The meal was overall well done. The atmosphere was overall forgettable, dated and not very well kept. I remember looking at this hotel and thinking sheesh I’m glad we’re not staying here. The drinks and the meal were good though, and we’d eat here again.
Colin
Staff were great, but that was the best part of the night. unfortunately food was over priced for what was provided. We got the lobster ravioli at $28 to start and it was 4 pieces, which tasted average. My wife got the lobster ravioli, which lacked taste and the large portion of lobster ( which we were very excited about) ended up being over cooked and chewy. The cod was average at best, borderline over cooked. Not worth the 200$ bill we paid that also included two glasses of wine. We went here because it came recommended by a friend but we’re disappointed.
881glennj
To get to the point, one of two starters was flavourless but healthy, one of two mains was so bad we sent it back; chewy tasteless duck with horrid pastes surrounding like swamp devils. But the halibut was great. Good prices and quality wine. We went out the next night….
Jean T
Outdated hotel space Furniture is dilapidated Front entrance carpet all wrinkled and bleached out from old age The servers were all efficient and clean cut with nice personality The food was well prepared and presented The only way for customers to return is to update the worn out carpets flooring and furniture
Mark F
We are very impressed and looking forward to returning again soon. Slightly more formal white table cloths are back, as are white tops and black bottoms for the servers. Service is what I would call casual refined. The menu has sufficient options and variety to choose from. We enjoyed the starter for two that is a lovely seafood medley and broth including shrimp, muscles, and little clams. We had the Duck Confit, and oven roasted cod. The creamy risotto with the duck is perfect. The duck itself excellent and perfectly cooked. Presentations are clean modern with a touch of classical. The cod was fabulous. I enjoyed the house made gnocchi with the cod, although I did find them just slightly chewy. The chef has a new pastry team and they are killing it! Lovely fresh breads to start, and the desserts are fun, interesting, artistic, and super tasty of course. I loved the S’Mores. Smoked marshmallow that tastes like it was toasted over a campfire. Velvety chocolate ganache, creamy creameux, and graham cracker “sand”. Great components and a really fun and playful presentation. The other dessert we had was the raspberry rhubarb. Rhubarb poached in sweet Persecco sparkling wine and a persecco foam. Lovely raspberry purée and accompanying little mounds of cream, with a scoop of ice cream and some flaky pastry on top. The theme of the desserts seems to be deconstructed traditions, and they are well executed. I enjoyed a glass of house Pinot Grigio with the Cod, and a lovely Malbec with the Duck. Great selections when you just want a glass, or don’t have a large enough party for one of the other carafe or bottle selections the have.
Patti Porter Burke
Amazing spot, beautiful view with incredible history. Customer service was excellent 🩵
norme-ormond
While on a Tauck tour, our group had three consecutive nights at the Keltic Lodge staying in the Corson Lodge. The Purple Thistle restaurant was not attached to this building and we had a choice of walking or taking a shuttle to the main lodge where it is located. We arrived in the evening and had our first dinner at this location that night. The next three mornings, breakfast was included and at this restaurant. The last night we had dinner also in this location. I will summarize that the meals we had were not up to our expectations. Starting with breakfast, a buffet was set up in the one end of a large room. After picking out your food you had to carry it to the other side of the room. The large pans used to keep the food warm do not hold the heat from a warmer under each one. Going down the line, the potatoes were dried out; the sausage and bacon was my favorite and a little warm; I tried one of the dried out fish cakes (overcooked on the bottom side); vegan pancakes (I passed); and chick peas with a curry sauce (for breakfast). They also had bakery items that helped my appetite. See photos for comments. For dinner one night I had the whole lobster and another night the thermidor (a mistake). I took two bites of the bloody mary pasta and two of the lobster and quit. There was no offer to replace it. The second dinner night the restaurant was getting warm. The lodge that is attached to it does not have air conditioning, but the restaurant appeared to have air conditioner units below some of the windows. I asked the server if the air conditioning was on and he went to