Highwayman — Restaurant in Halifax

The Highwayman offers a fantastic selection of drinks and tapas, with two standout features being the amazing cocktails and the vegetable plates served with delicious sauces.

However, I do have a few minor complaints:

Firstly, the $25 charcuterie board was underwhelming, comprising a single cheese, two meats, some olives, a plain white baguette, and no jams or sauces at all. I would have expected at least two types of cheese and some sort of jelly or sauce to accompany the board. I did request to exclude blue cheese if it was part of the spread, but it's hard to believe that they only offered two types of cheese in total, with one being blue. The lack of spreads, jams, or crackers (just plain white bread, not toasted, and no herbs or fancy touches) made the charcuterie board seem less appealing. Even if the board were offered at a higher price, having more variety, or dividing the cheese into two smaller portions of different types, would have been a welcome improvement. I am aware I can add more selection on my own, however I hoped for smaller portion sizes and more variety, instead.

To give the benefit of the doubt, it is possible this was clearly spelled out in the menu before ordering, however I genuinely don't remember and just quickly ordered the general charcuterie board.

Additionally, securing a reservation can be challenging, if not impossible outside a certain window, as it seems they only accept them between 4:00 - 5:30 pm or so. I'm not sure why this is the case, but it's worth noting.

Despite these minor issues, The Highwayman remains a great spot for a night out with friends, offering delightful drinks and...

Our experience at Highwayman started out amazingly. Unfortunately, the larger plates didn't deliver. The scallop crudo... EXCELLENT. I could probably eat this for the rest of my life and be happy. The croquetas were perfect and the kitchen's selection of meat and cheeses were nice though we would have preferred two types of cheese rather than just Manchego. The charred carrot was good. We ordered the broccoli and whipped feta upon the server's recommendation but it was nothing special and although feta is salty, this dish was unreasonably so. The Spanish tortilla, is for all intents and purposes, a frittata topped with mushrooms. It was bland and we could not taste the cinnamon listed in the description. The saffron flavour of the poached trout was distinct but the dish was so salty it was difficult to finish. Despite what we didn't like, I think we'd still like to try the other dishes but we were late arriving and the restaurant switched to its late night menu mid-way through our meal.

The cocktails we had were nice. I would suggest offering some kind of mix with the spirit flights, like a small bottle of soda or or something. Would have liked to try the flight but wasn't interested in straight-up booze.

Upon arrival, we were welcomed immediately by friendly staff. The service during our meal was casual but good. The space and ambiance is nice.

I'd recommend for the smaller plates but it was a miss for me on the more substantial dishes. That said, I'd go back for the scallops crudo, croquetas and charcuterie - oh, and the Grenache I...

Came in at around 5pm with my husband, hoping to get a table. There were plenty that looked available but we were told they were reserved. They sat us at the bar, no big deal I guess. We were waited on quickly, and our drinks were in front of us in no time. Then we ordered food. After we had given the waitress our orders she asked us if we had any food allergies. I said dairy. She nodded her head and then went to place the order for the kitchen. We waited 40 minutes for our plates, which came in staggered. When I got my plate, seared scallops with pork belly and parsnip puree, it was lacking the puree. When I asked why, the waitress said there is dairy in the puree. I was never told it would be removed from the dish. Usually kitchen staff can accommodate with substitutions, but I guess they just decided I wouldn’t get anything. I asked if I would be charged full price and she said she’d have to ask the kitchen. I told her I wouldn’t have ordered it if I knew it wouldn’t be substituted for. When we got the bill, they took a measly $2 off my order (which was $32). I paid $30 for 5 scallops and 4 morsels of pork belly and a couple of ground hazelnuts. Absurd. By the time we left, the reserved tables had just been seated. People eat downtown these days just to post about it on their Instagram. But is the service any good? Do they price their items fairly? Halifax eateries are all about atmosphere and “influence” these days, what you’re paying for is the elitist culture and pomp, not a...