While running through my list of places in Pictou County to get acquainted with, Waterview's turn quickly came. It's a nice, big space, right next to the deCoste Centre and a stone's throw from Pictou Harbour.
Having recently moved back home to NS, the Donair Dippers ($9.99) immediately caught our eye. Think donair nuggets - they don't look like much, but they're super crisp, and the donair meat was nice and juicy. They had a decent level of spice (for a commercial donair product). The house-made donair sauce was also really good - on the thicker side and they gave a great portion of it as well.
I'm going to hazard a guess that Waterview is probably the only restaurant in Pictou County to have mansaf on its menu. Their version of the national of dish of Jordan is comprised of a bed of ground beef (in place of the more traditional lamb) and rice, topped with shredded chicken and toasted nuts. The beef and rice mixture had a pleasing, earthy flavour, while the tender chicken was a bit brighter and the crispy nuts brought a good textural contrast. My wife was a fan and while she lamented the lack of a yogurt sauce, the dish was far from dry. A fattoush salad added some much welcome veg.
For my main, I went with the large seafood chowder. It came out piping hot, and took several minutes to cool down to a non-scalding temperature. The broth was a good consistency, and was finished with a dash of herbed olive oil, which was a nice touch. The fish-to-vegetable ratio was probably about 1:1, so while not amazing, not bad either. There was a broad mix of seafood - mussels, scallops, shrimp, salmon and haddock. The pieces were chopped up a bit fine for my liking, but all things told, it was a decent chowder. A couple pieces of garlic bread made for good dipping.
With a sizeable menu that covers a lot of different cuisines, Waterview runs the risk of a "Jack-of-all-trades, master of none" scenario, but they're managing to put out some tasty bites. read more