Gabrieau's Bistro - Antigonish

Went for dinner last night. Ordered the jumbo coconut shrimp. The shrimp were not jumbo but more like ones you get in the frozen section of your local grocery store. You couldn't really taste the coconut either. I would definitely not order them again. For dinner had the seafood paella. It was ok. Nothing to rave about and honestly there was not much flavour. Partner had the Pork, shrimp and vegetable stir fry. The stir fry could have used more sauce and a bit more rice. It had shrimp that looked jumbo size not like the shrimp in the jumbo coconut shrimp. I would not return to this place to eat. The service was great very friendly and attentive but not bothersome.

Gabrieau's is on Main st in Antigonish. There's street parking or you can park in one of the nearby town lots. The restaurant is large with comfortable seating. Menu has a large selection of choices, at least for lunch. I had a traditional Reuben sandwich and it was excellent. Nice wine list, by the glass or bottle. Server was very friendly and helpful. This place would be my first choice in Antigonish.

Decent spot. They have a big menu (almost too big a bit overwhelming) with lots of variety. The fried chicken sandwich is fantastic and I tried the gourmet burger with the 'flex ' option. With that, the patty is partially made of beef, but also made up of quinoa, lentils etc. The wasn 't bad but it was dry and crumbly. The owner is awkward but the food for the most part is good.

3.5 but likely the best creative food in the area town. So if you are travelling, this is definitely the place you want to try if you stay around overnight. Lots of Asian inspired items and variations around seafood, but not all are a success. Global impression was a dry meal... from the curry seafood to the crab cakes and the desserts. Nothing really to remember, but decent and fresh.

We departed Charlottetown after a very nice but short stay. Hopefully we can go back. We caught the ferry from Wood Islands to Caribou and headed for Sydney. On the way we stopped for lunch in Antigonish at Gabrieau's. We had another in a series of good lunches here. Again, excellent seafood chowder was the star. It was very well flavored and buttery with both the seafood (haddock and tiny cold water shrimp) and a few herbs. The ingredients were diced fine and it was properly salted and was not thickened. I loved it. It is an example of what happens when someone puts a little thought into a soup instead of just throwing things into a pot. Ms T's crab cakes were also good. The crab cake style in this area seems to be very finely shredded crab meat. They were served with a curried chow (chutney). Gabrieau's has a great lunch menu and if what we had is any indication, the food is well prepared and nicely seasoned. They also have a very good looking dinner menu. We would certainly return to this place, plus we need to practice saying Antigonish. Four stars since we did not challenge the menus a lot, I wish I had a chance to let them earn five.