Hillside Coffee & Tea in Victoria

Well, since I'm enrolled in the Provincial Instructor Diploma Program (PIDP) at Vancouver Community College, it means I have to take one of my courses in-person. To get this done as soon as possible, I took the offering that's in Victoria for a couple of weekends this month.

Tammy came along with me for last weekend, and we decided to stop at one of the well-reviewed cafes near our AirBnB. We stayed near Hillside Shopping Centre, and decided to pop into Hillside Coffee & Tea before leaving for the ferry.

It's got a hipster-y, small-town cafe feel when you enter. It definitely wasn't empty either. We went closer to the end of the day, and it was still really busy. That's usually a good sign. They have options for Almond and Soy milk, but their prices were a bit outrageous. That, and our barista / service person was quite cold and rude -- contrary to the amazing and friendly people we encountered in Victoria.

Imagine ordering a Venti drink at Starbucks...maybe $5? That's the price of most drinks here. An iced coffee is about $4. That, and their baked goods are about $3.50 to $4 per piece. I mean, sure they've got bite-sized morsels of food for $2.50, but that's not enough for a snack.

Carrot Cake, Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte, and Iced Coffee
@ Hillside Coffee and Tea, Victoria, BC
Photo: Brewji

Tammy and I got a slice of carrot cake, and a drink each. I got an iced Pumpkin Spice Latte (because I can, so sue me). Tammy got a plain iced coffee (black). The total? About $13.40.

The Pumpkin Spice Latte was made with almond milk, and on the first few sips it tasted absolutely delicious. I don't know how or why, but after about 1/4 of the glass, it tasted like I was drinking plain soy milk. It tasted like that until the end...so I wasn't too enthused.

Tammy's iced coffee tasted like we went to Timmy's, bought a black coffee and chilled it in the fridge for a few hours. It wasn't really anything great.

The saving grace was in the carrot cake. The cake was moist, the frosting was delicious, and I could definitely see myself spending another $4 on this if I went to a cafe somewhere.

Either way...we probably won't be back. Sorry, but $13 is a lot for unfortunate service and mediocre drinks. Maybe a tea would've been better?

Hillside Coffee & Tea gets an I-wish-the-coffee-was-as-good-as-the-cake 3.0 / 10