Recommended dishes: Esquire Seafood Chowder, Pan Fried Haddock
Janet Westhaver
I normally love the Esquire but today I had a very bad experience with a rude waitress. This is the first time I have encountered this situation, the ladies are always lovely. This particular waitress is either new or I have nit encountered her before. She was sullen , rude and short none of these qualities are good in ant profession We were there today at around 1:30 and she had dark auburn hair. This is our favorite restaurant and it will remain so . This lady may need some customer service coaching.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Hot Turkey Sandwich, Esquire Seafood Chowder, Pan Fried Haddock
Wayne
A really down home place for a good meal and great friendly service!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Michael Cavanagh
Great Diner
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Esquire Seafood Chowder, Corn Chowder, Sandwich, Side of Turkey Gravy
ROBERT MURPHY
My first time in this iconic diner on the Bedford Hwy. I had hoped it would have the charm and feel of the era it was built with a menu to match, it delivered on both fronts. The food was great and the wait staff super attentive. My coffee cup was never empty and the blueberry pancakes were everything I hoped they would be…we will be back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
M. E.
Are you kidding me. Hands down the best place for seafood chowder and lobster rolls in the greater Halifax area. Lot of other menu choices as well.
I have been visiting Esquire Restaurant for 9 years as a customer. I arrived around 11 am today, and 5 minutes later, I asked the server for Eggs Benedict and Breakfast Combo, and 5 minutes later, a male customer was seated at the table behind us. 15 minutes later, the male customer behind us received his food from the server and started eating. We waited another 15 minutes, and I saw our server check our table 3 times. Finally, we received our food from the server, but after eating a few pieces of fries, a piece of toast, and an egg, we stopped eating. The fries were old fry oil smell and cold. The egg had a black and hard edge, and the toast was cold and mushy. Our server came to our table to check on our food and we told her that our food was cold. As soon as I finished talking, the server picked up my plate and dropped the knife on the table, and offered me a new dish. We were already feeling bad from the disappointment and declined the new food. We asked for a check to pay for the food, and the server only charged us half of the food we ordered. I did not speculate about the situation we experienced today while writing this review. However, our speculations are still in my head. I do not want to pay for a bad experience.
Goodbye Esquire.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 1
Derek Louch
Don't believe the on line menu photos ! I ordered the turkey meal. Instead of fresh vegetables I got small piles of mush which were supposed to be carrot and turnip. Yuk. I mentioned to the server and she said that they changed supplier and would mention my comments to management. Not impressed.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Joy Jarvis
Food was fine. Eggs Benedict were cooked skillfully and tasted great overall, but had horrible dried chives all over the top that I picked off. Breakfast sausages were not good, they had no flavor - do not recommend to order. And the breakfast potatoes.. some were small and looked like they had been fried 3x and others were the size of 1/4 of the whole potato and were barely cooked inside? Overall it was fine diner food for the price, but you can do better in other places in Halifax. Coffee was good and consistently refilled. The chairs and tables are in rough shape having tears and lots of scuff marks. We were sat next to a pole that had mold on it from a sink at the server station. Everything seemed clean otherwise.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
Spencer Palmer
This place is a classic. The food is honest and good. The service is warm and friendly and the prices are decent. I visit every time I'm in town.
Servers are lovely. Hint, order the home cooking like meatloaf and go to a fish and chips place for those.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Susan Boland
An old fashioned diner with fantastic old fashioned food
Wheelchair accessibility: Loads outside Not sure once you get in try
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Nicole Curry
We always want to love the Esquire, but it needs some serious work. We understand the type of food we are getting and are happy to have some mediocre comfort food once in a while, but the service is always terrible and doesn’t make up for the lack of quality.
They usually have one young employee doing phone, takeout, seating people, and cleaning tables. The wait staff don’t seem to help that employee at all, and seem to often be non-existent. It takes a long time to get through each step of your meal, because wait staff seem to disappear and never return. Everything about the place is inefficient. Even on their highly advertised Thanksgiving weekend, they seemed to be severely understaffed and unprepared.
Love the idea of a small restaurant, close to home, to get a home-cooked type meal, but it disappoints every time.
Colin Fitchett
We had the most enjoyable dinner here tonight. Our server, Nora, was incredible. She was warm, kind, thoughtful, funny, and made us happy. The food was the Monday 2 Pan Fried Haddock with potato, carrots, broccoli, and coleslaw. The haddock had the best crispy breading and it was healthy(ish) and was made with care. We can't wait to go back to see Nora and enjoy some great food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
John Hayne
I've been here a few times with my parents, and it's always been a pleasant experience.
The food is good, solid comfort food, and the service is friendly and efficient. The new (to me) deck, is a nice surprise considering it's right by the highway.
My parents enjoyed the seafood chowder. I enjoyed the soup of the day with a BLT on romaine lettuce – it's made with fresh tomatoes, crispy bacon, and just the right amount of mayo on perfectly toasted bread.
My brother gave high praise to the hot turkey and fries.
While it might not be my first choice for a solo dining experience, it's a great spot for a familiar and welcoming meal.
