If the walls could speak at Blomidon Inn, I’m sure it would have stories to tell. From its construction as the Burgess family’s private home in the late 1800s, it has gone on to serve as apartments, the residence for Acadian University girls, before finally becoming the current inn in 1980.

The main floor of the ornate inn is largely used as the dining area for their restaurant. Where you can enjoy a 3-course meal ($62.50). Or add an extra $2.50 to receive a small salad course between the main and dessert. For those want a smaller dinner, dishes are also available a la carte (prices reflected in this post).

Their tomato bruschetta ($14) uses a decadent whipped ricotta as the base, building upon the classic ingredients of cherry tomatoes, herbs, and a balsamic reduction. With tons of flavours and not as messy to eat, this was a wonderful starting bite.

Arriving as a big chunk, the maple smoked salmon ($14) could benefit from a bit of preparation to present it in a crostini form. The candy sweet salmon was powerful on its own but balances out with the maple yogurt sauce and baguette. A bit of pickled red onion and/or arugula would add some freshness the dish needs.  

Save some of that bread for the steamed mussels ($14), classically prepared in a white wine and garlic broth. I rather enjoyed the bell pepper used throughout for colour and added flavour. The mussels just needed to be soaked longer as they were still several gritty crustaceans.

You can’t go wrong with seafood in Nova Scotia. The pan seared halibut ($37) was perfectly cooked to a flaky and moist consistency. The thick meaty piece could use more seasoning but if you get enough of the ‘hodge podge’, a medley of vegetables cooked in a cream sauce, onto the fish it helps to add flavour.

The scallops in the scallops picatta ($37) were beautifully seared and just cooked through. The natural sweetness of the seafood was also prominent since the lemon caper sauce used with the pappardelle wasn’t too strong. With a touch more salt, this dish would have been perfect.

While the lobster linguine ($44; $7 supplement with the prix fixe) smelled good, the dish was majorly lacking on taste. The spaghetti was overcooked, and everything screamed for more seasoning, butter, and acid. My nose was more impressed than the tongue.

The grilled filet of beef ($44; $7 supplement with the prix fixe) was a touch over cooked but nevertheless tender and did have a nice crust. I just found the sides of mashed potato and carrot date puree to be too similar and soft. And the red wine jus and bourbon bacon butter was non-existent on the dish. Like the other mains, it was bland.

If you still have room for dessert, I’d recommend the fruit cobbler ($14), which contained tons of berries while still leaving the sweet biscuit on top not overly soggy. Served warm, the vanilla ice cream adds a lovely cooling sensation and creaminess as it melts into the dessert.

Blomidon’s crème brûlée ($14) had a nice thin sugar crust and was flavourful of its own. The side of lemon curd was a nice touch, so you can combine into the brûlée to help balance out the sweetness.

If you like graham cracker crust, you’ll love the blueberry cheesecake ($14) since it has a thick portion of the pastry. The cake itself was a nice balance of sweetness and thickness. In the end, a solid cheesecake with plenty of blueberry flavour.

How anyone could even manage to eat a quarter of the chocolate mousse cake ($14) is a mystery. I could only manage one bite, the cake so thick and dense it’s like eating the chocolate ganache centre of a truffle. The intensity certainly didn’t make it very mousse like. Pack this up and you can have a couple bites per day to get a chocolate fix.

While the food wasn’t the greatest at Blomidon Inn, after a day of wine tasting, it was a treat to not have to leave the inn after showering and relaxing. Plus, after the filling meal, we could easily just roll into the sitting room to continue our conversation. After just spending a day in Wolfville, we had our own new stories to tell. 

• Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
• 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
• 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
• 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
• 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
• 10 - absolute perfection!