Some seriously excellent food in the town of Cheticamp on the Cabot Trail, probably the best we had during our weeklong Nova Scotia vacation. For lunch, the chicken in the quinoa bowl was tender and flavorful and the bowl itself was delicious. The lobster roll was also very well made, traditional hot dog bun style and though it wasn't huge, there is obvious emphasis on quality over quantity. If you want to sit outside there is a covered patio as well as picnic tables, and a fire pit. Excellent service. Overall a really nice place to stop for a meal and highly recommended. read more

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Make a reservation during summer. L'abri brings shelter from the ordinary seafood cuisine. The menu entailed a good selection of seafood and a solid vegetarian/vegan quinoa bowl. I like spice but I got it on the side as the server warned people had indicated it was too spicy. The cocktails and dessert looked amazing. Ambiance is abrilliant. There was outside seating overlooking the water. Inside was nice. read more

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L'abri was one of our favorite stops while exploring Cape Breton Island. We came for lunch before hiking the Skyline Trail, and I'm so glad we did lunch instead of dinner because the daytime views overlooking the water were absolutely stunning. It was one of those places where you finish your meal and don't even want to leave. Our server, Teryl, was so much fun to talk to. She was friendly, attentive, and gave us some great recommendations. We ended up ordering the Crab & Lobster Roll with the truffle and Parmesan fry upgrade, the Large Summer Salad, Tuna Tartare, and the Seafood Linguine. Teryl highly recommended the Seafood Linguine, and we're so glad we listened because it ended up being my favorite dish of the meal. Everything was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully prepared. The only thing that caught me off guard was the Tuna Tartare being served with corn chips. They weren't bad by any means, but I was expecting something a little more elevated to match the presentation and quality of the tartare itself. Between the incredible waterfront views, delicious food, and Teryl's wonderful service, L'abri was a highlight of our time in Cape Breton. If you're driving the Cabot Trail or heading to Skyline Trail, I'd absolutely recommend making this one of your stops. Just do yourself a favor and go for lunch so you can soak in those beautiful views! read more

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L'abri is a very popular fine dining restaurant in the town of Cheticamp, near the famous tourist sites Cape Breton national park. I've tried both dining in and takeout at this restaurant during a trip to the Maritime and this is my favorite restaurant of the trip. My tip is to make reservation in advance, they could get packed easily. The restaurant has a bright setting and is located next to the Ocean. Service here is attentive. Our waitress was proactively providing us sharing plates and utensils and kept us notified on the food order status without us asking. Every single dish here was also delicious. Expect $80-$100 per person for dinner. The dishes we've tried include: - Scallop crudo: very fresh and refreshing. Everyone in the group loves it. - Seafood chowder: Flavouring and ingredients are both decent. - Lobster roll with summer salad: One of our favorite dishes. Fresh and sweet lobster mingled really well with the refreshing salad with sweet strawberries and walnuts. - Lobster dinner with steak: decent portion and premium cut of the steak. - Grilled salmon: Not bad but not wowing. - Seafood linguine: Very decent portion of seafood and very flavourful. - Chocolate raspberry cake and creme brulee: Classy way of cooking. Old school but very delicious. Overall, this is a perfect place if you are looking for something nice to eat to enjoy your relaxing vacation. read more

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Service was great. But the food could have been better. The mussels had good flavor, but slightly overdone. The fall salad and chowder were good. The salmon was not good at all. Tasted like a previously frozen piece of fish, overcooked and drowning in dill cream. Maybe we should have played it safe and ordered the burger or the lobster roll. We had high hopes, but came away disappointed read more

We had a great meal. Local oysters and the crab and lobster roll for me. Awesome view on the patio across the bay to Cheticamp island and sunset. A really great meal with great food and friendly service read more

We pulled in at 8:40pm, worried if we could still be seated, to a full parking lot and a warm welcome by the staff. Our server Teryl was wonderful- attentive, thoughtful, anticipated our needs such as being cold outside - for which she first offered blankets, then moved us inside after a table opened up. The sunset view from the picnic table was gorgeous and the indoor ambiance was also great. Food was delicious - especially the broccolini & the seafood chowder - & quick to come out. Pricey but worth it especially after a long day. Highly recommended! read more

L'abri cafe, restaurant et bar - Outdoor patio - Canadian (New) Near Me - Cheticamp, Nova Scotia

Excellent choice. Beautifully decorated with an eclectic, re-used style. Personal & friendly service. Quick and affordable. We shared the seafood chowder and fish and chips - delicious! read more

Horrible service.. horrible server. Terrible attitude, and very snarky towards the customer made us feel very unwelcome.

