Upon driving up to Le Gabriel it seemed extremely promising. The parking lot was full, the surrounding streets had cars parked up and down them, and people were walking in in a steady stream. However, things soon took a turn. While admittedly we were sat almost immediately, from then on it was as if everyone moved into slow motion. Although the food was good and definitely homestyle cooking, the service was so slow and inconsistent that by the time we'd gotten our food the sun had begun to set. Not to mention that some of the prices were way overshot! $13.99 for a small grilled cheese made with kraft singles and a couple mouthfuls of tomato soup, anyone? And as if that wasn't enough, my family also never received one of the sides we had ordered, and re-ordered. Getting the bill at the end of the meal was a whole other ordeal, and after asking for it twice, we ended up going up to the front counter where again, we had to wait. As someone with experience in the food industry (as a kitchen aid, a busser, a waitress, and a hostess) I can safely say that if I had preformed at any of my prior places of employment as they had at Le Gabriel, I would have been fired. read more

We stopped by this restaurant only because we thought it would be great to have lunch inside an old light house. The seafood platter we had was very good. The place would have been more lively had we come in the evening probably. read more

Le Gabriel - The restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Chéticamp, Nova Scotia

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This place is just not good. Super slow service (short staffed, but still - a 30 minute wait to get served, even after I got up and went to get a server after 20 minutes - she still came 10 mins later). Ok, the food. Scallop St Jacques were pretty average - 3 scallops with lots of cheese and other fixings. The scallop and shrimp skewers were ok. But the worst was the 1/4 chicken: dug up from some grave somewhere and cooked. Just awful. And the veggies from a frozen bag - classy. Baked potato: just sour cream and butter. The live music was beyond corny - cringeworthy. No. No. No. This place is wrong. read more

No taste in the food. Veggies were frozen rubbery variety. Best part was rolls and the people were nice. Tourist trap.

Great fresh seafood at affordable prices. I had the seafood platter, loved the crab and lobster. The scallops and shrimp were just ok. Everyone in my party enjoyed their meals. read more

Le Gabriel - Seafood platter - Seafood Near Me - Chéticamp, Nova Scotia

The best snow crab I have ever had! You must go here! Lobster was also great! The music was fun too.

Stopped in for a bite to eat and drinks w the family. We began w a 10 minute debate with the front of the house about where to sit before we found our way into the east-coast-charming back room that was filled with the sound of live fiddle music (and non-existent service). We were warned the kitchen had an hour wait but didn't realize it applied to service as well. Can't comment on the food, or drinks, or service for that matter as we received none of them in the hour we sat there. In the end we experienced great music and some improvisational comedy in the form of the staff. I guess in the end you can say that we got what we paid for ... nothing. read more

Really wanted to like this family restaurant. Food was mediocre, fine. The thing that really bothered me was that it took twenty minutes to find the waitress to get the check. Apparently she was the ONLY person who could give it to me after I asked for it twice from her colleagues. Girl, bye. read more

Stopped here last week for some fresh lobster! It was delicious! Our lobsters were about 2 and a half pounds each and as fresh as they could be! The rest of the family ordered various food items, each one finishing there plates! We were able to dine in the lounge even with two minors at the table ( they had live music and allow young people in while this is going on ) All and all great food, great environment and great service! read more

We were recommended to try this restaurant by our B&B hosts. It seems like this place is popular with the locals. I can understand why. They have live music and the musicians are pretty darn good too! The only thing is that my husband and I were seated in the other room so we weren't able to enjoy the music while we eat. The service is a little slow. We had to wait quite awhile for our food. I don't know if it was because they had to serve a lot of tables or the kitchen is slow but we waited for a good 20 minutes before eating. I enjoyed my seafood platter. I thought they had a good portion and the food was fresh. My husband had the Acadian platter but he didin't enjoy it as much. I thought it was okay but he probably felt the variety was bit plain for him. I think it's a great restaurant but probably would avoid it if I was really hungry. read more

