Black Spoon Bistro

The food we had was excellent, particularly the scallops. We had the blackened seafood medley with GF pasta and bread, and the grilled vegetable salad. Most menu options have a gluten free option. We finished with a GF peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake. Outstanding service as well.

Had the best experience at this restaurant, stopped in for some good food before heading on the NL Ferry. Atmosphere, 10/10 loved the booth seating, beautifully decorated and comfy. The server & owner were kind and helpful. My cosmo hit the spot, the mussels were seasoned beautifully, and the desert tasted like a Starbucks macchiato in cake form 😋 Absolutely delicious, and left feeling like I completely entered food coma land. When my kiddo thought the pasta was spicy, even after eating the owner made the genuine effort to pack it up and make it a bit less spicy. I genuinely appreciated the kindness in allowing my kiddo and I to stay a while, enjoying the food and drinks while we read. I like how the drink menu actually had moctails so kids could also enjoy cool drinks! All that’s missing is a steak on the menu. (Genuinely, I think you’d make a killer one) Will come back again, but for anybody that’s in the Sydney area this is a must visit restaurant! 10/10!!

I'vebeen here twice over the past few months and both experiences were fantastic. The seafood chowder is by far the best I've ever had with lots of mussels, scallops, shrimp and haddock. The salads I've tried were excellent. I also tried the peanut butter cheesecake. I highly recommend saving some room for dessert and trying it. It was fresh, creamy and decadent. The others who were dining with me also enjoyed their meals. The servers were friendly, knowledgeable about the menu and timed our service just right. Both meals were a wonderful experience.

First time at the Black Spoon Bistro and I can’t wait to go back. The food was phenomenal and our server Jeremy made the entire evening even better. The location and ease of parking was great as well. We were a 20 person group and there weren’t any delays getting so much food out. Can’t wait to go back!

A nice restaurant, personal service, quality food and presentation, and a really nice choice. That said, if you wish to 'dine' and have an evening experience, Black Spoon is not the place. When calling to confirm our 7PM reservation, we were informed seating was for 90 minutes. We moved our reservation up to 6:15PM and were told we could linger and not worry at that time slot. So, enjoying a couple of drinks while we let our wine open, at 7PM they strongly pressed us to order our main course. This was 45 minutes into our evening. We hadn't had our appetizer yet, but the push from the kitchen continued as 'we try to get our orders to the kitchen by 7PM.' We firmly said no at least twice. We understand this isn't a big city, and owners would want staff out on time, but again, we were not comfortable at all with changing our reservation so this wouldn't happen, and it happened. A good bite out, certainly. An evening? we would suggest elsewhere.

Horrendous ramen. I was suspicious when the ramen arrived with a fork and nary a chopstick in sight, but the taste was worse than I could have ever imagined. Avoid this menu item at all cost (34 dollars to be precise). However, ramen aside, the banana split cocktail and scallops were yummy. Service was prompt and friendly. The atmosphere was pretty nice as well. So, perhaps it’s just their Asian food that is bad? Please don’t add menu items without making sure that they are edible at the very least :‘(

We had the seafood bake special and it was amazing. Veggie spring rolls tossed in a maple curry sauce for an app and they were also really good. The other plates on the table looked amazing as well. Staff are very friendly and attentive. My reason for only 4 stars was the comfort level of the booth. I was very uncomfortable with the seat and my back hurt by the end of my meal. My advice is to grab a table and enjoy the food!

Great Bistro! Ambiance is fantastic! Food is amazing and the staff is very friendly!!! But we almost did not go in!!!! the front looked very unappealing, round down, paint was peeling off!! Looked like a dive, don’t let that fool you! Open the door and walk in! Voila!!!!

What an amazing discovery for us as we travel the Maritimes. As plant-based eaters, the BSB was able to provide fresh and delicious offerings. And the beer selection was awesome. I wish we didn't live nearly 800 miles away.

Delicious seafood chowder and friendly service. Only thing I would suggest is to allow debit card instead of cash only.