After hiking the Skyline Trail we tried to get into our first choice but it was booked. So we yelped other nearby places and while this one was booked their outdoor seating is first come first served. We got a picnic table with on the lawn in less than 10-minutes but we were there way before sunset. Service was friendly and efficient. Lawn seating had a beautiful and open view of the St. Lawrence Bay . Menu is super small but had a good selection of local seafood. They didn't over promise or under deliver. Bonus, our truck camper fit in front but we also saw a class B RV park in their lot. read more

L'abri cafe, restaurant et bar - Entrance and parking lot. - Canadian (New) Near Me - Cheticamp, Nova Scotia

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Bonus points to L'abri for coming up with a menu that's seasonal, local, and relatively diverse in cuisine. Went here for dinner and got: - Homemade Sourdough: The crust was overly toasted (almost tasted a bit burned), but the inside was nicely soft and chewy. - Salt and Pepper Squid: Pretty standard take on calamari. Good portion size though for the price. - Fish Butty: This was like fried fish in a sandwich. Sounds a bit weird but it worked. The fish wasn't overly battered and super fresh, the bed of slaw it was on counterbalanced the fried-ness nicely, and the potato bun was nicely soft and springy. - Trout Amandine: Great sear on the trout, super fresh quality. But what made this dish stand out was that bed of sweet seaweed (?) it was on. The great flavour contrast made the dish memorable. Place was super busy, so service was just a tad slow, yet friendly and helpful. The views are stunning so highly recommend you book a reservation since this place gets packed. If you're in the area and in the mood for something different, definitely stop by L'abri. read more

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Nous avions réservé à ce restaurant en espérant une belle soirée pour notre famille de cinq personnes -- un souper spécial pendant nos vacances, à près de 360$. Lors de la réservation, nous avions bien précisé que nous souhaitions une table avec vue sur la baie. Or, en arrivant, on nous a offert deux choix : une table à l'extérieur (en pleine saison des mouches à chevreuil) ou une salle sans vue, à l'arrière. Nous avons demandé poliment s'il était possible d'être assis dans la section vitrée, qui semblait pourtant partiellement vide. On nous a répondu que cette section ne pouvait accueillir de groupes de 5, alors qu'à l'œil, des tables de 4 étaient juste à côté de tables de 2 -- facilement combinables. Le serveur a ensuite changé plusieurs fois de justification : il fallait que ce soit précisé dans la réservation (ça l'était), puis que l'autre salle était " réservée ", et finalement qu'il n'y aurait " pas assez d'espace pour les serveurs " (un argument difficile à croire, ayant moi-même été en restauration). Bref, malgré notre réservation anticipée, nous avons été placés à l'écart, sans vue. Le service n'a malheureusement pas rattrapé l'expérience : nos plats ont mis une heure à arriver, alors que les enfants -- pourtant calmes et affamés -- attendaient. Le serveur n'a jamais proposé de pain ou d'amuse-bouche en attendant. Une fois les assiettes à peine terminées (et même pas toutes), il a commencé à les ramasser avec empressement, en demandant s'il pouvait déjà emballer les frites du garçon qui n'avait pas fini. Aucune file d'attente à la porte, rien qui justifiait cette précipitation. Puis, clou de la soirée : alors que nous comptions prendre un dessert, finir notre vin et peut-être un digestif, le serveur nous a lancé : " J'imagine que vous êtes pleins et que vous allez prendre une crème glacée dans le village? "... Ce genre de commentaire, après un repas aussi coûteux, laisse un goût amer. Mon conjoint l'a interpellé, et il s'est immédiatement excusé, mais le mal était fait. La nourriture était correcte, sans plus. À ce prix-là, on s'attendait à une expérience culinaire soignée : les huîtres (26$ pour 6) sont arrivées sans cuillère pour la mignonnette, sans sauces ni explication. En résumé : ce restaurant semble réservé à une certaine clientèle. Si vous y allez avec des enfants ou des ados, oubliez la belle vue (sauf si vous mangez sur une table à pique-nique). Nous étions venus pour une soirée conviviale avec une bonne table; nous sommes repartis déçus, mal accueillis et un peu humiliés. Dommage. read more

