Visiting Halifax in July means a greater chance of good weather and lobster season. The time when these tasty crustaceans are at their prime and the reason Café Lunette offered a special Ooh La Lobster ($54) three-course menu.

But to start, an oyster ($3) to sample Nova Scotia’s array of seafood. It had a sweet finish, the restaurant using a lemon herb mignonette studded with chives, which wasn’t too pungent and just lightly flavoured the oyster.

It was a much better starter than the lobster bisque that had a bitter aftertaste. At first, I thought the bitterness stemmed from the Pernod, an anise liqueur, used in the soup but finally tracked it down to the crackers of all things. Once you scoop those out, the remaining soup was a bit salty but edible and incorporated a lot of lobster throughout.

The lobster spaghetti uses thicker strands of pasta and sauce, so everything sticks together well. The spaghetti had a great chewiness and while it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of lobster, the seafood was cut into small chunks and sprinkled throughout so each bite had a bit of lobster. It was a great main.

You can see the seafood in the truffled lobster and mushroom roll, but the truffle oil was too overpowering. I only had one bite and already my mouth was flooded with so much flavour that I can’t imagine having an entire sandwich. If you love decadence, you’ll want to try the lobster roll.

No lobster was used in the dessert but there was seaweed in the lemon posset. While it’s an interesting maritime addition, the seaweed does add an earthiness to the posset that’s an acquired taste. The consistency of the dessert was nice, almost like a panna cotta but thinner since it doesn’t incorporate gelatin.

The sea salt caramel crème brûlée was very rich and somehow both very sweet and salty. It’s a bit much on its own but when combined with the lemon posset the tanginess earthiness of that counteracts the flavours of the crème brûlée nicely so we ended up eating the desserts together.

Café Lunette’s cute atmosphere made us feel like we wanted to stay there and chat forever, the dining room is open and airy but there’s still a sense of privacy as ample space is given between tables. They are also so friendly – much like Halifax’s general populace – our waiter coming by to say goodbye as they were handing off shifts for the evening. We had a wonderful night and what a sad ending when we finally had to bid the café and its delicious lobsters au revoir. 

In a nutshell... 

• Must order: spaghetti and black cod
• Just skip: wild king crab salad 
• Note: DaNico offers a prix fixe menu for $150 that allows diners to choose their three courses

There’s no better way to get into the mind of a restaurant than through their chef’s menu. At Richmond Station, every two weeks, their chefs create a tasting menu ($120) with an optional beverage pairing ($75) that tests ideas in progress (some finding a permanent home on the a la carte menu) and others simply showcasing the amazing ingredients available.

Their late July menu started us off with a selection of canapés, a great way to begin so diners have something to nibble on while waiting for the main attractions to arrive. We start with the salmon tart filled with finely chopped salmon, onion, and dill aioli creating a fresh savoury bite. The pastry has a soft crispiness that’s a little unexpected – it tastes like thinly compressed shortbread. The fish was great, but the shell made me ponder.

Luckily, I didn’t have to think for long as my mind was blown by the buttermilk oyster. It is SO good! What a genius idea to use buttermilk and herb oil as the flavouring – the creaminess combines wonderfully with the silky briny oyster, while still having a touch of acid. Ultimately, it allows the oyster to finish sweeter. Move over red onion mignonette, let’s hope buttermilk rains supreme.  

Our server suggests we follow the oyster with the thick tomato bisque, which was fine but not nearly as great as the oyster. Be sure to dig to the bottom of the teacup, that’s where you’ll find pieces of Parmesan crisps that add a salty hit to the soup.

Following orders, we sample the profiterole last as its sweet and salty filling (perhaps a liver mousse with maple syrup?) brings an almost dessert-like finish to the canapés. Personally, I think Richmond Station should consider including one of these with the bill, in lieu of the typical chocolate (the restaurant does put a sweet and salty spin on the mignonettes), as it’s unexpected and ends the meal on a lighter note.

It’s no surprise that the summer menu features a host of seafood: the starter, a scallop crudo, takes a fresh clean scallop and adds bits of radish to enhance the soft shellfish. I love the diced pickled jalapeño that add an unexpected hint of spice, which is calmed by the lime crème fraiche. I’ve always associated Richmond Station with meat (likely because of their famous burger), but this menu shows they do seafood well.

We’re advised the summer squash salad is created from things grown in their garden – barely cooked rounds of zucchini and sweet, peeled tomatoes sitting on a surprisingly rich squash purée that’s spiced with miso. Somehow, they created a feeling of having a “warm” salad without raising the temperature.

The black sea bass was steamed to perfection and the mound of mushroom foam, once mixed with the vermouth cream, creates a comforting cream of mushroom taste – an unexpected and enjoyable twist. While the dish could have become heavy, once you pop one of the Saltspring Island mussels into your mouth, the acidic bite resets the taste buds.

In terms of food, the only slight slip on the menu was the honey-glazed Muscovy duck. While it was cooked well and had great flavours, our piece had a chewy silvery bit running through the meat. Since the duck was left as a larger piece (likely to ensure it stays warmer), that grizzly flaw made it difficult to cut thinly and made for a chewy bite.

My recommendation, if there is a tell-tale silvery sign after cutting into the duck, is for the kitchen to proceed to slice the breast into thin slices… even at the detriment of the meat arriving cooler than normal. In this case, perhaps pour the au jus from a hot vessel tableside to bring heat back into the dish? It’s just a shame when you can’t enjoy the duck to it’s fullest because you have a mound in your mouth that you’re chewing through like Bubblicious.

