Water Prince Corner Shop — Restaurant in Charlottetown

First off, I wanted to say that our first experience with Water Prince Corner Shop as locals back in 2023 was a phenomenal dining experience. We were warmly greeted with smiles, personality, and hospitality. Our food was spectacular and the staff chatted with us throughout the evening. We left with fond memories and promised we would return the following year (we like to try new places on our beautiful island).

However, our second experience this evening was unfortunately not as pleasant. As we made our reservation, we were told to arrive before our scheduled time, which we did. Upon our arrival, the hostess coldly commented that we were early and immediately we could tell the vibe was not the same.

As our table was cleared, we were told to sit as she continued to go back up to the front. Not a “how are you this evening” or even a little banter. We sat for quite some time (long enough to finish our glasses of water) before our order was taken, even though parties who arrived after us were seated, greeted with chit chat, smiles, and discussions which we would have liked to have experienced. We honestly felt invisible as a couple of local islanders. Our meals came and we sat there for quite some time before we eventually finished them, without being checked on by any of the staff. We couldn’t help to see other tables receiving service, chats from the staff, while we completely felt invisible the entire meal. Not only have we noticed a difference with the service but with the food itself, which didn’t seem like the same quality we experienced in 2023.

I used to recommend this establishment to tourists, family and friends but after our cold experience this evening, I would be hesitant to do so. It is disheartening as our experience in 2023 was...

I and my group had very high expectations for this restaurant as the reviews overall seemed very great and promising. Unfortunately, the food and service did not meet our expectations. We ordered seafood chowder, lobster dinner, oysters, steamed clams, halibut dinner, and fish and chips. The positive: seafood chowder was very chunky and creamy. The chowder came with a nicely warmed cone that was delicious. Flavour is great and slowly releases its savouriness over time. Our table quickly finished the chowder. Oysters were fresh juicy delicious to shuck. Steamed clams were cooked to perfection with just the right amount of saltiness.

The negative: our lobster dinners were very sad and disappointing. The lobsters were extremely salty to the point where the back of our throats were burning. My friend felt heart palpitations from such high salt content. We have tried lobsters at a couple of other restaurants on the island and we have never had such intense strong salty lobsters. We told the server and she apologized and offered new lobsters for us. The chef explained that some lobsters have thinner shells and they are cooked in salt water. I understand this may be a one off situation, however it is still unacceptable to serve such salty lobsters. The halibut was slightly dry tasted okay.

Service: our server was overall nice but was not attentive. Our server did not check in on us after we began eating. My water was not refilled for at least forty minutes. My server was rarely seen around our dining area. I had to ask another server to kindly...

This place was suggested in several PEI guides/videos/etc and by PEI tourism employees for being rated #1 by islanders. We had high hopes for the water prince that were unfortunately not met.

The wait for food was very long due to what appears to be understaffing. The ambiance was uncomfortably off as there was no sound except for mild radio chatter in the background. When the food came it was largely underwhelming and overpriced.

We got some oysters and a 1.5lb lobster dinner that came with a choice of a side and a starter.

-The oysters came on a half melted plate of ice.. which was a little worrisome as to why half the ice had melted by the time the oysters had come to the table? Regardless, they were good and so far we haven’t gotten sick after the meal!

-We got the chowder for the starter and though its not the best on the island, it was delicious. It had that subtle sweet taste that only fresh seafood has and was just creamy enough to impress. The biscuit was nice and fluffy as well!

-Side of fries was good, but nothing special.

-And the lobster was the saddest part of the meal as it was completely overcooked.

At market price and after taxes/tips, our total came just short of $100 and although we didn’t have an awful experience at the Water Prince we also won’t be going back as it‘a simply not worth it for the quality of food that you get.

However, if you do decide to go for dinner time make sure you make a reservation as they have limited seating (and staff support) and cannot...