16 Best Restaurants in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

The seasonal menu is filled with sensational farm-to-table and foraged ingredients making this one of Cape Breton's best dining experiences. Seafood dishes include lobster salad and lobster risotto, and you cannot go wrong with the steak or pork tenderloin that are both cooked to perfection. Be sure to try the crab cakes as an appetizer, and save room for one of their wonderful desserts.

Located in a conference center on the Membertou First Nation's urban reserve, this spacious dining room serves up inspired global cuisine using fresh, local ingredients with many dishes having an Indigenous twist—and you can order a prix-fixe three-course First Nation menu (C$60) that changes with the seasons. Regular menu items range from lamb chops perfectly cooked with a pistachio pesto to a delicately spiced curry paella. The food is excellent, portions generous, and the space both inside the restaurant and in corridors outside features Indigenous art and artifacts. 

Classic French cuisine with an Acadian heart, this beautiful restaurant is filled with antiques and raw wood, with views over the crashing ocean. Every carefully prepared dish is spectacular, from Acadian fricot to salt cod gratin to their upscale burger. L'Abri has a well-stocked selection of Nova Scotia wines and beers and a great cocktail list. Bookings highly recommended. 

More than a mere pub, this Cape Breton institution has evolved into an attraction, in part because it is owned by four of the Rankins, Canada's most celebrated singing siblings. Expect the usual pub favorites: fish-and-chips, pulled pork sandwiches, grilled salmon, and mussels steamed in ale, garlic, and bacon. There's music here most nights, and sometimes during the day (occasionally with a cover charge of C$10).

The experience here is exceptional: just one seating a night for 25 guests, enjoying a tasting menu of seven beautifully prepared seasonal and local courses that might include mussel saffron soup with Digby scallops, or lobster lasagne with dill sauce. Chef introduces each dish with a tinkle of a handbell, explaining where the ingredients were sourced (many will have been foraged by chef), and creating an atmosphere that true food lovers will adore. 

Head here for upscale mains like seafood linguine and lobster risotto, but also because they do fantastic upscale burgers, sandwiches, and wraps (everything from classic patties to Nashville chicken burgers to haddock wraps). Be sure to save room for dessert—the delicious Death by Chocolate milkshake complete with a brownie on top is superb.

Everything on the menu at this stellar restaurant is fantastic—from inventive dishes that utilize local ingredients, such as lobster bao or Margaree rainbow trout with scalloped potatoes, to perfectly cooked risotto, handmade pastas, and short ribs. There are plenty of vegetarian options and a kids' menu. 

For superfresh seafood and views overlooking Bras d'Or Lake, head for this former legion hall. There are just four options on the main-course menu—lobster, planked salmon, snow crab, and grilled steak—each of which can also come as a fixed-price feast with unlimited mussels, seafood chowder, homemade rolls and biscuits, desserts, and nonalcoholic beverages (yes, all of these items are unlimited). The space can seat 100 diners inside, and more on the deck, but it gets busy, particularly when a tour bus unloads (though these are by reservation only so you can call to check whether one is expected). Unlike some similar spots, this one is fully licensed so you can wash all that down with a cold brew. Dinner service starts at 4 pm.

In a city where deep fryers reign supreme, this small eatery is a welcome find. The haddock is poached, the crab cakes served with mango salsa, the prawns tossed in pesto sauce—and Flavor's flavors shine through. 

Sydney's first mayor, Walter Crowe, once lived in this Victorian home, built in the late 1800s. The restaurant, with hardwood floors, a fireplace, and high ceilings, is known for fresh seafood and hand-cut steaks, though there are lighter options such as salads, wraps, and burgers. Desserts are all house-made. There's regular live entertainment.

The owner-chef is fixing up this old clapboard building, but it's the treats that await within that really matter. A well-constructed menu features specialties like shrimp and scallop flambé, pork tenderloin in a red onion wine sauce, and maple-glazed salmon, and there's a less fancy but equally enticing comfort food list and kids' menu. Local wines, beers, spirits, and cocktails fill out the beverage list.

There's usually a parking lot full of cars outside this popular hangout for Cape Bretoners, which also draws "come from away" diners with its long lunchtime menu of hearty salads, creamy chowders, deep-fried seafood plates, and homemade desserts. After 5 pm (and all day on Sunday), the dinner menu goes more upscale with dishes like scallops in white-wine and cream sauce and lemon-chicken supreme. At peak times, reservations are recommended.

Head here for smashing pub grub. You can opt for fish-and-chips, or a classic cheeseburger, but they also offer more gourmet options such as a garlic and brie or maple bacon burger. The Narrows is a great spot to sip on local brews and chow down on wings. 

Besides an excellent selection of beers brewed on the premises, this eatery serves up a seafood-heavy menu that truly hits the spot whether you're going for perfectly battered fish-and-chips, chicken burger, or poutine. The dining room is bright, modern, and airy, and the vibe is fun. There's a small store attached where you can grab cool branded Route 19 merchandise as well as craft beers to go.

This bright and airy diner specializes in seafood dishes, steaks, and casual dining favorites with a cozy, down-home style. There aren't many options for dining in Louisbourg, but this place makes up for that.

Focusing on fresh, local seafood, this superb restaurant housed in a small, family-run B&B offers an intimate dining experience just steps from the ocean. Opt for rich, seafood-packed pastas such as lobster mac and cheese, a perfectly cooked steak au poivre, or amazing chowder, but be sure to save room for dessert.