Jam Cafe
A downtown brunch room built around big breakfasts and steady lineups.
The original Jam, moose antlers and all, before there were three more on the mainland.
The breakfast room James and Candy Walmsley opened on Herald Street in 2012, in the old Herald Street Cafe building. Southern-leaning plates the size of hubcaps, walls hung with old crates, a catcher's mask and moose antlers from a local auction house, and a line out front most mornings the regulars treat as part of the deal. The biggest dishes are named for the Walmsley kids: the Charlie Bowl for one son, the Cracker Jack for another. It is loud, warm, and unapologetically big. Comfort food turned up loud, for people who came hungry and meant it.
The move
Order the Chicken French Toast: buttermilk fried chicken on thick brioche, hot honey, jalapeño sour cream, maple BBQ. Or the Charlie Bowl, famously as big as your face. Add a buttermilk biscuit and the jalapeño cornbread for the table. Come hungry or leave with a box.
Go when
Walk-in only, no reservations, 8am to 3pm every day. Get to the sidewalk near the 8am open or the weekend mornings will cost you a real wait. Sunday at 11 is the worst of it, so come then only if you have nowhere to be.
“A funky new diner dedicated to the most important meal of the day.”
Times Colonist
Known for
Perfect for