Fisherman's Wharf Lobster Suppers — Restaurant in North Rustico

Spent a week camping in PEI this summer. While there we decided to try a local hotspot and found ourselves following recommendations to eat at Fisherman’s Wharf. I wish I could agree with those who thought so highly of it. But I tried a lot of food to try to get there.

The first thought pulling in was that it was smaller than I thought after being on their website. From the front it looks like there isn’t a lot of parking but it goes all the way around back.

My first thought walking in was confusion since you enter into a souvenir shop which opens to two different restaurants.

Fisherman’s Wharf you have to pay at the entrance. Where prices are EXPENSIVE. Be aware, shock hits you hard. I guess I should have looked at the prices on the online menu, if they are listed. I didn’t look. I expected the lobster to be a tad outlandish as a tourist price but the whole menu was very pricy. We continued in for the experience, and we were meeting others for dinner. $300 (for family of 6) receipt later… we sat down to dinner.

Our server, Arron, was fantastic. She kept us hydrated and smiling without hovering.

Our group was pretty large. They do not take reservations. But they had lots of room to accommodate us.

To start, they have the largest salad bar I have ever seen. It included garden salads, potato salad, roasted potatoes, pasta salads, nachos, jello, soup and chowder, fruits, veggies, cookies, desserts, and mussels. All you can eat style included with your meal. Or you can get the salad bar only for $27.99.

The fish and chips were a 9/10 in taste but there are so many French fries that they are cold within three mins of getting them. But for the price, they have to give you a lot of something. The Tartar sauce tasted like it was store bought and you get a container the size of your thumb.

Many in our party ordered the steak platter. The steak is not marbled much but instead had larger amounts of fat to meat ratio. And the medium rare steaks were not consistent. Some were cooked more than the others.

The rotisserie chicken was a 8/10. The chicken was cooked great but lacked flavour. The fries were delish.

The lobster…. Is $44.99 before tax. Lobster is not cracked at each section making it difficult to get all the meat. But it was cooked well. They offer it cold warm or hot.

The seafood chowder at the salad bar was not chowder, it was white soup. I was happy to find a bowl at my seat when I returned to my table that our server Arron brought me. That was, until I took a bite. It was more chicken flavour to seafood flavour.

Pro #1: lots of parking Pro #2: on wharf so lots of spots to take pictures before or after your meal. Pro #3: playground outside the the back of the restaurant. Pro #4: one stop, you can buy your souvenirs when you are stopped for your meal. And let the kids run off their energy at the park after the meal before heading out. Pro #5: you can have more than one dessert!! Pro #6: unlimited mussels!!!!

Con #1: the price is too much Con #2: the mussels didn’t seem washed and rinsed to remove most of the sand. Con #3: the nacho cheese was not warmed so did not spread across the corn chips. Con #4: cookies were bricks hurting to bite them. Con #5: might just be a con from my crew… taste preferences obviously… the strawberry shortcakes. Not one in my group enjoyed them. FW uses pound cake for the base. We have always used tea biscuits or angel food cake. It was just too heavy to have after the large meal. I think most just ate as much as possible to feel like they got their moneys...

VERY busy lobster/seafood diner nestled conviently on PEI's central coast trail if you happen to be driving it. It is peak season of course, but do expect quite long lines even on a weekday if you're stopping in for an evening meal. My dad and I waited at least 30 minutes after ordering, as you order and pay before you're seated here, to be seated. Once we were seated, a miscommunication caused us to be without a server for upwards of 35 additional minutes. On top of a hot and humid restaurant, this was shaping up as grounds for a pretty disappointing experience. However, once we flagged who we believed to be a more senior member of the service staff that we had not gotten service, she apologized and quickly arranged for us to be served.

