Almost every person I spoke to about visiting Halifax said I had to eat at The Bicycle Thief. When pressed further as to why I had to go, they unanimously said that it has great food and has a great vibe. My arm was twisted.

The restaurant serves a seafood forward Italian menu. And their seared local scallops ($17; 3 to an order we added a fourth) was a favourite dish for our table. Deceptively simple looking, the crustaceans are pressed into finely crushed almonds, so the golden seared crust also has a crispiness to it. The added richness and crunchiness pairs wonderfully with the yuzu beurre blanc, which made me wish I had saved bread for dipping into the buttery sauce.

I’d recommend swapping out the sesame cucumber “spaghetti” for diced cucumber instead. The long tendrils were too messy to get onto the bread and overpowers the fish in the yellowfin tuna tartare ($16). They should also substitute the too crunchy crostini for another base, perhaps large taro chips to go along with the other Asian theme ingredients. Nevertheless, the tartare was fresh and flavourful with the pickled ginger, wasabi cream, and creamy avocado.

There was the perfect amount of heat in the linguine fra diavolo ($28), the garlicky tomato sauce covering each piece of the thick and chewy spaghetti. While the five prawns were perhaps a touch overcooked, they were still meaty and delicious.

The rack of lamb ($54) was cooked to perfection, the meat juicy and tasty on its own having been covered with rosemary and Dijon mustard. On the other hand, the side was polarizing – my friends loved the sweety and salty combination of the Amarena cherries, potato, and pancetta. Cherries with meat? Not for me, thank you.

My second favourite dish also incorporated scallops, except in the risotto con Capesante ($32) they didn’t have an almond crust. Instead, they’re served with a hefty portion and creamy risotto studded with peas and crispy prosciutto. Both the seafood and rice were cooked beautifully.

We’re told the butterscotch caramel cake ($14) is the only dessert The Bicycle Thief has kept on the menu since its inception. And after seeing slices whizzing by us to other tables, I had to try this layered cake. It’s sweet, creamy, and nutty, reminding me of the caramel crunch cake from La Rocca, except the meringue is replaced with sponge cake and crusted toasted pecans. Normally, I’m not a fan of very sugary desserts but this one was delicious.

My verdict on The Bicycle Thief? Their food is flavourful and for the most part delicious. I love the restaurant’s buzzy atmosphere and if you don’t mind loud music, you can feel free to laugh-out-loud without being side eyed. It’s central location at Halifax’s downtown harbourfront doesn’t hurt either. They make a mean cocktail and you won’t be disappointed if you visit.

I hate to stereotype, but who else finds restaurants located close to live performance venues meh? Their strength is their location, while the food is merely decent and service passable. Dine along the strip of King West where the Princess of Wales Theatre, Roy Thompson Hall, and TIFF reside, and you’ll know what I mean.

Sadly, Danforth Sidebar fits the stereotype… being close to the Danforth Music Hall has its downfalls. Perhaps the dish that best showcases my point is the pan seared scallops ($23). The dish’s presentation was pretty but look closely at the scallops and they are unevenly done. Ultimately, they are a tad overcooked, but tastes good.

Yet, good luck trying to add another scallop onto the dish if you arrive as a table of five. The answer is simply, “no”. At first, I thought it was a joke, but it’s sadly not - the reason being the dish hasn’t been priced out per piece. Perhaps it’s my finance background, but can’t the equation be simply solved as $5.75 each ($23 divided by 4)? Rather, the answer is no as Danforth Sidebar doesn’t care to keep guests happy or increase their bill totals.

Their menu’s naming convention could also use some work. It lists the cauliflower cotija ($17) as “corn puree, pickled cactus leaf, jalapenos, cotija cheese, hot honey, warm corn tortilla”. Sounds like an incredible vegetable packed queso dip, sign me up! What arrives is a skillet of watery stir-fried vegetables sprinkled with cheese… what? Why was this not listed as ‘cauliflower tacos’ when there’s a similar item called ‘barbacoa tacos’ on the menu? It’s in fact tacos and not a dip.

If that weren’t bad enough, the cauliflower was too mushy and for something listing corn as the first ingredient there wasn’t much of it in the dish. Once I got past the queso disappointment I found it made an okay taco - at least it had nice flavours from the pickled cactus leaf and hot honey.

The short rib poutine ($21) had the makings of a great dish with a large slab of tender short rib, thin potato fries, large chunks of cheese curds, and a beefy gravy. The beef just wasn’t seasoned enough so the poutine didn’t elicit that sinful richness you normally find in the dish.

Under seasoning was a similar sentiment for the striploin in their salad. Thinking a 5oz steak was too small for a main, we added on more steak (another 4oz) to the steak salad (total cost of $27 with the addition). Steak salad plus steak was a great hack as the kitchen ended up substituting the hanger steak (what normally comes with the steak salad) for a full striploin instead. And the steak could have been delicious if it just arrived saltier and hotter.

The salad itself was delicious combining cherry tomatoes, crunchy cucumber, avocado chunks, and a creamy dressing. With a full steak, the kitchen should have plated it on a larger dish as the tiny side plate made it difficult to cut the meat. Also, having the cold salad on one side and the striploin on the other would also mean the meat wouldn’t cool down as quickly.

One draw to Danforth Sidebar is their reasonably priced wine – a bottle of prosecco was only $36! So maybe it’s less of a pre-show dinner spot and more apt for a round of after-show drinks.