Second visit review: not as happy the second time. The calamari sauce seemed heavy and thick, not what I expect for«fresh tomato sauce.» I also had the jambalaya, which seemed to be made using the same sauce, and too much of it. I’ll know better next time. My wife liked her halibut, and the cheesecake was great. The $ 40 appetizer-main-dessert early bird special is a lot to eat, so my wife ordered that, and we shared the first and third courses. I ordered a less expensive main. When the bill came, our mains had been swapped to maximize the bill – not a big deal, so we didn’t mention it, but still uncool. Original review: I call this the«stealth restaurant,» because it’s been there a year, and I only heard about it today. They don’t accept reservations(I would prefer they did) but we had no trouble getting seated at 6 p.m. on a Friday. The reception was prompt and friendly. The service was good and pleasant. We had a whimsical group and the waitress took us in stride. We skipped over the cheapest red wine, an anonymous«blend,» and went for the $ 38 Pinot Noir(when did wine get so expensive?). To start, I had a candied beet salad, which was delicious. The main courses were all great, everyone loved them. The portions were good, the presentations lovely. The desserts were good as well. Dinner for 2 with half a bottle of wine, with tax and tip, was around $ 120. I think we’ll go back.
Leah W.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Dartmouth, Canada
I can’t say enough wonderful things about the dining experience here! The server was very attentive and friendly, and knew the menu well. And the food… I’ve never had better oysters, and as a connoisseur of crème brûlée — please try their sampler!
Geri B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Halifax, Canada
Excellent service and ambiance. Delicious food. So glad to have found this place. You MUST have the oysters!
D'Arcy L.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Terrebonne, Canada
Fine dining in Dartmouth with a crafted menu that represents plates that are both artistic and delicious? This is the place that was recommended by a work colleague so we decided to dine and check it out. For me when it comes to dining options I much prefer the quaint, charm and effort an individual or group of people put into creating and crafting a restaurant building a customer base and maintaining consistency. I’d rather spend my money here rather than go to the Keg or an upscale chain. Reason being is I much prefer to support a small business in an ever growing world of big box and large chain homogenization. The evening I visited there was a good choice of most meat, seafood and carb options plus salad. I love seafood and usually can’t ever get enough so I went with the halibut with lobster hollandaise mashed potato, green beans and cherry tomatoes. The Halibut was a bit more overcooked to my liking but everything else was perfect. Not overcooked to an un edible degree but however a tad more than I prefer. This was mentioned politely to the server and she mentioned that the regular chef was not in the restaurant but the message would be passed along. The lobster hollandaise was sinfully delicious! Cherry tomatoes added a bit of zip/acidity and the mashed potato was creamy and enjoyable. Décor of the restaurant was warm overtones and clean. It was mentioned in warmer weather they have an outside patio/terrace. Overall I’d rate it 3.5÷5(some go up some go down. This one goes up because of the nice service and experience) just based on my fish but overall quite nice.
Colleen D.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Dartmouth, Canada
What a great experience. Looking for somewhere to meet a friend for dinner we checked out their menu online and decided to give this relatively new place a try. We arrived fairly early in the evening so easily scored a table, it filled up as the evening wore on. We decided to order a few things from the menu and share. For starters we ordered the escargot and the mussels. The escargot, of which there were plenty, came in a garlic cream sauce covered in a parmesan crust, served with crostini to soak up all that delicious sauce(see the picture above). Sooo creamy and rich, seasoned just right, we both loved it. The mussels, came in the shell in a white wine and garlic cream sauce with a house made chorizo sausage. The sausage added a whole new taste dimension, almost like a low country boil. Another winner! Took us awhile to pare down our choice for entrée but finally settled on the halibut and the wild mushroom pappardelle. The halibut came with a lobster hollandaise, surrounded by stewed cherry tomato salsa, mashed potatoes and green beans. The fish was cooked perfectly, the lobster hollandaise came with a couple large pieces of lobster even! My only wish was for more hollandaise. The wild mushroom pappardelle, wild mushrooms in, you guessed it, a cream sauce, was so out of this world good. We weren’t disappointed with either of our choices. Continuing on our«cream» theme, we had to have the cheesecake of the week, a chocolate hazelnut cheesecake with caramel. We only ordered one dessert to share and I’m not sure how we managed to stuff one more thing down but we did! The service was great, attentive at all the right times and friendly in the right doses. I had never been to the restaurant that previously occupied the space but we spoke with the owners and learned they’ve done some renos that create a very warm sophisticated atmosphere. Having never been before I was a little confused as to how to get to the restaurant, if they haven’t since, could maybe spruce up the entrance and add a sign to direct people up the stairs. As we rolled ourselves down the stairs we both decided we will be back! Seems a perfect spot for a dinner date or dinner with a group of friends. Hope they are around for a long time.