Rusty Anchor Restaurant

Was recommend to eat here on our visit to cape Breton. We had the seafood chowder and the burger that ate cape Breton. If you’re looking for a creamy chowder you may not want this one, I found it was more soupish than a creamy chowder. Flavor was still good. The Burger that ate cape Breton was a decent size, fish was delicious, sauce was minimal so a bit fry other than that everything was good overall.

Awesome place, everything was fresh and delicious. Even my kid finished his, that's a very rare event. Service was incredibly fast, they brought everything in under 20 mins. If the weather has been kinder would have tried the patio, awesome view of both the fall color and sea, can't be a better place to stop by.

I have been to the Rusty Anchor twice and have always been ecstatic with their food. They have excellant friendly service and with our most recent visit the food came out very quickly! We sat and dined in 30 minutes!

My friend highly recommends the fish and chips. She loves their fries and said the fish and chips were some of the best she's had in a long time. I personally recommend the lobster poutine. I get it everytime I go there and am 100% satisfied everytime.

The food and experience is worth every penny. It is why I will always stop at the Rusty Anchor when going around the Cabot Trail!

My husband and I popped it for lunch after our walk around the Skyline trail, we were served by Sarah who was very friendly, although the service was slightly slow to start it improved during the course of our lunch. The was no fresh whole lobster as apparently it was out of season (although we had lobster in many places) but that’s not the end of the world.
We decided to go for the Mussels to share as a starter and my husband had Lobster Poutine and I had the Lobster Roll, all the food was cooked / prepared really well and the fries were perfectly crisp and good chunks of lobster in both main dishes. To wash it down I Tidal Bay wine and my husband Ginger ale and Island Time (local Cape Breton lager). We highly recommended Tidal Bay from Jost and the Island Time lager, they are very crisp and refreshing.
We would love to come back in season to have the fresh lobster and snow crab combo.

The oysters in this restaurant are not clean, there is a lot of mud and dirt inside the oysters, 4 of the 5 of us had stomach pains and diarrhea after eating them, and the service attitude is not good especially when checking out, do not recommend this restaurant!

Fish cakes were barely warm, were not mashed as they should have been and the butter was bad. Service seemed rushed, commented to wife on way out, poor value for money spent. Not again.

Good food, would recommend 10/10! Service was fast, we didn’t have to wait too long for the food which was very surprising. Got the fish and chips & my husband got the Burger that ate Cape Breton - no regrets at all. Definitely a must try when you come here. Staff were friendly and very accommodating.

We had a lovely dinner here overlooking the ocean. Had the haddock and it was fresh and delicious. Kind and attentive service.

Tried the lopster sandwich for the first time. It was good.

The other recipes we ate were also tasty

The sepcial seafood wrap today was awesome! The ocean can be seen right at the patio. The male restaurant owner was very chill. He gave me the bill before I asked, to someone else it might be rude, but I like it since it saved time. A good stop before you go to the accommodations.

Stopped for lunch here while driving the Cabot Trail. It is the first place you come to after a long drive with nowhere to eat. It was jam packed but managed to get a seat. Service was super fast. I ordered the fresh local oysters and the Rusty Salad. My husband had the fish cakes with beans. He loved the cornbread muffin! Every thing was wonderful! Definitely worth the stop.

Among the best lobster rolls in the area with an excellent bun to lobster ratio. Not chopped lobster but full of claw meat. Very good French fries

The seafood platter was delish and service was friendly. Love the views on the patio. Nice spot to stop on the Cabot Trail.

The place is really lovely! We stopped over twice. Sat inside first day and came back the next day and sat out on their patio. Service super friendly. The food was very good, large full claw on lobster roll. Lobster to roll ratio was excellent.

I try and make a trip around the trail every year. Absolutely the BEST SEAFOOD pasta I ever ate! True story! Texture of the pasta was perfection, and my tastebuds were busting with flavor! Thank you

This is on a great spot, they have a big patio but it's quite popular - there's ample parking but be prepared for a wait for your table on the patio. It was super hot when we went and lucked out with someone leaving. Be prepared to know the menu upon arriving, they do the order at counter and give you a number for your table thing. Had the lobster poutine and fish sandwich, def good food. Kids had burgers and actually ate them all lol.

The food was incredible, served fresh but what really made this place a phenomenal experience was our waitress, Crystal. She went above and beyond to make our experience memorable. She was very helpful and friendly as well as knowledgeable. Even took the time to show us how to fully clean a lobster of all its meat! Great job to all the staff. Will definitely be going back next time we are on Cabot Trail!

We stayed at the True North Destinations just around the corner from the Rusty Anchor. We ate here both nights the food was awesome. I had the seafood platter. I highly recommend the staff was awesome and a special shout out to Crystal. Thank you for accommodating us with the wine and off sales of beer

Friends and I did the Polletts cove hike and camped for a night. Stopped at the Rusty anchor the next day and would have to say we had amazing service, super friendly atmosphere and the food was a 10/10.

Jolie terrasse sur un cap qui vous permet d'admirer les hauteurs des falaises et la mer sur la Cabot Trail.

