- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee |
- All
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
5 reviews for McKelvie's
All Reviews
McKelvie's
7/6/2010
McKelvie's is absolutely wonderful! The only reason I haven't given 5 stars is their prices.
If you want fresh fish that melts in your mouth, fine wines galore, nice atmosphere and polite service, then McKelvie's is the place to go!
Though they haven't got much in the way of vegetarian options (except salads) they certainly have some scrumptious dishes for the gluten-free individual. Really satisfying!
The dishes are all flavoured perfectly, with fresh herbs, citrus and well-balanced, memorable sauces. This is simple food turned gourmet, delectable to even the most particular palate.
The prices may be high, especially in summer, but that is to be expected for high-quality gourmet food. And that is what you get at McKelvie's! Worth every dollar!
My only suggestion would be some more gluten-free dessert options. I can't really appreciate Crème Brûlée. ;-)
McKelvie's
8/22/2010
My parents came to town this weekend and we were all looking for some great seafood. We had heard mixed reviews about McKelvie's but thought it was a landmark / staple of Halifax so we should all try it. Four of us went on a Sunday evening and were very disappointed with the food.
Booking the reservation was easy with OpenTable online...I think more restaurants should use this.
The waitress was knowledgable and friendly, and the hostess seated us at nice table overlooking the main seating area.
However, for entrees at between $25-$30, the food was definitely subpar. Two us had the Szechuan scallops, one had the Catch of the Day, one had a mixed lobster platter. Presentation across the board was very basic. The lobster was deep-fried unexpectedly, and something surprisingly low-effort from a mid-to-high end seafood establishment. Overall the presentation, flavor and freshness of our fish dishes were something you would expect at a seafood shack at half the price. On a positive note, along with the service the wine selection was excellent. In fact our Austrailian Sauv. Blanc wine was the best part of the overpriced meal.
McKelvie's
11/26/2009
I visited McKelvie's on my first ever visit to Canada back in October 2008, (I'm British, by the way) with my Canadian fiancé (who was then my boyfriend) and it made such a lasting impression on me that I still remember it as if it were yesterday!
Firstly, I absolutely LOVE the location. Downtown Halifax is a gorgeous place to walk around and explore. The fact that the restaurant building is the old fire station makes it a really interesting dining space with it's high ceilings and huge arched windows. The tag line of the restaurant is "Delishes Fishes Dishes" and my, those fishes were certainly delishes!!
The first time we went, we were practically the only ones in there and I explained to our server, Johnny (he was so lovely!) that I was interested in trying the famous Nova Scotia lobster because I'd never tasted lobster before as there's not a lot of it to be found in England. He took us over to the live lobster tank and explained how each one was priced according to weight. Then I chose my little guy and he was sent away to be boiled. The kitchen, like the rest of the restaurant is a very open space and I thought it was so cool that I could see my lobster being cooked!
As a starter I had some amazing scallops wrapped in bacon and drizzled with maple syrup. It was heavenly! My first ever taste of lobster certainly lived up to expectations - I ate the whole thing and loved every bite. For dessert I had a pumpkin cheesecake which was amazing - I've never tasted anything like it before or since!
The service by Johnny was second to none - very professional and polite. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we visited again towards the end of our trip. Johnny was our server once more and he seemed pleased to see us again - he even gave us each a glass of complementary local beer as a parting gift.
If I'm ever back in Halifax, I'm definitely going to go back to McKelvie's for more lobster. Delishes!
McKelvie's
10/7/2009
I like seafood, and McKelvie's is a good place to get nice fresh seafood. Maybe not the best place in Halifax, but good. The restaurant is big and open (and therefore, a bit on the noisy side). Servers are fast and friendly. I had the Crunchy Haddock the last time I was there, and it was tasty, although a bit expensive at $15.95. This restaurant seems to cater to the business and tourist crowds, so it's not the hippest place in town. Good, solid, tasty. Portions could probably be a bit larger to make it feel like better value.
McKelvie's
9/11/2008
It's 6 pm and we want some Halifax flavoured din-din. Where to go? The cute sign for McKelvie's (it says Delishes Fishes Dishes) came to mind and I pulled up the online menu to convince my guy to eat seafood with me for the 3rd night in a row. He checked it out and was down for the mission. It was late in the game for a reservation, but just to try, he called them up and said, "I'd like to make a reservation for Delishes Fishes." LOL. FAIL. But a cute fail.
Anyway, no reservations were available so we rolled up ready to wait it out. We found seats at the bar easily and grabbed a couple bevvies. The bartenders were nice and energetic. We got a table after about 30 minutes - not too bad for a Saturday. For starters we got a shrimp and calamari salad and the jump-up calamari. I wished the salad had more flavor to it but the seafood tasted so fresh. The jumped up stuff was spicy and tasty but the kind of thing you can't eat too much of. Onto the main event... he got fish and chips and I got salmon. The F in his F&C was fantastic - I'm officially voting Halifax as having the best haddock anywhere. The C's were not the best but were adequate. My blackened salmon was very good, I was a bit worried because it's easy to mess up blackened fish but the seasoning was just right. I wasn't the biggest fan the side combination of mashed taters and cucumber Greek salad - bit of an odd match. For dessert we had a mint chocolate pie thing which was good, not the best dessert I've had though, so their specialty in that department may lie elsewhere. The service had no real issues, it was slow at times but not horrifically so. It was a busy night but there should have been a couple more staff on the floor to help ease the stress. The prices were definitely reasonable for the quality of food we got.
Delishes!
Listed in: Livin' it up on AST
