Tempest Restaurant

Outstanding service and fine food. Was the perfect cap to a beautiful day in the valley.
The pork belly was full of flavor and masterfully prepared. As well the scallop starter is a must have. Overall a great dining experience. Will return to try other dishes in near future.

Smoked Haddock Chowder
Dragon’s Breath salad
Scallops with pork belly
Halibut with warm potato salad
New owner = Chef since 2011
Chatty server

It’s really great to see small menus accommodate vegetarians with something other than peppers, onions, and mushrooms. I’ve traveled from Halifax twice to come here and the service and food has been well worth the trip.
The daily soups are like nothing I’ve had before. Very new and refreshing tastes that will keep this place on my favorites list.
If I could give the place one criticism, I would say they need a fresh coat of paint in the washrooms, but it’s otherwise unbeatable.

Take this review with a grain of salt, please. I only visited Tempest for lunch, and will definitely adjust my opinions after having dinner there some other time.
You know how when you visit a fancy restaurant at lunch, you kind of expect a lot? Something special? Well, I had my hopes high for lunch at Tempest. And I was disappointed when instead, I thought it was just, you know, fine.
I had a grilled cheese which, yeah, doesn’t sound fancy. But I’ve had some crazy fancy, delicious grilled cheese sandwiches at other places and know it can be done in a creative, delectable way. Instead, what I got was just very average. Overall, I didn’t think the lunch menu was very special or creative, and most of the others at the table also thought their dishes hovered somewhere around the «OK» area.
The service was fantastic though, and I’ll definitely try again — just not for lunch.

After being one of the last people in the region to hear about a lil restaurant with a big reputation in Wolfville, I made it into Tempest over the weekend for a lunch with five friends before diving into a weekend of Valley wines.
No reservation? No problem. They had plenty of room in their luxurious dining space and I even caught a glimpse of a lovely outdoor patio off the side of the building. Perfect for sipping on some of the cocktails we enjoyed from the bar. I’d highly recommend the mojito but perhaps caution against the Aperol sparkling cocktail depending on your personal taste — it was just a bit too bitter for me.
The lunch menu was a one-​pager packed with all sorts of delicious comfort foods riddled with locally sourced ingredients. And why wouldn’t it be? Annapolis is perfect for working directly with farmers so it’s awesome to see Tempest taking full advantage. Prices were much cheaper than you can expect from their dinner menu so it’s a great way to experience this high end restaurant without blowing the budget.
The Applewood Smoked Cheddar grilled cheese was an immediate order for a few at the table while the pulled pork sandwich and specialty burger of the day enticed the others. I went with the thin crust pizza special which was a Greek made with arugula pesto. Our server was happy to answer questions, make recommendations, and frankly laugh at our jokes with is always very important.
Unfortunately, I found the food a bit of a letdown. While portion sizes were awesome, my pizza was pretty skippable. Despite having an arugula pesto sauce throughout (a flavourful favourite I make at home all the time) and noticeably fresh toppings, the only thing I could taste in every bite were the olives. Sure, we spent a healthy amount of time that afternoon raving about how good the fries were but it didn’t seem like any of the other mains were very memorable for what we were expecting.

The first time I tried to go to Tempest for lunch, they were closed (Monday). I got lucky the second time and they were open. Their menu is quite good and it’s hard to choose what to order. The weather was nice so we sat on the patio and were able to tie up the dogs on the other side which was convenient. The server was very friendly and cool with the dogs as well. I ordered the pulled pork pizza special while my mom ordered the fish cakes and my dad had the pulled pork poutine with the Mulligatawny soup (an Indian soup). Everything exceeded my expectations and the soup was especially good. I would love to come back here for dinner sometime.

I have been here so many times and have never once been disappointed. Fresh, fresh local food (they’re part of the slow food movement), prepared to perfection on a menu that constantly rotates to feature new items (try the fig pizza or lobster risotto — so good!)
Upscale décor, super friendly, knowledgeable staff — even the owner is great. I cannot think of one thing that was less than superb on all of my visits.
Thanks, Tempest. You are exactly what a restaurant should be.