check. He was told the air conditioning and the heat was on. Not sure what that meant but I was glad when dinner was over. Most of the staff appeared to be new here and very hesitant to do anything more than is expected. It was different dining in the other Keltic Lodge restaurant, Arduaine, in a separate building close-by. That is a separate review. Overall, this was the worst dining we had while on a 11 day tour of Nova Scotia. I do have to comment on a server we had the first night, Lily, who was new but excellent to our requests. She was not there the night I had the lobster thermidor. I believe a manager was walking the floor but never came to any of our tables to check on how things were. See photos with captions
Darren Funabashi
First timers at the Purple Thistle. We stayed at Keltic lodge for a few nights, our first night we ate at The Arduaine Restaurant which was very disappointing. Our server was not able to communicate with us clearly because of language barrier, The drinks were mediocre and weak, food was decent, management left several outside doors open and mequitoes were buzzing around, a fly landed in one of our drinks, not a good night at all. So... now we have dinner at The Purple Thistle the next night and boy were we hesitant. We had drinks at the bar with Justin who was the Bar manager and bartender at the time. He was very accomodating and made excellent drinks. We sat done for dinner and our server Cassidy was welcoming and always had a smile. This young lady was so professional for her age, we were all amazed and impressed. She handled herself as if she was the owner of the restaurant, very nice, informative and service with a smile all night long, we loved her. The food was excellent and we had an incredible evening. We found out that Justin and Cassidy were siblings so we got everyone together to take a pic. Justin and Cassidy made our evening and we were so happy that we had dinner at The Purple Thistle.
Margaret Hudson
What a delicious meal in a beautiful setting. Totally recommend.
Food was expensive and portions were tiny. They didn't even serve bread despite setting side plates with the little butter knives on top. We left with a hefty bill still hungry. I had the halibut which was very tasty despite the small portion and minuscule sides. The view is very picturesque.
Looking for fine dining experience, but very disappointed. Good news first: food was good, though not outstanding. However, it took over 30 minutes until one of the waiters finally approached us to take our order. We were not the only ones that suffered from « the high art of ignoring » that was practiced here. When the starters finally arrived, the escargots arrived without bread to mop up the butter sauce. It took another 8 minutes until a dry bread arrived. Unfortunately no alternative nearby - otherwise we would have walked out
drsamps
Disappointing experience. Service was slow to start. They purposefully brought us food menus to start then told us it would be a 10 minute wait for drink menus which it was. Our mains arrived before we were done our appetizers. Food was unimpressive- watery corn purée with scallop appetizer, over cooked veggies with steak main. There were bread plates/butter knives set at the table but when I asked if we were supposed to get bread the waiter told us no (but then did offer to bring us some). They ran out of ice cream for 1/2 their desserts. Forgot to bring the coffee that was ordered at the end.
jannG7235KQ
The "special event" meal planned for our Cape Breton holiday was a great disappointment. Both our meals, salmon for one and the pasta piscatory for another, were luke warm by the time they reached us in the large dining room. We mentioned this to our server who rather defensively stated that he had fetched the food from the kitchen as soon as he was paged that it was ready. Definitely did not meet our expectations for a fine dining experience.
JoyceK
Noise level question was confusing. I did not know how to respond. It was not noisey. Price of entry a little high for amount but the salmon was the best I ever had. My partner loved the chicken. Server was great. Breakfast was awesome. Best croissant I ever had. Eggs Benedict was perfect even in warming tray.
Darkwing296
Wait staff was great but the food not so much. We had the lobster dinner which was VERY overpriced. It was cold and rubbery. Seemed like it had been cooked a few days ago and then stuffed back in its shell. The “ potato salad “ was terrible as well. Shrivelled up baby potatoes and a few veggies that were cooked in vinegar or so it tasted. Very disappointed in our meal. The waitress was lovely and attentive so she was the best thing about the place. We would never return here and will not be recommending this to others.
