Brasserie "L'école"

Brasserie "l'école" is the small French bistro owned and operated by Sommelier Marc Morrison and Chef Sean Brennan.

The restaurant opened at the end of 2001 and has won numerous awards and accolades since such as Best Restaurant in Victoria (2007 &  2009 Vancouver Magazine Awards) and One of Canada's Top Wine Savvy Restaurants (Wine Access Magazine 2005). Brasserie "L'école" has been recommended by media such as the New York Times (June 11, 2004), Martha Stewart Weddings (Spring 2002), Travel & Leisure (June 2003), Conde Nast Traveler and National Geographic Traveler (September 2005).

Historical restorations are continuing so the scaffold will be up for another month or so. Thank you for your patience.

We have made a change in our reservation policy. Read more here .

Recent Awards:

1^st Place - Best Restaurant in Victoria

- Vancouver Magazine 20th Annual Restaurant Awards 2009

"Brasserie l'école remains a bright spot on touristy Government Street, with splendidly comfy French country food and a wine list that's small in size but huge in intelligence."

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Best Restaurant on Vancouver Island

- Urban Diner Restaurant Awards 2008

          1^st Place - Best Restaurant in Victoria

- Vancouver Magazine 18th Annual Restaurant Awards 2007

"Big flavours, satisfying portions and low prices keep Victorians locked in a long-term love affair with Brasserie "L’école". The winning combination? The gemütlich trifecta of solid bistro cooking raised with Moroccan élan (petrale sole with savoy cabbage is always exemplary), witty service and a romping wine list."

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3^rd Place - Best Restaurant on Vancouver Island

- Vancouver Magazine 17th Annual Restaurant Awards 2006

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2^nd Place - Best Restaurant on Vancouver Island

- Vancouver Magazine 16th Annual Restaurant Awards 2005

Brasserie "L’école" is clearly a dining room to watch, not just on the Island but for its provincial impact. “Sean Brennan is a very talented chef who breathes life into classic French cuisine based on local ingredients,” said one wordsmith, while another said, “Now that the room has shed all its newness and gently settled into a shabby chic, "L’école" is a real deal bistro. Best cheese board in the province, French dishes reinterpreted with local ingredients at prices designed to stump accountants and an innovative wine program (promise to buy two glasses and they’ll open any bottle in the house).

One of Canada's Top 100 Wine-Savvy Restaurants -
The best places to eat and drink wine in Canada.
- Wine Access Magazine September 2005

5^th Place - Best BC Destination

- Vancouver Magazine 15^th Annual Restaurant Awards 2004

Best Restaurant in Victoria

- Eat Magazine 2003

Best new Restaurant in BC

- Northwest Palate Magazine 2003

3^rd Place - Best New Restaurant in Canada

- EnRoute 2002

"Fall in love at first sight: a European brasserie re imagined in red and rich browns.......

......Where so many have tried and failed, this may just be the perfect brasserie."

4^th Place - Best other BC

- Vancouver Magazine 14^th Annual Restaurant Awards 2003

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Victoria's Best New Restaurant

- Eat Magazine May 2002

 "In the months leading up to the opening of "L’école", the buzz on the street was loud - Sean Brennan was going to be going back to his old haunt, the Met Bistro on Government Street and would be cooking French comfort food at easily accessible prices. The newest place to eat in town. "This is the place to watch unfold as they have been open a few months," noted one critic, "French inspired dishes that require accomplished technique which Chef Sean Brennan is known for. Brandade of fish, braised oxtail and his famous duck confit appear here and as usual, is sold out if you don't get there early." 

" The wine list is small and decidedly not mainstream but functional and a breath of fresh air in a sea of Antipodean reds and whites. Grooviest neon sign this side of Chinatown."