Selkirk Dining Room

We arrived at dinner at the Selkirk restaurant on August 20, 2012 in the generically grand lobby of the Delta Hotel with singularly low expectations. The place was huge and nearly empty and without a single window to the beautiful historic neighborhood and waterfront surrounding it; we'd had serious doubts when the owner of the B&B we were staying at recommended it to us. Boy were we wrong.

We had come to PEI on a pilgrimage of sorts for great seafood, and we have eaten at great fish restaurants in New York and San Francisco. But this place stood out for its inventive cuisine on an island that has great fish but seemingly few sophisticated restaurants.

The chef, Olivia, prepared a six-course tasting menu for about $50 a person before tax and drinks, with full license to cook whatever she felt like preparing, but with a focus on seafood. Highlights included a wonderful seafood chowder of bay scallops, salmon and a white fish, topped with a froth of foam and accompanied by a sweet grilled butterflied prawn; a salad of very thinly sliced, impossibly tender duck breast, roasted hazlenuts, arugula, a cube of cranberry gelee and a hint of plum sauce dressing; and a seared sea scallop halved and stuffed with a slice of grilled pineapple. The dishes were creative but let the high quality of the ingredients shine through, and portions were surprisingly generous for a tasting menu. With the exception of a lobster fish cake, the dishes were not oversalted, which we have found to be a common problem with high-end restaurant cuisine.

Our only serious critique for the chef centered on the entrée: slices of roasted pork tenderloin topped with a cherry tomato relish and served over thinly sliced local potatoes and carmelized onions. The potatoes were remarkable, but the pork was overcooked and sliced too thickly. We also found the desserts to be completely incongruous with the rest of the meal. They were overpoweringly sweet, sat heavy in the stomach, and were excessive in every way.

We ended up at the restaurant on a chance recommendation from the owner of the Colonial Charm Inn we were staying at. But with so few customers and a setting like this, we can't imagine such a talented chef will stick around for much longer. If you're in Charlottetown, get over there while you still can.