Charlene's Family Restaurant

These chowder have no vegetables or fillers. Pure seafood with every bite. Never had one like this before. My boyfriend and I ordered a bowl of chowder each and a 2pc haddock fish and chips. When the chowder first arrived I thought okay, typical bowl size for quite the dollars. But then I swirled it around and took a bite and understood the cost. It was VERY filling. The biscuit that came with the soup was fresh, soft, and flakey. It was very good. The haddock fish and chips were great too. The fries are double-fried type of fries, and the breading on the haddock is thin. Just how I like it. I think most places now have way too thick of breading on their fish and and this was refreshing to see. Will recommend to others to visit Cape Breton.

The Seafood Chowder was the best we had on the entire Cabot Trail. We would recommend going out of the way just to try it. However, the Seafood Bake and the Fishcakes were quite mediocre.

Heard a lot about this seafood chowder so had to come by to check it out! Tried the new special which comes with a cup of seafood chowder, fish cake and biscuit. Overall good portion of food and very tasty. The restaurant seemed understaffed with the amount of diners and people ordering take out. We never received water when asked and I could tell other diners were getting irritated with the long waits for food.

We ordered the seafood chowder and the lobster rolls (one with fries and one with salad), and were SO PLEASED. The lobster rolls come in four mini sandwiches for ease of eating and were very tasty and packed with lobster. We were absolutely enamored with the chowder (I don't even normally enjoy chowder), I wish we had gotten two bowls each - it is just that delicious. The salad was also made with thought and effort, with different vegetables and with good dressing. The fries were yummy as well. A lady was walking around the restaurant and I am thinking she might be Charlene. I wish I had told her how good the food is but I felt shy. It is a must-visit for the chowder alone.

Great seafood chowder with lots of seafood inside. The seafood basket was average. Good portions though. Everything priced fairly.

This was an unplanned stop (always the best kind!) as we drove along the Cabot Trail. This is a must for anyone who loves or even likes seafood chowder. The absolute best on Cape Breton Island, maybe even all of Nova Scotia?!? I've been thinking about this chowder far too frequently!! Service was great as well. Almost as good as the chowder 😉

We ordered fish and chips and seafood penne. Pasta was less salty but taste was okay. Fish and chips was good fries was really crunchy and spicy. Staffs were really nice.

We have just spent a month touring around Newfoundland and the maritimes. The chowder at Charlene’s stands head and shoulders above any other we’ve tried - and we tried lots! Come for the friendly service but the TV show guys got it right: You gotta eat here!!