Nice view but it is an Overpriced tourist trap. Seafood chowder was watery and salty. Haddock was dry. Lobster was small and pricey. read more

The food quality is poor, the service is unprofessional, and the prices are not worth it.

Very nice place. Fish and chips were excellent. The place is beautiful with all the hardwood floors - but if you have any audio-sensory issues be warned, it can be loud and echoing - particularly when we were there and a live musician was performing upstairs. read more

Lobster roll delicious. Clam chowder is soup not chowder. Don't like not explaining honestly as to how charge. read more

Governor's Pub & Eatery - Lobster roll $38 with side. When billed charged 6.99 for side of clam soup not chowder.. Roll includes side. Dishonest in how explained - Pubs Near Me - Sydney, Nova Scotia

Yum! Just yum!!! I asked for my lobster roll without mayo and it was delicious! It was served with excellent poutine made with hand cut crispy fries and rich brown gravy. Service was fast and friendly. Will definitely be back when in Sydney. My husband had their Greek salad and thoroughly enjoyed it. He was very happy to find Guinness on tap and well poured. read more

We went to dinner here while we overnighting in Sydney based on the recommendation of a local from Cape Breton that said it was the best food in Sydney. While I have not eaten anywhere else to make that type of claim, I was very pleased with our dinner. We visited on a Monday night about 7:45 and the restaurant was still very busy, we had to put our name on the list and had a short wait to be able to get a table. Once we were seated the wait staff was great and really kept things rolling. We were able to make our drink order and had our dinner ordered shortly thereafter. We started with the lobster poutine which was the first time we have tried poutine, let alone with lobster in it. This is a dish that the chef beat Bobby Flay with a Throwdown, so of course, I had to try it. The lobster in the poutine was generous and the white gravy was perfect. We ate every bite of our appetizer. For dinner, I ordered a seafood pasta with a maple curry sauce. It was everything that I could have hoped for. The sauce was delicious and the maple and curry flavors were very well balanced. The seafood was bountiful and perfectly cooked. This dish will inspire me to find a similar type of recipe at home since I really can not come back to Sydney every time I want this combo. Our waitress was very friendly and handled multiple big tables at a time while making sure we had everything we needed to have a very nice dinner. If you are in the area we would recommend this restaurant. read more

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Really tasty food. There's a lot of option for vegan/vegetarian and some gluten free. I took the risotto and it was GORGEOUS. A lot of place miss the tofu and the vegetarians dish but not the Governor's. I really enjoyed it. My husband took the lobster poutine, it was also delicious. Big chunk of lobster and the cheese was also good (good squick squick texture). The also have a good selection of craft beer. The service was also really nice from our server. read more

If you have time in Sydney stop here for local food, drinks and the Cape Breton experience.

Highly recommend! Great place to enjoy a great great meal and a pint while watching the sun going below the river. The location is great! Right by the river. And the food, soooooo great, recommend their fish and chips, rib, butter chicken, coconut shrimp, fish cake, steaks. Their business is really good, it's a good idea to call ahead to book a table. read more

Governor's Pub & Eatery - The view from the patio on 2nd floor - Pubs Near Me - Sydney, Nova Scotia

Stopped in for a couple beers and sit so we can enjoy the view. Weather was perfect and the balcony was very inviting. The view was even better because the large tree across the street fell during the last storm giving an even better view of the water......can speak to the food as we did not eat....but the beer was cold and tasty..... read more

My husband and I went to the Governor's Pub & Eatery this evening ... it's near our hotel and we like pubs. We had supper downstairs. Gord had the Haddock a la Maison (pan-fried haddock lightly breaded, topped with two scallops, two shrimp and a drizzle hollandaise sauce). He's not a big fish lover but wanted to try some since he was in the Maritimes. He was happy with his choice and ate it all. I was going to order the Chicken Parm but our server dissuaded me. Instead I ordered the Slow Cooked Pork Back Ribs (1/2 Rack back ribs glazed with our signature rib sauce, served with hand cut fries and our signature crispy coleslaw) and our server was happy with my choice. Though the ribs were good, they were cold. Cold! When I mentioned it to our server, he asked me if I wanted them to be heated. Shouldn't they have been hot in the first place?! I said I figured they would be microwaved and ruined and he didn't dispute it. So I wasn't overly happy with my meal. After our meal, we went upstairs to the pub. Boy, was it hot there! Gord was happy that he got to try some Garrison draft (he can't get it in Toronto). He started and ended with the Red Irish Ale. Just before we were about to leave, the bartender accidentally split a beer on me ... so my camera, sweatshirt and pants got wet. Grrrrr! Though he was sorry about it, you think he would have comped a glass of wine for me. All in all, Gord was happy with his experience there and I wasn't. read more

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Great place to eat, drink & be entertained with Irish tunes. Closest to docked cruise ships...Guinness on tap & Irish nachos: priceless!!

