Ma Belle’s Cafe

The coffee and bread was amazing. The bread was homemade, soft, fresh, and amazing. They also have. Great homemade jams.
Everything else was slightly under cooked and covered in grease. The eggs were underdone and soaked in butter. Sausages weren’t even browned and greasy. Bacon was chewy and again swimming in grease
Not my favourite breakfast place. Probably won’t be back.

I was passing through this area on a sunny Saturday morning in August (never normally in downtown Dartmouth), so decided ahead of time to try somewhere new for breakfast. This was the first that showed up in Google maps when I did a search by the area. Strange that I don’t recall noticing the place before, but again like I said, I’m not in the area that often. Luckily, as the phone navigated me right to the spot, there was a free parking spot on the street right out front. I stepped inside, sat myself at a two-​seater table by a window. There are only seven or eight tables inside (with only one four-​seater, and a group of five arrived while I was there, so they pushed two tables together). There is a balcony wrapping around the house and two tables outside were occupied, but you apparently have to order your meal inside first, and then they bring it out to you. Inside is just an old house, with some cute décor, very basic diner-​ish style, reminded me actually of my grandparents’ house years ago. The homemade smells and easy-​going feel make it very relaxing. The male server approached me at my table after a minute or two with the menu. Friendly enough, but not chatty. I decided to try the omelette with three toppings for 8.99 (so I chose cheddar, diced peppers and onion), which comes with toast, homemade salsa and baked beans. The salsa was a very strong vinegar-​like little blob of tomatoes & onion in a bowl, which I liked, but didn’t seem break-​fasty, so I ate it on its own. I requested home fries instead of baked beans, but the server said they don’t do substitutes. That’s disappointing, considering on the menu, beans and home fries as a side order are both the same price. I do understand why restaurants wouldn’t offer substitutes when one item is more expensive, but in this case, I think they should have. So I ended up requesting a side of home fries, knowing that it may be too much food, but risked it anyway. Luckily, it was all just right. The omelette was delicious, soft and fluffy. The home fries were served in a little metal basket on my plate, as if they belonged there in the first place. And the beans weren’t bad either, also served in a tiny bowl on my plate. Fresh toast and your choice of jam served in a small dish (vs the disposal jam packages that most places offer). My coffee was topped up twice while seated. I was probably in there half an hour. As I was paying at the counter to leave, a several more people arrived all at once, so with the place being very small, it would fill up easily. I’d recommend going early if you are really hungry, or risk a wait. (but don’t 90% of breakfast places have lines?) Either way, I wasn’t in LOVE with the place, but the food and cute house-​feel was enough where I’d definitely go back and try it for lunch someday.

I would suggest this joint to anyone who makes their way through dartmouth. The breakfast/​brunch was divine. Everything tasted fresh and flavourful. baked beans, eggs, toast, and definitely the home fries. even the chocolate turtle cheesecake was epic. Came back again because it was so good!

come in to my house!
I’ll be honest the place looks a little worn from the outside and almost. sketchy. But everyone should come here for a munch.
It’s a house with a very cozy feel, and old furnace and like 7 tables! It’s so cute.
the chairs aren’t that comfortable and I kinda wish our server would have gone over the specials for that day but this is all minor. Hey, people forget things!
I went with my bf and we sat right next to the furnace on a dreary cold day. So nice :3
we ordered the omelette which comes with a house salad and a scone. Yummmmy! I really enjoyed my salad. Even my man ate his.
He also ordered a panini and my goodness. It was sinful. Like… sent from the heavens. Am I EXAGGERATING?
… why don’t you taste it for yourself: D

I work just up the street from this cozy little shop, but never really have time to stop in, as I don’t really get a «lunch hour» per se. When I was trying to choose a location to have a birthday lunch with my Mom, Ma Belle’s popped into my mind. I went online to check out a menu and was very happy to see a tonne of vegetarian options. My Mom is vegetarian, and I’ve been one myself also, so I usually tend to stray towards the meatless menu items when I dine out.
It was busy when we arrived, but we were lucky to nab a nice little table in the corner. The décor is nothing less than adorable, evoking a real «grandma’s kitchen» kind of feel. We were quickly attended to and proceeded to put in our order. I ordered the veggie panini which included roasted peppers, tomato, homemade pesto and cheddar cheese. I also ordered a cup of potato leek soup. Mom chose the panini of the day which was tomato, spinach and mozzarella, along with the potato leek soup.
Both meals arrived fairly quickly and were delicious, not to mention extremely well priced. The paninis were done perfectly, the veggies fresh and the cheese melty. The soup was quite good, although could have perhaps used a bit more of the leek flavour. There were lots of yummy looking treats on display in the dessert cabinet, but because it was only lunch and we had some shopping to do, we didn’t want to be uncomfortably full.
We were both so pleased to have tried out this little gem of a restaurant and cannot wait to go back again! This time we will be sure to try out the desserts as well.