Good finer dining experience. Atmosphere is clean and simple. Service was very friendly but a bit disjointed. Food was good at reasonable prices. Kid friendly. An acceptable finer dining choice in area.

Because of the servers I'd add a half star to my 3 All the staff were super nice and very accommodating! Took a wee bit of time to get my whiskey sour and I had to send it back because it was very unrecognizable. Clearly their take on one. It had a cherry, sugared rim and meringue for some reason!Not a classic for sure. They didn't mind correcting to the "proper" drink for me. I suppose I could have said classic whiskey sour but if they are going to change a classic cocktail then they should refer to it as the black spoon version. They were able to accommodate my choice of Jameson, Irish whiskey. My wife and I had the clam chowder( as we are on the east coast) and it was ok. It had a clean light flavour. I should have added a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper for sure as it was under seasoned (to my taste?) Chowder had fresh mussels on top which was a pleasant and the chowder itself had a few chunks of lobster and some scallops as an added and much enjoyed bonus!! It could have been in a thicker base. Too thin to be called a chowder. Seafood soup is a bit more accurate. The price for a cup was a bit too high at $10+ and the price for a bowl was too high at $16+ Our other member had a grilled cheese off the kids menu and it was panini grilled which wasn't explained. (perhaps I missed that on the menu description though I don't believe I did ) Also the bread was thin(panini) and so a bit "tough" and chewy for a young diner and do it was not particularly enjoyed. If you have a kids menu...don't try to elevate it. Kids like simple. Overall a nice time....we likely wouldn't go back.

Great food, excellent staff!! Really good restaurant to eat at while in North Sydney!!

A big disappointment, in spite of the positive reviews on Yelp & Trip Advisor. I had the Cajun Seafood Medley, which was very tasty but the "medley" was more like "guest appearance," especially of one paltry piece of lobster. But what really soured the experience was that we discovered that it's a cash-only place. Upon entering, I told the greeter that there's NO mention of this on their website, & she replied that "I think it's stated there." IT'S NOT ANYWHERE STATED ON THEIR WEBSITE. I scramble to nearby banks to pull out cash, but my ATM card was rejected. My wife then tried, eventually succeeding via her Amex card. In the meantime, the server comes around to take my drink order & I informed her that I wasn't sure whether we'd be able to eat there, pending my wife's attempt at pulling cash. She lamely replied, "But we've been cash-only since March," to which I retorted, "Well, we don't live here & there's no mention of this on your website." Conclusion: If you intend to dine in North Sydney, make reservations ahead of time for the Lobster Pound & Moore, which is practically across the street & produces a vastly superlative overall experience, in terms of food, service, & atmosphere.

Bit of a fancy restaurant, great for dates and a lunch with friends. I must say, the décor is BEAUTIFUL, what a nice first impression. From the colour schemes to the lightning and frames on the wall, the place looks like a front page of a magazine. They also have chocolate mints too! I gave this a 3 star rating instead of 4 because unfortunately, I thought the interior design was more impressive than my food. I took the grilled vegetable salad to go, and although everything was nicely presented (in black containers), I was underwhelmed with what I got. Maybe I'm cheap, but $17 is a lot for a couple of vegetable slices and a bite size goat cheese ball ($7 salad+ $7 scallops add on + tax). I was looking forward to the maple balsamic dressing, but it had a strong pungent garlic flavour that threw me off. Overall, great first impression but I suggest to spend your money on something more hefty than a salad. I would come back and try other menu items perhaps!

This place is a real hidden gem. From the outside it's totally unattractive. The dining room is a totally different story, extremely attractive but very small. Food and service were excellent. We each had a pasta entree and plenty of alcohol. Overall it was a very enjoyable experience.

Highly recommended restaurant from my list! The place is hard to find, like a secret restaurant, they don't have their name from the outside. But their brunch is really good, the chicken panini, black bean burger, their soup and so much more are just great! I recommend to add on a grilled veg with your salad, it's quite good! The dinner though, last time I went there for dinner is a little bit disappointing, the food is not as astonishing as the lunch, I don't know why, perhaps it's me, cuz their lunch is so consistently good.