Great location with a nice view, staff was friendly and coleslaw was delicious, but we were not offered a drink menu... at a pub. We were only checked on by our waitress once, we requested mayonnaise and never got it and no refills were offered on our water and iced tea. The restaurant wasn't busy enough to be overwhelming and the fish and chips (made with local fish) was too heavy on the batter and some parts of the fish was chewy. Overall this might be best for patio drinks. read more

Governor's Pub & Eatery - Fish and chips with a view - Pubs Near Me - Sydney, Nova Scotia

Wow! What a disappointment this place was. We really wanted the lobster rolls and lobster dinners Was seated for 22 minutes and never acknowledged. We did get menus after 15 minutes but never returned to take our order. We left. And they weren't even crowded when we arrived. Dumbass owners allowing revenue to walk out the door like that! I don't get it. read more

Best fish and chips I've ever had and I lived in the UK for two years. Great beer selection on tap. Great old building with a ton of character. The very best for me that day was the live entertainment- two guys and they were fantastic! Was in town with a cruise read more

It's truly amazing that Goveror's has a lower rating than the restaurant at the Holiday Inn restaurant across the street, anyway, there is no comparison whatsoever. After eating at several restaurants in the area, I feel nothing compares to Governors beautiful building, professional wait staff and the quality of the food preparation. read more

I've always been a fan of this business locally, but I feel that this visit home they have really stepped up their game. The food instead of being good was great every single time. I stress this because we probably went twelve times while home. I highly recommend their Maple Salmon with rice and vegetables. I ate the same dish every time. *shame lol However, amongst the many visits I was impressed with everyone's appreciation of their food on girls night. I wish they had more wine choices would be a small critique. The new small details like offering blankets on the patio as well as the expansion of the beer gardens, I felt upped their ante this year. Now there is more space for people who may just want to drink while leaving the cramped downstairs, which is almost always full, to more dining patrons. This venue is always great for a dinner for two or small to large groups. They are great to accommodate everyone. Live entertainment is always offered upstairs and now the full menu is available on both floors. Another plus in my opinion. I believe it used to be a smaller menu upstairs. I felt three of the servers this year were also exceptional and I am sadly disappointed that I can't recall their names to give them a shout out. Two blondes and a brunette. LOL Well done read more

Very rude staff member (male) when simply waiting to be seat. Walked to the edge of the dining area to view the downstairs bar and the male host was extremely rude in asking what I was doing. Wasn't blocking the entry. Just simply trying to see the restaurant. I would advise anyone. Not to eat here if you want polite, cordial service. And to the male staff member: Get help for your issues, man. read more

This place is a lot of fun. Just a short walk from the cruise ship terminal, this is a great place to hang out if the weather is nice. It has a large outdoor patio plus a rooftop deck. There are bars upstairs and downstairs. They even had live music going on the afternoon on a Wednesday. They have a great selection of local beers. They also have a nice view of the harbor and the cruise ship that is docked. The waitresses can get overwhelmed so sometimes it can take a bit to get your drinks. read more

Governor's Pub & Eatery - View of the Disney Magic from the rooftop bar. - Pubs Near Me - Sydney, Nova Scotia

Excellent food and service. Fresh and hearty portions. Local brews available and recommended. read more

Great location downtown across from the water, with dedicated parking. Great service but it took quite a while to get the food, especially for a Wednesday night. Poutine 1/5 The poutine was a sad dish with a gravy that tasted like it was left warming up for too long and the cheese curds were more like one giant melted curd. Lobster Mac and Cheese 5/5 Great flavours and generous portion of lobster. Nice plating. A success. Market price was $36. Half Rack of Ribs 3/5 Small ribs and a little too heavy on the smoky sauce. I get that the sauce adds the taste but you have to be able to taste the meat too. Big portion of fries. Pointless addition of cornmeal. It nothing more than a dry plate filler. Restaurant is beautiful and kid friendly. read more

The Christmas Menu started today. I had the orange and ginger glazed salmom with roasted root veg and couscous. Delish!

