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Chapter 03Waterfront
The best Halifax waterfront restaurants for seafood and a patio
Halifax waterfront restaurants on the boardwalk: the best seafood, oysters and harbour-view patios, from Historic Properties to Pier 21.
Find your next table
Get your bearings
Along the boardwalk.
Restaurants on the Halifax waterfront follow the boardwalk along the harbour, from Historic Properties in the north to the Seaport and Pier 21 in the south. It is the place for lobster, oysters and fish and chips, and for a patio with ferries going past.
Halifax waterfront restaurants range from long-running seafood houses to newer rooms in the developments south of the ferry terminal. In summer the boardwalk is busy from lunch until late. Off-season, most places stay open and are much easier to get into.
Seafood / 6 places
Seafood at Halifax waterfront restaurants
Lobster, scallops and oysters from Nova Scotia waters are what Halifax waterfront restaurants do best. The seafood chapter adds the rooms a few blocks inland and across the harbour.
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The Bicycle Thief
A busy, warm dining room right on the boardwalk with an Italian-leaning menu and plenty of local seafood. It is one of the most reviewed restaurants in the city, so book.
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Water Polo
A newer sister restaurant to The Bicycle Thief, a few minutes south along the water in the Cunard district. It mixes Mediterranean cooking with Nova Scotia seafood, and the patio may be the best part.
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Waterfront Warehouse
A long-running seafood house with local oysters, lobster kept in tanks and Digby scallops. The large harbour-facing patio is the reason to go in summer.
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Shuck Seafood + Raw Bar
A raw bar on Salter Street, a block up from the boardwalk, built around Nova Scotia seafood delivered daily and a long list of oysters.
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Murphy’s Cable Wharf
The classic stop for a traditional lobster dinner, right at the water.
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Salty’s
Overlooks the harbour from the Historic Properties wharf. Known for lobster dinners and fish and chips.
Patios / 3 places
Harbourfront patio bars
For a drink on a patio by the water. On warm evenings, come early.
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Salt + Ash Beach House
A bright room with a patio for an easy lunch or a drink, popular for Sunday brunch. Most dishes are cooked over its wood-fired hearth.
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Pickford & Black
Seafood and craft beer in the old stone buildings of Historic Properties, a short walk from the ferry terminal. The waterside patio is the reason to go on a sunny day.
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The Lower Deck
A Maritime pub with a sunny outdoor space and live music in the old stone buildings at Historic Properties.
Morning / 1 place
Mornings on the boardwalk
Before the restaurants open, the south end of the boardwalk has the market.
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Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market
A farmers’ market at the south end of the boardwalk with coffee, baking and Nova Scotia produce. It traces its history to 1750 and is one of the oldest markets of its kind in North America.
More than a boardwalk
Museums, wharves and a long harbour walk
The waterfront is also where much of the city’s history is kept. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on Lower Water Street has galleries on the Titanic, whose victims were brought to Halifax in 1912, and on the Halifax Explosion of 1917. At the south end, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 tells the story of the ocean terminal where many newcomers arrived in Canada between 1928 and 1971.
Historic Properties, at the north end of the boardwalk, is a group of restored stone and wooden warehouses from the age of sail. Several of the waterfront’s pubs and seafood rooms are inside them, which explains the low ceilings and thick walls.
Between the two ends, the boardwalk passes the ferry terminal, a string of wharves with seasonal food kiosks and the stone brewery that Alexander Keith founded on Lower Water Street in 1820.
Prices on the waterfront run higher than in the neighbourhoods, especially for lobster, which is often priced by weight. For the same seafood at a calmer pace, the rooms a few blocks inland and across the harbour are worth the short walk or the ferry ride.
A few field notes
Walking the boardwalk to the best tables
The Halifax boardwalk is about four kilometres long and runs past almost all the Halifax waterfront restaurants on this page. It is flat and easy, so a walk from Historic Properties to the Seaport takes about half an hour without stops.
The ferry terminal sits in the middle. From there the Alderney ferry crosses to Dartmouth in about ten to twelve minutes, so dinner on the waterfront and a drink in Dartmouth works well in one evening.
Restaurants on the Halifax waterfront are busiest when cruise ships are in port during the summer and autumn. A table booked for an early or late sitting is much easier to get.
Find your way · Waterfront
What are the best Halifax waterfront restaurants for seafood?
Waterfront Warehouse, Shuck Seafood + Raw Bar and Murphy’s Cable Wharf focus on seafood. The Bicycle Thief and Water Polo add local seafood to broader menus.
Where can I eat near Pier 21 and the cruise terminal?
The Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market and Garrison Brewing are beside the cruise terminal at the south end of the boardwalk, and Water Polo is a short walk north on Lower Water Street.
Which Halifax waterfront restaurants have a patio?
Waterfront Warehouse, Water Polo, Salt + Ash Beach House, Pickford & Black and The Lower Deck all have outdoor seating in the warmer months.
Where can I get a lobster dinner on the waterfront?
Murphy’s Cable Wharf and Salty’s are the traditional choices for a lobster dinner on the boardwalk.
Are waterfront restaurants open in winter?
Most are open year-round, though patios close for the season. Hours change between seasons, so check before you go.