The Canteen on Portland

I absolutely love the crobster roll from the Canteen. The seafood tastes really fresh and every time I've been there, the servers have been friendly and nice. I've ordered the crobster roll both with the regular bread and the gluten free bun - and I feel like less seafood is given in the gluten free bun (it's a hamburger bun instead of bread slice). Overall, I'd love to come back next time I'm in Dartmouth and I would advise making a reservation beforehand as it's usually quite busy.

Arrived for lunch at 1130. Wait staff was efficient, but spoke with a sarcastic edge. Ordered a bit later and food arrived at 1210. At 1255 we were asked if we wanted dessert. We said no and had coffee. At 1305 the server told us he had a reservation for our table in 10 minutes. We found this rude and his attitude arrogant. We hadn’t been there two hours, which we would have been had we ordered dessert. I guess he was glad we didn’t. Maybe the positive reviews are going to their heads. Really, if service is poor then it won’t matter how good the food is. (Main course was fine, and I had a house salad, which was nice and fresh, but the dressing was so peppery/ spiced I couldn’t eat it.)

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.

Drinks were delish and the chowder was mouth watering. The bar tender was very nice. Small restaurant that is packed so book in advance if you can!

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!

The special today was Cookies N Creme french toast, it lived up to its name and still included a few pieces of thick bacon. My partner had their hash dish on the menu and was very pleased with the ir meal. Would definitely recommend having this place on your list.

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!

My favourite restaurant in Nova Scotia! As always we were welcomed with open arms by all of their lovely staff. We sat at the bar and had the perfect evening. Ole was taking care of us and he made our evening extra special with his 10/10 hospitality. So kind, knowledgeable and truly an industry professional. He made me the most delicious spicy margarita. Highly recommend. The Brussel Sprouts were out of this world and the Beef Tar Tar was delicious as always. Took home a piece of their famous carrot cake, a must when coming to the Canteen. Thank you so much to the entire team, we can’t wait to come back again soon!

A great little spot! Had a beautiful brunch with my bestie. The Great service was appreciated. My meal was made GF and was yummy.

Wow go downtown Dartmouth. Lovely spot. Just got in think a reservation is a thought. But maybe not!

Clean atmosphere and friendly staff. My friend took me out for brunch. I love this spot. Family friendly

Lovely and comfortable place that punches way above its weight class. Great cocktails. Inventive interpretation of classic dishes.

Went in here with my dad, we each got the burger, both agreed it was good! Generous serving with two patties & the beef was slightly pink in the middle, not too well-done, which was really nice. The fries were very tasty, well-seasoned and definitely worth the add-on. The place is a bit trendy but in a charming way, not so much that it feels austere, and our waitress was lovely.

Food was delicious! Reservation was smooth. They close pretty early so no atmosphere after 8 pm, staff just starts getting ready to close so all you hear are the strong sounds of plates and cutlery being organized.

One of our favorite lunch spots! Love everything about this cozy spot, it's child friendly for our little one who really enjoyed the curry soup. We will of course be back.

Good average food, short but varied menu. Service was excellent, lighting was romantically dimmed.even if 1 was not having a romantic evening.food was average, prbly excellent by NS standard.there's quite a bit 4 them 2 achieve b4 becoming world class.wine list very very limited.n like all thing NS tons of Beer types.

I went there last July and thought it was good but on the expensive side. I had reservations for today and when I got there it was closed. There was no warning on the website and it should not have been possible to book reservations if they weren't planning to be open. My friend drove in from Bedford for it. Very unprofessional.

Cute place and their lunch/dinner menues look great. Brunch was okay - wish they would ask how you want your eggs, and had other options for meat beside pork.

Food was average at best. Pay attention to what day/time you visit; their menu changes. This includes charging 25%+ more for the same items if you visit at a different time of day

Service was excellent and the fish burger and crobster roll were very good. My mom wants to go back soon.

Heard great things, but the experience was sub-par. Service was only outshined by the food, and food was probably great for vegans and those with dietary restrictions, but not a great selection for those who like to enjoy meat.

Had a couple of great meals here during a stay in Dartmouth. The Crobster Roll and chowder are both excellent, with plenty of fresh seafood. Brunch is also good, with variations on staples like Eggs Benny and pancakes. Service was efficient and friendly with a casual, neighbourhood feel.

A great spot to go for lunch or supper if your in downtown Halifax, I highly recommend the canteen burger. It’s so good I forgot to take a picture of it first. The house made ketchup was a great treat as well

Wonderful place with a wonderful atmosphere. The wait staff was quite friendly and good humored. We were glad for this because our table was quite silly and very undecided with all of our orders.
I don't like small plates of food. Most of the time I leve a restaurant like this and eat something else when I get home.
But the kitchen and or wait staff were very accommodating and added extra tuna and agg to my meal! I was generally surprised at the size of the plate when the meal came to the table.
I really overwhelmed with the food or presentation but this had both. So good on you guys and thank you very much. Everyone else at the table also like all of their meal choices.

Such a lovely place to eat and a joy every time we go!

Professional, attentive and friendly staff.

Beautiful an inviting space (small so make a reservation). Sturdy plexiglass separators between dining spaces at the bar. For 1-2, bar is the best place to sit!

Great wine list and creative bartenders willing to make custom cocktails including non-alcoholic.

