Dining Recommendations for a Road Trip in Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec

During my first two trips to Quebec, I stayed within the city, where dining options were abundant. Even some popular restaurants could accommodate walk-ins without reservations. D’orsay is a place I visit every time I’m in Quebec—whether with family or friends, everyone always enjoys it. I highly recommend their rich seafood chowder—one portion for every two people is enough. Their paella and seafood fettuccine are also delicious. 😋 On the way to Gaspé, roughly a 4-hour drive from Quebec City, Restaurant Le Matelot is a gem. Great ambiance, service, and food! We ordered a seafood platter with two lobsters. Having lived in Massachusetts, I thought I’d grown tired of 🦞, but these lobsters were exceptional—full of roe and incredibly tender. 🦞✨ However, the experience in Gaspé was completely different. Gaspé is a coastal tourist town that only operates from May to September, so businesses are limited. There’s just one small chain supermarket (which later became our lifesaver!). Along the main street near the giant rock, there are only about a dozen restaurants. La Maison du Pêcheur is so popular that weekend dinners require booking three weeks in advance, yet there’s always a line outside. Other similar restaurants on the street also demand reservations, and there are no fast-food chains nearby for emergencies. If you need an early meal (like we did, to catch the 9 AM ferry to Bird Island), the only options are a cash-only bakery with endless lines (closed on Sundays) or restaurants where you can’t eat quickly. I didn’t anticipate this when planning, so on our first morning, we had to eat snacks we’d brought from home. The next morning, we were thrilled to find sandwiches and coffee at that supermarket—even K-Cup coffee tasted satisfying! ☕ Having relied solely on cards (no Canadian cash) during my previous trips, I did the same this time. This meant paying with U.S. dollars at par when places only accepted cash. For example, after returning from Bird Island at 1:30 PM on a weekend, every restaurant was packed with no walk-ins allowed. We ended up buying two orders of tacos (three small pieces each) from a food truck. They were tasty but pricey—$50 USD for tiny tacos, since we had no Canadian cash and they only took cash! 💸 In the evening, we went to our reserved restaurant, only to realize we’d booked for 4 people a month prior but later had 5, and forgot to update the reservation. They said they were fully booked and could only seat 4. 😅 #QuebecTravel #Gaspe #RoadTrip