Spectacular food! Very happy that they also had great food options for those with gluten allergies like our daughter. Really enjoyed the tuna crudo, crab dip, fish and chips (GF!), tikka masala, garden salad and broccolini. Great service too- great evening overall- read more

Food was delicious. Ambiance was low key. Our server was a little off, but we got everything

Had dinner here one night - the food was amazing and the staff were wonderful. Highly recommend.

Excellent seafood chowder as well as veggie samosas. Nice selection of local beers. Small restaurant so making reservations recommended.

I was so excited to try L'abri based on great reviews. However it seems as though more recent reviewers agree with our lacklustre experience. We were sat at the worst table in the joint. What's with Nova Scotia people and providing terrible service to those who are under the age of 40? I digress... Our server didn't smile once and seemed annoyed that we came to dine at their restaurant. The service was incredibly slow and the food was not up to par for the price we paid. The salmon was over cooked and for the price you would expect a few pieces of steamed vegetables to be provided instead of just one choice of side. The steak was OK - over cooked but I liked the mushrooms and the sauce. I would come here for a drink because the place is cute but go get a slice of pizza down the road for dinner. read more

L'abri cafe, restaurant et bar - Canadian (New) Near Me - Cheticamp, Nova Scotia

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It is very hard to find restaurants in Nova Scotia, nevermind any of superb quality. That's the pleasant surprise we found in L'abri! We walked in starving after a long day exploring the Cabot trail. We had no reservations but we were practically begging for a spot. The bartender that works here was superbly friendly! She was so accommodating of us even though we didnt have a reservation. She let us sit at the bar and order food and apps while we waited for a table. She were there for my parents anniversary so she was kind enough to chat with my parents about their history together. Finally we got a beautiful little table outside where we ordered the BEST GLUTEN FREE FISH AND CHIPS I have ever had in my life. The manhattan I ordered with it was also delicious and superbly crafted. My parents loved the broccoli rabe they orderer and the desserts too. We wish this place was closer to home because we would come every weekend. Spectacular spot you dont want to miss if you're driving the cabot trail! read more

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Great spot to enjoy a lovely dinner in Cheticamp! The town has many family style bar/restaurants and we tried many but we were craving a good quality food and a date night, and this place was the spot to be! The place itself is so well designed with a breathtaking garden and view on the ocean and Cheticamp island! We started with local wine, Tidal bay for white and a house blend for red, both refreshing and tasty. The house baked bread and Broccolini were soo good, the bread was warm with scallion/green onion butter and when you start with that, you have to push yourself to stop! The broccolini is a creative mix and we enjoyed the spicy touch on! For main, i had a medium rare steak and it was devine!! The Reuben sandwich was rich in flavors with the soup! Service was perfect, and they were so thoughtful to speak to you in your preferred language (French or English) with great helpful suggestions and some of the history of the place. Definitely this spot made our journey! Keep it going folks! read more

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One of the most memorable meals of my Cabot Trail adventure! L'Abri is beautifully located along the coast, with views of the ocean. The food is superb and delicately plated. Don't forget to try the carrot cake - one of the best I've ever had! read more

