Murray W.

It's not often that I'm able to check out restaurants that are this far off the peninsula, so while making a day trip out to Peggy's Cove with my wife, we stopped in for dinner on our way back into the city. It was somewhat early for dinner, with us arriving just before six, so we choose to sit out on their back patio on that sunny day. The menu is fairly chef-ed up, but nothing that's overly bold or avante garde. We ended up going with the Wednesday date night special - two drinks, a shared app, two entrees and two desserts for $70. The price was certainly right, and the mains that we wanted were included in their options. For our appetizer, we got the sausage rolls - a classic hors d'oeurve, but made in house. These are one of my wife's favourite things to eat, so it was an easy choice. The locally made sausage had a great flavour and the pastry was nice and flaky, but at $10 on the regular menu, it's a high price point for four little rolls. Thanks to the frugality of my parents when I was growing up, I'm quite familiar with pork chops. Edible Matters' offering, however, is a step up from my dad's overcooked grilled ones, or mom's Shake and Bake (TM) chops. Coming with a sherry and lavender cream sauce, smashed potatoes, and fresh green beans, it was the kind of meal that should be eaten outside on a sunny summer day. The pork was tender and moist, and the sauce had just the right amount of light floral flavour that didn't make you think you were eating fancy soap. The smashed potatoes were a vibrant yellow, with some grill marks from before they were smashed up, and made for a nice change from the de rigeur regular mashed potatoes. My wife had opted for the chicken and bacon rigatoni for her entree, and while it's one of the cheaper ones on the regular menu, it's a hefty dish. The oval plate-cum-platter was piled with rigatoni, the aforementioned proteins, pine nuts, and generous slices of parmigiano, all in a cream sauce that was enough so that everything was coated, but wasn't swimming in it. There was so much to this dish that my wife gave the last bit of it to me to save room for dessert. Over the course of our meal, I had noticed that the patio had filled to capacity and that the flow of dishes seemed to be drastically slowing down, so I wasn't surprised when we hit a snag when getting our dessert. First of all, we hadn't yet chosen what we were going to get, so it was a while before we were able to flag down our waitress to put in our order. Lemon desserts seem to be my thing lately, so I went with their lemon tart brulee, while my other half got a peanut butter tart. There was another awkwardly long wait while the harried waitresses tried their best under the circumstances, but there was obviously issues with understaffing in the front and back of the house. That all said, once we did get our desserts, they were very good. My lemon tart was extremely light and fluffy, and the brulee added a nice contrast in texture. Vanilla bean whipped cream added another layer of decadent richness. My wife said it was the best lemon tart she can remember having. Her peanut butter tart had a mousse-like texture and what more can you say about the classic chocolate and peanut butter pairing? We indicated that we were looking to get out in a hurry for plans that we had, so another waitress snagged our bill and we paid inside. I was a bit disappointed that we were so rushed, because I wasn't able to peruse their in-house grocery area, with various prepared soups, bread and other items.  It's too bad that staffing issues put a bit of a damper on a fantastic meal, but great food is still great food, and that's how we'll remember it here.

Tara M.

What I love about Edible Matters: - open airy space with dark hardwood floors and delicious amber lighting. - windows along the kitchen where I can sit and watch them create my meal. - the cucumber lemon water (so good) - the food (at least what I've tried so far) What I didn't love about Edible Matters: .... .... .... *crickets* Right, that's just it there wasn't anything I didn't love about Edible Matters. I think the kinks have been worked out and all is well at this newest establishment off of Hammonds Plain road. We went on a sunny Saturday afternoon and almost immediately knew we would love what the place had to offer in the way of food, atmosphere and just plain old "what a great way to spend an early Saturday afternoon". I had no idea what to expect as we walked in. The first thing that really catches you're eye is that you walk into a "market" like atmosphere. When they say they use local produce, meats and dairy they aren't joking. You can buy the exact same things they are using in the kitchen. That's commitment folks. Commitment to not only saying they use local but proving it as well. The menu is simple. Sandwiches, soups and desserts. But let me make this clear: The food is not simple. It's complex even when coming between two pieces of homemade bread. Meegan and I always go halvies on food so that we get to taste two items instead of one. This time we went with the chicken club sandwich and Tomato Pesto Sandwich. Both a win in my book. The bread was thick cut and toasted to perfection. The chicken club was my favorite of the both but I won't lie I licked my fingers after eating the tomato pesto as well. The homemade kettle style chips were gone in a few seconds. I opted for a bowl of butternut squash soup as a side and it was fabulous (I would have licked the bowl if not out in public) and the bread and butter pickles that accompanied the meal was like a little dessert in my mouth. The only reason I'm not giving it a 4 star? Cause I want another excuse to go back and re-review this place like something fierce. Seriously kudo's to the genius behind EM. This place is new so be a little patient as they work out kinks of being new (Front house staff is a little overbearing if not overly eager to help), but go with a an open mind and a appetite (and someone else so you can go halvies) and you're probably gonna love this place.

