Charlene's Family Restaurant — Restaurant in Whycocomagh

This place was highly recommended so my husband, myself and another couple decided to try it. MY husband ordered the club sandwich which was priced at $13.O0 and I had the bowl of their Famous seafood chowder for $24.00 as stated on the menu. The other couple order a bowl and a cup of seafood chowder as well as a lobster wrap. There was also limited items we were able to order, due to the heat, they did not want to grill any food. There were 2 other couples in the restaurant. When our food arrived 30 minutes later, all of our seafood chowder bowls/cup were lukewarm and we all agreed that is was definitely not what we would call world class as it states on the site. I was very watery and tasteless. The lobster roll $28.00 looked like a sandwich but was tasty. When the waitress brought us our bills it seemed kind of high so we double check the prices and we were charged $18 for the club sandwich And 24.50 for the seafood chowder! When we questioned the price difference from the menu the waitress said "Oh but that's the price ! We didn't mind the extra 50 cents for the soup but $5.00 more for a club sandwich with a small salad! Not cool! We approached the front counter and the Manager or owner not sure who it was actually blamed the poor young waitress stating she put out the wrong menu.. Really .. Terrible management. Also to note the websites prices were lower than the restaurant menus. I must say though that the restaurant itself was very pretty...

I've been a vegetarian for decades, but usually indulge in some fish and chips when I'm out east. Charlene's is incredible! Incredibly fresh, thick haddock with the perfect amount of batter. My mom also claims that their chowder is the best you can get. This review isn't about the great food, though. Instead I want to talk about the angels who work there, especially Charlene. My five year-old was having a hard time when we went thanks to long vacation days. I brought her outside to cool down, so as not to disrupt other diners. When we came back she was still not 100% herself (there was some drama with a temporary tattoo; I'm sure parents of little ones will understand!), but Charlene and our waitress saved the day. Charlene let us go into a back room to decompress, and she set up some styrofoam containers for my daughter to stack. That, and a bunny decoration that Charlene gave her, did the trick and we were able to go back and join our family. Our waitress made sure to chat with my daughter, and she even brought some Smarties! Basically, they went above and beyond with their kindness. I will truly never forget what they did, and neither will my daughter. So, definitely go for the food, but also because you'll be supporting some pretty amazing people. A truly...

First off, the seafood chowder is DIVINE! I call it a bowl of butter, but even that doesn’t do it justice to how rich, filling and satisfying this east coast delicacy is. And apparently it’s gluten-free! Who knew GF could taste so amazing!! One bowl is enough to satisfy any craving or appetite, maybe even too much! Second, the staff believe in what they are doing… they may not have enough, or be too slow or curt for some peoples selfish comments, but to me they are all heart and soul. They don’t stop moving, except to share a kindhearted chat with delighted customers who croon over the flavours and appreciate a good sense of humour. It’s like waiting for your mom to bring you her homemade specialty! Lastly, we had to try her second most popular item, a Bucket of Mud. Perfectly packaged for sharing or taking home what you can’t finish!

To some, it may appear more expensive than other options on cape breton, but when you realize that the quality is bar none, you realize what a great value Charlene’s offers to your day/vacation/experience/life! I will continue to search for anything even close to what Charlene’s offers, but I know that I will be back every chance I get to come through this...