Garden's Gate Restaurant — Restaurant in Tehkummah Township

Location: Garden’s Gate isn’t located in one of the island’s towns. It’s a 20 minute drive south-east from the town of Mindemoya on Hwy 542. From the ferry at South Baymouth you can take Hwy 6 and be at Garden’s Gate in just over 10 minutes. From Little Current, you can be at Garden’s Gate in just over 35 minutes via Hwy 6 south.

Food: This is a first rate restaurant that focuses on fresh, local ingredients and genuinely caring preparation.

Our first foray was a quick drop-in after checking out the Dark Sky Preserve. We were greeted warmly by Sheina, and after a brief chat we decided that looking at the menu in anticipation of the next day’s meal wasn’t enough.

We ordered the appetizer charcuterie plate as a “tester” and sat in the garden to enjoy our food. It was a fabulous afternoon snack. Too often we’ve ordered charcuterie plates that offer great ingredients, but in quantities that barely feed a small child. Kevin’s plate combines the best of both worlds: high quality ingredients (the blue cheese in particular was superb) and enough food for two people to dig in for some very contented noshing.

The next day we were very excited to return for dinner.

We ordered two appetizers: Grilled Chicken Satay; and, Local Asparagus & Prosciutto Rolls. Both were outstanding, though if we had to choose between them we’d give the win to the chicken satay. The house made satay sauce was something special, and the chicken was cooked to juicy perfection.

We each ordered the Pan Seared Rainbow Trout for our main course, and it was mouth wateringly delicious. The fish was lightly spiced, allowing the clean, fresh taste of the trout to take centre stage. As important, it was cooked perfectly. We savoured each and every bite - so, so good. We would definitely order this dish again.

For dessert we chose a Lemon Cheesecake with Seasonal Berry Coulis, and the House-made Ice Cream Sandwich. The Lemon Cheesecake was the runaway winner of this contest. The cheesecake itself was light and airy with superb, rich flavour while the strawberry coulis was a perfect, not-too-sweet contrast to the gentle, citric tartness of the cake. The Ice Cream Sandwich was the only aspect of the dinner that was less than satisfying. While the ice cream itself was delicious, the cookie was just too hard to allow one to eat the dessert as a “sandwich”. This was made even more difficult by the fact that the chocolate in the cookie - while generous and of good quality - was added in large chunks (as opposed to smaller chips), making the already hard cookie that much harder to bite through. When the sandwich concept defeated us, we switched to an open face approach, but still found the cookie and chocolate chunks too solid to fully enjoy.

Ambiance:

The Garden’s Gate is blessed with a beautiful location. The building is nestled amidst beautiful flower gardens, and tables are currently arrayed adjacent to the small parking lot (we understand that the plan is to move the tables inside the garden post-Covid). Inside the building you’ll find Sheina, your amiable and genuinely welcoming hostess, as well as a selection of local artisanal food products and crafts produced by local artists (we picked up a beautiful set of earrings while deciding what to order for dinner). This is a lovely space to enjoy good conversation and fabulous food.

Price: The food is somewhat more expensive than other options we tried on the island, which is to be expected since it was far and away the best restaurant dining experience we enjoyed during our five day visit. We enjoyed two appetizers, two mains and two desserts for $125 (HST and generous tip included), a very reasonable price considering the quality. And compared to what one might expect to pay for a meal of this quality in Toronto or other Canadian cities, the fare at Garden’s Gate is a bargain.

We highly recommend dining at Garden’s Gate, and will definitely return the next time we’re on...

I wanted to like this place, hopefully we just went on an off night? The atmosphere is quite nice, we were excited when we arrived. The staff were pleasant in personality but not great at service. The biggest issue was that they forgot our daughter's meal, and it didn't come until well after everyone else had finished, which is difficult to manage with a hungry toddler. They didn't offer to bring anything out for her while we waited. Luckily I had a snack bar in my bag I could tide her over with, and she ate a bit of our meal. When they finally brought her food, they didn't give us any utensils with it. One of the other kids in our group had a burger, it came as just a plain patty with a bun, no condiments or toppings were offered or brought to the table for it which was odd. No one came by again until they had the mains for adults ready, at which point he had finished the burger anyway, so we didn't get a chance to ask for any. The other child ordered pasta which he seemed to enjoy. For my meal, they didn't have the ingredients to make the first dish I ordered but it took some time before they came back to let us know. The pasta I did have was overdone which, but the sauce was nice. The charcuterie board had some nice/interesting items, but the flavours weren't well balanced, it didn't feel like someone had taken care composing the dish and thought about how the pieces would be eaten and how they would taste together. Everything we had felt like it had the potential to be good but the execution of the dishes and the service just wasn't there. Other reviews sounded good, if it wasn't for the kid's issues I would give it...

This charming spot welcomes you with a beautiful garden entrance and a cozy, thoughtfully decorated interior. Inside, you'll find a variety of items from local artists and vendors, which adds a nice touch of character to the atmosphere.

Seating is limited, so I'd definitely recommend calling ahead or making a reservation, especially during peak times. Service was pleasant and prompt. We were started off with fresh bread and butter, which was simple, but delicious.

I ordered the pan-fried local lake trout—it was cooked well, but could’ve used a bit more seasoning to really bring out the flavor. My partner went with the chicken schnitzel and opted for fries instead of the garden vegetables. The schnitzel was crunchy, moist, and overall quite tasty, and the fries were nicely done.

One downside was their inflexibility with substitutions. When my partner requested to have a salad instead of the standard sides, we were told only rice or fries were available with the schnitzel—no exceptions. A bit disappointing, especially since we would’ve have paid extra.

The menu is small and curated, which we appreciated, and the bathrooms were clean and well-maintained. Overall, the atmosphere was great, and the emphasis on local art and ingredients gives the place a unique feel.

While there’s room for improvement in flexibility, I’d still recommend giving it a try—especially if you enjoy supporting...