OK so after the utter disaster of my first Lobster, I thought I would drag my wife over (she just joined me on holidays). So she had the curry seafood linguini and I had the beef ribs special.. OK, so it turned out that after asking specifically if it was beef or pork, and being told it was beef , it showed up as pork. Sigh.. My wife found the noodles dry and tasteless, and almost no sauce, she said she'd give the noodles a 6 out of ten but the scallops and shrimp 7 and 8 respectfully. My ribs and mashed I think l I am lenient if I give a 5.mashed were stone cold and the ribs dry and a bit burnt. At least the beer was cold and tasty. Won't be back. Sorry but the 2014-2015 local tourist guide that proclaims chef Pardon Moffard chef of the year is a bit of a let down for my wife and I. See pic.. read more

Do not, under any circumstances, order the burger. Ok, maybe that's a bit extreme. If you are fascinated by the chemical processes that convert ground beef to horse leather, i.e. burning, you might order this burger. If you've been held hostage in one of the Maritime provinces and fed only seafood for two years you might find some mild relief in this burger. But if you're looking for a juicy burger, American style, keep driving, or paddling, south. Because apparently a burger with the slightest bit of pink in it is "illegal" in Canada. Must be well done, says our waitress, who then helpfully opines that it's much better for us that way, as beef is "filled with bacteria that just gets ground in" so you want it thoroughly cooked. Thanks. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the very hard, very dry, brown-gray mass that constituted a safe and legal Canadian burger as interpreted by the chef, but trust me when I say that, other than the extremist microbes that live in geysers, no bacteria survived this very thorough purge. But the music was OK and the view was nice. Just get the lobster roll. read more

I'm not usually in the habit of writing reviews but I felt compelled to in this case A Few weeks ago I was at the Governors Pub in Sydney for lunch. Unfortunately, I had an episode of Illness and had to try and overcome this. The illness was pretty intense and I was not able to make it subside. As a result, I had to go to the hospital by ambulance. My friends were there to support me as well as a kind patron who luckily for me happened to be a retired paramedic. He was very knowledgeable and calming which I appreciated tremendously. I didn't get to enjoy a lunch there though my friends told me it was a great place to eat. The restaurant staff and management were very helpful and kind. In fact, my friends informed me that they even gave us our lunches to go complimentary. This review though I'm not actually a patron (as i hadn't got to enjoy the food) is to thank them for their kindness. It's nice to know that there are operators that are considerate and look out for their patrons. Thanks again Governor's Pub! And yes, I'm doing much better. read more

After leaving PEI, we made our way to Cape Breton Island and stayed a couple of nights in Sydney. Governor's Pub was almost across the street from our hotel and we ended up eating there twice. For our first night we ate downstairs in the restaurant. Our orgy of seafood in Nova Scotia continued. Crab cakes were the same style as we had at Gabrieau's in Antigonish, so we concluded that the very finely shredded (ground?) crab is the local style even though the menu said lump crab. These had a lot of bread as filler and no lump crab. I would not re-order them here. More chowder. Again, I liked it but after I removed 1/2 cup of green onions. The salt was perfect. It had good seafood flavors and was not thickened. It had plenty of haddock and the cold water shrimp. Ms T's Haddock dinner was very good with boiled new potatoes. It was served in a butter/white wine sauce with a little lemon and there were two nice fillets. They are preachy about being local, but it still needs to be good. The vegetables were certainly fresh, nearly raw, but lacking in flavor. Just being local is not enough. They have to grow good varieties and prepare them well. My Halibut was a special of the day and was served with a fresh strawberry and pineapple salsa. This sounded good, I like fruit with fish but what they failed to mention was that there was more raw onion in the salsa than fruit. I could not eat it. The halibut was blackened. The spice was good but it was over cooked and dry. I had nothing to moisten the fish so I asked for butter which was slow in coming, but I got it just in time to still melt some on the fish. This could have been an excellent dish; lose the onion in the salsa and don't overcook the halibut. Why do so many cooks have to ruin food with raw onion? Come on, learn to use other aromatics in your cooking. Maybe we need an onion free menu (like gluten free). Our second night we went upstairs to the pub and had a beer, fish and chips and a burger. All was fine, but based on what we paid for the first night, I can't award more than three stars because of the missteps on the halibut and the mediocre crab cakes. read more

We ordered the seafood chowder, the being bang boom shrimp as an appetizer or in the other group before over there and the lobster roll for lunch. We sat upstairs in the balcony.Overlooking the bay and our cruise ship. read more

Governor's Pub & Eatery - Pubs Near Me - Sydney, Nova Scotia

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I've never been disappointed by Govenor's. On our last visit, we both got veggie burgers and they were excellent (as usual). Both the sweet potato and regular french fries were a great portion size and perfect texture. Keighley was a super rad sever and happily accommodated our different requests. The chipotle mayo served with the sweet potato fries was a highlight. read more

Governor's Pub & Eatery - Pubs Near Me - Sydney, Nova Scotia

After taking the Heart of the Island tour this morning we returned to the cruise ship but it was way too beautiful outside to waste. Our tour guide had commented on this place. We were hungry and walked over. We were early enough to get a great corner table with a great view on the upper deck. Molly, our server, arrived promptly with drink and lunch menus. She was wonderfully both friendly and knowledgeable about both. She so enthusiastically answered a few questions that we went with her suggestions. She was spot on and we enjoyed the locally made lager, as well as the fish and chips & lobster poutine that beat Bobby Flay! Should have taken pics of the food, which arrived without much of a wait, but they looked awesome and we'd quickly ravaged both. The only thing that could have made the experience better was not to have a yellow jacket bee and a wasp hovering for awhile. The aromas must have attracted them on this perfect Sept day, though thankfully the didn't linger for long. read more