Food and service were great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Esquire Seafood Chowder, Pan Fried Haddock
I normally love the Esquire but today I had a very bad experience with a rude waitress.
This is the first time I have encountered this situation, the ladies are always lovely.
This particular waitress is either new or I have nit encountered her before. She was sullen , rude and short none of these qualities are good in ant profession
We were there today at around 1:30 and she had dark auburn hair. This is our favorite restaurant and it will remain so .
This lady may need some customer service coaching.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Hot Turkey Sandwich, Esquire Seafood Chowder, Pan Fried Haddock
A really down home place for a good meal and great friendly service!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Great Diner
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Esquire Seafood Chowder, Corn Chowder, Sandwich, Side of Turkey Gravy
My first time in this iconic diner on the Bedford Hwy. I had hoped it would have the charm and feel of the era it was built with a menu to match, it delivered on both fronts. The food was great and the wait staff super attentive. My coffee cup was never empty and the blueberry pancakes were everything I hoped they would be…we will be back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Are you kidding me. Hands down the best place for seafood chowder and lobster rolls in the greater Halifax area. Lot of other menu choices as well.
Kid-friendliness: Kids always welcomed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Esquire Seafood Chowder, Lobster Rolls
I have been visiting Esquire Restaurant for 9 years as a customer. I arrived around 11 am today, and 5 minutes later, I asked the server for Eggs Benedict and Breakfast Combo, and 5 minutes later, a male customer was seated at the table behind us. 15 minutes later, the male customer behind us received his food from the server and started eating. We waited another 15 minutes, and I saw our server check our table 3 times. Finally, we received our food from the server, but after eating a few pieces of fries, a piece of toast, and an egg, we stopped eating. The fries were old fry oil smell and cold. The egg had a black and hard edge, and the toast was cold and mushy. Our server came to our table to check on our food and we told her that our food was cold. As soon as I finished talking, the server picked up my plate and dropped the knife on the table, and offered me a new dish. We were already feeling bad from the disappointment and declined the new food. We asked for a check to pay for the food, and the server only charged us half of the food we ordered. I did not speculate about the situation we experienced today while
writing this review. However, our speculations are still in my head. I do not want to pay for a bad experience.
Goodbye Esquire.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 1
Don't believe the on line menu photos ! I ordered the turkey meal. Instead of fresh vegetables I got small piles of mush which were supposed to be carrot and turnip. Yuk. I mentioned to the server and she said that they changed supplier and would mention my comments to management. Not impressed.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Food was fine. Eggs Benedict were cooked skillfully and tasted great overall, but had horrible dried chives all over the top that I picked off.
Breakfast sausages were not good, they had no flavor - do not recommend to order. And the breakfast potatoes.. some were small and looked like they had been fried 3x and others were the size of 1/4 of the whole potato and were barely cooked inside? Overall it was fine diner food for the price, but you can do better in other places in Halifax.
Coffee was good and consistently refilled.
The chairs and tables are in rough shape having tears and lots of scuff marks. We were sat next to a pole that had mold on it from a sink at the server station. Everything seemed clean otherwise.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
This place is a classic. The food is honest and good. The service is warm and friendly and the prices are decent. I visit every time I'm in town.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Esquire Seafood Chowder, Seafood Chowder
Restaurantji Recommends
Servers are lovely. Hint, order the home cooking like meatloaf and go to a fish and chips place for those.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
An old fashioned diner with fantastic old fashioned food
Wheelchair accessibility: Loads outside
Not sure once you get in try
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
We always want to love the Esquire, but it needs some serious work. We understand the type of food we are getting and are happy to have some mediocre comfort food once in a while, but the service is always terrible and doesn’t make up for the lack of quality. They usually have one young employee doing phone, takeout, seating people, and cleaning tables. The wait staff don’t seem to help that employee at all, and seem to often be non-existent. It takes a long time to get through each step of your meal, because wait staff seem to disappear and never return. Everything about the place is inefficient. Even on their highly advertised Thanksgiving weekend, they seemed to be severely understaffed and unprepared. Love the idea of a small restaurant, close to home, to get a home-cooked type meal, but it disappoints every time.
We had the most enjoyable dinner here tonight. Our server, Nora, was incredible. She was warm, kind, thoughtful, funny, and made us happy. The food was the Monday 2 Pan Fried Haddock with potato, carrots, broccoli, and coleslaw. The haddock had the best crispy breading and it was healthy(ish) and was made with care. We can't wait to go back to see Nora and enjoy some great food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I've been here a few times with my parents, and it's always been a pleasant experience.
The food is good, solid comfort food, and the service is friendly and efficient. The new (to me) deck, is a nice surprise considering it's right by the highway.
My parents enjoyed the seafood chowder. I enjoyed the soup of the day with a BLT on romaine lettuce – it's made with fresh tomatoes, crispy bacon, and just the right amount of mayo on perfectly toasted bread.
My brother gave high praise to the hot turkey and fries.
While it might not be my first choice for a solo dining experience, it's a great spot for a familiar and welcoming meal.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
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