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    Nena's Breakfast House

    3.8 (64 reviews)
    Open 7:30 am - 6:00 pm

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    NENA'S BREAKFAST HOUSE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Nena's Breakfast House

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    Menu board, Jan '17
    Murray W.

    Tucked away off my usual beaten track, Nena's has been quietly serving old fashioned, blue collar breakfasts for the past few years to north end Dartmouth and those like myself willing to make a trip there. I'm a shameless fan of breakfast foods, and have an added respect for a place with an all day breakfast, so with Nena's specifically being an all day breakfast joint, they get some extra points. Stopping by after a night shift to kill time before an early appointment, the small restaurant was empty except for a couple locals having coffee, and the lone staffer on duty. It's nothing fancy - a narrow layout with a counter, semi-open kitchen and walls painted in their yellow motif. It was, however, noticeably cool, which was probably great for the cook, but not so great for everyone else, and I left my coat on the whole time I was there. The menu is pretty lean, well figuratively anyway, with about 15 breakfast options and half that for lunch items. There's combinations of your various big breakfast items and other typical ones like French toast and pancakes, and Maritimer-favourite fish cakes. Choosing one of the big breakfast-type of meals would have been the best way to see how well they did things here, but their breakfast "poutine" was too tempting. With house-made homefries, bacon, sausage and cheddar covered in hollandaise, and an egg on top, its siren song of gluttony and saturated fats was too much for me to resist. Wanting to try out their house baked beans, I tacked on a side order. The food came in quick order since I was the only one eating, and what a pile it was. My plate of food looked like eggs Benedict on steroids, with my poached egg and a veritable sea of hollandaise covering a mound of homefries and meat. I cannot over emphasize how much hollandaise there was. I tried to not thick about the sheer volume of it, lest my heart immediately seize up like Wile E Coyote falling after realizing that after several steps that he had run off the edge of a cliff. I don't have hollandaise nearly enough, so I can't speak to the quality of this one with much expertise. It wasn't gritty so it may no have been a from-mix one, and had a pleasant, lemony tang. It was definitely thinner than I like a hollandaise to be though, and a thick, velvety sauce would have clung to the food much better. Nena's homefries are on the small side of the Homefries Spectrum, though not as small as the likes of McCain's hashbrowns. The crisp bits of potato stood up nicely to the deluge of hollandaise, although the chopped up bits of bacon and sausage mostly got lost in it, and I felt like their presence was not particularly abundant. That said, everything combined for a fairly tasty hot mess. I would have ordered some toast to sop up the leftover hollandaise, but a side of toast is a shocking $2 here. That might fly at a downtown location that makes its own bread, but that doesn't jive with this location's overhead costs and the bread they likely use. No thanks. The bowl of beans, while small, was mighty. I was worried about them initially as their sauce seemed more translucent than the typical tomato- and/or molasses-based sauces, but the worries were forgotten after the first bite. Maple-y and tender, these were some solid beans. The OJ the have here are the sad bottles of Fairlee. Nena's is slinging affordable grub that might not be award winning, but sure can hit the spot. **Cash only**

    Menu

    Not much parking at the building. Nothing fancy but food was good. Sausages are great! Service was good.

    Melanie M.

    I was so excited to hear an all day breakfast place was opening in Dartmouth - this is so my jam. I've been to Nena's a couple times now and have been delighted both times. A friend and I popped in for brunch last weekend. I crave eggs benny for supper all the time, so this was going to be my eggs benny test run. I was not disappointed. The eggs were perfectly poached, the hollandaise was tasty and the home fries were just right. My friend and I wanted to also try the pancakes, so we split a side of one chocolate chip pancake for $1.70. They forgot to put chocolate chips in the batter and put them on top instead. A happy accident as the chocolate chips melted into the butter we spread on top. So good. I dropped in after work one day this week to try pancakes and bacon for supper. Another hit! I went with plain pancakes this time and they were so good, as was the bacon. Breakfast is my favourite meal, and having it readily available at all times is both amazing and oh so dangerous. It's a small spot, but the space is maximized. Clean and modern, it's going to be a great addition to the neighborhood. Service was friendly, and they even threw in a free dessert to go as I was paying for my pancakes and bacon. Two issues are holding back the 5th star. It's cash only, which is a huge problem for me. There is an ATM next door which helps a bit. But I hear it won't be cash only forever. Also, on my first visit, the server was cleaning the other tables with a very strong-smelling cleaning product. The smell was very distracting and took away from the flavour of the food. It might be time to switch to unscented products. I'll be back. Often.

    The sign.
    Breighan H.