We saw this restaurant in passing and decided to stop. That was probably our first mistake. The restaurant is clean but a bit dated. We were nonetheless greeted with a friendly smile and seated at a quiet table. My husband ordered the fettuccine Alfredo with chicken and a bottle of beer. I ordered the chicken strips and fries with a large apple juice. Our waitress took our order and left returning with our drinks : my husband's beer and a small bottle of dollar store apple juice....she works there, she knows what they have for drinks but mentionned nothing. When she arrived, she plopped the drink down and said sorry that's all we have. In the meantime, she returned with a bread basket with a white bread roll, a biscuit and a nova scotia oatcake, all of which were delicious and fresh. Our meals arrived a while my husbands fettuccine Alfredo was satisfactory in portion and taste, my plate was anything but. The batter on the chicken was tasteless as were the French fries. The worst part was that the grease used to fry was likely old enough to draw a pension. The taste of old grease was disgusting!!! In conclusion, we do not recommend you stop and spend over $40 on a meal here. read more

Le Gabriel - Seafood Near Me - Chéticamp, Nova Scotia

We came here because our preferred restaurant was too busy and we got a table in the lounge right away. Music was just beginning and was very good. Service was slow, they ran out of baked potato and just subbed mashed potatoes and the veggies were a very small spoonful of mixed frozen veggies. Salmon was over cooked and some in our group felt the food made them sick. read more

We seemed to go on a particularly busy night - not sure if that's the norm or what. Service was ok, food was ok, but not the best. We all wished we had picked somewhere else to go. :( Could have been what we got; I don't think any of us got seafood that night, so maybe the seafood would have been better. read more

The seafood was fresh and delicious; lively atmosphere and friendly staff. Also, cheap beers and FREE POOL!

Great service, staffs were very friendly. Food was tasty, I ordered fish burger , while my friend ordered the vegetarian pasta, we loved both. Very good portion for its price. Would go back again. read more

Friendly staff and food was good is the heart of Acadian town. Great pub attached with so many hockey items. Was cool to see and they have live music. read more

Coming off a beautiful day on the Cabot Trail we ate here. The local fresh seafood is clearly the star; side dishes are just garnish. We tried the mussels appetizer - very generous! We also tried the Acadian fish cakes which were well spiced, and the halibut cheeks, which were pan-fried and luscious. The beer was extra-cold, and the coconut cream pie was the perfect finish! read more

When you're in an amazing coastal town, do what makes sense - ORDER FISH! This place is a local, somewhat tired restaurant but the ONLY one that stays open til 10. The pan fried haddock was good, crab was pricey but tasty. The bread basket tasted homemade- good buttery biscuit. Stay clear of the canned vegetables. Keep it simple and you'll leave happy. read more

Was walking distance from my motel took the chance .... Ordered a seafood platter on the servers advice. Huge portion, enough for two but powered through, sampling of all the local catches of the day. Live entertainment and cold beer!! read more

It was alright, not the best restaurant I have ever been too, but by no measure the worst either. The service was fairly good, the food came within ten minutes of ordering, however, they was rather lax in taking our order. The food was by no means awful, but slightly bland and boring. It may just be my preference but I prefer exotic Asian foods with a multitude of spices over classic Acadian cuisine. One saving grace was the seafood. Although not fancy, it was fresh, juicy and delicious, I highly recommend the lobster dinner. Over all it was not a bad experience but not a wonderful one either read more

Not a big fan. Did get a chance to try Acadian food but my whole party didn't think it was worth the money spent.

My husband and I had dinner here the first night we stayed in Cheticamp. The hostess was unfriendly and distracted. The space is dark and cave-like with harsh bright spotlights that throw unflattering shadows, increasing the gloom. My husband's seafood pasta arrived cold. He sent it back, and it returned slightly less cold. My seafood casserole was acceptable though gummy. Where's all the fresh seafood in this fishing village? Not here. Other patrons seemed to enjoy the gigantic fluffy cakes and pies, but we were glad to get out of there as do as possible. read more

Came on a Thursday at around 7pm. The patio has a beautiful view of the bay and there is live music inside. The kitchen had apparently been "slammed" before we arrived, a man at one table was quite upset that his food had arrived and had gotten cold before his wife's arrived. A group behind us ordered mussels but they never arrived. We ordered the Acadian plate which consisted of a slice of reheated meat pie, some steamed frozen vegetables, some basic soup and 2 fish cakes. It was average and underwhelming. Service was fine. We decided against returning the next night. read more

Went there on a busy night to order take-out. They refused to take my order because "we're too busy"! In other words, "we're too busy making money to make more money!" This is a weird business model and an even worse customer service model. Don't come here for take-out because they don't want your money. Rather, pass them by and go to the people friendly Derryman Bar/grill/music place. They're friendly and never too busy making money to make more money. They don't sneer at folk wanting take-away food. read more