I like Ma Belle’s. Their soup is tasty, their omelets filling, and their paninis are great. I’m not a fan of that little leek salad thing that comes on the side (coleslaw?) but everything else I’ve had there has been great. Staff are very attentive and prices are reasonable. The décor is… quaint… certainly not a polished, fancy looking place, but the kind of place that feels welcome and homey.

A bit of a lack luster experience in my honest opinion
My order was a small cesar salad, a V cheese sandwich without the tomato [basically a grilled cheese sandwich]. My small cesar salad was an inch by inch plastic cup full of diced cabbage, leek and tomato which was down right pathetic. The sandwich wasn’t grilled at all and the cheese was still shredded and not melted at all [which also had a funny taste] the ONLY redeeming feature is the pancakes which awards at least one star. and I do admit, the desserts looked rather nice but I just wanted to get out of there after the poor meal…
My interests, time and money are best used else where

Was kinda pissed that there are several photos on Unilocal of what this place offers that they actually don’t sell. No breakfast burrito is sold here, and they don’t sell potatoes at all. No hash browns, no fries, nothin. The photos lead you believe different.

Great food. Excellent service. Warm and cozy atmosphere. Reasonable prices. Nice deck.

I’ve lived in Dartmouth for several years but hadn’t tried this cute little café until today. A very good friend and I stopped in for an impromptu breakfast of omelette (me) and French toast (her). It’s a cozy place — only about a third full around 10 a.m. — with lots of decadent desserts on display. Everything is homemade and the staff are very considerate of dietary restrictions. I can see how it could get a bit noisy and cramped during peak hours (and, as such, I think I’ll keep to the off-​times when I visit next), but the charm makes any visit worthwhile. Maybe next time I’ll give one of their treats a try — they seem to be very popular!

Deee-​lish!!!
This great, family owned restaurant is perfect for weekend brunch.
I just love it here. The food, the staff and the deserts… ohhhh the deserts!
All homemade, all fresh, all fabulous! (they use as many local ingredients as they can)
I particularly love the omelete with homemade salsa, homemade baked beans and toast with homemade jam. (their treats can be taken home as well — you HAVE to try their adorable, individually sized, to-​die-​for, coconut cream pie!)
If you have not given Ma Belles a chance, I don’t know what’s stopping you!

First time at Ma Belles this past weekend. We were smitten! I can’t wait to take my other family members there! Food is delicious.
James thought the panini could be a little less cheesy, but other than that, we enjoyed our visit!

Stopped in here yesterday for a late lunch/​snack type thing. I had the veggie panini with cheddar, pesto, tomatoes and peppers. It was good and came with a little dish of yummy homemade coleslaw (heavy on the onions, which I love!). The others each had one of the daily soups (cauliflower and carrot, and tomato basil). I sampled both and the tomato basil was my fave — so much flavor!
I had a sticky toffee pudding for dessert and honestly wasn’t big on it. Better for m waistline anyway!
They are gluten-​aware and know which menu items are GF and also have GF bread for the sandwiches.
I had passed this place many times and never thought abut going in, but am glad I did!

Great food especially deserts
Friendly and clean good prices.
Operated by the owners, and it shows, they care
RS Halifax

So I’ve walked past this place many times and always wondered if it was a dingy dive, or a hidden gem. I’m happy to report, it’s a complete hidden gem! Ben B. and I recently grabbed Sunday lunch at this place, and it was awesome from start to finish.
You feel as if you’ve entered someone’s living room when you walk in, as the place has some hidden rooms and the dining area is very cozy. Not a problem though, you’ll feel welcome.
The menu is large, and the tea list is very long. I really liked having all the choice of tea, and had one that I wouldn’t necessarily have tried otherwise. The waitstaff are super helpful, and even as I waffled on what to get, they joked along and patiently waiting for my decision. (Sunday AM’s are hard, ‘kay?)
The salad I had was perfectly dressed, and all the ingredients were finely chopped. I mention that because there is nothing worse than having to use a knife on a salad. The breakfast menu looked awesome, and I’ll be coming back for brunch soon, I can feel it.
Check out the baked goods display on your way out — I bet you won’t be able to pass up having something sweet. Oh, and apparently, they do a afternoon tea — something I’m sure is awesome as well as authentic!

I went here again today but this time by myself and it was a pleasant visit. The waiter was a nice gentleman and showed me a nice table by the window.
I ordered a coffee to start, and reviewed the menu. I ended up ordering Jamie’s Potato-​free Homemade Fishcakes. It came with a side salad and a piece of what seemed to be buttered whole wheat bread cut in 4 pieces. The meal was delicious and filling, but I couldn’t resist ordering dessert. I got a single cinnamon roll which they kindly heated before serving and it was amazing. One of the best cinnamon rolls I’ve had.

