McKelvie’s

Really as good as it gets. Arrived on a Tuesday at 3pm to an empty restaurant. Server cheerful and welcoming. The highlights, the exectional complimentary bannick bread with soft butter, the best seafood chowder I have ever had and a perfect lobster roll with a touch of sauce with green onions and lettuce is a great touch. The server so proud of their product offered us a photo of where their lobster came from on her cell phone. I love Halifax, I wish everyone in Canada are this friendly.
Simply the best lunch. Will definitely come back to try the other menu items.

Walked in on a Monday evening. Fair amount of people inside. Mostly are casually dressed. Went in with my jeans and safety shoes on. Alls good. I ordered the seafood chowder, it was alright nothing to jump about. I give it 3.5 stars.
And then for the entrée I got the turf and surf. The New York at medium. Came superb. The plating was nicely done. The steak is medium as I ordered, it tasted really juicy and premium sweet. The lobster was a bit small for the price, it was soft shelled so it was not really to get crazy about. I give it a 4.5
The price was something up there, but the place and ambiance was worth it I guess.
I would recommend the place.

We went here for dinner at around 8 pm on a Tuesday and it was almost completely dead inside. I thought this was a bit odd, but maybe it’s just because it was later. I had the caesar salad to start, which was good. But the salmon with gnocchi and vegetables was just ok. The salmon was a bit overcooked and the flavours on the plate were pretty bland. The salmon did come with a pesto sauce, but there wasn’t enough of it on the plate to spread the flavour. I enjoyed the crispy gnocchi though!

Some of the best seafood I have ever had. The Halibut tasted amazing!!! Crab bisque was a very different recipe, but phenomenal. Service was great. Also liked their 3 course menu as an option, and their happy hour pricing was also totally worthwhile

Must try lobster roll！! Free cranberry bread with butter also amazing!

Tonight we went to McKelvie’s for our anniversary and I loved my lobster and scallops spaghetti! :) I had two things in mind since the older people were in the 60’s or older and we were the «young ones». :/​Also, we had a reservation tonight for our anniversary and they didn’t make an effort to call the waitess. It was a sour end. Three and a half stars.

love it. deserves 5 stars. had friends over and I went here after checking out the Unilocal reviews. the food is nice and the service is even better! will definitely come back to try more dishes

I have been to McKelvie’s many times, over many, many years and it is consistently very good. The complimentary bread is wonderful – i am not sure what type it is. Crunchy haddock is a classic! Definitely recommend it and a great place to bring visitors.

We picked this restaurant based on the reviews from Unilocal and because it advertises delicious fishes dishes… how can you go wrong. We shared calamari and the bacon wrapped scallops for appetizers. The scallops were amazing. The calamari a bit greasy. My husband had the fish tacos and I had the seafood au gratin. Both were ok. The fish and seafood in my au gratin was delicious but I found the sauce a bit bland.
The service was only okay. The kids drinks were only about 6 oz so gone long before anything arrived. They did bring some colouring pages but after the appetizers arrived and our server didn’t do a very good job of checking in with us. Service was VERY slow. There were a couple of large groups in the restaurant but we were there for two hours and left immediately after we finished eating our entrees. The kids meals took an hour and a half to get out to us.
All in all it was worth a try but not the best place we have eaten in the maritimes.

Tried the lunch special, Potato crusted Halibut with Citrus Tarragon Sauce. VERY good! Glad we stopped here.

My fiancé and I were on a mission to eat some seafood while visiting Halifax, NS, and after reading the Unilocal reviews we ended up here — and boy are we glad we did! The server was knowledgeable and thorough, and the food was delicious. I had oysters on the half shell and Digby scallops, while my fiancé had garlic shrimp and lobster dinner. I would totally go back here again in the future if I was in Halifax.

What a great find! We had dinner on the back patio – so lovely – under construction but lovely. Great food, fresh and plentiful. Definitely will return.

Me and my husband went for lunch on Monday and had such a great experience. Our server (Neil) was friendly and prompt. He had made some recommendations without being pushy for the scallops to start (which were the best I have ever had) and the lobster grill cheese with the sea food chowder (Amazing). I do not have one complaint. This restaurant has a great atmosphere. We will be going back for sure. :)
I wish I would of taken pictures of the food but, I was enjoy my experience so much I didn’t think to do so. I Highly recommend you give it a try.

Love love loved this place! My boyfriend and I made reservations here for Valentine’s day and it was a very wonderful experience. The restaurant itself is nicely lit with professional servers and welcoming staff. The menu is large, with a variety of options and non-​seafood options for meat lovers.
I had the Digby scallops and my boyfriend had the filet mignon. Both were tender, delicious and satisfying. For dessert we had their signature chocolate, hazelnut cheesecake/​mousse item (can’t remember the name right now!) but it was FANTASTIC.
Will be going back for sure!