Kindling within each tickling bite from The Black Spoon Bistro is the palette needed for stiring better relationships, stronger families, neighborly kindness, and splendid friendships. Here in North Sydney like all of Cape Breton, the lights from cars, boats, souls and their homes exist for True Love's sake, hugging all The World. So take courage my friends. The food even from this haven The Black Spoon Bistro is layered with thoughtful cares to ensure that not only while you are here but when you leave this place, you'll be lighted fluffly and deliciously satisfied, ready to come back, trying out your palette more and more, with Wonderful people - time, and time again.

Absolutely surprisingly wonderful. Unassuming from the outside but nicely appointed inside. We arrived on early on Tuesday evening and while a little busy we were promptly seated and looked after. Very friendly, so much so that before we had ordered the patrons on either side had offered adhoc reviews of their meals! Very cool. We ordered and my ribs with the baked potatoes were killer! My wife ordered the veggie pesto bowl or something like that, she raved about it as well. By 6:30, on a Tuesday night?!??? the place was full and everyone seemed to be really enjoying their meals! Good value and very very good food. We will be back to try so e of the other things on the menu!

Fantastic spot with delicious HOT food right by the North Sydney Ferry Terminal!!! Our servers name was Stella. She was super friendly, attentive, and quick. I love great food and only write reviews on places that are worth it and this is the spot to be. The outside is small and eh (looks are deceiving), the inside is nice/simple, great food, and great service. DEF WORTH IT!

We got there around 7:15pm and the waitress told us that it will be an half hour wait. Therefore, we put down our names and number and went to do some grocery shopping while we waited for her call for out table. Once we got our table, we ordered a scallop apply, a cup of soup and the Cajun seafood pasta. All dishes were perfect. For dessert, we ordered the Peppered Strawberries! It was super delicious! Thumbs up on that!

Wow i was complicated and that was perfect. The cajun seafood is the best thing I've ever had. Definitely worth a visit.

Fantastic! Rarely do I give 5 stars but I give this one without hesitation. The food was wonderful. My only regret is that I shared it with my daughter! Our service was great and we only had about a 15-minute wait. The place is very small and you don't have the sense of being rushed. So I can see that you might have to wait a while if all tables are taken. Plan head. We had the seafood medley and substituted the potatoes and veggies the vegetable grilled salad which was amazing. All of it was wonderful.

[warning] This place is very popular you may have to wait 45 minutes plus for a table... I recommend calling head they might be able to put you on a called sheet. They don't take reservations. Great food, large portions made with fresh ingredients. Very helpful smiling staff. I ate the spicy Cajun seafood... if I had to give some cons to this pleasant meal... I felt I was served a little to much pasta and not enough seafood. Everything was cook to perfection... I just wanted to see a bit more lobster on the plate. The meal comes with a little bit of everything mussels, scallops, shrimp and lobster. Still a great meal for 20$ can. Maybe an option on the menu to add seafood, I would happily paid 5$ to have added extra lobster. This place is totally worth a visit to...

I'm really grateful for my wife's Lonely Planet Guide, which steered us to this little gem... Without a doubt, this was one of the top two meals we had on our 19-day sojourn through Nova Scotia and Newfoundland... and that's saying something, as we had some wonderful food! The Black Spoon Bistro stood out, though, for several reasons... First, the FOOD. It's all about the food, right? My wife and I shared a 'Trio of Fish Cakes' appetizer (lobster, crab and salmon, with a lemon aioli), and each was out of this world! Well done, BSB! My wife then had a Pan Fried Halibut. Delicious! I opted for the Scallops Carbonara... it was over the top! We shared a Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake for dessert, and it was even better than it sounds. Yum! I've forgotten the name of the after-dinner drink I had, but it included coffee, Bailey's Irish Cream, rum(?), whipped cream and some chocolate shavings... wow. Just wow. But oh, I said 'several' reasons. Okay - the staff. Warm, accommodating, friendly, but without being cloying. They certainly earned a 25% tip. Location... I could see our ferry to Newfoundland from my window seat. Dress? Some folks looked mighty natty, and we'd already been on the road for a week - but it didn't matter - we were never made to feel "less than." We even got a table by the window. Nice. I don't want to narrow my horizons, but it'd be hard to pass up another chance for a meal at this place the next time we're passing through. I'm looking forward to it!

