After swooping down on more than a dozen lobster rolls last summer like a gull at the dump, I learned the beloved Maritime summer staple can be a recipe for disaster. I had lobster too salty to eat, rubbery meat, stale buns and meagre fillings carefully arranged on top with nothing but air underneath. Since I was shelling out between $22 to $40 a plate, it really stuck in my overstuffed craw. I personally vouch for these 10, but the list is far from exhaustive. If I had visited every town in the Maritimes and eaten a roll from every menu, I would’ve needed a liver transplant.
Fill yer boots!
Nova Scotia
Tom’s Lobster Shack, 154 Peggys Point Rd., Peggy’s Cove, N.S.
My Toronto banker raved about this spot with a view of the famed lighthouse, and it lived up to the hype. Five minutes after I ordered – and after the cashier warned that rapacious seagulls could steal food right out of my hand – I was tucking into the Classic, a tasty concoction of mayo-tossed meat primed with celery, shallot and green onion, with a layer of chopped iceberg inside the butter-toasted bun. A handful of potato chips and three bread-and-butter pickles later, I turned my attention to the windswept rocks and vast beauty of the Atlantic.
The Classic sandwich at Tom’s Lobster Shack comes with a view of Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse. Photo: Courtesy Kim Honey
Longfellow Restaurant, 11668 Nova Scotia Trunk 1, Grand Pré, N.S.
My gastronomic tour had an auspicious start at the Evangeline inn’s restaurant, where chef Sheldon Kelly made a mean roll stuffed with visible chunks of claw meat mixed with lemon aioli on a
spinach-leaf lined, butter-toasted hotdog bun, served with a generous green salad. I savoured every bite with a glass of Lightfoot & Wolfville Bubbly Rosé from the vineyard three kilometres down the road.
The classic checkerboard floor at Longfellow Restaurant. Photo: Kim Honey
Fundy Restaurant, 34 Water St., Digby, N.S.
After an exhilarating afternoon of whale- watching, a cold Alpine beer and this lobster roll, served with two scoops of coleslaw, hit the spot. The rectangular roll was cut from a loaf of springy ciabatta bread and toasted without butter, eliminating the problem of greasy fingers. Both hands were on deck as I made short work of mayo-dressed pieces of claw, knuckle and tail meat tossed with crunchy diced celery.
Capt. Kat’s award-winning roll has a whole claw on top. Photo: Kim Honey
Rudder’s Seafood Restaurant and Brew Pub, 96 Water St., Yarmouth, N.S.
The hot lobster roll was pure comfort food and a novelty, since creamed lobster is a local specialty in Yarmouth and the surrounding Acadian Shores. I loved the slight tang of white vinegar in the sauce, cutting the richness, and a side of steamed, maple-glazed carrots, turnip and broccoli added vibrancy to the plate. I happily used a knife and fork to demolish both the lobster swimming in a pool of cream and the saturated hotdog bun beneath. From the restaurant’s deck overlooking the harbour, I watched the sun go down and the sky turn dusky blue as I admired the delightful contrast of a superyacht tied up beside fishing boats at the marina.
Capt. Kat’s Lobster Shack, 3723 Nova Scotia Trunk 3, Barrington Passage, N.S.
What could be better than eating the repeat winner of the South Shore’s Lobster Roll-Off contest in the self-proclaimed lobster capital of Canada? The cold roll, served with skin-on fries and coleslaw, was pretty as a picture with a whole claw artfully pinned to the top. Green onion added a delicious flavour twist to the mayo-celery-lobster mix. Co-owner Della Sears stopped by to point out a picture of the restaurant’s namesake – her son, Katlin Nickerson, who was 21 when his fishing boat, Miss Ally, capsized in 2013 and all five crew members were lost at sea.
Prince Edward Island
Lobster Barn, 19 Main St., Victoria-by-the-Sea, P.E.I.
On the wharf across the street from Richard’s (see pg. 124), I dialled down the grease factor and chose a side of skin-on potato salad made with local spuds to go with The Claw lobster roll. The claw meat was super tender, I liked the crunch from the bed of chopped iceberg lettuce, and the tarragon-dill mayo was a refreshing change.
The Claw roll at Lobster Barn has a tarragon-dill mayo. Photo: Kim Honey
The Lobster Shack, Souris Beach, 8 Main St., Souris, P.E.I.
Owner Johnny Flynn is a lobster fisherman (and renowned oyster grower) from nearby Colville Bay, so you know the lobster is fresh. Indeed, they can go through 400 pounds on a busy day, which includes sales of live and cooked lobster. The almost-naked roll was understated perfection, made with a titch of Hellman’s mayo, a generous portion of meat jam-packed into a buttered, toasted Wonder Bread hotdog bun and a dusting of paprika on top. A slice of pickle and some potato chips, and I was ready for beachcombing.
The Lobster Shack’s charming shingled exterior. Photo: Kim Honey
Treena’s Takeout, 84 Lighthouse Rd., Wood Islands, P.E.I.
Before you hit the ferry to Nova Scotia, do not miss this little shack next to the terminal, where the lobster roll comes on a fresh hotdog bun – no butter and no toasting – from Macdonald’s Bakery in Montague.
Treena’s roll has just a kiss of mayo and sprinkle of chive. Photo: Kim Honey
There’s just a kiss of mayo (“otherwise it overpowers the lobster,” says owner and chef Treena MacLeod) with a bit of celery, some salt and pepper, a protective layer of leaf lettuce and a sprinkle of chives on top. The lobster comes from Bell River Enterprises, “just up the road.” You should also try the salt cod croquettes with green goddess drizzle and served with mustard pickles, made from MacLeod’s grandmother’s recipe.
Lobster traps stacked outside Treena’s Takeout shack. Photo: Kim Honey
Richard’s Fresh Seafood, 2 Main Street, Victoria-by-the-Sea, P.E.I.
About 30 people were lined up at the order window by 12:15 p.m., so I waited on the deck with Stanhope retirees Bill and Joyce MacLeod, who, like all Maritimers I talked to, said the best lobster roll is the one they make at home. But Richard’s likely comes a close second. The roll comes with a side of white cabbage slaw (fries are extra), but the star of the show is the buttery bun stuffed to the brim with P.E.I. lobster chunks and bits of celery in lemony mayo.
Richard’s Fresh Seafood roll with a side of white cabbage slaw. Photo: Kim Honey
New Brunswick
Atelier Tony, 50 Rue de Marché, Dieppe, N.B.
Before I had a bite of this revelatory “roll,” I devoured it with my eyes. Chunks of knuckle, claw and tail meat were barely contained between two glistening brown discs of buttery dough, making up what executive chef Jordan Holden calls “Croissant Supreme.” The bulging mix of lobster, diced cucumber, chives, dill and tarragon in mayo – whipped up with house-made lemon-infused oil – sat on a frill of leaf lettuce, but the lobster roll had another surprise: a smear of apple-and-jalapeno jam inside. “There’s a little bit of innovation,” said Holden, 31, who won the Shediac Lobster Festival Lobster Roll Challenge last year with a classic roll. “We don’t like to mess with the lobster too much.” Suffice it to say, I barely touched the side of home fries served with a shot glass of ketchup.
