Quarterdeck Beachside Grill - Summerville, NS

We make the 20-step trek from our seaside villa to The Quarterdeck Grill. And though we’re not technically on vacation, we’re decidedly on beach time, arriving 7 minutes late to our 7 pm reservation in favour of a few more blissful minutes by the sea.

The sounds and sights of the sea are still waiting for us at the restaurant. The space is delightfully small, rustic and beachy.

The main space has a bar that reminds me of the colourful, paired down beach bars found at a resort. The tables are bright and beachy, too, worn wooden tables set with colourful mis-matched chairs and teal oil lamps.

We are seated in the second room, a three-side ocean view with removable floor-to-ceiling windows. Our table juts out over the sea. We can see the waves washing right underneath us through the glass panes.

We start with the Thai mussels. They arrive in a small white bowl with a bright green beach pail for discarded shells. And while the sauce is delicious, the size and shape of the serving bowl separates the mussels from the sauce. It makes for less than flavourful mussels, but leaves a delicious spicy soup for the end.

Then the main course arrives. Drew has the seafood pasta. It’s loaded with Digby scallops and lobster and topped with a creamy, slightly citrus and pepper sauce.

I get the evening special, two lobster tails stuffed with scallops, shrimp and loads of cheese and served with roasted potatoes and cooked (but still crisp) veggies in a buttery sauce. It is a huge plate of which I could only finish half, though I was tempted to keep going. Drew happily finished my plate.

I love that our server told me in advance that the lobster takes 25 minutes. We aren’t in a rush (beach time, remember?), but I feel like she respects my time. The menu is a little pricey, but not for what you get. Both Drew and I had huge servings – most of which was freshly caught and cooked fish – and we both enjoyed our mains.

We didn’t get beer or wine but were very pleased with the wine list, made up of some of our favourite locals. There were also a few local beer suggestions. We were sad to see that Hell Bay was not on the menu until we found out that Hell Bay IS indeed on tap, you just need to ask for it.

Neither of us had room for dessert, though we were sad to pass on the rhubarb and berry Chantilly. Luckily, there’s a mile-long beach ahead of us, ideal for walking off a good meal.

Location:
Summerville Beach
Port Mouton, NS

Season:
Villas are open year-round

Website: http://www.quarterdeck.ca/

This adventure was part of our Privateer Days experience. The planning committee invited us to Liverpool to take in all the adventure and excitement of their annual festival and covered the costs associated with this trip. We appreciate the support of the Privateer Days committee for helping to keep The Local Traveler viable and for showing us one heck of a time in Liverpool.The opinions and words written in this post are our own.

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@GillianWesleyNS
@DrewMooreNS