At this point, our experience had done a full 180. Our server Jillian arrived quickly thereafter and remained attentive with drinks and refilling our water. My dad also got a small bowl of chowder and salad from the self-serve salad bar that's included in any entree's price. Soon after the entrees came out, I got the breaded haddock and chips and my dad ordered the wharf 1, aka a 1 lb full lobster. Did not get a photo of the lobster, I apologize. As you can see the haddock portion was very generous, I counted about 4 pieces altogether of varying sizes, along with a lavish spread of chips. The fish was delectably flaky and tender, with tangy but uniquely sweet house tartar. These are probably the best chips I've ever had with a F&C meal. Beautifully crisp outer with soft inners. It felt truly wasteful to not have enough room to finish the whole plate. Unfortunately I had to tick a star off the food rating as my dad lamented the lobster was only good, and he felt he has had better before. However he did agree that the fish and chips I ordered were delicious after trying some. Ended with bread pudding and a slice of blueberry pie. Despite being self-serve and there being essentially a pie mural on display, it did not taste old or frozen and had a delicious juicy filling.

As mentioned, the atmosphere in the restaurant was very hot for most of the visit, despite plenty fans and A/C working hard. Only so much you can do in the summer heat. The other disturbance was the exit door to the back, the door closer at the top may need some tinkering because it did little to stop the door from loudly slamming shut every few minutes which startled us frequently and was a bit annoying.

I want to make it clear how helpful Jillian was in turning our experience around, she was very apologetic for her error but we couldn't have asked for a better server - she was friendly, attentive, charasmatic and helpful. Additionally, the senior server manager I believe was the one who decided to comp one of our meals for our wait troubles, which was greatly appreciated. The place was packed and they were also short three staff members. Thanks very much for flipping our experience! Would absolutely recommend you stop here if you're coming through North Rustico. Also includes a...

I have visited PEI several times over the past 20+ yrs, at least every year. Each visit I made it a point to eat here. I have even introduced others to this restaurant. This was my first visit back since Aug 2019 and covid. I was with my sister in-law and neither of us were impressed. The lady who was running the cash when you first enter was short and rude. We tried to follow the social distancing while waiting in line. However we had people behind us breathing down our necks and when something was mentioned about it she did nothing and walked away. The hostess was a very kind young lady and listened to our concern over the issue. She went back and mentioned it to a few coworkers. No one came over to address the situation at that time. Our server, Justin took our salad and drink order. Then brought our cold rolls (store bought I am sure as they were far from homemade) and tasteless chowder. I don't eat chowder but my sister inlaw from the east coast does and was extremely disappointed. Not only did it not have any flavour but it was also cold and tasted off. The salad bar was average and very small portions. She ordered the fish dinner that looked like it was coated with shake n bake and didn't look fresh either. I know fresh fish should flake apart but this didn't and almost needed a knife to be cut. I myself ordered the chicken (as I don't eat enough of the lobster for that price) and it was dry and bland until I used the dipping sauce as it actually tasted good then. Our single potato was cold and it came with a very small piece of lettuce and a few shavings of carrots with a sliver of onion as our main dish. Justin our excellent waiter was informed of the disappointment of our meal and sent the manager over without being asked too. When she arrived she was pleasant until she was informed that her food was sub-par then she said it is all of personal preference. She infact said that she had many compliments on both the chowder and fish today. Not once did she apologize for the disappointment of the food or even offer something else in it's place. She brought over tinfoil and a paper plate for us to take our uneaten portions home with us. We ordered a slice of pie each that tasted store bought. I tried the strawberry shortcake while there and the cake portion was hard and without flavour, and I am sure the strawberries had been frozen. The only enjoyable part of this experience was our waiter Justin. Keep up the good work Justin. However I will not be returning to this establishment and spending my hard earned money on an expensive meal that isn't worth the cost. Especially after driving almost 20 hrs to visit the beautiful Island. I spent less money at the Evergreen Café for 2 ppl and enjoyed every bite. I don't recommend the Fishermans Wharf to anyone anymore, but do recommend a visit to the Evergreen Café. After all PEI has many delicious local...