Prix élevés pour les touristes bien sûr!

Les huîtres sont très bonnes et fraîches, sauf que 28$ pour 12 huîtres, c'est trop cher. La guedille de homard est servie avec des pinces entières: wow! Mais les frites sont des frites cheap congelées.

La bière en canette nous a été servie chaude ou tablette: assez decevant.

Je vous conseille quand même cet endroit, car c'était très bon. (Sauf les frites) et le service ultra rapide et efficace.

While doing the Cabot Trail we decided to try the Rusty Anchor for lunch wasn't too busy good food and even better views!

Food was really good!

We shared mussells and oysters which were fresh and done with a simple but effective recipe.

I had the battered haddock which was incredible. Some of the best fish fry I've had.

The fish and chips were great and so is the location. We were there 2
days in a row. The first day we sat outside and had great service. The second day we had our dog and the waitress / hostess / cashier was rude in telling us the rules. She was also rude when I came back in to pick up the order, the food was still great. They are obviously understaffed which cuts a bit into the experience, hopefully they overcome this and realize that clients pick a restaurant in such privileged for a more complete experience.

Had a great time at the Rusty Anchor Restaurant. Staff were lovely, the restaurant was clean and had a very friendly atmosphere. Plenty of seating is available inside or on the deck outside.
The food was fantastic and reasonably priced. High recommend The Burger that Ate Cape Breton. Amazing haddock burger!
When we arrived they were busy but service was quick and food arrived quickly and freshly cooked. A great place to stop.

Great food, decent staff particularly given the staffing challenges in the area. Probably the big highlight was the view from their patio. Incredible view of the bay and the occasional bald eagle and other birds flying by.

Food is overpriced and overrated. We had lobster roll and tbh, the taste of the bread and lobster are separated. There is no delicacy in the food at all. The lobster roll was only bread with a slide of lettuce and 2 small lobster claws. Not worth the hype except for the good view of the ocean. The staffs were friendly btw.

This restaurant is a tourist trap. The items on the menu are ordered and paid for up front and then you’re seated. Service was extremely slow and when it finally came out there was almost no seafood. We ordered a lobster roll which was just 2 small lobster claws and 1 small slice of lettuce on a dinner roll. Lobster poutine also had only tiny shreds of lobster and the seafood chowder was more like fish soup. Photographs look nice but food was bland. Do not recommend.

Liked, but not love. I think they get too busy, and so you have to order before you sit down, and pay and get a number like a fast food place.didn't really like that process.

The food was pretty good.

We had lunch at The Rusty Anchor for the first time today. Service was impeccable, helpful, friendly and efficient. Our server took my allergies seriously and was very happy in ensuring my order was handled with care. I spoke with the owner afterward to acknowledge our server and discovered that the owner has two children with allergies so they take it seriously. What a refreshing experience when so many other restaurants seem to place the risk on the customer. Thank you for a delicious lunch and a wonderful experience!

Ordered a takeout. Snow crab legs are the best we have ever had! Oysters are also very fresh and delicious. Definitely recommended!

Delicious food, but portions don't match the prices. Since I've started my trip through the Cabot Trail, the lobster roll at the Rusty Anchor has been the best I've had, but it was just not enough to leave me feeling satisfied, and the price was a bit steep. Delicious nonetheless. Rusty's burger was also a huge hit.

Food was delivered quickly and with a smile, no mistakes on the orders. Would definitely recommend and visit again.

Ok view. Mussels not bad. Haddock dinner: haddock fresh but the corn on the side was old/ tough. Mash potato was good. Lobster roll was 4/5 but the bread wasn’t as fresh as at salty’s in Ingonish. Clams were poor. Service not great but friendly. Took quite long to get our drinks. A bit overpriced for what you get. Wouldn’t eat here again and would drive to Cheticamp next time.

Fabulous! Great food (we both had hamburgers) and I really have to commend them for dealing so well with a staffing shortage which so many restaurants are facing now. They had a great system where you order counter service first and the food arrived at our table in a timely manner afterwards. The service we did have was so friendly and the restaurant was a highlight of our day going around the Cabot trail. The bathrooms and the restaurant itself was also exceptionally clean!

Nous y sommes allé pour goûter aux moules et avons été déçus car elles étaient toutes petites et sèches. J'étais heureuse de ne pas avoir commandé plus de choses car je pense que j'aurais été déçu d'avoir dépensé autant d'argent pour une moindre qualité.

Great restaurant!

The mussels were delicious and the fish and chip was pretty great. Only 1 piece, but it's the whole fish fillet. Never had such a big meaty piece of deep fried fish. Extremely fresh fish too.

Plenty of place inside with air conditioner (pretty great after 2 hours walk at Skyline trail) or outside with view on the sea.

Fast service too.

Excellent
Nous avons été attiré par le look acceuillant du restaurant
Nous n'avons pas été déçu, propriétaire super gentille et très bon.
Meilleur restaurant de notre road trip des maritimes

Food was great and fast. Service was a bit slow that day as they said they were short staffed and ordered before going to the table, which to be honest, that’s a great way to do things. When you’re done eating, you just leaving.