We had a great lunch here, top quality and delicious. I had the BBQ beef with bacon and cheddar, paired with a cup of seafood chowder: wifey had the Apple almond salad topped with sauteed shrimp. Dessert: a slice of salted caramel layer cake with homemade whipped cream. Totally delicious and would raise it at the top it's our Cape Breton food experiences. It's we could stick around town we'd come back for dinner!

So impresssed with this place. Lovely atmosphere, great service, incredible food. Even the little details make a difference like the beautiful fresh flower vases on each table and the chocolate mints with the meal. The banana flambé was one of the best desserts i have ever had. We stopped here as the last meal of a two week vacation in NS and it was by far one of my favorite meals. This place would have lines out the door in Los Angeles!

This quaint little bistro is well worth visiting. Though my personal experience found the atmosphere leaving something to be desired. The service was adequate and the food superb. Quality is clearly a prominent value at the Black Spoon Bistro; meals look appetizing upon arrival and taste equally as good. If you find yourself in North Sydney consider stopping by for an excellent meal.

Stopped here quickly on the way to Glace Bay and absolutely loved it. Nice to have an alternative to all the pubs in diners :D Our party had three different paninis and the soup of the day which all were delicious. Highly recommend stopping in if you get the chance!

Tasty food, nice decor, and great service. Our group of 5 ate here the other night as this restaurant came highly recommended. The food was tasty and the portions were generous. Service was good and overall we had a great experience here.

Delicious. Never disappointed with the food and never have had to send anything back!! Grilled veggie salad is my favourite! The prices are fair and the staff is amazing!

Stopped by here for a quick dinner before boarding the ferry to Newfoundland. They had positive reviews and I have to reinforce that. The location is about a minute away from the ferry, so it was perfect. I ordered the lobster pot pie with a side of spinach salad. I was not expecting such nice presentation and fresh ingredients for only $17, but that's exactly what I got. The taste itself was amazing. Who knew spinach actually tasted so good. The lobster in the pot pie was splendid and I enjoyed every last bit. The dinner was so good I knew I had to get dessert - so I got their salted caramel crunch for $8 (it's their most popular dessert). Again, it was absolutely delicious and I wish I could have more, but my foolish stomach has a limit (unfortunately). I highly recommend this place whether you're stopping for a quick bite for the ferry or visiting the town. I'm not sure what the other options are in the area, but they definitely can't beat this. GO NOW

Pretty awesome meal. Near the ferry terminal, this place gets very, very busy. People were being turned away. They must be doing something right and there are not many other non-burger/pizza/sub options around. Great clam chowder, super tasty apple salad. The curried chicken was a major hit and the salmon was memorable. Nothing wrong, lots of right. Not inexpensive, but very reasonable for a high quality meal.

My rating moves up a notch to five star. We showed up precisely at the busiest part of the lunch hour so it was lined up out the door. They said it would be about 20 minutes for a table so they took our cell phone and we went for a short walk. We arrived back at the restaurant just as the phone rang pretty much exactly when they said. We both had the lunch trio special. This was a curry carrot soup with chicken cheese panini and salad. My wife upgraded to the nutty goat cheese salad while I stuck with the house salad and balsamic dressing. The wait staff were quick and super friendly. Food arrived at the table very hot, fresh and fast. Just an excellent experience all around. This is her first time this year back across to North Sydney and it is nice to see that there's been no slipage on what is an excellent dining experience. It was nice that they had the full range of very excellent locally made craft beer. The meal for two of us including drinks, tax and tip was about $55. Excellent value.