I went to Nova Scotia with my family for a vacation and the concierge of our hotel recommended this place. It was walking distance and the food was okay. It was all great until I found pubes in my vegetables. I lost my appetite immediately. I didn’t even want another plate because I didn’t want to think of finding more pubes. Other than the hairs in my food (which I ended up not eating) the service was okay.
Edit: I read through other people’s reviews and I was not the only one who found hairs in their food. This made me even more disappointed

McKelvies is a high end fishery, and if you’re looking for a cheap fried haddock basket (or something of the like), this place is probably not for you. But if you want a fantastic FRESH plate with excellent service and a classy atmosphere, hit this place up. Be prepared to open your wallet, but compared to many other local famous seafood places this is a good deal less expensive, so don’t be shy.
In typical Halifax fashion, your meal was most likely swimming that morning, and the staff is fantastic and accommodating. I had the trout (a dinner special that night) and was not disappointed whatsoever. The lady friend enjoyed the salmon, and the entire experience was very enjoyable. If you’re in this charming fishing city, and then McKelvies is the place to go!

Robster! *that was not a typo :)
We made reservations on a cold winter night to go and get our bellies warmed with some wonderful seafood. The restaurant is super cozy and we got a table in front of one of their beautiful big windows. What I really liked was that the menu was very well laid out, making it easy to decide the 10 different things we wanted off the menu!
Realizing how our eyes eat, we decided to order with our stomachs. We really wanted to try the bacon wrapped scallops but opted for the house recommended calamari and crab bisque as our starters. The calamari was great and I enjoyed the dipping sauce but the crab bisque was not something I would run home to write on Unilocal about.
For our mains we ordered one lobster dinner and one surf and turf. The lobster was succulent and exactly what we expected it to be. The sides were the perfect accompaniment: garlic mashed potatoes and crispy seasonal vegetables. By the end of eating all this, we packed away the juicy steak that came with the meal.
Oh my gosh, how can I forget, I recommend trying the green tea lemonade! Very very refreshing!
There was no room whatsoever to even smell what dessert could have been for our end to the evening as we were stuffed to the brim.
Finally what makes the location of McKelvies so lovely is that you can walk on the waterfront right after you meal.
We certainly needed a good LONG walk after that meal. Will I go there again, ofcourse!

I love our meal here! We went on Vday, and were promptly greeted and seated. This is a comfortable resto with a relaxed atmosphere. The menu provided lots of choice, and the prix fix menu was a great deal!
Our cod was delicious, maybe a little on the buttery side, but cooked to perfection. The side veggies were steamed properly and the lobster mashed potatoes were THE BEST thing I have ever eaten. They were not just lobster flavor, they had huge chunks of lobster mixed in! So spectacular.
The lobster bisque was also superb and the goat cheese crab croquettes were unreal.
Overall we had a fantastic experience, with great service!

Thank you to Unilocal for directing me to a winner (time and time again)!
I recently went to Halifax for the weekend; I would only have a few meals in this city so I had to choose good restaurants.
We went to McKelvie’s for dinner on Saturday night.
It was busy that night. Without a reservation, my mother and I thought that we wouldn’t be able to dine here. Luckily, there was a table for two available.
The bread that came out before our meal was pretty good — raisin in bread can never go wrong.
I ordered the mushroom soup and mussels (in a lemon and garlic sauce). The soup was delicious — I think shrimp stock was used as I could taste seafood. Not too creamy, it was a delicious soup. The sauce that the mussels were in was fantastic. The garlic and lemon were equally present in the sauce — it was a great balance.
My mother ordered the lobster.
Portions were generous.
Service was great; I was chugging water that night and our server came to fill my glass with water numerous times.
Not sure when I’ll be back in Halifax; however, if I’m back in town, I will definitely be dining here again.

Having only had 3 dinners in Halifax so far hardly qualifies me as an expert — an addict maybe. Each night I’ve considered looking for the place where I’ll say, «I had THE seafood dinner of my stay here.» All to often (i.e., every night), I’ve been tempted by something else interesting on that night’s menu somewhere. So we made an effort to look for someplace that had an emphasis on seafood, and specifically not fried. As of this writing, the honor for THE seafood dinner goes to McKelvie’s.
Service was fine, no problems at all. But in this case, dinner is what it’s all about.
There were way too many options on the menu for me to make a quick decision. However the seafood combo option was just what I was looking for, i.e., a little of everything. Even better they had their summer special going — for $ 39 you got a choice of appetizer, entrée, and dessert, and for an extra $ 10, you could substitute the seafood combo as your entrée. Problem solved! That’s what we all ordered.
The «bisque» flavor of the crab bisque was not quite as strong, and slightly cheesier, than other bisques I have had. But that also allowed the taste of the fresh crab to come through more prominently.
The seafood platter was lobster thermidor, a stuffed salmon filet, and seared shrimp and scallops in a bed of salsa, accompanied by red mashed potatoes, asparagus and broccoli. Everything was great, but for me the combination of the seared scallops in the salsa was the best.
We deviated when it came to dessert. I got the lemon and blueberry tart, which was a small tart with a lemon cream and fresh blueberries. The mile-​high coconut cream pie, while also delicious, didn’t live up to its height. I’ve worked at other restaurants where the mile-​high coconut cream pie was significantly higher. Maybe they should have called it the kilometer-​high coconut cream pie. After all, it’s supposed to be metric here, right?