Refiner Diner

950 Yates St. Victoria B.C.| 250.884.5643 | www.refinerdiner.com

The Refiner Diner is a food truck with a rich history of fine dining backing it up.  On first glance, you might not peg owner Jonathan Pulker as having worked at some of the  best fine dining restaurants in Victoria B.C. (chef at Camilles and Cassis) and Montreal QC. He was one of the original chefs at Prima Strada and was the first person to man their ever-popular mobile wood-fired oven. He was also an integral part in designing the Prima Strada Bridge Street location.

Eventually, Jonathan decided he wanted to strike out on his own and in a way that was different than many chefs of his caliber and talent. He made the call to open a food truck; there weren’t many trucks around, and he would be able to express himself differently through the truck. He waited (and waited) for the perfect truck to come available and, on New Year’s Eve day, he got the call from a lot in Vancouver. Jonathan and a friend hopped into the car and drove to Vancouver to get his truck. Once home, he inspected the body and interior, knowing it would need some work, and then he called more friends to help him fix it. They set to work repairing the body, and putting in the full kitchen Jonathan wanted. Jonathan even learned to weld so he could work on it himself when his friends weren’t available. Once finished, the truck looked quite different from the original with its great mix of metal and wood accents. The Refiner Diner was ready to open its doors, er, window.

The food that the Refiner Diner serves is far from Jonathan’s fine dining background; you won’t find foie gras or sous vide veal coming out of the truck’s window. Instead, you might see various seafood dishes or sandwiches. The food’s style would be closest to that of New Orleans creole cuisine. A staple at the Refiner Diner is the Po’boy sandwich—baguette style bread with seafood, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayonnaise (there is also a falafel version). Another staple is the crispy cheese burger served in a brioche bun which has the perfect soft texture to marry with the crispy cheese. The crispy cheese has the flavor and texture similar to the edge of a grilled cheese sandwich that has touched the pan; crispy outside and soft, gooey inside. When Eat visited the truck, the specials were a Philly cheese steak sandwich or the Cajun fish tacos served with hot creole slaw. We opted for the Philly cheese steak, which was dripping with juices and had meat so tender it ripped apart easily.

As of late, the truck has been parked outside of Shatterbox Coffee at 950 Yates St. (Read the article about Shatterbox Coffee in the digital version of EAT here), but the truck does move around, as food trucks do. It can be seen at events around town such as Rifflandia, Rock the Shores, and Pride. Jonathan will also cater private functions such as parties, weddings, etc.. So if you arrive at your next “invite” and don’t see the Refiner Diner truck there, definitely head down to Yates St., and sample some of the fine, but not fine dining, food.