The meal was overall well done. The atmosphere was overall forgettable, dated and not very well kept. I remember looking at this hotel and thinking sheesh I’m glad we’re not staying here. The drinks and the meal were good though, and we’d eat here again.
Staff were great, but that was the best part of the night. unfortunately food was over priced for what was provided. We got the lobster ravioli at $28 to start and it was 4 pieces, which tasted average. My wife got the lobster ravioli, which lacked taste and the large portion of lobster ( which we were very excited about) ended up being over cooked and chewy. The cod was average at best, borderline over cooked. Not worth the 200$ bill we paid that also included two glasses of wine. We went here because it came recommended by a friend but we’re disappointed.
To get to the point, one of two starters was flavourless but healthy, one of two mains was so bad we sent it back; chewy tasteless duck with horrid pastes surrounding like swamp devils. But the halibut was great. Good prices and quality wine. We went out the next night….
Outdated hotel space Furniture is dilapidated Front entrance carpet all wrinkled and bleached out from old age The servers were all efficient and clean cut with nice personality The food was well prepared and presented The only way for customers to return is to update the worn out carpets flooring and furniture
We are very impressed and looking forward to returning again soon. Slightly more formal white table cloths are back, as are white tops and black bottoms for the servers. Service is what I would call casual refined. The menu has sufficient options and variety to choose from. We enjoyed the starter for two that is a lovely seafood medley and broth including shrimp, muscles, and little clams. We had the Duck Confit, and oven roasted cod. The creamy risotto with the duck is perfect. The duck itself excellent and perfectly cooked. Presentations are clean modern with a touch of classical. The cod was fabulous. I enjoyed the house made gnocchi with the cod, although I did find them just slightly chewy. The chef has a new pastry team and they are killing it! Lovely fresh breads to start, and the desserts are fun, interesting, artistic, and super tasty of course. I loved the S’Mores. Smoked marshmallow that tastes like it was toasted over a campfire. Velvety chocolate ganache, creamy creameux, and graham cracker “sand”. Great components and a really fun and playful presentation. The other dessert we had was the raspberry rhubarb. Rhubarb poached in sweet Persecco sparkling wine and a persecco foam. Lovely raspberry purée and accompanying little mounds of cream, with a scoop of ice cream and some flaky pastry on top. The theme of the desserts seems to be deconstructed traditions, and they are well executed. I enjoyed a glass of house Pinot Grigio with the Cod, and a lovely Malbec with the Duck. Great selections when you just want a glass, or don’t have a large enough party for one of the other carafe or bottle selections the have.
Amazing spot, beautiful view with incredible history. Customer service was excellent 🩵
While on a Tauck tour, our group had three consecutive nights at the Keltic Lodge staying in the Corson Lodge. The Purple Thistle restaurant was not attached to this building and we had a choice of walking or taking a shuttle to the main lodge where it is located. We arrived in the evening and had our first dinner at this location that night. The next three mornings, breakfast was included and at this restaurant. The last night we had dinner also in this location. I will summarize that the meals we had were not up to our expectations. Starting with breakfast, a buffet was set up in the one end of a large room. After picking out your food you had to carry it to the other side of the room. The large pans used to keep the food warm do not hold the heat from a warmer under each one. Going down the line, the potatoes were dried out; the sausage and bacon was my favorite and a little warm; I tried one of the dried out fish cakes (overcooked on the bottom side); vegan pancakes (I passed); and chick peas with a curry sauce (for breakfast). They also had bakery items that helped my appetite. See photos for comments. For dinner one night I had the whole lobster and another night the thermidor (a mistake). I took two bites of the bloody mary pasta and two of the lobster and quit. There was no offer to replace it. The second dinner night the restaurant was getting warm. The lodge that is attached to it does not have air conditioning, but the restaurant appeared to have air conditioner units below some of the windows. I asked the server if the air conditioning was on and he went to check. He was told the air conditioning and the heat was on. Not sure what that meant but I was glad when dinner was over. Most of the staff appeared to be new here and very hesitant to do anything more than is expected. It was different dining in the other Keltic Lodge restaurant, Arduaine, in a separate building close-by. That is a separate review. Overall, this was the worst dining we had while on a 11 day tour of Nova Scotia. I do have to comment on a server we had the first night, Lily, who was new but excellent to our requests. She was not there the night I had the lobster thermidor. I believe a manager was walking the floor but never came to any of our tables to check on how things were. See photos with captions
