The History
Built around a heritage courtyard in one of Victoria’s most storied corners of the Old Town, Il Terrazzo has welcomed diners through its wrought-iron doors for more than thirty years. The setting alone justifies the visit: exposed brick, wood-beam ceilings, and the warm amber of candlelight dancing off six wood-burning fireplaces. In a city that prizes its Victorian grandeur, this is a room that manages to feel genuinely Italian, with the low hum of conversation, the clink of wine glasses, and the particular warmth that only real fire can produce.
Waddington Alley itself carries its own significance. Built in 1858, it is the only street in Victoria still paved with its original wood blocks, a cobbled thread connecting the contemporary city to its gold-rush origins. To enter Il Terrazzo through this alley is to step, however briefly, out of time.
Over the years, Il Terrazzo has served thousands of diners from around the world, and Victoria has voted it the city’s best Italian restaurant so many times the accolade has become an annual ceremony rather than a surprise.
The Food
The menu reflects the Italian ambition. Northern Italian cuisine, the kitchen’s anchor from the beginning, is expressed through wood-oven roasted meats and pizzas, house-made pastas, and the extraordinary abundance of West Coast seafood that arrives daily. The wine list, multiple-award-winning, extensive, and lovingly curated, draws serious collectors and casual enthusiasts alike.
Reserve early, bring someone you love, order the pasta, and stay for another glass. The alley glows, the courtyard is warm, and the welcome is waiting.
The Rooms
On any given evening, the six fireplaces are lit before the first guests arrive. Someone places the candles. Someone polishes the glasses. Someone sets the bread. These are small acts, repeated thousands of times over decades, and they are the substance of a restaurant’s soul.
The result is a room made to be lingered in: the warmth of real fire, the murmur of a full house, and a genuine welcome at the door.
The enclosed, heated courtyard, an architectural achievement in a Pacific Northwest climate, extended the restaurant's season and its mythology simultaneously. A candlelit dinner under the open sky, even in November, became a Victoria rite of passage. The sheepskin-draped chairs, the rustic walls, the old-world Italian atmosphere: each element was considered and deliberate.
On any given evening, the six fireplaces are lit before the first guests arrive. Someone places the candles. Someone polishes the glasses. Someone sets the bread. These are small acts, repeated thousands of times over decades, and they are the substance of a restaurant’s soul.
The result is a room made to be lingered in: the warmth of real fire, the murmur of a full house, and a genuine welcome at the door.
The enclosed, heated courtyard, an architectural achievement in a Pacific Northwest climate, extended the restaurant's season and its mythology simultaneously. A candlelit dinner under the open sky, even in November, became a Victoria rite of passage. The sheepskin-draped chairs, the rustic walls, the old-world Italian atmosphere: each element was considered and deliberate.
A New Chapter
On April 7th, Il Terrazzo passed from Shellie and Mike Gudgeon, who built it from nothing into a Victoria landmark over more than three decades, to a new group anchored by Parametric Properties, with day-to-day operations entrusted to the Top Shelf Management Group.
The handover was chosen with care. Shellie Gudgeon has agreed to stay involved through the transition, and the people, the rituals, and the standards that define Il Terrazzo carry forward under the new stewardship.
To the guests who have gathered here for decades: the table is set, and the next chapter is yours to share with us.