I am happy to be the second reviewer of this restaurant. This place was recommended to us both by our tour book and by the owner of our bed and breakfast. It was a perfect place for a night out, but one would easily feel comfortable eating there in jeans, as in most nice restaurants in Nova Scotia. The food was great! My husband ordered off the menu due to his dietary restrictions and the kitchen was very accommodating. I loved my dish and had a tough time making my meal selection because there were many good options. The wait staff was nice and friendly. They were attentive without being pushy and kept an eye on us in case we had an questions. I would recommend this place to anyone staying in Sydney or the North Sydney area.

Had dinner and it was a transcendental experience. There was a wait of 45 minutes during dinner but it was well worth it. The wait staff is appropriately attentive throughout the meal. We had salads (delicious!) entrees and for dessert salted caramel cake. We should have done this review at the time but we were in food heaven.

We just finished a delicious dinner at Black Spoon, and I'm happy to say it's the best restaurant we've visited in our first week traveling all over Nova Scotia. Although we ate modestly (I had seafood chowder -- the best ever!) and my partner had a caesar salad, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The ambiance is striking, the wait staff is warm and genuinely hospitable, and the parade of dishes coming out of the kitchen is ample evidence of hearty portions, creative presentations, and very interesting cooking. You'll wait a while at dinner time, and you need to be aware that they close at 8 PM.Go try it for yourself, though -- you won't be disappointed!

Great atmosphere. Wait staff very friendly. Chicken sandwich with soup. Great. The seafood chowder lacked the great seafood flavour.

My family is on vacation and didn't expect to find many restaurants with gluten free options, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton have been a delightful surprise! The Black Spoon was our last stop before leaving the province. We had the vegetable bistro bowls, chowder and stuffed mushrooms. The food was excellent and the service was great!

Surprising ambience for two Cape Bretoners who now live away and are more used to the hot-hamburg sandwich type restaurant experience here. BSB offers an understated and subtle modern bistro feel, and the food is great. We both had a chipotle chicken panini, one with a piping hot tomato basil soup and one with a ginormous spinach salad. With REAL bacon. Split a salted caramel cake which was also lovely. Service was really good; the only thing lacking is an espresso machine. Would go back again ANYtime.

Absolutely awesome experience every time. The atmosphere is cosy yet classy. The staff are very friendly and the food is incredible. Always changing up the menu so there are new things to try. My husband loved the lobster pot pie so much he nearly cried when it was taken off the menu so make sure to try it if it ever comes back. Everything is so delicious - appetizers, mains, desserts, and drinks. Can't go wrong!

Great little Surprise while waiting on the ferry. The food was great, service was fast, and the price was very affordable.

So delicious! We had the seafood bisque which came with a full ring of muscles around it. It was so buttery and divine. By the time we finished eating, there was a line out the door. No need to go into Sydney, stay in North Sydney and enjoy the Black Spoon. Would return again and again.

The place is small but the food is amazing! A definite stop when you're in town! Get there early as it fills quick but they have a very pleasant and knowledgable staff who will take care of you when you get in. (They'll even take your number so if you have to wait you can walk around a bit!) Always save room for the peppered strawberries with pound cake and ice cream. Sooooo amazing!

One of our best meals during Celtic Colours. Blackened seafood was well-seasoned and nicely presented. Spouse had Scallops on linguini. Perfectly done. Caesar salad was delicious, seemed to have a little bit of a creamy dressing that enhanced the flavor. Smallish restaurant that filled up about 5pm (could have been because a concert was nearby). No reservations. Welcoming staff and attentive service. Great choice for our night out!

