Asuka N.
Yelp
For my only night in town, I decided to hit up Claddagh's based on its ratings and its relative centrality / closeness to where I was staying. The entrance isn't anything that looks that impressive - it shares the entrance with a pub that is upstairs - and once you are inside, the ambiance is nice, if relatively relaxed and not too stuffy. That said, me showing up in jeans and a t-shirt definitely put me on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of presentability, and it seems like a lot of folks do come here for a nice meal out. I ended up putting myself at the bar, which I had to myself for an early (6 PM) dinner. The bartender was pretty chatty, although it may have been more to do with the fact that as a relative outsider (from NYC), I was a bit of a novelty. The drink selection is alright - there are some house cocktails, a small wine selection, and some beers; I ended up going with a local craft pale ale, which was passable - but the drinks aren't really the highlight here.
Instead, what you should come here for is the fantastic food that gets cooked up. Given the name of the spot, I did start with a dozen oysters - 2 of each of the 6 types (all from PEI) that were on hand - and it was an excellent selection...all very fresh, with varying degrees of salinity and sweetness. It's a great showcase of many of the different types of oysters that can be found in this small province. For my main, I decided to go with the house's version of the surf and turf, and that proved to be an excellent choice. The maple-glazed pork belly is juicy and fatty, with a nice glaze from the maple infused into each bite without making it too sweet. The turf are fresh scallops, which were cooked right to perfection. Served atop some of the house mashed potatoes, which were delicious in their own right, and this was an excellent main that, despite the amount of food on the plate, didn't leave me overly stuffed once I finished.
Although I'm not sure when I'll be back to these particular parts of Canada, I would highly recommend stopping by Claddagh's for a dinner (since they are not open for lunch, I believe) if you are on PEI and in the Charlottetown area. It might not look like much, the food is excellent, with the seafood being of the highest quality.