Meegan D.

I have wanted to come by Edible Matters since I heard it opened on the Hammonds Plains Road. It's not in my neighborhood, but any place that fosters fresh and local food is worth the trip for me to try. I was not disappointed. If you're going for the first time here are a few tips: You order at the counter and get a table number. There is fresh citrus water to the left of the counter which you can refill as you like. Wait staff will bring your order over to your table for you to enjoy. There is a full pantry and bakery of local goodies to take home with you. I adore the staff outfits of jeans, white EM t-shirts and black aprons. They had plenty of staff on for a Saturday afternoon and they managed the steady crowd well. I think they are getting into their groove since opening, I really think this spot is an amazing addition to the Hammonds Plains area. Its a beautiful space, perfect for brunching and for sunny day lunching. I'm especially excited about taking a venture out on a rainy cold day as fall and winter approach to hang out by their fire place and enjoy a hot drink from their espresso bar.

Katie D.

Today was the first time that my husband and I tried Edible Matters, and we will definitely be coming back! This restaurant & bakery has a perfect balance of cozy atmosphere, great food, a variety of special teas and coffee, and they support local farming. They also have many gluten free and vegetarian options so everyone can enjoy their meals. We came during the weekend brunch. (I recommend coming early, because by the time we left around 12 noon there was a line of people waiting to be seated and the parking lot was so full that drivers were getting "creative" finding a spot to park in.) My husband had the Chicken and Waffles: the chicken was fried nice and crispy, perfectly seasoned and the sausage gravy was deliciously rich! Also, the waffles themselves were beautiful and fluffy. I had the EM Breakfast Biscuit sandwich: the biscuit was crunchy on the outside and soft and buttery on the inside. It had a perfectly cooked fried egg, crispy bacon as well as home made pesto. It came with a side of kettle chips and pickles. Yum! I should have taken another photo to show off how good it looked once I cut the sandwich in half and you could see the inside, but I couldn't resist just eating it. I also had my eye on the Smoked Salmon Lovewich, so I think next time we go I'll give that a try.

Tim B.

So, it's 1830 and dinner is in the oven, when the power goes out. It's either BBQ from frozen or hit the trail. Difficult choice. We'd been meaning to try Edible Matters for dinner ever since we first visited last year, so here was the perfect opportunity. To cut a long story short, my daughter ordered the night's special, pasta with chicken and sausage; wife went for seared haddock and I chose the free range chicken. All three were nicely prepared, though the sauce with the haddock was assessed as a bit too thin and the fish was a little dry at the edges. The pasta was superb, with a very generous portion of chicken and two varieties of sausage, one of which was quite spicy. As for my chicken .... On the first bite, I remembered what chicken used to taste like when I was a kid. For the most part, today you get water saturated, chemically injected meat flown/shipped in from God knows where and it tastes of nothing. Not this beastie! Subtly flavoured, perfectly cooked, succulent. The veggies were superb as well. Two out of three ain't bad and we will definitely be back.

Martine M.

I went to EM for the first time today to celebrate my friend's birthday over brunch. The food was delicious, servers attentive, and the new pub has a great atmosphere. I had the tomato pesto sandwich with prosciutto and my friend had the French toast. Both meals were very good. I topped mine off with chocolate chip and chocolate decadence cookies and she had the carrot cake muffin. There wasn't a crumb left on the plates!! I'm looking forward to my next excuse to drop by EM :)

J B.

I had a pleasant time at Edible Matters - really friendly staff, good service, and decent food. Unfortunately, my French toast was a bit anemic - very little browning on the outside and not really custardy enough on in the inside (my friend's gluten-free version was much browner). It was tasty, though. I enjoyed the housemade yogurt, which was pretty rich. The out-of-season berries tasted okay, but the cantaloupe was pretty nasty. My disappointment might have just been due to poor ordering - my friends enjoyed their eggs benedict. It was fun browsing all the edibles to take home. The pastry case didn't do much for me, but I liked the sound of some of the ice cream flavours. I noticed the gluten-free bread was pricier ($9.50) than grocery store versions.

Angela M.

We visited Edible Matters for brunch this past weekend and it was a fantastic experience. There was a bit of a wait, but the staff were quick to acknowledge it and were really friendly and polite. The food was fantastic. I went with the eggs benedict with roasted potatoes and it was delicious. The coffee was great and the fresh baked bread we brought home was excellent. Edible Matters is everything you want from a brunch spot - lots of natural light, beautiful decor, amazing food, and lots of smiling relaxed faces. It doesn't hurt that they have an amazing selection of fresh baked sweets and all kinds of delicious breads, teas, preserves, and various other tasty things available to go. This will no doubt become our go to brunch spot. We can't wait to come back and try out lunch or dinner sometime as well.