Daniel's Restaurant & Bar

456 Charlotte Street

Sydney, NS

You don't have to put any money in the meter after 5:00 pm

The UAG has compiled a list of restaurants that we haven't visited yet and this one, Daniel's, was the second on the list. The first restaurant on the list was closed so the staff could enjoy a vacation - we will try and visit that one before too long as we hear their Ginger Beef is out of this world. So what did the group think of Daniel's?  Eight members attended this month's outing so there were lots of opinions.

The first thing that you have to know about Daniel's is that it is owned and operated by the same people who own and operate The Bonnie Prince. So that tells you immediately that the service is going to be professional and that the food is going to be good. And it was! Both the waitress and the bartender handled every request efficiently and quickly, always with a smile. And the food?

Green Drinks

The first people to arrive at the table ordered this combination - this is club soda with bar lime and it's tasty. The little glass contains the lime and you pour as much as you want into the large glass of soda.

What we discovered later is that you can have a red drink too - just order the bar cranberry. It will arrive the same way; you pour it the same way, but you have a red drink.

Good idea for Christmas....

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Only one appetizer was ordered - the Spinach and Artichoke Dip.

A few of us tried this combination and we all agreed that it was delicious.  

You can tell from the size of the serving that this is meant to be shared. 

If you are out drinking, this would be a good way to sop up the alcohol and get your veggies in at the same time.

Haddock'n Chips

One of the first dishes to arrive at the table was the Pan Fried Haddock.

And yes, it's as good as it looks. The fish was flavourful and the batter light and crispy. And just look at those home-made fries! They were perfect: cut potatoes, crispy on the outside and cooked just right.

Greek Burger

Daniel's has started to serve Greek dishes, which is wonderful as there are not too many restaurants offering good Greek food.

This is the Greek Burger - it was huge! That's a serving of lemon potatoes next to it, along with a side of coleslaw. 

Both people who ordered this dish, with and without onions, thoroughly enjoyed it. 

How could you not love it?

Lots of Greek Stuff

Well, when this arrived at the table, we all regretted ordering what we did.

Just look!

That's Greek salad (no olives, mind you, which personally, I find hard to believe), lemon potatoes, and chicken souvlaki.

This member of the group knew to order this dish because she's had it before. In fact, Daniel's is getting a bit of a reputation for its excellent Greek dishes.

Pastichio

Well, here is another Greek dish - you are looking at Pasticho, with a baked potato and a garden salad.

And this was one of the Specials!

Well, by now, all of us who had ordered non-Greek food were saying that the next time that we eat at Daniel's, we are definitely ordering one of these Greek dishes.

And just in case, you wanted to see what the Pastichio looked like inside!

Heavens to all those fabulous Greek Gods above...isn't this just what you want to order on a Friday night after those Underworld Demons have kicked your ass to the curb?

Half a Rack of Back Ribs

This is one of the other Specials and yes, that's a thick maple sauce on bar-b-qued ribs.

There was just enough meat on the ribs that you could use a knife and fork, but really, I think it must be acceptable to just get your fingers sticky.

Lots of potatoes and coleslaw too!

But there's another way to order this....

Back Ribs Too

You can order them with those lovely home-made fries and garlic bread.

Do you think there are enough fries?

Hard to say.

Rib Steak

For those of you who just like to have a nice tender steak with lots of flavour and no fussing, Daniel's offers a variety of sizes of steak.

Under those fries is a lovely steak that was thoroughly enjoyed.






Our evening was going swimmingly - we were catching up with all the news, who had just returned from where and who was flying where when we were reminded that we were not dining solely in a restaurant. We were eating a lovely meal in a bar that advertises live music. We had hoped to be gone before the place started hopping, but we forgot one thing. And this is the other thing that you need to know about Daniel's.

If there's a band scheduled to start playing at 6:30 pm, that same band will require a half hour of sound checks. Now how bad could that be? Well, considering that Daniel's is a very small bar, one in which you could throw your baked potato and not miss the person sitting by the window, live music is quite an intimate experience. From 6:00 to 6:30 pm, a gentleman stood 3 feet from the band and hollered "Check" into the mic. Keep in mind that the band members were close enough that they could spit at the sound man and not miss, but somehow, microphones were required. If you get a sound man with a sense of humour, you are further entertained with jokes such as "Cheque", "Cheque", "Cheque".  So while this activity was taking place, we ordered our tea.

Daniel's has been in business for a long time and it knows enough not to fool around with Cape Bretoners and tea.

Don't serve a drunk Cape Bretoner a cup of Mother Parker's tea.

It's just not done.

There's no teapot, but what the heck. It was strong and hot and there was lots in that mug.

These are Bulk Barn fortune cookies! Yes, since we didn't get to our Chinese restaurant, one of the members brought fortune cookies for all of us.

And were they ever tasty!

And to make it even better, we all got good fortunes. This year is going to be spectacular for the eight of us that attended this outing.

Personally, I can't wait.

The Band "Red Shed"

So now it was time to order dessert.

But what was happening?

It was 6:30 pm, the lights have been turned down next to off, the place was full of people with beer in their hands, and the band had started playing.

Now, don't get me wrong,,,at 10:30 pm, I would've been raising my glass of beer with the music and starting to make eyes at the fellow across the table too.

But at 6:30 pm, we were suddenly shouting at each other and trying to order dessert.

As a result, only one dessert was ordered.

Can you see it?

That's a plate of mini fried Cinnamon Danishes with vanilla ice cream, with just a touch of butterscotch sauce. Delicious!

But by this point, there was no sense in sitting and eating the entire dish...the ice cream was enjoyed and the Danishes boxed up and taken home.

We really enjoyed the food at Daniel's and we did enjoy our time together there. But next time, we're going to go much earlier to avoid the 6:30 pm crush of partiers.

Unless of course, you give us a call and suggest that we meet you there and then we'll put on our party outfits and our dancing shoes and we'll be there as soon as we've watched the supper hour news.