfortunate event in the other restroom. The restrooms reminded me of the toilets you find at old gas stations while road tripping across the US. Look if you are on a diet (very small serving portions) and aren't bothered by stained, dirty bathrooms,this could be the place for you. The servers were sweet, ingredients lovely and made with locally sourced produce, which is awesome, but the whole meal and experience was a fail for me and my partner. I would not recommend or return to Pilgrimme.

All the previous reviews cover the Pilgrimme experience accurately. The food is divine, the location rustic rural, the service warm and friendly. If you have any reason to be on Galiano island book a table (weeks ahead) and bring friends. Two further notes: the Avrill Creek wines (from the cowichan valley) are a treat and the house music is a wee bit overbearing. But I quibble...

Interesting mix of flavours, tasty shared plates, locale ingredients some not seen in city restaurants. however they dropped the ball half way through and left us waiting for almost 30 minutes for our last two plates. Also the duck egg was made into a rich sauce which was disappointing. Otherwise definitely a relaxing ambience and worth trying.

Astonishing food in a gorgeous setting. The menu is innovative, seasonal, and served family-style. Even the bread/butter and green salad was incredibly tasty. The chef seems to have a deep interest in pickled and fermented foods; the albacore tuna came in thin slices atop a tangy cream sauce, adorned with slices of home-pickled rhubarb. Most memorable however was the dish with sliced octopus served with cubes of potato, slices of chorizo, and chickpeas in a spicy savory sauce. The octopus was tender and the entire dish intensely flavored. Oh and if they have pot de creme for dessert, GET IT. Incredibly rich and silky, the sort of dessert where your mouth waters even as you are eating it.

Exquisite food that makes you want to eat slowly just to savour the flavours. The menu is innovative and the ingredients are prepared in an unusual manner, such as hay baked. This is a truly unique food experience made more pleasurable by the relaxed atmosphere - not a speck of pretension. We just moved to Vancouver from San Francisco and this is the most impressive meal we've had for years. Our sincere compliments to the chef.