Sea Bass was excellent! Service superb

Service was totally great. Attentive and helpful.
Mussels were excellent… dessert which was simple, was great.
Modern décor, which was a very pleasant change.

Great fine dining restaurant. Excellent service. And uses only the freshes produce…

My husband and I were looking for a late dinner; something cozy & good… maybe a bit trendy after being in a more remote location the week before, with a serious lack of restaurants. We were walking around Wolfville and came across Tempest — lo and behold, there was free corkage on Thursdays and guess what day it was? Decision made, my husband ran across the street to the liqour store (oh so convenient!) while I went to get a table.
My first impression was «perfecto!» — this was exactly what we were looking for… a cozy, dimly lit restaurant with a bunch of adults enjoying good food and wine. The service was great — they were pretty much packed but managed to find us a nice table for 2 near the bar.
Now, the food. I’ve since read some awful reviews on Google and am quite surprised. As far as I’m concerned, a restaurant that uses fresh, local ingredients, and takes time to cook it right deserves a huge thumbs up. 80% of their food is gauranteed to be from NS — wonderful! As for the food taking longer than normal to come… we’re not at McDonald’s folks! I don’t mind waiting longer for a meal cooked with such care while I enjoy some local wine with my husband.
For an appetizer, I ordered french onion soup — it was one of the best I have ever had. For dinner, I had a lemon risotto. At first I thought the serving was too small, but it was actually perfect. And delicious. I’m dreaming of it right now as my belly grumbles.
My husband ordered Beef Tenderloin, served with veggies and onion rings, which is chancing it… being from Alberta, we are definitely beef snobs! You know what? The steak was amazing and my husband was sure to tell the waitress that it was as good as many steaks he has had at home, which she took as a huge compliment to the chef.
The dessert was the only disappointment… it tasted like apple pie that had come out of the fridge & it wasn’t heated at all.
However, overall, I have to rate Tempest as excellent; it’s been awhile since my husband and I enjoyed a dinner of such high quality together, in a perfect little pocket of Nova Scotia.

I’m so glad I got to try this restaurant on my visit to Wolfville since it’s one of my Haligonian friend’s absolute favourites, and I’d heard her rave about it on several occasions. The ambience was really chill and laid-​back chic with it’s red and black décor. Although we were seated as a large party, the service was absolutely spot-​on and we felt neither neglected or smothered with attention.
The food was really glorious. The highlight of the meal was the dessert of chocolate fritters in a white chocolate soup –even if it didn’t come with ice cream as advertised. I still think about that dessert and how deliciously divine it was. Tempest is justified in calling it their ‘signature’ dessert — definitely try it.
As for the rest of the meal, as Dan C. mentioned, everything was very well done except for an undercooked risotto that had a hard texture to it but whose flavour was superb. I liked my seafood stew and loved my husband’s beet salad, while the fish and chips were probably a little overfried but still excellent.
In summary, Chef Michael Howell’s restaurant shines in casual fine dining. You can tell that much care is taken in the preparation of the meals –particularly seafood– and the overall dining experience. A superb 4.5 stars.