    My friends and I walked into Nena's and were immediately greeted by the owner and the waitress. This l'il joint opened a week ago, and their menus and menu boards haven't arrived yet, so our options were written on the white boards at the front. There are a bunch of different meaty combos, some pancakes (with ice cream or seasonal fruit if you like), a couple breakfast sandwiches, and lots of eggs. So far, there're no vegan options, but apparently the waitress' mom's gonna provide some gluten-free baked goods, and soon they'll be serving green and herbal tea. Our food was served in a Goldilocksian amount of time- not suspiciously quick, and not too slow. Everyone's eggs were cooked to their specification, and most pleasing of all, the homefries were delicious. My brother's request for cheese on his eggs benny amused the chef to no end, but he came through deliciously, with a delightful touch of dill on his order. Our only complaint was that the beans were a little too mapley-sweet. The staff of this new 40-seater was super nice, taking the time to ask where we'd heard of the restaurant, where we were from, how we liked the food. I'm sure I'll enjoy it even more as they add some healthier options, and we'll definitely be back to check up on 'em. It's pretty dope to have a breakfast place in this part of Dartmouth, and they seem to be genuinely eager to meet the neighbourhood, and to meet the needs of their customers.

    Chocolate chip pancakes, oh my yum
    Van M.

    Hubby & I finally got around to giving this place a try today now I want to go every day! Interior was clean, the two staff on were friendly and attentive without being intrusive, food came quick (though, we were the only two in there at this time), and it's dirt cheap! That being said, the food was delicious & the portions were not skimpy at all. For example, I ordered chocolate chip pancakes. You get three for $5.95 & they were massive, I finished about half of them before grudgingly sweeping them onto the hubby's plate because I was going to explode. For me it was the perfect amount of chocolate chip for the pancakes but I also don't use syrup for that type so if you do it may be too much. (Too much chocolate, pfft). The hubby got some sort of big breakfast thing, came with two eggs, two toast, 3 bacon slices (maybe two, can't remember), two sausages,home fries and maple beans. He also got a side order of a single pancake which he regretted after seeing the size of it, and realizing he's be eating at least one of mine, lol. I don't eat pork but those sausages looked delicious perfectly browned, and his eggs were perfectly done. It always surprises me how many times an over-easy egg is mucked up, but not here. I loved the home fries, but since I rarely eat a deep fried potato maybe that was just a rare treat because they pretty much looked like chopped up french fries The only downfall for me was that there is no debit, but that's pretty easily fixed by the bank machine next door. And that's really just a personal thing because I rarely carry cash. All in all, I cannot wait to go back & try more things off the menu.

    Pancakes and bacon.
    K R.

    After all the other positive reviews I decided to take myself out here. I ordered pancakes and bacon. The interior is charming and well lit. My bacon was perfectly cooked. Crispy without being bark and not greasy at all. My pancakes were massive! I really didn't need the last one. Haha. The coffee was good - I drink my coffee black so a good cup of coffee is hard to come by. The cook and only waitress were in and out of the shop a lot. It didn't affect me but a couple ladies ended up waiting a couple minutes to pay. If I had got one of the specials it would have been cheaper. But $11 isn't too bad for a custom meal. I'll definitely be going back.

    eggs, toast, bacon, hash browns, and sweet potatoes

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    2 years ago

    Kind of a greasy spoon. Food tossed onto plate. Home fries were huge and cold. Not impressed.

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    4 years ago

    What a great find! Yummy breakfast and such reasonable prices! Great, friendly service.

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    8 years ago

    Pleasant St Diner is a great choice after waiting here for 30mins for someone to take your order and realizing is just not gonna happen.

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    The Canteen - Kale salad with bacon and Parmesan

    The Canteen

    4.5(83 reviews)
    2.0 kmDowntown Dartmouth
    $$

    The food in this place is amazing. Every single person in my party enjoyed their dish. I order the…read moreeggs Benny. It had the perfect balance of flavor and amount of food. The egg was perfectly yolkie, and together with the ham and seasonings, made it a fantastic savory dish. The servers was phenomenal. She had a wonderful smile, was kind, quick, and made pleasant jokes/small talk. The place is small, but was pretty busy on a Sunday afternoon. Highly recommend this place if you are in Halifax.

