A comfortable chair on a patio, a nice glass of wine or a pint of beer, something to snack on, sunshine, fresh flowers, and companionable silence. A perfect way to pass an afternoon on the Halifax Waterfront.
A small, intimate space, a clean, sleek design, a tailored drink list, elegant small plates with a local focus, and great conversation with friends. A memorable way to spend an evening downtown.
We found both at Little Oak.
Little Oak is a new wine and tapas bar. Emphasis on the little. The restaurant has just 27 seats (not including the patio). It’s owned and operated by the same people who run popular North End restaurant Agricola Street Brasserie.
We heard about it early this summer, when it first opened. Southwest Properties had sent an email with an invite to come check it out. We heard about it again from a reader visiting Halifax for the first time, and again from good friends. That is to say it took us way too long to finally make it there ourselves in August.
Not keen to waste a single sunny day, we sat on the patio. Bishops Landing is a pretty spot, with lots of flowers and a water feature (where kids and dogs often play).
I ordered a glass of Tidal Bay from Avondale Sky, while Drew felt the sunshine called for a pint of Evil Twin’s Sunshine Slacker session IPA. We paired our libations with a warm bowl of gnocchi made with wild foraged mushrooms, and proceeded to companionable silence the heck out of the afternoon with our books.
After such a relaxing afternoon, we invited a friend to come back with us in the evening to sample Little Oak’s bottled beer selection over a cheese board. The interior decor is simple, sleek, and clean. Despite being a cozy space that only seats 27, the two wide doorways and large plate glass showing off the bottles in the wine room do a lot to open up the space, so it feels at once intimate and airy.
We know that it may seem silly to share 750mL bottles of beer at a wine bar, but with offerings from Quebec brasseries artisanales like Dunham and Trois Mousquetaires, we couldn’t resist. And the snack menu had some simple but good selections for a beer tasting. We went with olives and a cheese board with four cheese selections and bread.
We were lucky to get a table inside. The place filled up quickly, especially when one of this summer’s rare rainstorms kicked into high gear. We were treated to a little lightning show and a wall of rain only a few feet away, adding to the intimacy of sitting inside among friends.
While we were all about the beer selection at Little Oak, they boast a well-considered wine and cocktail menu. You can order wine in 3oz or 5 oz glasses, perfect if you’re looking to sample a few of the options from their ever-changing wine list. The food and wine line-up can change as often as daily, so there’s always something new to discover.
They also have the option to “eat the menu” for $72. You can also eat the menu with wine pairings for an additional $38.
There is a pretty broad selection of prices, both for food and beverages, some accessible, some less so. But the variation allows for something delicious within a range of budgets. On the day of our visit, Drinks started around $6.00, and small plates started at $11, not including the relatively affordable snacks menu.
Website: http://littleoakbar.ca
Location:
1475 Lower Water Street
Bishop’s Landing, Halifax
Thank you to South West Properties for inviting us to check out Little Oak and providing us with a gift card to use during our visit.
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@GillianWesleyNS