I would have to agree this is a 3 star. My husband really did enjoy his pan-fried haddock sandwich a LOT. My seafood chowder was very mediocre. Waaayyyy toooo thick, and tasted more like tuna than other seafood. I couldn't finish it. House wines were nice. Service was pretty good. Definitely a family place. read more

I dont like writing negative reviews, but this one is justified. My family and I stopped in Chéticamp on our way around the Cabot Trail and were looking forward to a good seafood meal. We stopped at Le Gabriel...that was a mistake. Our waitress was horribly inattentive and took 12 mins to approach us to get drinks. The woman serving water was great and came by 4 times in this 12 min period. Because she took so long to come to our table we were ready to order our meal. She forgot our kids drinks and then took another good chunk of time to bring them. BTW...The restaurant was NOT busy at all. The food was not great. My daughter ordered the pizza roll (similar to an egg roll)...it came with nothing instead the roll...it was just a shell. We asked to have another one. It came 10 mins later...with about 6 french fries. My kids left hungry. My meal was cold and very lack-luster. My wifes chowder was ok, but not great. We had to ask for our bill after waiting another 15 mins. When we left the woman at the cash asked how our meal was...my wife told her in a calm way that we were not happy. Her response..."oh ok"...no apologies...no offer of a discount...wouldn't have accepted a discount, but the offer of one would have been nice. An all around poor experience. Not recommended. read more

We stopped for supper here after a full day on the beautiful Cabot Trail. We had the pesto penne and the scallops St. Jacques and both were delicious, especially the scallops. We enjoyed the complementary biscuits, and found the staff attentive and friendly. The setting was relaxed and we were sad to miss the live music happening later in the evening. Had to talk our waitress out of bringing around the dessert trolley because we were just too full! Would definitely go there again if we weren't on our way home to Ontario. read more

Food was terrible (Hot Hamburger with Home Fries). There was a skin on the gravy when served, hot hamburger was made with a frozen and reheated burger patty, home fries had an old dusty taste to them. Atrociously overpriced for the quality of the food. When we complained about our orders to the waiter; the waiter came back and said he got yelled at for trying to return one of the meals another person in my party had. After we paid, we realized the amount charged was very high and asked for a detailed invoice which they were having a difficult time producing that totaled what we should have been charged. When we convinced the counter staff that our invoice was not adding up, they told us we had to speak with the owner for a refund (who was running the bar and turned out to be the man who yelled at our waiter for returning a plate of food to be remade). When we spoke to him he was totally unapologetic for our experience, belligerent, and threatened that we wont get away with sending food back the next time we go at which point we made it clear that we will never go back. He became even more hostile to us but easily gave us the money that we were overcharged once other patrons in the vicinity of the argument were taking notice of the situation. We will never go back. This place is a tourist trap run by someone who should be ashamed to be running a business representing Cape Breton to the outside world. read more

RUN from this restaurant and the horribly rude owner(s). My friend and I ordered deep fried pepperoni which we found too hot (spicy) for our tastes. We called the server back over so we could order something else. No mention was made of not paying for the pepperoni but I did mention it was too hot. He told me it was not. I told him it was too hot for US. He said if I was going to get mad about it he was going to charge me for it. Again, I made no mention of NOT paying for it. After we had eaten I called him aside and said "Let me give you some advice. You cannot talk to customers like that and make it in the service business. You should never debate your taste versus the customer's taste." He flew into a rage, shouting that he owns the place and has been there 26 years. Of course this could not have been true since someone would have been changing his diapers 26 years ago. He started yelling at us to get out. I thought "there's something wrong with him". Of course, he did not realize we were with a large tour group. He probably thought we were individual tourists that would never pass that way again. As we were telling some of the other tour guests about the experience we just had, a man that looked like a comical ninja warrior came out of nowhere shouting, "I'm the dad. Get out! You're ignorant." Of course, we immediately knew where the son inherited his behavior. The tour guide said they had always been nice to her but she brings large groups through there. So, if you are a tour guide, expect cordial service since they wish to extort money from you. If you go there outside of a tour group, "travel at your own risk". BTW, my friend and I are 61 and 73 years old so not young, hot-headed, trouble makers. We wondered how people that had a bit much to drink and got a bit disorderly would be treated. The food was so-so. Certainly nothing to write home about. read more