Very nice restaurant with beautiful design and delicious food. We had brunch here last week. The seafood chowder is a highlight, must try. Even the biscuit come with the chowder is very delicious. We ordered 3 things on lunch menu and two things from the kids menu. All good and the size is big, price is acceptable!

We’ve been meaning to try out the Canteen for a while and finally got the opportunity to stop by for lunch. The food is impeccable and you can’t go wrong with the crab/lobster roll and some split pea and ham soup. Worth the ferry ride over from Halifax if you’re in the area. Service is also fantastic!

Pretty good, very close to the ferry terminal. The itself place is nice, the food is not bad at all, reasonable prices. They also have a patio which is always a plus for me. The menu could have a bit more variety but overall, a solid 4 stars.

Excellent lunch with the family! We tried the snow crab dip, crobster roll, haddock burger, and the kids burger, and they were all excellent. The olive oil cake for dessert was also fantastic. Every single thing we tried was flavourful, well seasoned, and worth it. Will gladly be returning the next time we're in Halifax.

What a great brunch! I have my daughter the choice between three of the top ten brunch places in the city. She picked The Canteen on Portland and everyone was happy. The Benny's were amazing. Get the lobster, it's worth it. The French toast was the best ever, not too sweet, just right. Everything was excellent. The food was complimented by the service which was just right. The atmosphere was ok, not great but we did like the art. We had a great experience and will be back.

The service was great. The crobster roll was good— but felt like it was missing something. The braised onion soup was tasty. Burger was good. Wouldn’t recommend the clam chowder tbh.

Service was lovely. Options for gluten free. Server was lovely about requests to our order. Lunch special had lovely flavours and was truly well crafted. Lovely tea in a pot. Fabulous coffee Atmosphere was a bit noisy up until after 1 pm. But regardless we will come back soon.

First visit in August 2021, we had The Hangover Breakfast Sandwich and Huevos Rancheros. Both were spectacular. Awesome brunch! Second visit in February 2022, we both had the Eggs Benny. Again, delicious. Also had a Caesar, homemade mix. Spicy! We sat at the bar and Marc served us both times. He’s great!

Enjoyed an amazing meal with my daughter who lives in Dartmouth, who recommended The Canteen. My other daughter & I travelled from Ontario for a visit. The food was absolutely amazing and the server was terrific! Would highly recommend this restaurant. We had Scallops, Halibut, Mushrooms on toast & Summer Salad. We couldn’t decide which was best, they were all so good. Thank you Canteen for a great night!

Stumbled into this place with no reservation but they still happily accommodated me. I ordered the crobster roll with the soup of the day. Could definitely taste the freshness of all the ingredients and have been cooked well. Would recommend this place to anyone visiting. I really wanted to try the chowder but wish they had a small size for lunch.

The Canteen is an absolute must on your "To Eat" list! Well worth the (quite enjoyable) ferry ride, the Canteen combines atmosphere, care, affordable prices and fine dining. 3 people suggested I take the short ferry ride from Halifax to eat here - and I now understand why! The brussel sprouts are simply heavenly, combining an orchestra of flavors that only gets better with each bite. As a complete beginner with oysters, I was blown away with how fresh the Canteen's oysters were. Not 'slimy' in the slightest, I enjoyed them with a squirt of lemon juice, although the house mignonette was fantastic as well. My server, Mark, was immensely professional and deeply cared about providing a SENSATIONAL experience!! He offered fantastic pairing suggestions, created special cocktails and coffees based on my tastes, offered sound advice on the menu, and truly cared for the clientele. I wish I could give the Canteen 10 stars! A stop you simply cannot miss in Halifax, whether you are visiting for a few days or a local. *I highly recommend making a reservation!! The place is well- known all over the country for its fantastic dishes, but I was easily able to secure a table the morning of! The prices are quite reasonable, but I enjoyed an appetizer, entrée, dessert, 3 cocktails and a specialty coffee!

My favourite lobster roll in Halifax! I visited Halifax for 4 days, and had a lobster roll everyday from a different place. This was by far my favourite. Very flavourful and a nice crunch bun to accompany it. Food: Overall: 4.5/5 Oysters - 4/5 - fresh and from the east coast! Lobster Roll - 4.5/5 Steak & Salad - 3.5/5 Mussels - 3.5/5 (mind you, I’m not a mussels person) Service - 5/5 - very friendly and checked up on us! Ambiance - 5/5 - nice boutique restaurant with a nice vibe! Highly recommend visiting here if you’re feeling a lobster roll!

Really cute, casual spot with super high quality food. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal today and will be back!! Loved the lemon-dill crab dip w crackers and the fish burger was crazy tasty! Homemade desserts were a hit too.

Decided to come here for dinner based on the good reviews. Arrived right when it opened at 5pm on a weekday and was seated right away. Within half an hour our side of the restaurant filled up. Inside was bright and cheery. It was semi open kitchen as we were able to look through a window to see food being prepared. We ordered: Starters to share: Snow Crab dip - very creamy and went well with the crackers. Kale Caesar salad - tasted fresh especially with a squeeze of lemon. Mains: Crobster Roll - Delicious! A toasted buttery roll filled with good amount of crab and lobster. Also, came with a large portion of crispy fries. Pan - seared Halibut- Made to perfection! Light and fluffy but wish the portion was bigger. Scallops & Pea Risotto - smooth, creamy and very flavourful. Dessert: Creme Brulee - The caramelized sugar cracked with a gentle tap. Inside the custard was rich and creamy. Overall had a good experience. It is a bit pricey but worth it. Highly recommend and will definitely go back again.