Cheers to the duck sausage, which was delicious, especially when mixed with a bit of creamed Swiss chard, chanterelle mushrooms, and sour cherry jus.

Richmond Station was smart to serve their pillowy soft bread with the duck, so diners don’t fill-up on the warm milky creation. Normally, I would have devoured both, but by the end of the meal I could only have one. In hindsight, I should have skipped the cup of tomato soup to save room for the roll.

Dessert brought us a custardy vanilla panna cotta topped with tart stewed gooseberries, berry sorbet, and meringue pieces. Like many of the other dishes, Richmond Station seems to always like to feature at least two flavours – in this case sweet and sour – to keep every bite interesting.

The petit fours bring the meal full circle with a fruit tart made with the same crust as the salmon… yes, I still remembered the shortbread like shell by the end of the meal, and it works better for a sweet.  

While the food was a hit, service could improve with two slight adjustments:

• Richmond Station’s cozy upstairs dining room doesn’t make it easy to hear people – especially when they are wearing a mask. I’d recommend having the chef remove their mask when explaining the dish or letting the maskless servers do the talking, as I could only catch every third word of the explanation and didn’t have the heart to keep asking them to repeat themselves.

• If need be, slow down the food service to give the front-of-the-house enough time to do their part. For example, we had to follow-up on our drinks that hadn’t arrived by the time the canapes were presented – champagne goes so well with oysters that it would be a shame not to have them together. And there was an instance where a dish was presented before the cutlery was set – to their credit, the chef noticed right after explaining the dish and went to get the cutlery… at the same time our server arrived to lay it out. I get it, there’s a staffing shortage so these things will happen. Perhaps, slowing down the pace of how quickly dishes are coming out will give servers (especially new and inexperienced ones) more time to complete all their prep work.

At least bill settlements are kept simple. Richmond Station’s prices already includes gratuities, so when you ask for the check, they just add on taxes. The pay machine arrives with the total inputted and ready to tap. So, finalizing the transaction is simply a snap. Don’t worry, I’ll stop doing rhymes now. 

When you visit Wolf in the Fog’s ‘About’ section on their website, the first write-up focuses on Tofino rather than on the chef or the restaurant. The “Who” comes afterwards, briefly speaking to the pack that leads the restaurant’s kitchen, front of the house, and bar. They don’t brag about being named Canada’s best restaurant by Enroute in 2014 or its current seat on Canada’s 100 Best (#48). Their laid-back attitude is likely a microcosm of being in Tofino, where everyone I met is so friendly and seemed to genuinely just love life.

It's hard to miss Wolf in the Fog’s two-floor building with its prominent location in the middle of downtown Tofino. The restaurant creates a great atmosphere, especially if you’re seated on the second floor, near the window and can also take in the view of Tofino’s harbour.

One glimpse of the glistening bar and I knew it would be a cocktail night for me. And with their ever-changing bar menu, it’s certainly an area they are focused on. The cockatiel ($16) sported a whimsical crest of citrus feathers and was refreshingly light compared to the stronger cedar sours that my friends ordered.

Thanks to a suggestion from our waiter, two of the sides acted as a great starter: spot prawns and garlic bread. The prawns ($18) swam in a garlicky butter and with the delicate shrimp deshelled, they were ready to snack on like a fancy popcorn shrimp. Its suggested pairing with garlic bread ($8) was unnecessary as between the bread and butter became too garlicky overtaking the sweetness of the prawn. Instead, I opted to have the shrimp first and saved the bread for dipping into the sauce. Trust me, you’ll still want a serving of the carbs, which was like a fluffy focaccia with crispy edges and plenty of shaved Parmesan on top.

The tornado rolls inspired presentation of the potato crusted oysters ($19 for 3) was unexpected, but a safe preparation for those who are squeamish of raw oysters. And since the shellfish was smoked, the dish seemed like it incorporated bacon despite not having any meat. Seriously, if I hadn’t seen the menu, I would have thought I was popping a bacon wrapped scallop tornado roll into my mouth.

We stuck with seafood even for the mains. The baked Tofino halibut ($48) was cooked well, although I could have done without the crispy breadcrumbs as it made the fish gritty. The accompanying gnocchi were a great chewy and soft consistency, smothered in a delicious zesty marinara mixed with chili and tapenade butter. While I’m not sure the gnocchi went particularly well with the halibut, each element was great on its own.

Although the pork belly in the Thai pork belly and clams ($38) could be softer, it was still tasty especially dipped in the yellow curry. As for the clams, despite being sizeable, the curry did cover its natural flavours but the shellfish itself was cooked nicely. Overall, I can’t help but think the dish is missing a fresh element. The sliver of bok choy was a start, but another herb or vegetable would have really pulled everything together.

We were blessed with a huge slice of the Basque cheesecake ($14) to finish. Given its height, I wasn’t surprised the cake’s texture was fluffy and light. Call me suspicious, but the burnt finishing seems too perfect… almost like it was blowtorched rather than baked. Previous Basque cakes I’ve had were marked by cracks and bulges, Wolf in the Fog’s cake was so nice and smooth.

Cakegate aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the dessert, but could have done without the overly tart fruit preserve and crunchy almond clusters. When the cake is good just leave it alone. When in doubt, keep things natural like Tofino. 

• 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!

• Pluvio