Economy Shoe Shop — Restaurant in Halifax

I had never gone here but had always heard how good The Shoe Shop was, especially their nachos. This is not just lately, I've heard decades of praise about this restaurant and have just never found my way there.

Well from start to finish, it was kind of a disappointment. Upon entering we were shown to tables by an exit that was described to be cold. We asked for something more cozy, so instead they sat us near the front door (insert face palm emoji) in a nearly empty restaurant. Looking at the menu (side note- A stapled pile of paper??? Come on guys, let's get it together and have a real menu that isn't just the drinks. I think we can have a bit more class at this point in time.) the nachos that have been touted for so long as amazing certainly seemed meh, nothing special. And as an order rolled by the suspicion was confirmed, pretty pedestrian looking.

So I ordered something that looked like it was impressive instead, The Big Shoe! A plethora of toppings on two half pound patties, this sounded like a monster burger that I felt like attacking. What I was presented with was underwhelming to say the least. The flavour was fine, but the burgers across the street at Five Guys are more monsterous and potentially more varied than what I got. The side of sweet potato fries as the side were probably straight out of the freezer, and I wonder if the regular fries would have been any better. Out of curiosity, I inquired about the patties to the wait staff but never got an answer.

My wife chose a panini and side salad which came out pressed but lacking any grill marks (what I thought was a staple feature of a grilled sandwich), soggy and dripping in some sort of oil, way too greasy.

All in all not impressed, probably not going back after this...

Oh what happened to you? Went here all excited with my family to share the nachos of the shoe shop. But oh how things have changed. I’m sure theses days there is better elsewhere. I made better nachos at home; read to the end and you will see why 1)we ordered our food 3 burgers, 1 club and nachos for the table. 45 minute wait. It was not busy maybe half full. 2) the waitress came around to check on drinks twice before our food arrived and said would be right back to refill water for the 2 people who were drinking it; our food showed up finally and no water 3)asked again for water, this time filled a glass to the top and spilled water on my fries and plate. Got an ooops sorry no offer to replace my fries which turned soggy very quickly. 3) our nachos did not arrive with the the other mains we were told they would be right out. 4) after we have all finished our meals still no nachos; people beside us got theirs delivered 5) when the waitress came back at to check on everything when meal was about done I said “there was nachos with order and told they were coming right, we no longer want them. Her response was I’m sorry our kitchen has been messed up lately. That was not the response I would except and to pass the buck on the kitchen is unacceptable; you are the person who took the order and needs to make sure what has been ordered is served. If the kitchen messes up, you get them to correct it. Take ownership on your missteps. I typically tip 25-30% not once in 20 years have I been so frustrated with such a complete lack of service that I tipped 0% until today. So as you can see I can make better nachos at home because I did not even get...

Sorry, but we really hate giving a bad review post covid, but our experience here deserves it. Service was slow and rude.

We came in at around 8...looking for seats. The hostess was nice and found seats on the patio. The waitress came by about ten minutes later...first thing she said was "you wont be able to get food. The kitchen is backed up and we cant serve minors after 9." Keep on mind, its about 810. The attitude was straight outta mos eisley, like we had walked in with a couple of droids.

We asked if we could get some nachos going as the kids were hungry and the order was placed.

After 15 more minutes passed and she took our drink order and she said that the nachos might not be ready by nine. We said fine...we would take that risk. I unfortunately asked what they had on tap. I was told "lots, you need to look at the menu and make a decision". I said that like something darker and roasted, like a stout or a porter. Response was "we dont have that, closest would be a Rickards Red". I settled on a water.

10 more minutes and the drinks came. Its now 935. Looking around, there are alot of empty tables. We asked about the nachos and were told that she would check. This is nachos: chips cheese, veggies.

850, the nachos come and we request the bill. Fearing a drone strike at 2100 hours we ate fast, paid the bill and left for five guys across the street.

The nachos, were ok. Salsa was nothing special at at 24 bucks for the plate, not good...