Black Pearl Seafood Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Edmonton

We were on our way downtown and figured we should've made a reservation, so we picked up the phone. The gentleman on the phone told us he was able to accommodate us two as soon as we could get there and we were pleasantly surprised considering it was a Tuesday evening, 6:19PM.

We heard about their Tuesday Buck a Shuck and went on the website to verify, but when we arrived, their menu actually said 2Buck a Shuck. A bit disappointed right off the bat but gave it a chance anyway. Plus, we were craving seafood and nothing was going to stop us from fulfilling that!

A table wasn't available so we ordered some drinks at the bar. A Flying Circus for the significant other and a super fancy juice for me. I can't recall the name at the moment. Had I known that there were no recent menu photos on Yelp (it seems they revamped their menu and their website is not reflective of this either), I would've definitely taken photographs as I usually do. But anyways, both drinks were good. The bartenders were skilled in their craft and entertaining to watch. But as I mentioned... I drank super fancy juice!

For Buck a Shuck, we ordered the Northern Nova and Beausoleil oysters. Though the Northerns were a bit smaller, they were definitely much better and more fresh tasting than the other, hands down. I enjoyed them with Dijon Vinaigrette and Tabasco.

As for our mains, we ordered Risotto with a lobster tail in the middle. The lobster was incredible. So delicious. I wish I had an entire plate full of that magical sea creature! Unfortunately the risotto was much too garlicky and buttery. I'm someone who absolutely loves garlic and butter, but this dish was too much. I could still taste it in mouth even after brushing my teeth that evening. That's how intense it was.

Next were the Surf & Turff Tacos (tenderloin and tiger prawns). There wasn't anything special about them unfortunately. The prawns were definitely large and cooked perfectly, but the tacos themselves were burnt and the tenderloin was overcooked.

There were some things I could appreciate from this place: they knew how to cook their seafood, and they did it very well, and the server was knowledgeable and we appreciated that. But overall, the wait time for our mains were a bit lengthy, and the final packaging of the dishes were a miss for an upper-class restaurant like this. Im hoping that this is because they've revamped their menu and they haven't become second nature to their chefs yet, but they're definitely on the right track. I think I would be willing to give it another shot after 6 months. Hopefully by then they would have updated the menu on their website as well and adjusted their flavours to highlight the seafood more. So just keep on swimming,...

Good day.

I wish to share my dinner experience at Black Pearl.

Recently, my French partner and I dined at this seafood establishment. I was excited, my partner lives in Paris so I wanted to share with her a little bit of finer dining in Edmonton. Needless to say, my experience was a letdown.

We arrived, showed our vaccine paperwork and were shown to our table. We looked over the menus and had made our choices.

Before we ordered, we made it VERY clear that my partner was allergic to peppers. Bell peppers, red, green, yellow,, pepper flakes, and type of peppers. The waitress took our concern and said it would be no problem.

We enjoyed our drinks and our appetizers came out. Mussels and Calimari. The Calimari had red and green bell peppers on the top. I noticed it immediately as my partner gets very sick if she eats it. The waitress apologized and returned it to the kitchen. A few minutes later it came back. Not sure if re-done or just scrapped off, and I could see a little nervousness in my partner.

She leaned more to the Mussels and I the Calimari.

Our entrées were next. We both ordered the same thing low and behold? That's right. More bell peppers on the top.

Now I understand mistakes. They happen. But we clearly pointed out the allergic problem and they did it TWICE.

No manager came out, no removal from Bill for the SECOND mistake. Nothing. Although a waitress did feel pretty bad.

I paid my bill and we left. Now I sure most of you would have been upset. These kinds of mixups can sometimes have dire consequences if the wrong food gets into the wrong body.

I was so disappointed that the next day I wrote a letter to them explaining my disappointment and I have not heard back from them.

Judging by the way the cook and waitress communicate (or lack there of) silly me to think I would get a reply.

My choice for seafood will be another place the next time we choose this type of dish. Don't need to lose my partner returning to the Black pearl.

Have a wonderful day.

What's truly sad? If you are the "owner"? That it took two weeks for you reply on Google review and I got nothing in return from the letter I sent to your company(the next morning) regarding the TWICE mixed up food order. I'm not sure you grasp the seriousness of what would have happened had my partner eaten those Bell peppers. No, I will not be returning.

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Calamari light with delicate flavour and fresh herbs allow the light flavour of the squid to stand out. Like that they chose to cook them without batter! Only wish I had was that they would use fresh squid. Missing the light bounce fresh squid has.

Buck a shuck  oysters No shell bits! Finally a place that can shuck oysters well! Would definitely recommend upgrading to a couple of their raspberry point (PEI) premium oysters. They are on a totally different level. Rich sweet and creamy goodness.

Beet salad Light and creamy vinaigrette well balanced with a fresh assortment of greens. Addition of the spinach really lifts the salad and contrasts against the strong flavour of the beets and cheese.

Ceasars drinks carry a strong spiced kick to them. We're VERY spicy. They did come with some awesome toppings for a drink.

Lobster Bisque Dish has lobster in it but is more bisque with lobster topping. Found it a little Heavy on the cream side of things with a sprinkling of fresh lobster in it. Flavourful but the lobster taste is lost in the soup. Would love to see more lobster incorporated into the soup.

Mussels A little on the salty side but the flavour is quite pleasant on the palate. Some of the smaller mussels were a little rubbery but the normal sized and larger ones were cooked decently well.

Chefs special - sirloin steak with pesto linguini and seasonal veggies

Sirloin was cooked Sous-vide and finished lightly on the grill. I really like the mix of seasoning on the steak. Flavourful and not overpowering. Only wish that they would have used a better cut of steak. Prime rib or ribeye would have suited this dish much better. Cooked perfectly throughout the whole steak but found it a little dry on the outside. Veggies were perfectly cooked. Highlight of this dish was definitely the linguini. Well balanced robust pesto which is light. Managed to cook it without it being overly salty or oily. Pasta has that nice soft spring to it 😀

Pearl pescatore Pasta was cooked well but the sauce was a little bland. Maybe the salt shaker ran out in the kitchen for this dish. The lobster was a little on the overcooked side. The pasta needed more flavour to be able to tie the dish together with the lobster.

Service Servers attentive and have a good knowledge of the menu. Service is prompt and welcoming. Ambiance also classy and makes you feel like you're in a fisherman's cove.

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