Cicero’s on the Water

I don’t normally do this but this really bothers me… Visited Cicero’s in Porters Lake for the second time this year as a large group. On New Years Eve every couple received a coupon for $ 10 off a later visit. It did state one per table. Eight of us (4 couples paying separately) returned last night and were told that only two couples could use their coupons. We are extremely disappointed. If one person were paying for the entire table I can see only one coupon be allowed. The coupons were only $ 10 off. We all paid separately. When I expressed my concern with Sharon upon leaving I told her we were disappointed. She responded «I guess you will leave disappointed». Wow. Since January we have spent as a group over $ 1000. I have arranged both of these visits and New Years was all of our first visits. We absolutely love their food and atmosphere but their customer service is definitely lacking. Not sure if any of us will return:(We are hoping the owners are willing to make this right so we can forgive and forget;)

Went for a drive down the shore and stopped at this restaurant for an early dinner. It is now one of my favorite places. It was July, so the view was beautiful looking out to the water. We decided to sit on the deck which was nice. As soon as we sat down, the server noticed that the sun was directly on us and propped open an umbrella to provide shade so we could see. At that time, the menu items we picked were an appetizer of digby scallops ($ 14), followed with an order of Gnocchi ($ 14) and Lasagna ($ 15). Everything was cooked perfectly, tasted amazing and was completely satisfying. It has been awhile since I have found a great lasagna, and they have it. The gnocchi was also the best we had ever had. My husband loves it, and this is his favorite — it had the consistency of a warm mozzarella, so good! Service was excellent, server was very friendly and knowledgeable regarding the menu items. Also, near the end of our visit, a pianist starting playing the piano in the middle of the dining room providing a wonderful ambiance to finish dinner to. It was a really great find tucked away on our travels, and definitely a place to take others to for a nice dinner out.

Fantastic food every time! Nice escape from the city. All time favorite chocolate hazelnut cheesecake!

We were here when it was quite busy so our server was a bit flustered, I don’t think it was as good as it could be. The food however was delicious. I had the lobster ravioli and it was perfect. Cooked just right with a lot of filling and just the right amount of sauce. I’m still talking about it days later.

One of our favourite escapes.
We love everyone at Cicero’s and drop by pretty regularly. An excellent choice for dinner or brunch (the brunch is amazing!)

On our way to Halifax, we stopped at Cicero’s based on other Unilocal reviews. Thank you! We plugged the address into the car GPS and ended up driving right past because the GPS was wrong. I’m so glad we drove around the block again because it would have been unfortunate it we didn’t get to experience all that Cicero’s on the Water has to offer. So be on the lookout as soon as you make the turn from Marine Rd onto Post Office Road.
We sat on the back porch, which was delightful on a sky blue day. The menu is loaded with so many delicious offerings it was hard to make a decision. The service was impeccable. Sometimes when you opt for al fresco you end up being ignored, but that was not the case at Cicero’s.
I had the «BOAT CLUB» Focaccia Stuffed with rosemary roasted chicken, crispy pancetta, provolone, dried fig relish and chili aioli with sliced tomato and romaine. It was excellent.
My companions had the salmon and the haddock sandwiches and they were just as satisfied with their meals.
I posted photos so you can see how mouth-​wateringly good the food is.
We went on to Halifax thinking if we couldn’t find a place for dinner that night, we’d drive the 20 miles back to Cicero’s.

Great meals with a fabulous deck when the weather is accommodating. My office was yearning all winter for Cicero’s to restart their seasonal hours, so we could have our take out lunch once again. The food never disappoints, their pizza are crisp and tasty with fresh ingredients. The sandwiches and crepes are sublime, the Seafood and Spinach Crepes are raved about by everyone who has tried them. The staff are always friendly and professional. Each time I order I try to have a different meal and have never been disappointed. This place is worth the drive to those of you not lucky enough to live in our little community. Just FYI, if it’s not rush hour you can get from Halifax to Porters Lake in just over 30 minutes it’s really not that far for you Halifax Unilocalers to come out and try this gem.

When my mom told me she wanted to go to Cicero’s for Mother’s Day lunch, I said something like «where/​what now?!». Needless to say, Porter’s Lake, although beautiful, is not an area I get to often (especially since I live in Clayton Park) so I didn’t know this place existed until she mentioned it. *I can’t say exactly when it opened, but I know it’s not very old*
I tell ya, you would drive right by this place if you weren’t looking for it — it’s nestled in a lakeside spot below the road, and you have to take quite the hairpin turn to screech into the steep driveway (be careful!). However, the spot is definitely the selling point for this place. Luckily we were there on a fabulously sunny day so we headed straight out to the deck to enjoy. In the end, it was not the smartest idea because I ended up with quite the sunburn on my face and arms (eek) after sitting for a couple of hours. Now, obviously the responsibility for this falls on me and not touching up my sunscreen/​moving inside. However, I think it would be nice either some umbrellas or a canopy were added to the deck for the comfort of future diners — the deck is such a selling point here that it would be a shame for people to be forced to sit inside to avoid the direct, glaring sun. You can see the view from inside too, of course, but for me that just doesn’t compare to being in full view of the lake.
When we visited, they had a special Mother’s Day prix fixe menu that included your choice of starter, entrée, dessert + tea or coffee for $ 30, which I thought was a good deal so we decided to order from that (unfortunately, to that end, I can’t provide much commentary on the quality of items from the regular menu).
I chose the spinach salad as the starter, which I liked but there was too much spinach for me (it actually gave me a weird aftertaste?) and not enough dressing (or any?). It was topped with tiny rolls of prosciutto, which were yum, but I would have liked a few more. The salad wasn’t bad, just not quite enough flavour for me.
For my entrée, I had the lobster linguine, which was delish. The sauce was very creamy and it was a good portion. My only complaint would be that there was not enough lobster (there were only maybe 3 pieces and one was a back piece that was rather thick and stringy — I couldn’t eat it). That being said, I’m sure the price would have been much higher had there been more lobster, so you take what you can get sometimes.
I had the white chocolate, berry tart for dessert — the white chocolate sauce and fruit were both yummy, but I was a little disappointed with the tart crust — it was quite hard and therefore hard to cut into with a fork and eat. It was more like the consistency of a cookie than a tart. It was tasty, just hard and not what I was expecting.
These are small, picky complaints though — I really enjoyed my experience as a whole. I liked all the small ‘fine dining’ touches that made our time there feel a little «fancier» — the white shirts/​bow ties on the wait staff, the offer of fresh ground pepper and parmesan for various courses, the glasses of wine being served in small carafes, the modern dispensers and fixtures in the bathroom, etc. The décor inside this place is great too with a gorg orange sponge paint treatment on the walls and beautiful hand-​painted murals. It definitely looks like a little piece of Italy transported to the Eastern Shore. And, boaters? Cicero’s has their own dock, so you can literally sail/​motor right up, moor your boat, and come in for supper! What’s more Italian than that?!
Overall, this is a well-​run restaurant in a beautiful setting with good food and service — proof that if you are willing to drive a little bit further, you can sometimes find something special.