Governor's Pub & Eatery - Enjoyed the locally brewed lager. - Pubs Near Me - Sydney, Nova Scotia

Governors is pub food kind of hit and miss sometimes good sometimes poor menu is balanced but not too upscale or eclectic... beer is cold the upstairs patio on a hot summer night is divine ... food and service are average i had ordered some Seafood Chowder but the wait staff forgot my spoon so when I reminded them the waiter come over and instead of handing me the spoon proceeded to place it into the middle of my chowder..bizarre... my fellow diners were appalled me well i ate the Chowder it was tasty but the portion was small for the $ 12.99 price read more

In Sydney because it was one of our cruise's ports-of-call. One of the employees at the cruise terminal recommended this restaurant. Since we'd had enough cruise food and didn't see anywhere else compelling, we popped in. They had a lobster roll special and, memories of delicious lobster claw meat still in my head, I ordered; we both did, actually. When it came, it was not on the standard hot dog bun, but instead on a multigrain bun. When I looked at it I could tell it wasn't the sort-of lobster roll I was used to: it was mixed with celery and other stuff. The taste was good and it was satisfying but was more of a lobster salad than a lobster roll. The food on other diners' plates looked good and everyone seemed to be enjoying their food. In good weather there is outside seating that offers nice views of the harbor. The interior was casually elegant and the service was good. I would recommend this restaurant if you find yourself in this part of Nova Scotia. read more

Governor's Pub & Eatery - Governor's Pub, Sydney, Nova Scotia - Pubs Near Me - Sydney, Nova Scotia

Hit or miss here. Skip the chowder. Opt for the fresh fish. Skip the risotto as a side. Not even on par with minute rice. Pulled pork Poutine was a hit. Good selection of beer and great patio. Cape Breton maple salad with blackened salmon was yummy. Servers were awesome and the atmosphere very friendly. Live music venue so it is a cool gathering spot. Two blocks from the Old Triangle so pretty steep competition on the Sydney strip. read more

Governor's Pub & Eatery - Chowda! - Pubs Near Me - Sydney, Nova Scotia

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My friends and I were passing through Sydney after visiting the Fortress of Louisbourg, and were craving some good quality seafood / pub food, and got just that here! We ordered the seafood platter, lobster wontons, and lobster poutine. All great choices (the lobster wontons and poutine were great!). Would recommend for a solid stop over meal, and you may even want to stay longer in the relaxed atmosphere. We ate upstairs - downstairs, all the tables were reserved, which was perfectly fine. The gentleman with the glasses was serving us and was pleasant as well. read more

Great food and service. Ian was off by made sure to promote politely. Next night he's working and was great as were everyone else.

Neat looking place with some history. We were seated right away for lunch. The service was good. The food wasn't that great. We had a chicken sandwich and the chicken was kind of rubbery, like it was made earlier and warmed up. I had poutine, I guess it was okay it was the first time I had it. Based on the food I wouldn't visit again and would rather try other places in the area. read more

Really good lobster poutine. Place was packed on a Tuesday, hostess and service were excellent. Stella was super cold. Would happily eat here again. read more

Lobster Roll and seafood Chowder were amazing, very friendly and delicious family restaurant!

Stopped into the Govenors Pub for lunch will in Syndey (via a cruise of the East Coast). It was recommended by many locals and had a decent rating on Yelp, so we gave it a try. Decor was nice, the pub is in an old victorian house and has a great view of the ocean, and a small patio out front. Service was attentive and friendly, kitchen was a bit slow due to the fact the the pub was full of people from the cruise ship. Ordered lobster rolls and drinks. The lobster rolls were just okay, not enough lobster, heavy on the onion (so much so that it was all I could taste for the rest of the day, even after brushing and chewing gum). Bun that it was served on was nice amd fresh. Side salad was decent, fries okay. Would I eat here again? Probably not. But Would go for drinks, sit on the patio and take in the beautiful view. read more

Fast service, excellent seafood and Jessica was great. Ordered mussels to start and when we noticed a few that were not opened they brought us essentially a whole new plate. Scallops and haddock as mains were perfectly cooked, mashed potatoes were only 5 on a 10 scale but the sautéed veggies were a 10. Try the bread, more like a biscuit- so good. Make a reservation, it gets busy even when you think it might not because the quality is so good. read more

They had a beautiful steak, cooked perfectly to medium, there ribs are to die for. 10/10 stop by if in town. A little pricy but worth it