Delicious food (we tried steak, seafood appetizers, desserts) with filling portions and interesting fresh ingredients.

Not that they need more positive reviews, but overall an excellent restaurant at an elevated but not intimidating price point.

Great vibe, great recommendations from our server on what to order (haddock, swordfish app, broccoli app! Thank you Kristen from Sarnia!), delicious taste combinations, amazing fries and housemade ketchup, the tahini brownie ranks as one of the best desserts I've had in the east coast!

The atmosphere is great, the food is amazing. High quality. Very friendly staff. Would definitely recommend! You won’t be disappointed.

Je recommande fortement le risotto de petit poids aux saint jacques, c'était excellent, beaucoup de saveurs et de finesse.

This is my first visit to The Canteen, but not my last. This place is awesome. The decor, the ambience, the wait staff (shout out to out waiter Mark and his awesome hair) were all great, but the star was the food. A simple menu but everything we had was perfect. The burger was huge and delicious, and the scallops with summer pea risotto was the best thing I have eaten in over a year. Well done, highly recommended

One of the best places I've been to, definitely in my top 10 - food is great, creative flavours, all staff were great and made a solo traveller feel extremely welcomed and the interior design is pretty cool - salads, crobster roll, cocktails and dessert, all highly recommendable!

It's sad to say how long it has been since I've last eaten here but this was a loud and clear reminder of why I can't wait so long to eat here again. Brunch with a visiting friend was a huge hit for us both. Hangover breakfast sandwich for me (no hangover required for this delicious layers of love sammich) with new local potatoes grilled with spices and a crobster roll and green salad for her that had so much lobster in it she was giggling with delight. Staff was amazing and service was quick. Definitely recommend making a reservation to avoid a wait.

Extremely arrogant maitre d' in an empty restaurant placed us next to the toilets and kitchen entrance. Decor extremely underwhelming. We walked, they laughed.

Got takeaway Crobster Roll and fries- absolutely amazing!
The chocolate chip cookie was crunchy and chewy and with the right amount of chocolate!

Crobster roll was incredible so was the summer salad. Service was great. Restaurant had a nice atmosphere. Luckily we got there right when it opened. It gets very busy around lunch time.

Tried to go here several times, but there was always a wait. Got in within 15 minutes today, and it was well worth it. Food was reasonably priced, waitstaff were phenomenal, over all it was clean and had a great atmosphere. Definitely recommend making a reservation rather than going in on a whim.

Ok place, for a brunch place that wants to portrait itself as trendy, not to have expresso coffees nor being able to customize dishes it's deceiving to say the least.

Stopped by for a late lunch. The decor is very cute and was appropriately socially distanced. Service was great.

We tried the crobster roll, snow crab dip, kale caesar salad, chowder and sandwich of the day, which was the peachy keen. I really enjoy the chowder as it was flavourful but light. We also enjoyed the peachy keen (pictured) ; the flavours are really well balanced, but the goat cheese might be a bit strong for some people. The crobster roll and crab dip were good, but not particularly standout.

My personal favourite was surprisingly the kale caesar salad!

Great lunch here. Cute and comfy atmosphere. Excellent service. The Crobster crab/lobster roll was absolutely delicious. Is it mean to take off a star because the green salad was literally just lettuce? I’ll go again, won’t have the salad.

Love eerything about this restaurant. The elevated tastes and presentation of the food is perfection. Service is wonderful.attentive and friendly and welcoming. Atmosphere: stylish downtown vibe.

The food here is innovative and delicious. My dining companion ordered the pink strawberry lemonade pancakes.they were excellent, she did mention it would been nice to have some chopped up or for that matter slices of strawberries.the sauce was pink so we assumed the strawberries had been pulsed into the sauce. I opted for the eggs huevo rancheros, it was flavourful. I had to send the first offering back as it arrived lukewarm. The tortilla was really very greasy.so perhaps the kitchen fries them prior to service let's them cool and then refriesand.that wasn't good. Haley our server was terrific accommodating and pleasant. She recommend a chocolate cake for dessert and it was great.

We have been to the Canteen for brunch and Dinner and it's always been amazing great people and great food hands down one of the best places to eat in Dartmouth.

The Canteen on Portland is a hidden gem.

This restaurant is casual fine at its best.

The food is always way beyond my expectations and I continue to be surprised by selection, flavours and price.

I have had very good meals at this highly regarded restaurant in the past but they cannot always be at the top of their game. On a recent visit (for lunch), I found the staff to be generally uninterested in providing good service and the food was not outstanding this time around. As it was a big journey to get to this restaurant likely I will support other restaurants that impress me visit after visit.

It fills me with sadness to think I lived in Halifax for a whole year before trying The Canteen. I am overwhelmed by the freshness and
flavour of each dish. The Caesar mix was homemade and the best I’ve ever had. Hell, even the ketchup was from scratch. The seafood chowder was amazing - it could be a meal in itself - warming and filling. I also know the owner opened a community kitchen during the pandemic and that fact makes me love this restaurant even more. Will be back again and again. Can’t say enough about this place!

Omg the crobster roll! Amazing stuff. Fries are homemade too and delicious. Staff super friendly and covid cleaning is excellent.

Great food and service! COVID guidelines for the safety and security of not only the customers but the staff as well made the dining experience even better. I will be back for sure!