Halifax Restaurant With Nova Scotian Dishes Named 57th Best Restaurant in Canada
HALIFAX– When Drift opened along the Halifax Waterfront in 2021, it came with a goal of showcasing the unique, mouth-watering cuisine Nova Scotia and the Atlantic region had to offer. The Lower Water Street restaurant takes ingredients from the land and sea from this unique province and turns them into one-of-a-kind dishes.
That is why it’s so significant that Drift, which is connected to the Muir hotel, ranked 57th on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list. The list was compiled by restaurant industry insiders and food critics.
Freehand Hospitality, the owner of Drift, had a banner day when the list came out in May. They also own Café Lunette, which came in 74th. Lunette also came in 5th in the Best New restaurants list, while Freehand’s Peacock Wine Bar came 9th in that category.
For the Chef de Cuisine of Drift, Lawrence Deneau, the fact that such a uniquely Nova Scotian restaurant is being recognized makes him emotional when he talks about it.
“It personally wells me up,” he told Huddle. “I’ve been a chef in Nova Scotia for quite a few years now. To be recognized in that top 100 list in Canada, and to be able to use ingredients and forage items… in Nova Scotia has been incredible.”
Deneau describes the kitchen staff at Drift as being goal-driven and work-focused. They are so focused on making their dishes that it really did come as a surprise when they found out about the top 100 list.
“It came out of nowhere, and I wasn’t even aware that we were on the radar,” said Deneau. “I had received a random text from Chef Walsh (creative culinary lead for Freehand Hospitality) saying congratulations, and then the email started coming in.”
“It was just kind of out of the blue and it was just a complete shock honestly. But we were very grateful, and we all celebrated it in our own way and got right back to work after we found out.”
One of the most popular dishes at Drift, befittingly, is its Nova Scotia Hodgepodge- with such ingredients as Nova Scotia lobster, matane shrimp, and haddock.
Deneau gives much of the restaurant’s success to Chef Anthony Walsh, who created such dishes as the Nova Scotia Hodgepodge for the menu.
“These are dishes that came from Chef Walsh, and everything really made an impact because of how much we celebrate Nova Scotia and the ingredients,” said Deneau.
Seafood lovers can also dine on Atlantic salmon, Newfoundland cod au gratin, halibut, and steamed PEI mussels. Right now, says Deneau, fresh swordfish is in season. Many Nova Scotians may not have even known that such a fish could be caught in areas such as Georges Bank, and then eaten.
“We have swordfish tuna that are fished off Georges Bank, (and another region) down here in Nova Scotia. We have boats that go at this time of year, especially for the last two weeks and up until about six weeks from now.”
But it’s not just the fish that Drift is using from Nova Scotian waters. Any foody who keeps up with the times will know the seaweed has ballooned in popularity. Drift has joined in on the trend.
“We focus a little bit more on seaweed and things that are taking more of a spotlight in in the trendy cooking environment,” said Deneau.
“We’ve used it in a lot of different ways. We dry it, we pickle it, and then make it into peppers and add it to spice mixtures. And each seaweed has a different flavor and salinity and a different depth.”
While Drift celebrates Nova Scotian cuisine, Café Lunette, also on Lower Water Street, celebrates the rich history of French cooking. Head Chef Vanessa Belanger grew up in a French family and became familiar with the cuisine as a kid. She fell in love with Lunette as soon as she started working there.
“I just love that restaurant. The second I was asked to come out to Halifax, this restaurant just resonated with me,” states Belanger. “I started cooking with French food and I really wanted to get back into it. it’s just like this place is so me, in a sense, that I fell in love, and I couldn’t imagine not being here.”
“I think that it’s just such a beautiful place to go. Everybody talks about the interior and then they end up staying for the food. We’re just doing something so special here that you can’t really get anywhere else in Halifax.”
Belanger said she is still in a state of disbelief that Café Lunette was named one of the best new restaurants (and one of the best overall) in Canada. She told Huddle she honestly never thought such a recognition would happen to her.
“It’s just so surreal that it happened in the first first year that we were open. It’s just so incredible.”
“I do something I love every single day, which is just a bonus. I never went in working towards trying to be on this (top 100) list. Because I just see all these really incredible restaurants and incredible chefs that make it every year. And for some reason I never thought that would be me.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].
May 27, 2023 @ 3:00 am
I am a borne and bred Bluenoser of over 50 years. I have never heard of Hodge Podge with the likes of lobster, shrimp and haddock. It almost seems sacreligious somehow.