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Drove around Cabot Trail and ended up in Cheticamp for the night. Decided to check out L'abri cafe for dinner. It was a pretty busy night and it looked like the whole place was packed. We had a reservation and waited a couple of minutes at the bar while the table before us finished up. We decided to go for the tomato bisque (with grilled cheese) to start. This was probably my favourite dish of the night. The bisque was flavourful and the grilled cheese was perfect for dipping. For our mains, we got the haddock fish fry, the fricot acadien (soup) and the roasted seasonal vegetables. I was slightly disappointed with the fish fry as the batter was over fried past the point of crispy. The fried potatoes and the beets were good accompaniments. The fricot acadien was hearty but nothing to write home about. Roasted vegetables was probably the best of the batch. We ended up ordering a chocolate fudge cake for dessert. Good textures but flavours were a bit lacking. Service was ok but felt a bit hectic with the waitress throwing down food on the table pretty abruptly (I'm sure it's cause it was a busy night). I would come back for the tomato bisque and grilled cheese but would probably not be ordering anything else. read more

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WOW! This place easily deserves ALL the stars! The food, most importantly, was next level - absolutely phenomenal!! The ambiance is soft, airy, relaxed, sophisticated, quirky, and unique! Someone here has a playful spirit! Everything we ordered was extraordinary! The seasonal salad was SO fresh-tasting! It was refreshingly different from what I'm used to! Herbs, pickled vegetables, salted blueberries- wow! And my favorite, the sweet crunchy seedy crumbles on top! The roasted cauliflower with curried chickpeas was equally dynamic and diverse in it's flavor and texture profile! The shaved almonds and dried fruit was an unexpected delight against the earthy, savory, creamy texture of the rest of the dish! The Cod Au Gratin was top-notch as well! Layers of sliced potatoes, mashed potatoes, the perfect amount of cheese and cod. They come together to form a divine example of this classic. A dollop of brown mustard, pickled red onions, and herbs hit additional notes on the pallet. For the dessert, we had the special of the evening; upside down maple cake with a mixed berry compote. SO scrumptious! Perfectly caramelized and baked right into the pastry. It far exceeded my expectations and now is one of my all time favorite deserts ever! They should definitely make this a regular item on the menu! Our server was the absolute best! So attentive, prompt, and helpful! She offered a sample of everything on draft before we ordered our beers which is really above and beyond nice! Knew the menu very well and was managing other roles as well! Someone give this place an award! read more

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I really wanted to love this spot. Its decor is cute, and the views from the outdoor dining area are breathtaking. As other reviewers mentioned, I would skip a meal and go for drinks to enjoy the sunset. The service took me aback, and it was not consistent with the East Coast hospitality I've experienced. Sadly a smile and a simple "hello, welcome" never came. Now onto the food; the onion rings were the star of our meal. By the time we (my family of 4) got out food, our pallets were already tainted by the lacklustre staff. As noted at the start of this review, I wanted to love this spot. It should be a stop for the views, but the food and service were sadly a 2*. I'm hopeful it was just an off night, but we will certainly not be back. read more

L'abri cafe, restaurant et bar - Canadian (New) Near Me - Cheticamp, Nova Scotia

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I recently visited L' abri hoping for a delightful dining experience, but left thoroughly disappointed. As someone coming from New York City, I had high expectations, especially considering the prices here were even higher than what I typically pay back home. Unfortunately, the quality of the food was far below average. Every dish we tried was excessively salty, completely overshadowing any potential flavors. The high cost might lead one to expect gourmet cuisine, but what we received was anything but. Overall, the overpriced and poorly executed meals left a bad taste in my mouth--literally. I cannot recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking a quality meal, especially at such steep prices. Save your money and your palate; look elsewhere for a better dining experience or maybe a slice of pizza down the block, for the least, you are not wasting your money, your taste, and your time!! read more

2 years later, and just as good if not better. L'abri had done an amazing job through the pandemic at creating delicious food and wonderful service. I can't even describe how good this restaurant is, especially in Cheticamp. A true breath of fresh air and absolutely amazing. Ploughman Platter: 9/10 Crab dip: 9:10 Mussels: 10/10 Caesar Salad 10/10 Salt Cod Gratin: 8/10 Fish n Chips (with truffle parm fries): 9/10 Cauliflower (add falafel): 8/10 Burger & Fries: 10/10 read more

