Cape Breton’s haut cuisine is not just about oatcakes but that’s a good start. The Scottish influence is strong in this part of Nova Scotia with Gaelic still being spoken and the sound of fiddles at every turn. What follows are my suggestions of where to go for the best flavours of this Atlantic island.

Oatcakes
When Earlene Busch, owner of Chanterelle Country Inn & Cottages in Baddeck, moved from her home in the US to Cape Breton she happened upon the best oakcakes ever.
“They were made by Mrs. Landry at the Falls Hotel in Sydney,” she told me. She said she subsequently went all over the island trying oatcakes but none were as good. Fortunately Mrs. Landry gave her the recipe and now guests at Chanterelle get to enjoy these scrumptious oatcakes. Busch also forages on her property for wild berries, mushrooms, dandelions and other wild plants to use at her ecologically friendly inn.
At Rita’s Tea Room in Big Pond, guests can listen to the haunting beauty of Rita MacNeil’s songs while sipping Rita’s House Blend Tea and munching on crunchy oatcakes. The Tea Room is in a former one room schoolhouse built in 1939, which Rita bought and lived in with her family before turning it into a restaurant and gift shop. Rita’s son Wade Langham now manages the place. On the walls are tea cups that people from around the world brought her (at concerts the singer used to invite people to bring their own cup and saucer and drop in for tea).
Seafood Chowder
Thick creamy seafood chowder is a staple around the island. Cabot Links in Inverness is famous for their version of it as well as for other Maritime-inspired dishes and authentic links golf. (Every hole of Cabot Links offers an ocean view and their new Cabot Cliffs course has already been ranked #19 out of the top 100 courses in the world.) To top it off, there’s a good selection of Nova Scotia wines on the excellent wine list at their fine dining restaurant Panorama, including a number of Tidal Bay, the province’s first appellation wines.
At Arichat Seafood Market on picturesque Isle-Madame, an Acadian area of Cape Breton, I was offered a choice of two chowders. One chock-full of seafood including tender tiny bay scallops and the other a smoked haddock version. I had to have both and they were delicious. Though there are bistro tables, most of the menu here is grab-&-go style, as it is also a market stocked with local, seasonal fish and seafood.
My favourite chowder however was at the Glenora Inn restaurant. Chef Patrick MacIsaac made it extra creamy and thick with lobster, haddock, clams and scallops.
Lobster
It was lobster season while I was on the island and so I made the most of it. Of all the places I ate lobster, the Purple Thistle Dining Room at the Keltic Lodge Resort in Ingonish did it the best. My perfectly cooked whole lobster with hot butter had been fished that morning from the base of Smokey, a mountain I could see from the window of my room.
The Lodge has just reopened after a $5-million plus makeover. Their nearby Highlands Links golf course designed by the legendary golf architect Stanley Thompson is celebrating 75 years this summer so timing is perfect for a big celebration and Executive Chef Daryl MacDonnell is on his game.
Clove Hitch Bar & Bistro in Port Hood got inventive with the fresh local lobster they sourced in the morning. They served me lobster sushi and lobster wonton with Sambuca cream – both very tasty as was the rest of the meal. As with many of the restaurants, there was live music: this time local musician Peter MacInnis entertained.
Oysters
People from all over the world say Mabou oysters are the best and I concur. Jeff Lee and his son Clifford of Sam’s Point Oyster Co plucked some straight from the ocean floor for me (they lease an area of Mabou Harbour for their oyster raising).
At both Cabot Links and Keltic Lodge, I had a half dozen ultra-fresh and expertly presented. If I could start every meal with Mabou oysters, I’d be in heaven.
Beer
Big Spruce Brewing, part of the Good Cheer Trail in Nova Scotia, is a certified organic craft brewery with killer beer. They started with Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout, a good move as it was the first dark beer to be made in the province and gave them entry to the taps in the towns. Brewery owner Jeremy White grows 11 varieties of hops on his 75 acre property (about 25 to 35 percent of the hops he needs) and has identified two wild captured yeast strains which he hopes in the future to use in making his brews. The plan is to make a 100 percent Nova Scotia beer using his own hops, yeast, spring water and Nova Scotia grown malted barley.
Meanwhile the brewery is producing an impressive selection of beers. Of the four I tried, my favourite was You Spin Me Round Wheat IPA which had great flavour and length.
Breton Brewing in Sydney, just opened a year ago, but already is doing well with their four flagship brews. My favourite Black Angus IPA – fresh clean and hoppy – is sold in Nova Scotia liquor stores as well as at the brewery. Their seasonal brews such as vanilla oatmeal stout and maple lager seem worth looking out for.
Single Malt Whisky
Glenora Distillery which started production in June 1990 in Mabou is North America’s first single malt whisky distillery. Their whiskies are produced in traditional copper pot stills using only barley, yeast and water from Glenora Falls which flows through their property. All their whiskies are aged in once used bourbon casks and the Glen Breton Rare ICE is finished in ex-ice wine casks from Jost Vineyards for three months. The only peated product is Glen Breton 12 Year Old Cask which I loved – they should do more of it. Beside the distillery, there is an inn and chalets, an excellent restaurant and a pub with daily live music on the property.
Ancient Recipes
At the Fortress of Louisbourg historians have studied records and inventory lists to determine what the people there ate in the 18th century and developed recipes based on the documents. Visitors can enjoy an upper class 18th century meal eaten off handmade porcelain replica dishes at Hotel de la Marine.
My meal was a pleasant one of root vegetable soup (carrots, turnips, onions) and chicken with rice and carrots. (Rice apparently was imported and potatoes weren’t yet in vogue.) Rum was part of the colonial tradition and today Authentic Seacoast has created a special edition rum matured in oak barrels in the Magazin du Roi, the largest storehouse of the reconstructed town. I much enjoyed my hot rum toddy as an antidote to the cold foggy weather of Louisbourg.
Haute Cuisine
From oat to haute, the grand finale of any trip would be a visit to The Bite House 20 minutes or so outside of Baddeck. Chef Bryan Picard’s restaurant, a 12 seater on the ground floor of his century-old farmhouse home, sources from his own gardens, foraged botanicals and small independent farmers to create amazing five course tasting menus for $60.
Open Wednesday to Saturday for dinner from May to December, it was already booked through to mid-September when I visited in June. The chef likes to challenge himself while keeping seasonal, local and Canadian.