First timers at the Purple Thistle. We stayed at Keltic lodge for a few nights, our first night we ate at The Arduaine Restaurant which was very disappointing. Our server was not able to communicate with us clearly because of language barrier, The drinks were mediocre and weak, food was decent, management left several outside doors open and mequitoes were buzzing around, a fly landed in one of our drinks, not a good night at all. So... now we have dinner at The Purple Thistle the next night and boy were we hesitant. We had drinks at the bar with Justin who was the Bar manager and bartender at the time. He was very accomodating and made excellent drinks. We sat done for dinner and our server Cassidy was welcoming and always had a smile. This young lady was so professional for her age, we were all amazed and impressed. She handled herself as if she was the owner of the restaurant, very nice, informative and service with a smile all night long, we loved her. The food was excellent and we had an incredible evening. We found out that Justin and Cassidy were siblings so we got everyone together to take a pic. Justin and Cassidy made our evening and we were so happy that we had dinner at The Purple Thistle.
What a delicious meal in a beautiful setting. Totally recommend.
Food was expensive and portions were tiny. They didn't even serve bread despite setting side plates with the little butter knives on top. We left with a hefty bill still hungry. I had the halibut which was very tasty despite the small portion and minuscule sides. The view is very picturesque.
Restaurantji Recommends
Looking for fine dining experience, but very disappointed. Good news first: food was good, though not outstanding. However, it took over 30 minutes until one of the waiters finally approached us to take our order. We were not the only ones that suffered from « the high art of ignoring » that was practiced here. When the starters finally arrived, the escargots arrived without bread to mop up the butter sauce. It took another 8 minutes until a dry bread arrived. Unfortunately no alternative nearby - otherwise we would have walked out
Disappointing experience. Service was slow to start. They purposefully brought us food menus to start then told us it would be a 10 minute wait for drink menus which it was. Our mains arrived before we were done our appetizers. Food was unimpressive- watery corn purée with scallop appetizer, over cooked veggies with steak main. There were bread plates/butter knives set at the table but when I asked if we were supposed to get bread the waiter told us no (but then did offer to bring us some). They ran out of ice cream for 1/2 their desserts. Forgot to bring the coffee that was ordered at the end.
The "special event" meal planned for our Cape Breton holiday was a great disappointment. Both our meals, salmon for one and the pasta piscatory for another, were luke warm by the time they reached us in the large dining room. We mentioned this to our server who rather defensively stated that he had fetched the food from the kitchen as soon as he was paged that it was ready. Definitely did not meet our expectations for a fine dining experience.
Noise level question was confusing. I did not know how to respond. It was not noisey. Price of entry a little high for amount but the salmon was the best I ever had. My partner loved the chicken. Server was great. Breakfast was awesome. Best croissant I ever had. Eggs Benedict was perfect even in warming tray.
Wait staff was great but the food not so much. We had the lobster dinner which was VERY overpriced. It was cold and rubbery. Seemed like it had been cooked a few days ago and then stuffed back in its shell. The “ potato salad “ was terrible as well. Shrivelled up baby potatoes and a few veggies that were cooked in vinegar or so it tasted. Very disappointed in our meal. The waitress was lovely and attentive so she was the best thing about the place. We would never return here and will not be recommending this to others.
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