For my daughter’s 1^st birthday, we decided to get cupcakes from here as we had a both a lot of people, and a lot of little people. A cupcake to a little kid is really just a personal-​sized cake, without all the slicing and «How big of a piece do you want?» question asking.
We got vanilla cupcakes with fresh strawberry icing, and chocolate cupcakes with cookies and cream icing. It’s kind of sad that at this point in the baking industry you’re shocked when the icing actually tastes like what it’s supposed to taste like, but I’ll be damned if Ma Belle’s didn’t taste EXACTLY as described. The fresh strawberry icing especially is dead-​on strawberrytacular.
Aside from the food, the guy inside was really nice and made sure everything was good before giving us the cupcakes.
I would definitely get their cupcakes again for similar events, and I’m desperately trying to find time to get down there for lunch or high tea.

I paid my first visit to Ma Belle’s yesterday and discovered a sure bet for lunch in Dartmouth.
I was looking for a lunch spot in downtown Dartmouth and had heard about this tea room. It’s a small, cozy space with five or six tables and a small patio out front. With a definite local feel (I think Ma was the server who checked with us after our meal), the place could feel cramped, but we mostly found it charming with its décor of teapots and faux painted walls.
The three of us were quickly shown a table and proceeded to be intrigued by the menu which offered homemade quiches, sandwiches, paninis, soups, salads and breakfast.
Our table was right by the kitchen so we could see everything being freshly prepared and, best of all, the dessert case. I choose the special, a steak sandwich on soft pretzel bread with a garden salad. It was delicious. My friends chose the crustless quiche special which looked fabulous as well. They had quite a selection of teas as well as some more exotic beverages like sparkling lemonade and ginger beer.
While our main courses were great, the best part was dessert. We split a sticky toffee pudding that served warm oozed with sweetness and a very moist gluten-​free chocolate brownie. All that homemade goodness for three cost $ 55 and change. Very reasonable for such good food.
The service was friendly, attentive and fast. The next time I’m in Dartmouth craving a great dessert, I know where I’ll be heading.

What a wonderful little surprise this was!
Not that I ever doubted Kirk F’s strong recommendation, but I tend to get a little judgy about downtown Dartmouth (what? I used to live there… I’m allowed) what with all the random little coffee and tea shops that no one quite understands. Still, Ma Belle seems like a diamond in the rough and I just hope more people give it a chance before we lose a little gem!
I popped in around 3pm today for a late lunch and a little work. With free wireless, a nice menu of salads, soups, sandwiches, and sweets that runs straight until 5pm, and a quiet but charming décor, I was in luck.
In terms of ambiance, it feels like a British B&B in all the right ways. Dainty-​casual, if there is such a thing. The service was friendly and attentive, the owners behind the counter were friendly and chatty, and I didn’t feel uncomfortable grabbing a bite to eat with my laptop as my only date.
The Mediterranean panini was fantastic with fresh roasted veggies and wonderful flavours. And I may or may not have been a glutton and eaten a whole piece of carrot cake by myself afterwards. C’mon…someone told me it shouldn’t be missed and she was RIGHT. I’m a cream cheese icing snob and theirs rocked my world.
I’m SO excited to come back for a couple of reasons. First, sometimes I’m in the mood for a nice breakfast on the Dartmouth-​side of the harbour that’s a little more nutritious than a Two If By Sea croissant. Second, the novelty of doing High Tea some day (served between 3−5pm) sounds like a themed event I could really get behind.
All in all, had a great time and am already looking forward to my next visit!

I’ve been to Ma Belle’s a few times for breakfast/​brunch and am consistently pleased!
Ambiance:
While they may have recently (December 2010) have done some interior work, I can’t imagine they’ve done much to remove the coziness. This is a small space! If you’re looking for a breakfast spot where you can sit in a dark secluded corner, this is not it.
If you’re looking for a bright, energetic spot that is warm and inviting, this is the place for you.
Clientele:
It’s true the demographic does tend to skew older (it is right across the street from a seniors’ home) but that’s one of the things I love about it. I can take my mother there and we both feel like we fit in. Also, not once have there been children. I leave it to your personal judgment to decide on that one.
Food:
Quite a selection for a relatively small restaurant. Fair bit of vegetarian options. And the desserts look heavenly!
I’ve always enjoyed everything I’ve eaten at Ma Belle’s; it’s good food at a good price. Food has, at times, taken a while but I chalk that up to the small size of the kitchen. It’s always worth wait!
Service:
The service is solid; staff are friendly — outgoing but not overbearing. You really do feel you can chat with them.