Le Chat Bleu is definitely a place to stay away from. If, that is, you don’t love and appreciate gracious service with a smile, a charming and airy atmosphere, and delicious food. And I do mean delicious food. They have a limited menu that changes frequently and is posted up on a wall, but they manage to have options for meat and fish eaters as well as vegetarians. The food is unique and freshly prepared. This is not the place to look for deep-fried fast food such as fish and chips. Here, you will find food that looks great, tastes amazing and if the end result is that it’s healthier for your body, well, consider it just an extra bonus or even a justification to go out to eat.
Because this is a small place, they do plan their menus and if something is very popular and they happen to have a busy day, it is possible to see a “sold out” written on the board next to something on the menu. A word of advice, though, is to ask about it anyway. It’s possible they just hadn’t had time to update the board. I had had my eye on what looked like an interesting veggie burger, but since it said sold out, fell back to the fish cakes, without saying anything to the charming hostess. Turns out, it wasn’t sold out. I discovered that when she was talking to a new customer who was going over the menu.
“Falling back” in this place, though, is more of an opportunity to try out something else than any great hardship or sacrifice. The first bite of the fish cakes made it instantly apparent that this place really does make their own food and I appreciate that they don’t rely on salt and fat to make their food taste good.
The fish cakes came with a very fresh salad with a wonderful salad dressing on the side, so you could add as much or little as you desired.
Blair had the seafood quesadilla, which also came with a beautiful salad. I had a bite (again, of course) and it was a mouthful of heaven.
They have great local beer on tap and have a wonderful selection of both alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages.
Desserts? Oooh, they offer selection with that as well. A friend raved about their carrot cake, so Blair, that being his favourite cake, decided to check it out. He declared it the best he’s had. I had a bite, of course, and, well, it was pretty wonderful. The icing really complemented the cake instead of competing with it and I would definitely go back just to taste it again.
I had the chocolate quinoa cake because I love chocolate and this sounded different. It was also delicious, dense but moist and very much chocolate.
Portions here don’t leave you hurting or feeling like you need to roll out of the restaurant. I love the European slant on this. Portions are beautiful, tasty and satisfying, but leave room for trying out an appetizer and enjoying a dessert.
They spent 7 years renovating this beautiful old building. A lot of thought, care and great taste went into making it a lovely place to sit and enjoy a meal. There are great little details added around that will keep wandering eyes discovering someone new and interesting.
Oh, and that top image? Yes, the owners are Acadian. Don’t know what that means? It’s a deeply rooted francophone culture with a wonderful spirit and a lot of pride. They are what makes New Brunswick the province to visit if you are looking for a friendly, welcoming bilingual experience. With this bistro, this couple of Acadians have a good reason to be proud. We had been kept too busy to stop during our stay in Nova Scotia, but didn’t want to leave without having checked out this new addition to the neighbourhood. We are happy we did and look forward to many more visits next summer.
This charming little spot is right on a corner in the middle of, well, it seems like nowhere. It’s along a road that goes through Baie Verte towards Port Elgin, both small little communities along the beautiful New Brunswick coastline along the Northumberland Strait, very close to Nova Scotia. Its location makes it convenient for folks outside the Amherst area in Nova Scotia and those south of the Moncton part of New Brunswick who would like some fine dining without having to go into Moncton or larger towns. Check their FaceBook page for their hours and their updated menu. They put a placard out close to the road when they’re open, so are easy to find. It can get very busy for dinner, so if wanting to come during dinner hours, it might be best to call ahead and make a reservation. So far, their advertising has been pretty much word of mouth and curious folk driving by and stopping, and at this, we often see cars filling up the parking area in the evenings.
UPDATE: they now have a website.
