Atlantic Canada is blessed when it comes to restaurants with a waterfront view. We have chic oceanfront bistros, salty shanties, dock-fresh dinners, fine breeze-kissed seaside patios, even a lighthouse picnic. If you're coming to bliss out on the best of the region's waterfront dining, the options are almost limitless.
Clam Diggers Beach House and Restaurant is a Georgetown, PEI, gem that serves up plentiful views. The deck is a mere 25 feet (about eight metres) from the sand, and diners can watch returning commercial clam diggers pull their brightly coloured dories up onto the sand to offload the day's catch. Under the deck, local residents dig clams for their own pots and fly fishermen cast away, and the restaurant has a western view of the sunset over the harbour.
Not enough enticement? From your dinner table you can also see commercial farming of PEI blue mussels, seabirds galore, and at every tide, at least one blue heron fishing at the end of a small spit of land just under the deck. The view sweeps over rolling hills, rivers and a boardwalk.
Another stellar location is high on a cliff in the Cape Breton Highlands-the Purple Thistle Dining Room at Keltic Lodge Resort and Spa. Last season, the resort had hosted lunch and dinner in the Ardan Rum Restaurant. Established clientele missed the ambience of the Purple Thistle, so it will be re-opened to offer its magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean and the rugged beauty of Cape Breton. Visitors can truly relax, unwind and breathe in the beauty of the Cape Breton Highlands in this restaurant that puts Nova Scotia cuisine at centre stage.
In the pretty resort town of St. Andrews By-the-Sea, NB, the Gables Inn & Waterfront Patio has a popular deck overlooking Passamaquoddy Bay. A little farther up the coast, in St. Martins, both the Seaside Restaurant and the Cave View Family Restaurant are near the town's famous sea caves and are worthy spots to watch the mighty tides of the Bay of Fundy come in. Near Shediac, Captain Dan's Bar & Grill on the Pointe-du-Chêne Wharf offers a gorgeous view of Shediac Bay. In the province's northern end, check out Le Caraquette in Caraquet, and Restaurant du Pavillon Aquatique in Shippagan.
If you like lighthouses, you can hike through Newfoundland history in Ferryland to find Lighthouse Picnics, where waves, whales, and icebergs meet gourmet picnic fare. In Nova Scotia, the Lightkeepers Kitchen and Guest House in Cape d'Or offers a chance to watch the Fundy tides come in and out as you dine in a cliff-top restaurant.
Rugged Newfoundland beauty is certainly a selling point at Portobello's Restaurant, which is perched on the stunning waterfront in St. John's overlooking the Narrows and the Atlantic. The view can take your breath away.
Ship to Shore Restaurant & Lounge in Darnley, PEI, co-owned by champion oyster shucker John Bil, is off the beaten path, but not short on views, overlooking Darnley Basin.
A panoramic picture of Mahone Bay, NS, and mysterious Oak Island can be had at the La Vista Dining Room at Atlantica Hotel & Marina Oak Island, while in nearby Chester Basin, the Seaside Shanty-home to great chowders-also has great views.
Elsewhere along the coast of Nova Scotia, diners at the Seawatch Dining Room at White Point Beach Resort, near Liverpool, can watch the ocean swell and roar. Overlooking the Atlantic, the main dining room and Founder's Lounge have a delightfully beachy vibe, which could have something to do with the sunsets, surfers, and seabirds.
For a more urban setting, The Bicycle Thief is one of several downtown Halifax restaurants with stellar views of Halifax Harbour.
But don't limit yourself to formal dining: sometimes a takeout meal and a stroll along the waterfront can offer the best view of all.
