Iona Highland Heights Inn

In Iona

Next to the Highland Village Museum

This month's outing took us once again to a hotel outside of Sydney, although this time ten of us jumped in our cars and headed across the Washabuckt line into Victoria County. Considering it was the most perfect Cape Breton summer evening ever, the drive along the Bras d'Or lakes was just breathtaking.  In no time at all, we had crossed the bridge to Iona and were heading up the hill to the Inn. But we weren't the only ones out and about on a glorious evening! The Iona Legion was packed - it was Friday night and that could only mean people were lining up for the corned beef dinners. When we arrived at the Inn, we each took a moment to enjoy the view.

The dining room of the Inn is set up with a large fireplace at one end (no need for a fire thankfully) and a small stage at the other end. A bar runs along one wall and along the other...well, a row of large windows with a view of the Strait that is truly amazing. I cannot describe to you how beautiful the view is from this room and it would be the same no matter what the season or the weather.  A cup of tea and that view alone would be worth the drive. Once we had located our table, we took turns visiting Jill's Chocolates, located next to the dining room. Some of us went home with tiny boxes of handcrafted chocolates!

So now that we were settled in the dining room by the fireplace, what did we order? We ordered four appetizers to start our meal - we shared the food by passing the plates up and down the table. You will note that this hotel uses large white square plates for all services. 

This is the Tomato Bacon Cheddar Cheese Soup and several members of the group ordered this as a starter.

The comments were all favourable, saying that each of the flavours were independent and lovely. I'd even go so far as to say that if the members had been enjoying this soup at home, well, the soup dishes might have been lifted off the plate and that last sip enjoyed.

This is the small Caesar Salad and again, the member who ordered this gave it very good reviews.

You can see that it has everything that a Caesar should have, including mushrooms, bacon bits and croutons.

I must say that this dish got one of the highest ratings of the evening. You are looking at deep fried Shrimps and Scallops with a Thai sauce.

The batter was just right - crispy and thin and the shrimps and scallops were juicy and tasty. So when you bit into one of these dipped delights, there were all kinds of textures and tastes.

This platter travelled up and down the table until there wasn't a single bite left.

These are the very familiar Mozza Sticks, cooked with the same type of batter as the plate shown above. Luckily, there wasn't any fishy taste with these.

What was so nice about these sticks was the honey dill sauce that came with it. I'll be honest with you - I kept the sauce and used it with my main meal. Yes, I dipped my fries in this wonderful sauce!


During this enjoyable start to our evening, some of the members ordered coffee and some ordered tea. Both beverages were served in single mugs with small packages of sugar and milk or creamers alongside. As readers know, we always comment on the tea service.

The coffee drinkers enjoyed their beverages very much. A good hotel should serve a good cup of coffee to the travelling public, especially since the closest coffee shop to Iona is a good drive away.

However, the tea that was served looked exactly like the coffee and that was because it had been made in the coffee pot. This is a huge sin in the restaurant world and it could have ruined an otherwise enjoyable start to the evening. However, this Inn has very professional staff and a little Brown Betty of hot tea was very quickly brought to the table.

So here is a shout-out to our very patient and engaging server, Corrina - I hope the owners appreciate how good you are.



So what did we order for our main course?

This is the Maple Curry Chicken Penne and the member who ordered it told us that it was excellent. She could taste the curry but it wasn't strong enough to hide the maple flavouring.

It was also a large serving, leaving little room for dessert.  That was okay with this member as she enjoyed every bite.

This was the other curry dish brought to our table on Friday evening. This is the Chicken Mango Curry Wrap with fries.

Now the important thing to note here is that there is no mistaking the curry flavour. If you like chicken and mango but are not keen on curry, this might not be the dish for you.

For those of you who love wraps with chicken, here is the Chicken Caesar Wrap with fries. And this dish again got a thumbs up!

Most of the members got fries with their meals and the fries were quite good. They were home-cut and crispy, which means we could dunk them into any of the sauces that were circulating around the table. Bonus!

This is a remarkable steak dinner and not just because it was tasty....although it wasn't a luscious slab of steak slapped on a hot grill with lots of butter and herbs. But the outside was crisp and flavourful and the inside was cooked just as ordered.

What was remarkable was the size. This is the first restaurant that we've eaten in in all the years that we've been going out that has offered a small steak. What a treat to have a steak dinner that leaves room for dessert!

Here we have a Club Sandwich on multigrain bread with roasted potatoes. And I have to tell you that the member who ordered this dish thoroughly enjoyed it.

I also have to tell you that the person sitting next to him, who ordered the Club Sandwich pictured below, was envious. She would have ordered exactly this plate if she had known how good this combination was.

And here is the Other Club Sandwich, this time with the homecut fries.

Although it was very good, it was not as good as the sandwich on multigrain. So our advice to you is not to have both of these sandwiches on the table at the same time. In order to keep peace, all club sandwiches at one table sitting should be exactly the same.






This is the Pan Fried Haddock and several members ordered this dish. There wasn't a single complaint - this dish was a hit with them all.

Some members ordered the fries and some ordered the roasted potatoes and both were a lovely side with the fish.



The dessert selection was quite limited, perhaps due to the fact that there aren't any bakeries closeby. Iona is known for its hospitality, ceilidhs, and square dances but I suspect the assorted sweets served at these events are baked in local kitchens. We were offered either a Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake or Carrot Cake, both of which were enjoyable and shared up and down the table.

When we left the Inn, we stepped out into a glorious evening with a bright full moon and an awe- inspiring view of the Barra Strait.  

We drove all the way home under that bright moon as if St. Columba of Iona was making sure that we all arrived safe and sound. What a fun evening and what a busy spot - there were people everywhere, in fact. They were pulling up to the Inn, dropping in to the bar or looking for a good meal in the dining room, gathered around the wall map of Cape Breton or just walking on the lawns in front of the Inn. The Iona Highland Heights Inn has what must be one of the most beautiful locations in Cape Breton.

And oh yes - that little box of Jill's Chocolates? Simply wonderful.