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The waitress was rude, staff are rude, gossiping right in front of customers, food was over priced for what they give you, these truffle fries were $16, barely any parm on them read more

L'abri cafe, restaurant et bar - Canadian (New) Near Me - Cheticamp, Nova Scotia

The first impression is that Halifax or Montreal or some other big city is calling and wants their restaurant back. The food here is so good and the ambiance is and waitstaff are so hip in a cottagecore dance party way, that this place feels like a slice of urban chic in a uniquely cape breton setting. Love it. Tuna tartare, scallops, broccolini, quinoa bowl, spinach salad, lemon cheesecake, and chocolate cake were standouts. Allergy and celiac friendly, too. Cocktails were also great. Server was super nice. Ambiance of antiques and farm tables was rounded out by gorgeous sunset view over the water. Service is not super speedy, but that means there's all the more time to enjoy cocktails, vibe to the music, and bask in the view. read more

It was the end of session so the menu was a bit limited but all the food was lovely. The Scallops were the best we had on the whole trip, including Digby. I had the haddock and chips and they were excellent. The Lobster roll (actually lobster, crab and a bit of jalapeno) was my wife's favorite of the whole trip. read more

We were pointed to the worse table in the house when, even 1 hour later the restaurant was still half full. After securing something better; waitress told us we had to be out in an hour. The couple next to us left without ordering. Floor dirty, one extra side plate brought to our table dirty. Enough of that! The food was mediocre. The beer was Nova Scotia craft and therefore good. Where does one eat in cheiticamp? read more

Nice restaurant and spectacular views when visiting Cheticamp. We did not have reservations but were able to walk in and get seat outside. Good food and service. Compared to the many seafood restaurants we visited in NS, this was good but certainly was not our favorite. read more

First of all, it was hard to find this restaurant. If you're heading southwest on Cabot Trail, you can't see the name of the restaurant at all. If you're driving the opposite direction, you may be able to spot the name on the building which is facing southwest. Glad we found it! Didn't know we had to make a reservation, they had no tables available, so we sat at the bar. Ordered Crab & Lobster Roll with shoestring fries, and Chili Sesame Broccolini. My husband and I ordered the same thing. The bartender was our server. He was so nice! The food was amazing, so amazing that we went back the next night, and ordered the same things! read more

Excellent cafe in town. Very cute interior, wonderful service, and amazing food. Lobster roll: amazing!!! Huge portions of lobster, giant sandwich. My husband said it was better than Boston. Acadian soup: this was whatever to me but husband liked it. I thought it was very salty. Oat milk cappuccino: amazing, obviously, because oat milk! Chowder: great, had huge chunks of the seafood and a delicious biscuit. Kale and beet salad: anything with toasted almonds has my attention, and it didn't disappoint. Really big salad and crisp and delicious and fresh. Honey donut: was not what I expected...very French and had too many eggs in it. I thought it would be like a cake donut, but it was almost like French toast texture. Also too sweet for me but husband loved it. But...expensive. read more

This place is an amazing find. We sat at the bar & had great service. Their cocktails are fresh, the seafood was delicious

This place is delicious! We went for dinner last night and then again for lunch today. We started with the traditional fricot acadian which was a fantastic soup. My husband had the Curry A La Canadienne this was a curry with an interesting twist of maple syrup. I had the fish tacos which had large portions of fish and a wonderful sauce with the option of sriracha if you want a bit of a bite to it. For lunch we shared the fish and chips as it is a very generous portion. Followed by their in house donuts. The donuts were more like a honey crueller/Chiro is the closet I can describe but you absolutely have to have it!!! It's nothing like the donut you get at Tim's it was so good we got some extras to go. To top it all off the service was amazing!! I wish I could move this restaurant back home so I could go again and again. read more

Small place with really good food, service , and drinks. Everything was fresh and well prepared. Highly recommend!

