Fitzgerald's Restaurant

PO Box 1607

Bras d'Or, Highway 105, Cape Breton

(Sydney side of the Seal Island Bridge)

View of Fitzgerald's from the parking lot

This month, a small convoy of UAG members drove up Highway 105 almost as far as the Seal Island Bridge to Fitzgerald's Restaurant. This restaurant has had several owners in the past, so if you aren't familiar with this name, it's located across the street from the log house. One person asked if it was the white building? I said "yes" - here's hoping they never change the colour of the restaurant or move the log house.

The log house across the street from Fitzgerald's

Fitzgerald's sign

There is a sign down by the highway to alert you to the location of the restaurant - this is the first in a series of restaurants in the area and the owners are keen that you don't miss out on their fresh homemade food.

If you are travelling, please note that there is also a motel right next door that also faces the bay, the mountains and the log house. The members of the UAG did not overnight it, so we can't tell you a single thing about the motel.

A working phone booth

And just in case your cell phone dies as you are travelling along Highway 105, there is also a working phone booth at the bottom of the restaurant's parking lot. As a girl who dated in the late 1960s, before the advent of cell phones or computers for that matter, I can tell you that these phone booths played a very important role in the lives of teenagers. No one would leave the house without quarters and we all knew where the phone booths were located.

To find a beautiful and working phone booth at the restaurant was simply too marvellous.

There is a side entrance to the restaurant for those who are being dropped off, so don't worry if those stairs look intimidating.  And once you are on the veranda, you are treated to a wonderful view of the bay and the mountains. Although Fitzgerald's is located next to a very busy highway, you will immediately notice how very quiet and restful this spot truly is.

After you enter the side door, off that glorious veranda (what a spot for a long think as Pooh would say), you walk down a hallway to the dining room on your left. One of the layout features that I particularly liked was that even as the room filled up, there was lots of walking space between the tables. You didn't have that awful feeling of being so very close to the family next to you. So now that we were comfortably seated and terribly hungry after the drive, what did the UAG members order?

French Onion Soup

This is actually the dish that started the conversation about going to Fitzgerald's Restaurant. One of the UAG members had  already been and raved about the soup.  

It was as good as she remembered - very rich and filling.

Spinach Salad

Along with the French Onion soup, she enjoyed this plate of Spinach Salad.

A lovely combination that left room for dessert. She was the only coffee drinker at the table and she wanted you to know that Fitzgerald's coffee is very good.  There was no problem having milk instead of cream with the beverage, which does signify a gracious host.

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Mashed Potato

Two of the UAG members ordered Chicken Cordon Bleu; one ordered the mashed potatoes with it and the other ordered the baked potato. As the waitress told us, it usually takes patrons longer to decide on the type of potato than the main dish.

Both members really enjoyed their meals.

In fact, I might as well state it right here and now - there wasn't one negative comment during the entire meal about anything at all.

Pan Seared Haddock with Baked Potato

Three of the members opted for the fish selections.

Here we have a pan-seared haddock with baked potato (just look at the generous portions!),

Fresh Haddock Dinner with French Fries

and here we have the fresh haddock dinner with french fries,

Salmon Dinner with French Fries

and finally, here we have the salmon dinner with french fries.

And each member thoroughly enjoyed their choice.

There was a large group of us and luckily, no two orders were exactly the same.

Regular Clubhouse with French Fries and Gravy

This is the regular clubhouse dinner and I want you to notice two things: 1. yes, that's heaps of glorious bacon in the sandwich, and 2. yes, that gravy is as rich and tasty as it looks.

Fitzgerald's is not afraid to use bacon - the Spinach Salad was full of it and so was the clubhouse. So delicious!

Now, what could be better?

Lobster Clubhouse with French Fries

Well, a lobster clubhouse with lots of bacon!  I have to apologize for this picture, but it was only half way through the meal that I realized that a photo was needed. Once I had had that first bite of fresh lobster and bacon together, the world around me disappeared. Totally.

This clubhouse was the perfection of clubhouse sandwiches - everything, including the toasted bread, was done right. It was simply heavenly.

Philly Steak Melt with French Fries

And there's still more! This is the Philly Steak Melt and just look at those onions, at that cheese, at the toasted bun.  Isn't that just fabulous?

All it really needed was bacon...

Tea Pot and Mug

We always stop for a moment to comment on the tea service, don't we?  After having such a good meal, we weren't sure whether or not our luck would hold.  

It did. This is truly one of the best tea services that we've seen in our two years of travels. A heavy Brown Betty teapot with a good-sized heavy mug - for each person! Yes, each of us was served an excellent pot of tea, with milk. 

When our table was cleared and the tea poured, it was time to order dessert. For the first time in memory, each and every person ordered a dessert! What a testament to the fine food at this restaurant.

Butterscotch Pie

The member who ordered this slice of pie told us that it was delicious.

Note the butterscotch bits on the top and the full thick layer of butterscotch.

Isn't this what life is all about? 

Cheesecake with Butterscotch Sauce

No explanation needed here as you can see exactly what this dish is.  Was it as good as the pie?  I understood from the nodding head and full smile that this dessert was tremendous.

Just as there was a theme of bacon in the first course, you may notice that in the second course every dish featured the flavour of butterscotch.

Apple Crisp with Ice Cream and Butterscotch Sauce

Yes, that's a warm apple crisp, topped with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce.

By this point in the evening, several of us were just going with the full monty - give us the apple crisp, give us the ice cream, and by all means, pour butterscotch sauce over the top. 

And just keep pouring until I tell you "when"!

Veranda along the side of the restaurant

As we meandered along the veranda on the way back to our cars, we talked about what a great evening this had been. 

As you can see in the pictures, the sun was just beginning to think of going down, the weather was calm and warm, and the view was spectacular.

In fact, it was a perfect summer evening in Cape Breton.

We were fortunate enough to have shared an excellent meal in a lovely setting.

Now, if only I had a quarter, I could use the pay phone to call one of the old gang and ask who was having the house party tonight!