Gastown Meets Chinatown at the First Ugly Duckling x L’Abattoir
Collaborative Dinner, November 3
Two champions of West Coast cuisine unite as Vancouver’s L’Abattoir
brings its French-inflected flair to Victoria’s
innovative Chinatown hotspot, Ugly Duckling
For one night only, Victoria diners can experience the thrill of dining with one of Vancouver’s best restaurants — without crossing the Strait of Georgia.
On November 3, Chef/Owner Corbin Mathany of Ugly Duckling welcomes Executive Chef Jasper Cruickshank of L’Abattoir for an exclusive six-course tasting menu celebrating the best of BC. The evening will blend the refined French techniques and West Coast sensibilities that define both restaurants with the Asian ingredients and creative inflections that have made Ugly Duckling one of Victoria’s most acclaimed dining destinations.
In return, Chef Mathany will travel to L’Abattoir in Vancouver’s historic Gastown for a second collaboration dinner on January 27, 2026.
The November 3 tasting menu will reimagine classic French dishes — from beef tartare to magret duck breast — while showcasing the season’s finest ingredients, including Dungeness crab, golden chanterelles, and sablefish. Each course will be paired with wines curated and presented by L’Abattoir’s award-winning Head Sommelier, Andrew Forsyth.
Since opening in early 2023, Ugly Duckling has quickly established itself as one of Vancouver Island’s most distinctive and celebrated restaurants. Chef Mathany and his team apply their expertise in Asian cuisine and nose-to-tail cooking to the island’s finest seasonal ingredients. Named Victoria’s Best New Restaurant by YAM Magazine and a finalist for Air Canada enRoute’s Best New Restaurants 2023, Ugly Duckling continues to delight diners with tasting menus that reflect the evolving seasons of the coast. A graduate of Stratford Chefs School, Mathany previously helmed Hudson’s on First in Duncan, BC.
At L’Abattoir, Chef Cruickshank continues the restaurant’s legacy of culinary excellence in its storied Gastown space — a onetime jail located in the city’s former meat-packing district. Since opening in 2010, L’Abattoir has been regarded as one of Canada’s premier dining destinations, blending French technique with Pacific Northwest ingredients and earning Michelin Guide recommendations each year since the guide’s debut in Vancouver. A Vancouver native, Cruickshank was most recently Chef de Cuisine at Wild Blue Restaurant + Bar in Whistler, where he won the 2024 Canadian Culinary Championship.
L’Abattoir x Ugly Duckling: ‘Gastown meets Chinatown’
Monday, November 3, 6:30 pm
Ugly Duckling, 543 Fisgard Street, Victoria, BC
Menu details: uglyducklingrestaurant.ca
Reservations: Open Table
Tickets: $230 (inclusive of food & wine pairings; taxes and gratuity are extra)
Note: Since this one-of-a-kind tasting menu is set, dietary restrictions and preferences cannot be accommodated.