It’s taken me awhile to write about Tempest and not b/​c of any bad experience, mind you, but b/​c of how amazing this place is — service– and food-​wise. I just needed a little time to wrap my mind around the exquisite experience we had there almost 2 weeks ago!
As Ruth D. already mentioned, this resto and its chef are all about well prepared food which showcases local and seasonal ingredients. That in itself is no guarantee that you’re getting good quality food, but in the case of Chef Howell and his crew… I’d say it’s a given. Talking to our Haligonian friends who recommended this place, they told us that he specializes in seafood and that this resto is one of their all time faves for the Nova Scotia area. So, on a blustery Sunday after a nice healthy day of hiking, we came out here per our friends’ recommendation with a group of 13 adults and one child.
First off, we didn’t have reservations for the entire party. Four members of our group, however did. So with a simple call to the resto, they inquired as to whether or not they could add all of us to their original reservations. Apparently, no problem! Score! Second, although my wife and I arrived a 15 minutes later than the others in our party (who we had told beforehand to go ahead and start w/​out us), the server quickly got us up to speed with specials and even *apologized* that our apps would not be out at the same time as the others in our party, but that we would be «caught up» by the main entrée! Whoa. Apologize? Where in today’s world (esp. the US) would you get that kind of service??? Super nice — but I could prolly just chalk this one up to the Maritimes’ hospitality.
By the time we ordered our food and sat back to relax a bit, I was able to take a good long look at the surroundings here. I love the décor and ambience. Everything is understated yet well thought out and placed. There were leather chairs strewn throughout the resto to give diners some space and separation. There was at least another big top and we never once felt like we had to shout to be heard or to talk over others conversation. Very relaxing environment! The ambience had that feeling of sitting in someone’s open spaced living room. Very cozy. On to the food…
I’ll base our experience on what I tasted. For starters, my wife and I ordered the seasonal seafood stew and roasted beet salad. The presentation was impeccable. Both servings were large and very colourful. The seafood in her stew was perfectly done — the large PEI mussels were amazingly fresh and tender, cooked perfectly. The fish (haddock?) in her stew was also done well and everything married well to the tomato based stew. The beet salad was very fresh and the acidity of the light vinaigrette complemented the greens, sweetness of the beets and the pecans perfectly — it was a nice contrast of textures and very refreshing as a starter.
For the mains, we ordered a lobster risotto and the fish n’ chips — yes, I was still on my fish n’ chips kick! I felt that the portions for the two were a bit off — the fish n’ chips seemed huge while her lobster risotto seemed a bit on the small side. Overall, presentation was again fantastic. Her risotto had a subtle drizzle of pesto that complemented the starchiness of the arborio and the sweet lobster. My only minor complaint on the risotto was that it was a bit on the al dente side more that I’m used to. My fish n’ chips was a piled high serving with a side of creamy slaw to complement the starchiness of the hand cut fries. The breading of the fish was crispy but not too light. I actually liked the batter recipe. The fish was a bit unwieldy and I think b/​c of the inconsistent thickness from end to middle… it may have suffered a bit from being overfried at the ends. The middle seemed alright… but a bit tougher than I would have preferred. The slaw was alright but not entirely inspiring — it seemed a bit more traditional which prolly fit better with this dish.
For dessert, we succumbed to trying their signature dessert — the Belgian chocolate fritter in a white chocolate vanilla bean soup. Oh man, we were not disappointed! I was afraid at first that the dessert would be too sweet — however, it was perfectly sweetened — not too saccharine that I needed a glass of water or coffee to clean the palate. The creaminess of the white chocolate vanilla bean soup married well to the little balls of fritter that oozed with a dark Belgian chocolate when you broke into them. Ah… so nice.
While I eyed the other desserts and entrees while eating our meals, I was completely impressed by the presentation and serving sizes afforded by the resto. There was no skimping out on course portions — with the exception of our risotto. And the prices were surprisingly affordable!
If you haven’t tried this place out yet, you should! This should be a mandatory tourist stop for all visitors to the Maritimes! Thank you Chef Howell for providing us one of the best meals we had on our trip! Amazing!

First you have to know that Chef Michael Howell is the current Director of Slow Food Canada, meaning everything served at this charming restaurant is local, seasonal, usually organic, and always delicious.
Truth be told, we’ve never had dinner there, but every time we take a drive to Wolfville in the Annapolis Valley — it’s only about an hour or so from Halifax, you can be sure we drop by for lunch. In fact, it’s just steps away from the Wolfville Saturday Farmers Market, another great stop.
I think my favorite… and the one I often dream about is the lobster risotto. I’m drooling about it right now.