October 2015.

Looking for an interesting place to eat near the Inn at Bay Fortune in southeastern PEI, we chose this spot for lunch in the ferry-terminal town of Souris because 1) it had been well recommended in TripAdvisor, 2) it looked beautiful from the street, and 3) it was open (we ended up cutting our maritime vacation short because practically everywhere we went restaurants and accommodation were closed for the season as of mid-October).

It’s a rambling old shingle and clapboard house in the middle of a large well-maintained rural lot, restored in modern taste to approximate presumed former glory. The dining room is spacious and classy with grey-green walls, wood beams, and shaker-style tables and chairs. We had a lovely corner table with a view of the water. Server was a prim young lady with a cheery professional demeanour and pretty good knowledge of the relevant food and wine.

We shared a lobster-based dip accompanied by triangles of buttered white toast, delicious without trying for anything off the originality chart. Our mains were a hamburger and a Portuguese pork sandwich (the restaurant owner hails from Portugal and it happens to be “Porktober” throughout PEI). This was one of the better burgers we’ve experienced, which puts it in pretty rarefied company. The pork sandwich was impressively varied in flavour and consistency with just the right mix of meat and vegetables, improved by a modified mayonnaise sauce. Again, nothing wildly haute cuisine, but a very respectable straightforward lunch obviously prepared by someone with above-average skills, who loves to eat.

All washed down with a bottle of, if memory serves, Chilean pinot grigio. Approximately $100 pre-tip, perfectly reasonable for the experience. We found the atmosphere here to be a natural balance between the distinctly high-class physical plant, and Canadian maritime trademark informality and reserve. Our complete willingness to return would be hypothetical given the likelihood of either of us ever being in Prince Edward Island again in our lives.

Food 8.4, service 8.4, ambience 8.7, value 8.2.