Sooke Harbour House looks to its gardens and “New Canadian” cooking under executive chef Leroy Borrega

The Story

Sooke Harbour House, located at 1528 Whiffin Spit Rd. on Vancouver Island above the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is in a new phase under executive chef Leroy Borrega.

The property’s modern story stretches back to 1979, when Sinclair and Frédérique Philip bought the site and helped build it into a destination restaurant known for growing vegetables, herbs and edible flowers and working with nearby farmers, fishermen and foragers.

After years that included ownership disputes, closure and renovations, the restaurant eventually reopened, and Borrega’s kitchen is now shaping the next chapter.

Borrega’s route to Sooke Harbour House runs through the U.S., Asia and Australia before landing in Calgary, with work at restaurants including Shokunin, Maven and the Dorian Hotel. He says he was told in Calgary that Sooke Harbour House had “a very, very big impact on their chef careers” and he describes bringing his own direction to the role rather than trying to recreate the past.

In the kitchen and on the grounds, Borrega’s focus is on a “New Canadian” style of cooking shaped by his Filipino heritage, Japanese technique, his travels and ingredients he finds on Vancouver Island. On the property, he points to produce and herbs being grown for the restaurant, including greenhouse tomatoes and strawberries and Vietnamese cilantro described as already finding its way into his cooking.

Borrega also shows guests crops being produced on-site, including quince trees used in dessert and vegetables and herbs that include examples such as pineapple sage, nasturtiums, lemon balm, chives, artichokes and bay trees.

While the restaurant is currently focused on à la carte dining, the evening included an early look at Borrega’s tasting menu as part of the ingredients-first approach. The menu begins with thin slices of raw scallop dressed with a white soy and sugar-cane infusion, finished with Vietnamese cilantro from the greenhouse and edible flowers from the property.

Other items described include cherry tomatoes served halved with a yuzu miso dressing and nasturtium; Haida Gwaii king salmon on a bed of garlic rice with a peach beurre blanc, balanced with yuzu foam; and beef tenderloin with a take on surf and turf, paired with potato puree and a light aerated tonnato made with B.C. albacore tuna dispensed tableside from an iSi siphon.

Borrega said, “I want to be No. 1 again on the Island,” and he framed his plan as finding his own direction rather than cooking someone else’s version of Sooke Harbour House.

The early tasting-menu details connect the flavours on the plate to ingredients being grown around the property, reinforcing the restaurant’s emphasis on local sourcing as the current chapter takes shape.