The Strathcona Hotel, located on Douglas in downtown Victoria, is quite the destination. Many of us would have been to the Rooftop in the summer for buckets night, gone downstairs to Club 9one9 for late-night clubbing, and maybe even stayed a night in the hotel when catching a taxi at 2 am just didn’t seem worth it. Along with all of these things sits the Sticky Wicket, a cricket-themed pub with all of the English pub food one would expect.
The decor at Sticky is pretty much the same as just about any English-style pub. Truth be told, I’m not sure where the cricket theme actually comes from, aside from the name and the sign itself. The pub is actually quite a bit different from many others around town, as it lacks a bunch of sports-related paraphernalia. That aside, it does have that warm pub feel, and some pretty comfy chairs.
Food! That’s why we’re all here. The Sticky Wicket sports all the pub favourites, including my much beloved fish ’n’ chips, though I resisted the temptation this time. Other items on the menu include soups, sandwiches, burgers, a few pastas, and more. There are also daily breakfast specials and an assortment of appetizers. I had a clubhouse sandwich with a side of poutine (because when you have a hollow leg, poutine is a side). My friend had a classic burger and fries, while his girlfriend and her mother had mac ’n’ cheese.
The poutine was acceptable, though I have had much better elsewhere. Normally this would concern me more, as I use poutine as a bit of a “benchmark” food. If you can’t make poutine properly, how will you measure up to everyone who can? This wound up being a non-issue, as my clubhouse was great, the chicken moist and bacon crispy. My friend was quite delighted with his burger and the fries came with some chipotle aioli, which was quite delicious. The mac ’n’ cheese also looked good and was very generous in size.
The verdict: pretty worth it. The Sticky Wicket is in the middle of everything, so any downtown excursion makes it pretty much on your way in or out of town, and it would make a great place to eat before going to the clubs that are also in the Strathcona Hotel. Also, the prices are reasonable; not super cheap, but not expensive either. My meal was about $17.