The restaurant landscape in Sooke has changed thanks to the latest upscale but very accessible eatery. Markus’ Wharfside Restaurant, located just off West Coast Road a few steps from the Government Dock, is serving highly-inspired and authentic Mediterranean cuisine six days a week. Proprietor, head chef and restaurant’s namesake Markus Wieland and his wife Tatum, opened for business in November 2003. The former house, then retail shop, has been transformed over four months into an unadorned but still eye-catching dining room. Everyone of the nine, white table clothed tables offers jaw-dropping views of Sooke Harbour, Whiffin Spit, Juan de Fuca Strait and the Olympic Mountains.
The walls boast a revolving art show, featuring the works of Sooke artists, not only on display but for sale. When Wieland, by chance pulled into Sooke last spring, he immediately recognized the treasure by the harbour. The unique location, that surprisingly had zoning which allows a restaurant, was too good to pass up for the Mexican-born chef. Many restaurants operate in strip malls or spots with less than ideal views, he said. The “for sale” business was a chance to fashion a dream. Wieland who speaks German, Spanish, French, English and some Italian, has an impressive pedigree when it comes to the art of preparing food. A supporter of the Slow Food Movement, Wieland, whose family immigrated 15 years ago, owned the Alabaster Restaurant in Vancouver’s Yaletown for five years. Wieland honed his ability to turn olive oil, fresh vegetables, olives and seafood into sublime fare during a four-year cooking apprenticeship in Germany, in Konstanz at “Seehotel Siber”. He also chopped, minced, sautéed and created in Switzerland, at “Petermann’s Kunstuben”, Italy at “Sole di Ranco” and Southern France, at the “Hotel Metropole”, which explains his love of Mediterranean food. It’s evident in the lunch and dinner menu.
Using “first-class ingredients”, Wieland says, everything is prepared on site. Only the bread from the exceptional Little Vienna Bakery is purchased ready-made. This isn’t a restaurant where the pub fare is trucked in and simply heated up on a plate. The food at Markus’ will truly be crafted behind kitchen doors. “It is fine dining in an elegant yet simple atmosphere”, said Wieland.

By Shannon Moneo