    While this spaghettini may look unassuming in the photo, it was hands down one of the best plates…read moreof pasta I've ever had. I arrived in Halifax late tonight for work and had my heart set on a lobster roll. The Canteen popped up on the map with glowing reviews, so I swung by hoping to grab one before they closed. When I arrived, I learned that lobster rolls are only served in the summer. Disappointed but undeterred, I decided to treat myself to their lobster spaghettini instead--after all, a business trip still deserves a good meal. Since they were about to close and I wanted to eat in my hotel room and rest, I got it to go (though I was quietly a little sad--the restaurant is spotless, beautifully designed, and has an open kitchen you can watch). I brought the pasta back to the hotel without much expectation. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary take-out pasta. But that couldn't have been further from the truth. This dish was divine. Every bite was rich with buttery sweetness from the fresh lobster and nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano--two of my absolute favorite ingredients--perfectly balanced by the bright tang of roasted tomatoes. The flavors danced between umami, acidity, and indulgent richness in a way that felt effortless and refined. God, it was good. I can't wait to come back to The Canteen. If this is what their lobster spaghettini tastes like, I can only imagine how incredible their summer lobster rolls must be.

    Photos
    The Canteen
    The Canteen
    The Canteen - Cute exterior

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    Cute exterior

    Larry's Sandwiches & Sides - Chicken parm

    Larry's Sandwiches & Sides

    3.0(2 reviews)
    2.0 kmDowntown Dartmouth

    Who doesn't love a great sandwich? Every bite can bring an assortment of flavours and textures -…read moreall enveloped in what is hopefully a well-suited and tasty carbohydrate. Halifax has an assortment of sandwich places already, and they span the spectrum from hunger-satiating-mediocrity, to over-hyped, to truly great. Larry's Sandwiches and Sides comes from the minds behind the kitchen at renowned downtown Dartmouth bar Dear Friend, and while I wasn't around for the early pop-ups at their sister location, my wife and I moved into the neighbourhood not long before Larry's opened its own brick and mortar shop. Knowing their pedigree, I made them a priority target and swung by one Friday afternoon for lunch, after conveniently pre-ordering through their website. Bologna's Italian ancestor mortadella seems to be having a culinary comeback, and the mortadella sandwich at Larry's takes top billing on their menu, so I opted for that. My other half went for the B.B. Ham on a gluten-free bun. My order was ready a little early and ready to roll when I arrived, and I was really impressed when the staff asked if I wanted to tack on a salad or side for free, as the GF sandwich bun only comes in one size, and is significantly smaller than a full-sized sub. Wanting to boost my greens intake for the day, I went with the garden salad. Meeting up with my wife by Sullivan's Pond, we sat down to have our lunch under the sun and equally hot glare of hungry ducks. My mortadella sandwich checked a lot of the right boxes with its high quality ingredients, which all seem to be made either in-house or to come from local specialists. The smooth, salty and savoury mortadella peeks out from behind a lot of other big flavours like the house-made ranch, mustard and pickled veg. Shredduce added some further crunch, and despite not showing up on the ingredients on the online menu (and it really should for dietary reasons) there was a slice of what seemed to be mozzarella. The sub bun had a nice and flaky exterior, and the wonderfully airy crumb held up well against its messy cargo. It wasn't the type of sub that's jam-packed like a Dagwood-style sandwich, going for quality rather than quantity. With the added heft of the fresh and flavourful garden salad though, it was great meal! My wife was very happy with her B.B. (brown butter) Ham sandwich, with the sweet and savoury ham from Vessel Meats pairing perfectly with the brown butter mayo, garlic dill pickles and cheddar. The GF bun, regardless of its size, was extremely well-made, and she found it to be almost indistinguishable from a regular bun! My return visit had me trying one of their specials, the De-Parm-A, the Larry's version of a chicken parm sandwich. My love of crisp, fried, savoury foods often leads me to things like this, but unfortunately the promise of chicken parm sandwiches often does not deliver in reality, and that was generally the case with Larry's. The ingredients were all good quality and the chicken cutlet thick and moist, but the breading on the chicken never really survives the whole process. Out of necessity, especially for a sandwich place looking to move orders quickly, the chicken cutlets are breaded and fried beforehand, then sauced and shoved in some bread, none of which does any favours for its crispness. Perhaps the idiom needs to be updated from "You can't have your cake and eat it too", which is fundamentally flawed in my opinion, to "You can't have a chicken parm sandwich and it be crispy too", which is my experience. Nonetheless, Larry's is undeniably a great sandwich spot, with thoughtful creations made with top notch ingredients, and they're another feather in the hat of downtown Dartmouth.

    This place smelled so good. I was a little sceptical about paying almost $20 for a single sub with…read moreno side and although it tasted pretty good I got the roast beef sub. There was probably $2 worth of meat on it and Dijon mustard. Nothing else. No veggies. NOTHING. It tasted good but not for nearly $20 for that. You get 2 stars. I feel like if I spend $20 on food I shouldn't still be hungry after.

    Photos
    Larry's Sandwiches & Sides - Mortadella

    Mortadella

    Larry's Sandwiches & Sides - Menu as of June 2025

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    Menu as of June 2025

    Nena's Breakfast House - breakfast_brunch - Updated May 2026

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