OMG, I came from Ontario to visit a friend of mine and she took me here and the food was so good I had not had food that good. I had the Sea Food Chowder and it was amazing. Well cooked amazing food. Fresh and Tasty, I would go again

I've stopped here the first time purely by accident and it was a fantastic experience... since then I've returned every time I'm in the area and each visit surpasses the previous times I've stopped. .. staff are really friendly and informative but the food...all I can say is ' wow '..it's my all time favorite in Cape Breton

Excellent meal and service! We found this delightful but small place (seats about 30) in our Nova Scotia guidebook by Lonely Planet on our recent visit and confirmed its popularity through Yelp. My husband and I shared the Caesar salad as a start and thought it ample and delicious. We both had their feature which was a Manhattan cut strip steak (thick) with bacon wrapped scallops covered in a chipotle sauce served with either garlic mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes and a vegetable medley. Cooked to order, all arrived and met our expectations. No room for dessert, but the chocolate mousse cake and bananas foster looked amazing.

Amazing, amazing, amazing! Do not miss this place if you'r'e in Sydney, NS. My wife and I ate here two nights in a row while staying down the street at a BnB. The food is simply delicious. I had the blackened seafood medley the first night, and the scallop carbonara the next. My wife had the haddock almondine the first night and the chicken parmasean the next. EVERY dish was perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, and perfectly tasty! Portions were generous, and prices were very reasonable for the quality of the food. Highly, highly recommend this place!!

Atlantic Canada seems to have little coverage on any of the restaurant review sites, so when I found this gem, I had to get it at least listed. The Black Spoon Bistro is a pleasant store front restaurant a couple of blocks from the Newfoundland Ferry and about a 20minute drive away from downtown Sydney. It came recommended by our Sydney hotel staff and seeing nothing other than pizza or Chineese on the various net listings we decided to give it a shot. The drive was worth it. The menu offers a nice but limited range of choices as is fitting to a quality resaurant of this size. I had the mussels as an appetizer and the seafood chowder as a main course. The mussels were fresh and nicely done in a creamy sauce. The appetizer size was almost sufficient for a main course. The seafood chowder was divine, a rich bisque like base with generous chunks of lobster, scallops and mussels. The main course serving was almost too much...almost... My colleague had the seafood pasta which was also great, farfalle with a spicy light lobster, scallop and mussel sauce. All in all it was an excellent value and well worth the drive from Sydey.

My wife and I were seated as soon as we entered in to the restaurant. We both ordered the same meal the Chipotle Chicken Pasta. It was fantastic. We overheard the couple beside us saying that the chowder was the best they had. Also enjoyed the background music.

Stopped in for dinner before boarding the ferry. Very quick and friendly service. I had the Habanera salmon, to die for! My wife had the chowder and she loved that too! Highly recommended at a reasonably price.

This is an excellent restaurant with properly cooked, tasty, healthy choices. We started with a roasted veg salad. Delicious! Perfectly roasted begies on a bed of fresh greens. I had the Bacon Bourban ribs with garlic mash. Yum. My wife had the cedar plank salmon which was also very well prepared. For desert we had the pepper strawberry souffle. Wow. Perfect. This place is a gem in North Sydney. Highly recommended.

So good we had to come a second time on our holidays. Seafood chowder is fantastic as were the main dishes we had. My wife had the Cajun seafood dish and I had the chowder both times. Very busy place so we had a half hour to 40 minute wait both times but well worth it. If you can wait, the line diminished somewhat after about 7:30 or so.

Absolutely awesome. Located on the downtown strip in North Sydney, NS within walking distance from the beautiful boardwalk. This small bistro offers a divine menu and wonderful flavours using local ingredients.

There is no place to eat in nearby Baddeck where we were staying, and most of of Cape Breton for that matter is kind of a culinary wasteland this time of year (late April). The Black Spoon was well worth the half hour drive. A welcoming and engaging staff who were enjoying their work, a casual, chill, and professional vibe, and GREAT meals for us both. Thank you Black Spoon.

This was an amazing, fortuitous find. I had the Bacon Bourbon Ribs. They are quite simply the best ribs I've ever had. I picked up a rib and the meat fell off. The sauce is wonderful and served with garlic mashed potatoes, it was a marvelous dinner.