We tried to go to L'abri last night and the hostess was extremely rude about us not having a reservation and did not even give us the time of day; she walked away mid conversation. So - we came back today WITH A RESERVATION for lunch - specifically for a booth on the outside patio. When we walked in, the hostess from the night before looked at us and then walked to the other side of the room, leaned back on a column and started texting on her phone. Eventually, a second, pleasant hostess came over from behind a counter and told us to sit where we want (there were only 2 tables occupied inside) and when I explained that we had a reservation for a booth outside she said that those were full. We sat down and looked at the lunch menus she gave us for 25 minutes before another woman came over and took our drink order. (There were only three tables occupied inside) This lady said that we were "given the wrong menus" because it was no longer lunch and we had to order from the happy hour snack menu now (dips and french fries and salad). We could not order real food because they waited to serve us until it was no longer available. A couple who walked in after us was allowed to order from the lunch menu!! The owner called the kitchen and said to allow us to order lunch. Another hour went by. We "snacked" on "shrimp and crab dip" that was only cream cheese and unidentifiable blended fish parts. The fish I ordered came back and was good, but not great. The seasonal salad that my mother ordered was listed on the menu as having berries, pickled vegetables, fresh greens, fruit, lobster, etc. it was only wilted greens, one piece of old apple, and rotten, smelly "lobster" mush. Disgusting and inedible. Our waitress was very nice and agreed that it looked bad. She did not make us pay for it. Even though my fish was good, the fries were soggy as if they had been sitting out all day and the lemon they served to me with my fish was already used and soft and mushy and all the zest had been scraped off of it like it was used to cook. I cannot believe that the chef actually served the things he served to us. SAD. Waste of time. Did not AT ALL live up to the hype. read more

L'abri cafe, restaurant et bar - 22 dollar "seasonal salad" - Canadian (New) Near Me - Cheticamp, Nova Scotia

My wife and I were looking for some place to eat that was different from the norm during our trip to Chéticamp in Cape Breton. We saw this place online and figured it was a new place given that there was not much about it online. So, we decided to try it! We are so happy we did! It is self seating, but when you walk in, the decor is fantastic. It is a very warm and comforting place. We were greeted with a smile and great customer service after we sat. The atmosphere was very nice. I ordered the Fricot Acadian soup and my wife ordered the Caesar salad - both were excellent. I, personally, would go back just for the soup. The main courses did not disappoint either - Le Coq (a take on a grilled chicken sandwich) and Fish & Chips. My wife and I decided to stay and finish the night with a nice glass of whiskey from Glenora (Glen Breton 10yr - very good). Our waitress was kind and held great conversation and she always had a smile on her face. Overall, we, truly, enjoyed our time spent here and believe that L'Abri has a bright future ahead. We will be back next time we visit the area!!! read more

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We came to Cheticamp just to dine here. The chef used to be the executive chef at the Drake in Toronto and specializes in fermented vegetables. We were going to eat seafood and lobster rolls but our server saw we were adventurous and told us that although the lobster roll is good, that it is just a lobster roll. If we wanted something special we should start with fish tacos followed by the chicken and then the steak. We decided to listen to her advice and we are happy we did. Those tacos were so crunchy and delicious. Guacamole on bottom, topped with a red vegetable medley which I should have asked how it was made. The chicken dish was the highlight of the night. Crispy on top and juicy in the center. The roasted vegetables were to die for. Mixed with bacon and a red pepper purée that I'm still craving. The steak was good (tenderloin cut) and they gave 2 pieces which is perfect for sharing. You need to eat here. Compliments to the chef for the great food and to our waitress for the recommendations! read more

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We had an excellent experience at L'abri. The setting with water views was terrific! We tried several appetizers and especially enjoyed the broccolini!! We also enjoyed the quinoa bowl- it had a unique combinations of flavors that went well together! Service was excellent too! read more

We cannot day enough good things about this place. They really have the only game in town if you want excellent coffee, creative cuisine, and delicious craft cocktails. Not to mention that their staff and ownership are all top notch and go out of their way to serve. If you head to Cheticamp, don't pass by L'abri. Try their fish and chips. One of the BEST we have ever had. read more