The Red Shoe

The food was delicious. We wish we could have stayed for the music, but we had a Celtic Colours concert to attend that evening.

We were at homecoming at St FX in October with other friends from Maine whose son plays football for St FX and loves the place. I wanted to take them to see what a Yankee experiences when one goes to X and the gift I received from all the Capers I knew at X when I went there 50 years ago. I had two roommates from Cape Breton and experienced something something still preserved at the RED SHOE. This is a special restaurant which sells more than good food. If you are from away and want to experience a Cape Breton Kitchen Party and good food, visit this restaurant owned by the iconic Cape Breton family of singers, the Rankins.

One of the best meals we had on our trip to Cape Breton Island. Great service, delicious food and a great atmosphere. I only wish we were able to catch some live music.

I stopped in for a meal before the Celtic Colours concert and I was not disappointed. Although very busy, I was seated quickly and the service was excellent. I opted for the Roasted Vegetable Pasta Puttanesca. It was delicious. The veggies were fresh and the Puttanesca sauce was rich and flavourful. I'm looking forward to coming back one of these days for the music. Highly recommend.

Im colour blind. Could be a green shoe for all i care.
Anyways, I walked in here wearing black shoes with my friend who had white shoes and my other friend in brown shoes. Met up with two of my other friends. One had pink shoes and the other had orange shoes. And they were all feeling very blue.
That is until the amazing fantastic service we recieved by a server with no shoes. Just kidding but im not telling what colour. You gotta come down and see for yourself, clown shoes

Great spot to stop in Cape Breton west coast. Great food and very popular. By chance we arrived just at noon (opening time). Lucky to have a parking spot out front - there were several people waiting to go in. While we were there, there was a steady stream of people coming in. It was a Thursday in October.

The service was prompt and very friendly. The food was excellent. I had the seafood chowder. My wife had the halibut burger with fries. Huge sandwich, excellent fries. Highly recommended.

Great cafe in a quaint village on the way to the Cabot Trail. We will return for more soup.

Très bon petit restaurant en direction de la Cabot trail
Nous avons partagé une chaudrée de fruits de mer et un fish and chips
C’était très bien
La chaudrée n’est pas très assaisonné donc on goûte vraiment les saveurs.
Prix raisonnable selon moi

Surprisingly nice family restaurant with good beer and even better food. Very nice atmosphere!

EXCELLENT local talent performing, with punters getting up to step dance, giving a truly Cape Breton down home feel to the evening.

We had done our research well in advance about this joint and it did not let us down.
My wife told me about the Rankin sisters having this place and how famous it was.
So we had gone to the beach in Mabou and then dropped in to this place.
I was apprehensive as this location is remote and was not expecting much.
My view and thoughts changed the minute we entered- it was bustling and full of people.
The noise of happy families and people having a great time.
The food was great and the service warm and friendly.
It is one of the best dinners we have ever had and the ambience was good too.
Remember it's a small town on Cape Breton Island.
Then the Rankin sisters themselves walked in and played some instrumental music.
This was the highlight of the evening I guess.
Plenty of parking outside so don't worry about that.
If you are in Mabou don't forget to pop in and make yourself a part of history!

The Rankins are better Singers than Chefs. We had better (& Cheaper) Dinners from Food Trucks. Would never go back

Amazing little restaurant not far from Port Hood, had the most amazing Clam Chowder, and Scallops.yummy! Music was playing.amazing atmosphere. The people are fantastic! Don't miss this stop on your journey

Very knowledgeable about gluten free/celiac options and have menu items the same. I only wish every table had a view of the live music.

Only there for lunch which was very good. The chowder was outstanding. Dinner offers live music.

A true culinary delight! Which is not what I expected (thought it would be more of a casual fare, mom ‘n pop place) but the food and flavours were just amazing. A great place for casual pub-style drinks, and elevated but unpretentious dinners. Just go there. Just. Go.

Stopped in for a meal and was pleased with the food and the fiddle playing. Definitely would go back!

There were 10 customers and our food took so long to arrive. The pulled pork was tasteless. The extra fries we ordered never came. Only good thing was our sweet waitress.

Very busy. We had a 1 1/2 hour wait to get in. The atmosphere was relaxing and warm. The mussels were great and the Atlantic salmon was also pretty good, but a bit overcooked.

We stumbled into a great live concert by chance and had a very nice evening. The food was delicious and fresh. The service courteous.

The muscles, salmon, and scallops were amazing. It was a bit of a line up because there was a live band playing and they were busy so be patient. It’s worth it for the food.:)

Excellent food and music. We wanted a real Cape Breton experience. A must visit if you are staying close by.

I'm sorry to have to write this review because I've been going to the Red Shoe for many years and the food, service & entertainment has always been the absolute very best. I ordered the pan-seared scallops and didn't find it very flavour able, also the portion size for $31 was very small, I counted the "baby" potatoes, three half sizes, I almost wanted to ask for a slice of bread because I still felt hungry. Dessert was Banana split, the homemade macaroons were very dry and if not for the ice-cream I wouldn't of been able to eat it. I don't leave this negative review to disrespect this establishment because I've been here often and had only the very best, I only leave this review so that the owner's can stay on top of their great name & great food.

Lots of fun listening to music and the food was great. If you're there for the music, arrive early or you'll stand in line. We didn't have to wait too long tho. Seating for two is mostly shared table with others.

Outstanding pub in Mabou NS. Sensational food often accompanied by great music. The Red Shoe Ale goes down smoothly. Their variant of poutine combines sweet potato fries with pulled pork and red cabbage. I'd go back just for that!

We stopped through at the Red Shoe Pub on our way through Mabou. The pub was quite busy, but server was prompt with drinks and food. The Red Shoe Burger was extremely tasty, and the Cape Breton Flag drink was also quite nice. Would go back.

A gem of a spot in this beautiful little town. We came in right as the entertainment was wrapping up, and I was sorry I missed it (although my kids were not). The food was exceptional with a more gastronomic flair than regular pub food - carrot and ginger soup, gingerbread dessert with fruit compote. My boys had the burger and the pulled pork sandwich and said both were amazing. The only down side was the staff - it took a little while of talking to them but initially there were zero smiles on anyone’s faces. One lady looked so morose when she came to our table I asked if she was ok. For all of the frivolity, music and dancing in the place, the dour faces seemed so out of place. I don’t know if something happened that precipitated that gloom but in the service industry, I would think rule #1 is look friendly and happy - if guests see happy faces it makes them happy too!

Only did a quick stop here to get a drink but loved it. I really enjoyed their red ale & wish we could have stayed longer for lunch. Next time!

We have been 2 times now the first time the food was extremely salty to the point even the salad was hard to eat after we ate our meal we were having a drink and we were approached and told at this time 15 dollars per person would be added to our bill as cover charge. We were confused as we what just ate a meal. We ended up leaving for the night. We came back two years later and hoped there had been a change. The food was still extremely salty to the point of being inedible and the wait staff seemed like they were not happy with any tables not personable or friendly in the least not a single smile from any staff. Again we were charged 10$ per person for “cover” at 4: 30PM with no live music. The first 10 minutes there was a bit of fiddling but after that nothing.very disappointed as we were excited to come to a popular pub in the area that was nearby our accommodations. Would not recommend unless it’s your only option sadly. Big fan of the Rankins not of this pub.