A fancy place with fancy food, but still baby-friendly. Also, my neighbour is the executive chef!
Back again! The Robertson restaurant is located inside the Shadowlawn Inn, in the heart of Rothesay. It is a beautiful old building, with a modern dining room. The last time we were there was when Alexandria was 10 days old. It was a lovely evening, and she was silent the whole time, but as we were standing up to leave she decided to puke all over the white table cloth. We were hoping for another great experience, minus the puke, now that Alexandria is 7 months old. When we arrived our table was the only one without a table cloth, so they were ready for us! Soups on
We decided to start with a Potage course of Creamy Tomato and Fennel Soup and Seafood Chowder. The Tomato Soup was the star of this course. It consisted of tomato, fennel, carrot-top pesto, toasted almonds, and crispy jalapeno peppers. Though I couldn't taste the fennel (I think fennel is just something I have a hard time detecting) this was full of flavour. The almonds added a nice layer of crunchy texture and the jalapeno was just spicy enough to add a layer of flavour. The chowder was nice and contained scallops, crab, bacon, dulse, and fingerling potatoes. The seafood came together to create a broth that tasted of the sea, while the potatoes retained their shape and original flavour. People who struggle with textures may not enjoy this as most of the seafood seemed shredded. I enjoyed that though. Potato lovers will love this.
Crispy creamy
Our principal dishes were Lavender Honey Glazed Chicken Supreme and Chive and Roasted Garlic Gnocchi. Kristina has always loved Gnocchi and the more I have it the more I love it. These fluffy pillows were surrounded by confit tomato. zucchini, arugula, sunflower seeds, Parmigiano Reggiano, and lemon, and with creamy emulsification. The gnocchi itself was lightly seared so the outside was crispy which added a fourth texture to the creamy sauce, crunchy seeds, and soft gnocchi innards. The chicken was a classic. Its skin was roasted incredibly dark and crisp, the honey flavour was subtle. It was served with classic garlic potatoes, rosemary demiglace, cranberry chutney, crispy kale and carrots. It was a melange of varied textures alongside classic, safe flavours.
Somethings sweet this way comes
Our desserts started with a trio of truffles paired with butter pecan caramel, oatmeal raisin muesli and wild berry coulis. These were unreal. Soft and rich on the inside with a hard chocolate coating. the accompaniments could have stood on their own but alongside the chocolate elevated this to something special.
We then finished the night with a Sticky Toffee Pudding with toffee sauce, butterscotch ripple ice cream, ginger candy, and roasted nuts. Soft cake, crunchy nuts, decadent sauce. This would remind anyone was a rustic home-cooked dessert raised to the level of fine dining. TL;DR
Overall rating: 7/10 Excellent french style cuisine in a local setting. What it lacks in adventurous options it makes up for with the quality of the dishes it creates that anyone will enjoy.
Why you should go there: This is the classic "Fancy Date Night" spot. This has the "fanciest" feel in the Saint John area. Take someone special, have some nice drinks and high-end food. No need to worry about "weird" food here.
Price Point: $$$ High-end restaurant with High-end prices. Starters range from $9-$15, mains from $26-$38 Desserts from $8-$10. The menu changes semi-regularly so prices can vary.
Atmosphere: Classy, relaxed, and quiet. Definitely, a place to dress nice.
Food Style: Classic French Cuisine with local maritime inspirations.
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