Reeling in a Perfect Dinner at Five Fishermen Restaurant

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The bustling and popular Five Fishermen Restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia has an unsinkable history; it was once Snow’s Funeral Home and housed bodies recovered from the Titanic. The reviews for the restaurant are equally unsinkable, though, so I thought I would give it a try. On my last night in Canada, accompanied by my sister and her boyfriend, I reeled in a delicious dinner at Five Fishermen. Conveniently located next to the World Trade and Convention Centre, The Five Fishermen Restaurant & Grill is recognized as Halifax’’s finest seafood restaurant. Known world wide for its fantastic cuisine, friendly staff and rich history, they provided exceptional quality, a downtown view, unparalleled service, and a memorable evening.

On April 15, 1912, the Titanic, on her maiden voyage, went down off the coast of Newfoundland after hitting an iceberg. Rescue operations were run from the nearest mainland port of Halifax. The bodies of some of the wealthier victims such as John Jacob Aster, the wealthiest man on the ship, and Charles M. Hayes, the president of Grand Trunk Railway, were brought to Snow’s Funeral Home. It wasn’t until 1975 that Snow’s Funeral Home became the Five Fishermen. Although I’m not a superstitious person, I doubt I would have dined with ghosts from the Titanic if I had of known beforehand. Luckily, I had no idea because it was one of the finest dining experiences of my life.

When we entered the restaurant, we were brought upstairs to our table by the window. Curtains drawn, we had a spectacular view of downtown Halifax.

Our dinner began with a true Maritime tradition, the complimentary salad and mussel bar, with a choice of sauces for the mussels and dressings for the salads, and warm breads delivered to the table. My sister was in heaven as she loaded her plate with steaming, cultured mussels smothered in a house sauce. My eyes grew with delight at the sight of countless salads both lettuce and pasta based. My meal could have solely consisted of salad and I would have left satisfied, but the best was yet to come.

For my main course, I chose the rib eye steak with peppercorn sauce. Suzanne, my sister, chose the striploin with wild mushroom sauce. All Five Fishermen steaks are certified AAA, Premium Reserve, Alberta Beef, aged for a minimum of 45 days. Both steaks were served with roasted garlic mashed potato and seasonal vegetables. Jordan, my sister’s boyfriend, selected the seared haddock, a filet of local-line caught haddock stuffed with crab mousse, served with roasted cauliflower puree, broccolini, and old Dutchman’s smoked Gouda sauce. The thought of red in my steak is normally unappealing, but after trying my sister’s medium steak, I’m converted! The flavor and tenderness of her medium steak is still making my mouth water.

All of our plates were perfectly prepared and professionally presented by a waiter who was polite without being intrusive. He seemed to magically know exactly when to fill our glasses, remove our plates, and ask about our experience.

They offered a good mix of local dessert choices as well as traditional favorites. I was able to fit in a delicate dessert of sticky toffee pudding, served warm with caramel bourbon sauce, choclate toffee ice-cream and Annapolis Valley apple compote; it was a delicious reminder that I was home.  Jordan selected the fresh berry tart filled with confectioner’s custard, fresh field berries and topped with Chantilly cream. It was Suzanne’s blueberry lime cheesecake made with local wild Nova Scotia blueberries, wafer cookie, white chocolate cream and blueberry coulis that made me drool. Thankfully, she was overly stuffed from her steak dinner and couldn’t find room for all of her dessert; I happily finished off her plate (after eating my own of course). Next time I dine with my sister, I’m going to let her order for me since I basically ate everything off of her plate.

The view of downtown Halifax only added to the enjoyable dining experience. With the tall ships in the harbor and local musicians playing in a nearby park, I reveled in the beauty of Nova Scotia. I may live in another country and have no intentions of moving back to Canada, but the summertime views and local culture are hard to beat.

Five Fishermen Restaurant is not a cheap night out, but you most certainly get what you pay for with their unlimited salad and mussel bar, aged-to-perfection steaks, famous seafood, and local desserts. I’d return in a heartbeat, even if I am dining with ghosts.

77 thoughts on “Reeling in a Perfect Dinner at Five Fishermen Restaurant”

  5. Looks like a great meal. I will keep this restaurant in mind if I ever visit Halifax. It is on my list of places to travel someday. I would visit it in conjunction with a trip to Prince Edward Island.

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  12. I admire your photographic bravery. I’m too self-conscious to photograph a meal in detail the way you have done. Looks delicious. I wonder if NS’s interpretation of “hot hamburger” is the same as Quebec’s – an open-faced hamburger with a plop of canned peas dumped on it. Quebec is a strange place.

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  14. A meal and a view to die for! Sorry didn’t mean to reference the funeral home of before. (smile) But a famous place in more ways than one. Thanks for sharing your meal (beautifully photographed) and the history of the building,

    BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!

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  20. Hi Lesley,
    How special is that? Wow! Everytime my hubby & I do the coastiline, we have to do a seafood restaurant before leaving. You have a freshness and better taste, that you can only have by the sea. I have never been to the Maritimes ( just Québec). I would love to in the future.
    Have a safe return home.

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  29. Great food photography…. which I know is not easy. I would have ordered the seared haddock … don’t find that fish on the menu too much in LA… and I don’t eat meat. Dessert would be the blueberry cheesecake, for sure! Interesting story about the Titanic connection too!

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  37. Drat! I missed this restaurant when I was in Halifax! Oh, well, two more reasons to go back to Canada. This restaurant, and a return visit to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic which has all that Titanic memorabilia.

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  38. The meal looks scrumptious. More than I can manage but beautiful to look at. I haven’t been to Halifax since the early ’80s. Maybe it’s time to go again. Thank for a mouth watering tour of Five Fisherman and a nice mention of the tall ships.

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  39. The best restaurant in Halifax. I loved that place. In April this year they served the first class Titanic menu to commemorate the sinking. Now THAT would have been something, so upset I wasn’t around for that!

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  43. Your meal looks absolutely AMAZING! And although everything looks perfectly delectable, I kind’ve think I’d want to start with desert, just because it would be too hard to concentrate on the “serious” meal knowing what deliciousness was coming 😀

    Still, as gorgeous as your entire mean looks to have been, it’s hard to top the fascinating history of this fine restaurant. Incredible!

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  44. Thanks for the like! Your blog looks very interesting and definitely one I will continue to follow. Love the pictures of the food; looks so appetizing. Hopefully you can spread our blog, Sporting the Globe, around. That would be awesome! Thanks again and good blogging.

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  46. Looks too pretty to eat! Almost, that is lol. I’ll be doing more restaurant reviews on my blog soon, hopefully you can check it out and give me some pointers!

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  47. Hi I think your site is great, I nominated you for One Lovely Blog Award and The Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Congratulation !

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  50. Loved your review. And of course want to eat at the restaurant … have to take a rain-check on that. But the review did allow to indulge in one of my favourite moments: seeing centre spelled that way in something out of North America 🙂 I love Canada!

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