Maritime Express Cider Co. — Restaurant in Town of Kentville

EDIT: I have updated my review to 5 stars as the response to my review was astounding. As I said in my review, my experience was phenomenal albeit for one employee. The owner reached out to me and assured me it was being dealt with. Kudos to the management/ownership here.

My partner and I visited Maritime Cider on June 11th and I have to say, the food, cider, atmosphere, and the majority of the service was exceptional and deserving of five stars.

Here is why I have only given three stars:

We arrived and were greeted by a pleasant host who told us there was about a 15 minute wait to get in, but he could put us on the list and let us know when there was a table. This was great, and there is an incredible seating area where we were able to wait.

About 5-10 minutes later, another group that was waiting got in, then about 10 more minutes passed and apparently a couple was let right in, even though we were still waiting. We didn't notice until a server (female, long blonde hair) came up to the host and aggressively asked if he had let the new couple in while we were still waiting (she did not give him a chance to explain that two people had joined the original group late and he mixed them up with us, which he explained to us after). Instead of letting him explain, she scolded him (quite loudly, right in front of us) about being more aware of your surroundings and then briskly walked away shaking her head, mumbling to herself. She brought back another person who I assume was the head server/manager, and she was very nice, apologized to us, saying we would get to a table right away. We told her we could care less and that we didn't even notice.

I regret not saying something in the moment but I was appalled at how the server treated the host, right in front of us, no less. I can't imagine how she treats him (or others for that matter) behind the scenes when there aren't customers looking on.

The service industry is already toxic enough thanks to the customers. Someone should never be treated like that, and by a coworker, no less. I can only hope this is not a recurring thing at Maritime Express, because as I said, the experience was absolutely fantastic - it was just soured by a server who abused her power, making her coworker and us guests feel very...

We come here often and have been big fans. We love the charcuterie and my favorite is the hot honey dipped chicken sandwich. However, our most recent visit was a bit disappointing. It seems seems like with the most recent menu update some of the old favorites staying on the menu were downsized/downgraded. A kids grilled cheese sandwich that used to be served on a nice baguette style bread with cheddar cheese was served on a hamburger bun with processed cheese slices. The fried chicken sandwich got a serious downsizing too, going from a hearty piece of chicken that used to fill the bun to something the size of a large chicken finger dwarfed by the bun. And normally we've been pleased with the service (we were lucky enough to connect with an amazing server to be our go to babysitter), service was lacking on our most recent visit too. Among the issues were a forgotten appetizer, a miscommunication about the size of wine ordered, and an overcharge on a beverage that was refunded from the server's own wallet. Our server mentioned a broken buzzer in the kitchen to excuse the slow delivery of our food. Hopefully it was just an off night and not a sign of real change.

UPDATE: We returned for another visit after the review above and had a similar so-so experience. The kid grilled cheese was again on a hamburger bun and not the tasty baguette from before. It came with a generous portion of French fries that were quite excessively salted. The charcuterie board changed for the worse as well. Now it comes with meat only and you have to pay extra to include cheese. We upgraded to include cheese but were a bit disappointed when the add-on was just one type of cheese (before it came with 4 or more different types of cheese). The panzanella salad included a generous portion of tasty tomatoes but only 4 stale croutons so it ended up being more of a tomato salad. Our main server was great but others we interacted with seemed disinterested and unengaged (e.g. one quickly dropped off the charcuterie plate but left immediately without explaining the items - the main server said that person should have gone over the plate with us).

I don't normally complain with this much detail but I'm just bummed that this place that used to shine has lost its lustre...

The food and drinks were awesome, and the atmosphere was great. Their use of the historic building is wonderful. I really wish I could go back. However, the service was really lacking: their servers require more education into accommodation. At first our waitress was really nice and super friendly at first to my fiancé, my 6 month old daughter, and I. They seemed very cautious of all the covid rules, which was awesome.

The dining room is lovely, but I was unable to latch my daughter out there because of the noise. She was too distracted to stay on - which was an issue because we had a two hour drive ahead of us back to the city. However, due to covid two out of three of the couch areas in the back appeared to be closed (signs posted only on 2/3). The third couch grouping did not have a sign on it, so I assumed that one was open. It was leather/pleather so I thought it was safe to be sanitized (I was wrong).

So I went back there to try to nurse her while my fiancé was paying for our meal. I was there two minutes before our waitress came back there to “politely” tell me that the couches are supposed to be closed and that if a health inspector came they would get in trouble. Then, in the same breath she told me that there was lots of room to nurse my baby in the handicap stall in the bathroom. For those of you that don’t know, businesses are NOT allowed to ask anyone to eat in the washroom (even babies!). This is a human rights violation and a big no no. I was unable to inform the waitress of her faux pas as I was in shock that she had said that to me, and she walked away before I could educate her. But, I politely informed another waitress behind the bar on the way out of what had happened, and that it is a breach of the charter of human rights (against the law) to tell anyone to eat in the washroom.

I did not receive an apology from anyone. We will not be returning to this establishment and we do not recommend it until their employees receive better training on accommodation.

Also, there was no change table (an issue that I could get over, but was an aggravating factor on top of this one). But yes, it’s technically a bar but little people...