On our port day at Halifax, we rented a mini-van and decided to visit the famous Peggy's Cove.
Peggy's Cove is about an hour's drive from Halifax, and by the time we got there (we visited Province House in Halifax first), we were all kinda hungry. Again, since TripAdvisor is now my new thing to figure out where to eat when away from home, I saw that there is a fairly highly rated lobster place just beside Peggy's Cove, so we headed that way.
So Ryer's Retail Lobster is not a restaurant, and it's technically not in Halifax either. It is a retail lobster place where you can buy lobster, and they will throw it in their special giant stainless steel gas fired water bath and cook it for you.
Adjacent to the shop is a small shaded area with 3 picnic tables. By the time we arrived, there is already a family sitting there eating. We chatted with them briefly (they were visitors from HK and was a on road trip to the maritimes - pretty brave!), and the dad pretty much insisted that 1-1.5 lbs lobsters are the best. He also highly recommended the mussels.
Armed with this information, we headed back to the shop and proceeded to order 1 lb of mussels and SEVEN 1 lb lobster (which were about $20 a pound). My dad, who is a seafood lover, was beside himself with glee.
We waited for about 15 mins, and out came the mussels, followed by the lobster. The mussels were crazy amazingly large and juicy, and it was so good that we went and ordered another pound.
The lobster themselves, to my slight disappointment, were all overcooked. I think they left it in the boiler a tad too long. But I suppose they are retailers, not chefs, so maybe we shouldn't expect too much? I guess we should've gone to restaurants, but then again, if we did, we wouldn't have experienced the "rawness" of the place. You are literally at a fisherman's shack, right by the waters where they catch fresh live lobsters. Sitting in the picnic tables with paper plates and napkins feels kinda nice too, and a nice change from our daily "fancy" dinner on the cruise.
Still, I'm not entirely sure if I would recommend this place. It has its charms, and the mussels were delicious. But for the fact that they overcooked all our lobsters, I can't honestly in my heart give a two thumbs up. Maybe two claws up?
Summary
- Rating: 8/10
- 3.5/5 for food quality
- 3/3 for value
- 1.5/2 for ambience
- Time to spend: 1-1.5h
- The Bottom Line: charming lobster shack for a no-frills lobster meal. Don't expect service - expect paper plates, picnic tables, and port-a-potties. Still, the lobsters couldn't be any fresher…
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