Bonnie Prince

Bonnie Prince

50 Reeves Street, Sydney

The April outing of UAG took us to the Bonnie Prince, just down from where the Canadian Tire used to be and across from where the Giant Tiger is going to be.  This restaurant has been in business and in the same location for many years, although its neighbours have changed.

The Bonnie Prince restaurant has seen at least one renovation over the years, but some things haven't changed.  It's a wild and wonderful place to eat on a Friday night at supper time! Patrons in the line-up waiting for a seat ranged in ages from 6 months to those well passed the legal drinking age.  We had all noticed the delicious smell of cooking onions on our way in from the car to the front door and none of us were leaving the line-up.

And just like at the Cedar House, we all knew someone either in the line-up or already seated. We were enjoying ourselves even before we sat down together to have supper. Now, as most Cape Bretoners know, the Bonnie Prince is not just a restaurant; it serves liquor and has a corner for VLT machines. And although we didn't try the machines, liquor made its way to our table.

Two of the members of our group ordered Caesars, and in fact, one of the members had more than one.  Luckily, she had come prepared for this eventuality by bringing a Designated Driver. We are now all considering this option for our next outing.

You will notice that this Caesar has no celery. Sad, isn't it?  

I bought celery just this week at Sobeys, so I know it wasn't the high cost of the vegetable that kept the Chef from adding a stick of the green stuff to this drink.  But perhaps he had been told one too many times as a small child to eat his vegetables and well, frankly, now he doesn't have to have them in his kitchen.

This is the other fancy cocktail that was ordered - a Bonnie Piper Punch, made with coconut rum and other red ingredients.  The member who ordered it said it was delicious. 

No vegetables in this drink either but honestly, I'm not sure that it called for any.

The other members who decided to have a drink before supper ordered regular booze and it tasted just like it should.

Half Rack with Maple Barbecue Sauce

The first meal to arrive at the table was the half rack of ribs with maple barbecue sauce and home-made fries. You can see that the plate also features coleslaw and an assortment of vegetables.

How the vegetables got onto the plate, I don't know.  

But this dinner got rave reviews.  

Side Spinach Salad

The next dish to be served was the side of spinach salad and yes, it was as good as it looks.

Although we were sitting in a pub, the meals were obviously prepared by a team who take pride in what is being served. 

With or without vegetables.

Shrimp Pasta

Well, you can't imagine how relieved we were when this member told us that her dinner was just fine.  She had not had a good experience the last time she was at the Bonnie Prince and she was leery of coming with us on this outing.

The shrimp pasta was hot, had just enough shrimp in it and the pasta was tasty.  And as you can see, the serving was large. Whew.

Santa Fe Haddock

The Designated Driver ordered this meal and by all accounts, it was another good choice.  This is the Santa Fe Haddock, with sweet potato fries and coleslaw. 

No vegetables in sight, but luckily, his dinner partner had had two Caesars by this point and didn't notice that her carrots were going missing.

House Tour

Two members ordered this dish - the House Tour, consisting of nachos with home-made salsa, potato skins, and chicken wings with medium barbecue sauce.

And here we have to place a warning.  Medium sauce really means that if you eat too many of these wings, you will find yourself naked on the table with your head in your glass of ice water. HOT!

To save us this embarrassment, the chicken wings were offered around the table and we all only momentarily experienced fire bursting out of our ears. And to think that there is actually a level of "Hot" and "Suicide" sauce - I dare not think of the consequences of eating too many of those.

Fish and Chips

Several of us ordered the Friday Special of two-piece Fish 'n Chips. This photo is a bit dark, but please accept my assurances that this was absolutely delicious.

The coating on the fish was melt-in-your-mouth crisp and the fries were heavenly.  Oh, it reheated perfectly for left-overs!

Fish and Mashed Potatoes

One member ordered her Special with mashed potatoes and gravy.  When asked her opinion on the gravy, she said it was wonderful. And it certainly looked rich and flavourful.

Do you notice anything?  

No vegetables with the Special! 

Unless you count the lemon, which is actually a fruit.

Breaded Scallops

This dinner, unfortunately, was not a success, and tragically, it was ordered by one of our new members. 

The scallops were late arriving to the table and when they did, they were not hot.  There is a generous helping of fries, the wonderful coleslaw and the ever-present lemon slice, but the scallops were not great.  In fact, we warned a friend who came over to visit our table that perhaps she shouldn't order the scallops.  However, by this point, those firey chicken wings were making the rounds and everyone was being offered tastes of the various dishes. But this member was disappointed in her choice of dishes.

As is our custom, we must stop for a moment and comment on the tea service. As you can see, this is the same type of teapot used at the Casino, only smaller. I am not a fan of this style, as I always have trouble opening it, why, I don't know.

But it was Red Rose tea, served with a good-sized cup and two containers of milk.  

The waitress also brought two containers of coffee cream - imagine! I quickly put them to one side and said a prayer that I would have enough milk to get to the bottom of the pot.

We have now come to the end our meal and yes, several of us chose to have dessert.

Leo's Homemade Bread Pudding with Vanilla Ice Crem

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Apple Blossum

All of the desserts were tasty and shared around the table.  In fact, the bread pudding was ranked close to perfect!

The parking lot was full when we arrived - people were parking on the road and in parking lots further up the road.  And as we were leaving, people were walking up to the door - a very busy spot indeed.  Another successful UAG outing! Welcome to our new members!