Wonderful respite coffee house in Bear River! On an…read moreunusually hot and muggy day, SCR offered a comfortable air conditioned space with strong wifi. The cold brew Sissiboo coffee was fantastic! We ended up not staying for lunch, BUT the salad, veggie burger and homemade quiche all looked great! I also noticed they offered the tiniest cheesecakes. Perfect for people who only want a little bit when it comes to dessert! We liked this place so much, we're planning to circle back around at the end of our trip!

Between August 28-31 of this year, I visited my girlfriend's family cottage in Bear River...all the…read moreway from Vancouver! At first, this village looks dull and sleepy, but things are happening in Bear River. Residents are looking inwards to agriculture and local talent rather than outwards to tourists for economic stimulation. One example can be seen in the Flight of Fancy art gallery, which features local and provincial artists, and another can be seen in Sissiboo Coffee Roasters. The unique name 'Sissiboo' was derived from the Sissiboo River in southwest Nova Scotia. This river was named by a Loyalist settler who mistook a Mik'maq who was pointing out six owls ('six hiboux') instead of pointing out the river. Stupid colonialists. Based in the historic 'Rebekah' building, Sissiboo was started three years ago by Erin Schopfer and Jon Welch. After many years of analysing and learning about the coffee industry, Erin and Jon made the careful decision to launch a micro roastery in their hometown. Jon checks each batch by eye, hand, and smell at least four times during his roasting process - a process that is applied to each seven-pound batch. Each batch has an individual roasting time which has to be explicitly followed, a few seconds too long and the batch takes on an undesired flavour. This is different from most roasters, which employ laptops and software and crazy expensive machines to monitor their beans. Erin and Jon do not yet have a storefront or café, but I think this is a no-brainer for their brainchild. I have tried three of their roasts: Fundy Storm (Peru, dark), Tobeatic Wild (Guatemala, medium), and Fly by Night Decaf (Peru, swiss water, medium). I did not like the lack of body and bitter finish of the Tobeatic Wild at all, but Fundy Storm is great as both a dark pourover or espresso. They do, for your information, have an espresso roast as well called Night Owl!

Excellent homemade pastry, great coffee and lovely service. And there's an art gallery upstairs…read more All sorts of artisan-produced items for sale. There was a steady stream of customers in the late morning. Good for them. The Sea Biscuit deserves it.

Great drinks, we had a coffee, a London Fog and iced chia latte with oat milk. Plus a slice of Key…read moreLime Cheesecake.

The coffee is excellent. So much so that we bought a pound of beans to take back to the French…read morePress in our RV. And the staff could not be more friendly. Take a break from smelling the flowers and stop in to smell the coffee.

Good scone. Espresso inexplicably cold. They were generous to allow us travelers to use their rest…read moreroom before we ordered.

Great local spot. Affordable pricing. Great food. Friendly service. Fantastic atmosphere. Quick…read moreservice. Knowledgable.

I dropped in here a week ago and ordered the Mediterranean panini sandwich without onion. It seemed…read moreto be an easy order. When it came, the side was listed on the menu as vegetables. I got three slim Julien slices of carrot. Nothing to really complain about, also nothing to write home about either. Getting to the sandwich, I had one bite and immediately spit it into a napkin. I opened it and it was filled with green peppers. The waitress came by and I asked why the green peppers, the menu states "sweet bell peppers". I asked for red or green peppers and she took it away to fix the sandwich. They didn't give me a new sandwich, they picked off the green peppers and replaced them with red peppers. It was not great as it was no longer hot, but edible. I had some difficulty eating as I couldn't get the image of someone's fingers picking out the green peppers. Here is the kicker, while I was waiting for the disassembly and reassembly of my sandwich the manager came by with a menu. She pointed out the sandwich comes with bell peppers and green peppers are bell peppers. Although that is on it's face true. The menu states "sweet bell peppers ". This clearly refers to ripe bell peppers as red, orange and yellow that are ripe and sweet. Contrasting this is the green bell peppers as that is bitter or sharp it it's flavour and liked by those that prefer this bitterness. The manager was simply demonstrating she didn't know or care enough to know the difference between the menu and the substitution of green peppers. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

This all volunteer outfit has a limited but outstanding menu including chowders, wraps, paninis,…read moreand fresh baked goods. An excellent place for a quick bite while visiting Digby Neck.

Sip Cafe checks all my boxes for a great coffee shop: an attractive, comfortable space to hang out,…read moreindependent, non-commercial vibe, friendly staff, baked goods made in house, and of course good coffee. I only had an Americano and a muffin so I can only judge by first impression. The coffee was decent and of course made from locally-roasted, fair-trade-certified beans. The chocolate espresso muffin was good but was kind of "cake"y; it lacked textural interest like chocolate chips or a pleasingly overbaked top. Good flavor though. As I sat with my coffee and planned my day I took in the surroundings. Clean and modern yet retaining a cozy, homey feel. Wood tones and brick dominate the decor. I perused the other food offerings and found a fairly limited selection of baked goods. Several muffin types were available but no croissants, cookies, scones etc. It was late in the morning though so they may have sold out of them. They have breakfast sandwiches made to order, lunch sandwiches, salads, and soups. All looked good. A whole counter dedicated to gelato! All empty though; maybe it's just served in summer? An astoundingly large selection of teas, the many canisters taking up most of the wall space behind the counter. Wish I liked tea! And - very unusual for a coffee shop - beer and cider (all local, craft brands) and wine! Probably coming back tomorrow for beans to take home and maybe sandwiches for a picnic lunch.

Coffee is good, food is mediocre. Service depends on who is behind the counter. When Sip first…read moreopened the food was great I feel bad saying that it has lost something along the way but it's true .

We discovered the Barn this morning! What a great place for coffee and pastries. And a place to…read morecatch up with friends or make new friends. I had the banana nut muffin and is was truly the best banana nut muffin I've ever had! It had a mix of nuts, seeds, a smattering of mini chocolate chips and a drizzle of icing. Add a light shake of sea salt, and you have found my ideal breakfast treat. My husband had the apple cinnamon crumble muffin. We made an audible "mmmm" on his first bite. Our Americano and latte were exactly as we hoped. If you have time to linger, go upstairs and sit on one large leather couches. We met some native Nova Scotians and never felt rushed. And if we were made of money I would have bought one of the beautiful hand-dyed silk scarves on sale one the first floor. Thank goodness we are here in Mahone Bay for a while... we shall return!

My husband and I visited here this morning for a quick bite to eat and some coffee. He ordered the…read morejalapeno chive scone and an Americano, I ordered the raspberry orange white chocolate scone and a chocolate espresso mocha. Everything was delicious, the staff were pleasant and friendly, and the overall vibe of the atmosphere was incredibly calming and relaxing. They also sell various coffees and teas as well as gifts. This is a great spot to go to to relax or socialize, and we'll definitely be back the next time we visit the area.

We were here three times last week and will come again this week as we are staying very nearby…read more It's the perfect place to enjoy coffees, super fresh baked goods and delish sandwiches and salads. The staff is so friendly and there is wonderful local art including photos and books all over the walls. No wifi so bring your hotspot or go over to the library 50 ft away to work after indulging.

The matcha latte was delicious The beautiful humans…read morebehind the counter were so friendly and helpful. Loved the little coffee spot.