Went there first time with friend for our lunch. Great environment! Crobster roll is pretty good. Falafel is great, both my friend and bf loves it.

Friendly wait staff with relaxed atmosphere and delicious food. Very happy to have stopped in per recommendation from a local coworker. The olive loaf dessert was incredible.

Great atmosphere, fantastic service from Mark. My partner had the haddock sandwich and wouldn’t stop raving how “this is the perfect sandwich. Everything works” so I think he liked it. I ordered their grain bowl and it was also very fresh and delicious. Menu changes often and you can tell they really care about the food they serve. We also thought they were very knowledgeable and made great recommendations!

We were told they had the best “crobster roll” or a crab and lobster roll and it definitely did not disappoint. Best roll I ever had. The servers were also friendly, offering up recommendations for other bars and clubs to check out, and even gave us change to use the ferry. I’d highly recommended stopping by for a bite here.

Lovely little place to grab a quick bite. The menu has a wide variety of options from salads to burgers to mains. I had lunch there and enjoyed the roasted asparagus salad. Can’t go wrong with halloumi! Also, the menu is well marked for gluten free/friendly options, which meant I could eat there with little to no concern. Glad I stopped in ☺️

Two of us shared a crobster roll and the risotto with scallops and it was incredible! Might give the slight edge to the crobster roll, but my wife chooses the risotto... Just a sign that Everything on menu is worth ordering. Server was very attentive but not overbearing. Parking was difficult for us, we were about 5 blocks away.

Food was fresh and delicious, albeit a bit pricey. Definitely worth a trip on a splurge day. Recommend reserving a table in as much advance as you can as you usually can't get one for the day of / walk-in, in my experience. They also don't open until 5pm for dinner so be mindful of the weather because you won't be getting in sooner.

Great experience, we dines outdoors which is a very pleasantly shaded and cute area for warm summer days, as long as you can get past the street noise. No issues for privacy, as their fence forms a great partition. The food was incredible, we had the mussels and frites as well as the seared scallops and risotto. Plating was lovely, portions were perfect. The menu seemed a bit limited at first glance, but this is the sort of place where you would not be disappointed with any choice made. Service was perfectly timed and quick to bring the food.

This was one of our “destination restaurants” on a June 2022 trip to Dartmouth and Halifax. We enjoyed local oysters, scallops and pan-fried halibut. The sauces and preparations were spot-on, and everything was wonderfully fresh. We had a local Nova Scotia wine as well that was perfect with the seafood. We finished with their signature carrot cake. The service was attentive and professional, and we would return again if given the chance.

Don’t go hungry in Dartmouth. Located on Portland Street near the water is The Canteen. We had a great lunch and the Lobster Rolls were the bomb. I also had the soup, curried vegetable. I wanted to upgrade the soup to the seafood chowder, but that is a meal on its own and they didn’t offer that. My partner had the Kale Salad which was excellent as a side the the Lobster Roll. This is a great restaurant, friendly staff, very clean and would go back again.

This place is a very busy spot and it’s recommended to get a reservation. Food is top notch: so fresh and savoury you can feel the love and portions are hearty so come hungry. The Crab dip and Tuna Tataki are amazing! Scallops were slightly overdone but overall it was all very good Drinks are elegant and fun and the desserts; brûlée os probably the best I’ve ever had but the Olive Oil loaf is a must - it’s to die for I’ll be back for that Crobster Roll

I really outdid myself. Chowder, salad, pasta and dessert. No fails! Epic dinner. Treat yourself to original, delicious and authentic food. You wont regret it. Five Stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Me and my cousin were visiting from Toronto and were so excited to try The Canteen! First of all the resturant is sooo cute, such a great atmosphere. All the servers were really kind and efficient. We started with the Sober oysters, honestly not our favourite kind, a tad too salty but still really fresh! We specifically came for the Crobster Roll and omg… it was amazing. Hands down the best lobster/crab roll I’ve ever had. Even the fries were soo good! We then tried two different desserts because we couldn’t chose. They were both amazing, I personally loved the carrot cake the most. Wish we lived closer, I would eat a Crobster Roll from here every week 😂❤️

I had the seafood chowder it was excellent. - chock-full of seafood, very rich, and a huge portion for a lunch serving- a bargain at 16$. My partner had the Ruben sandwich with a side Cesar salad, he also very much enjoyed his meal. A laid back spot, unpretentious and great food. We will return for sure.

We came to The Canteen on Portland a couple of weeks ago. It was a busy night but, we just happened to walk in at the right time and ended up getting a table right away. Unfortunately, they were in the middle of a menu change (season) and, the night was busier than expected so, out of the few options that we had chosen for food, they only had one available as described. They did offer alternatives and tried to accommodate us. However, after we agreed, the waitress came back with more changes but, somehow that time things worked out slightly better in our favor and, we almost ended up getting what we wanted to begin with. Anyways, the food turned out to be very delicious and the portions were really filling. Also, the waitress did her best to serve us well and handled pretty well the situation. However, I did notice that other people that came after us weren’t informed that the kitchen was running out of food options. If we would have actually waited to be seated to find that out, we wouldn’t have been as happy, for sure. That aside, I think this place is worth visiting, more so if you are already on the Dartmouth side of town.