FAQs


Please see our current blog for more up to date info!




Do you take reservations?

NO. We do not take reservations. Why not? We'd like to keep the atmosphere casual and pub-like. We use a first-come, first-served service, which means quicker turn around for our customers and ensures that we are not needlessly holding tables for no-shows whilst turning away hopeful diners. Even on the busiest nights (nowadays Friday and Saturday nights), we keep a waiting list, are happy to provide drinks at the bar while you wait for a table, and usually manage to seat all of our guests within 20 minutes. 

For larger parties we'd suggest coming in earlier (5-5:30pm) or later (8-8:30pm on) for the best chances of scoring a large table. 





Do you have vegetarian/gluten free/nut free options?

We do strive to offer as many gluten free options as we can, and there are quite a few (see the menu page). We can also swap the baguette and soda bread on our snacking boards for rice crackers, and make the mussels with white wine. We offer 3 different ciders as an alternative to beer, wine, and a Gluten Free beer. 

However, we do bake our own soda bread and desserts in house, so it is not a totally flour free zone. Neither is it an entirely nut free zone - our GF chocolate torte is made with ground almonds. If you have sensitivities please inform your server and we will do our very best to accommodate you. 

We do have several tasty vegetarian options–our Tapas board, Falafels, Green Chile Mac&Cheese, Quinoa, Corn & Black Bean salad–and can make a few of our other dishes meat free upon request with pretty tasty results (Mexican pizza, mussels, salads). We usually keep our soup of the day meat, gluten, and dairy free. Once again, please ask your server to help identify any options that might suit your needs.



Why don't you offer fish and chips, burgers, pizzas, wings, etc.?

Here at the Townhouse we are offering something a little different from the usual pub fare. It's still very casual, rustic and hearty food - but everything is made fresh, from scratch, or brought in from excellent, all-natural local suppliers. Although we love a great burger and fish and chips as much as the next fellow or gal, we feel those items are available already at several other Antigonish restaurants. Instead, we offer traditional pub fare from the Europe & The UK, like the Ploughman's Lunch (home-made paté, lickles, chutney, cheese & bread), Steak and Ale Pie, and Grilled Bratwurst. We have lots of NS fish and seafood on the menu - steam-roasted haddock, mussels in beer, bacon wrapped scallops with maple cream sauce, lobster salad, and chowders. We also offer inspired by our travels overseas and our cook's heritage–a tapas board featuring local organic cheese, home-made tapenade and spanish tortilla, Filipino ceviché with ginger, chiles & coconut, and a Mexican pizza (or Tlayuda).

The main focus here is fresh, local, flavourful food–food that's a good deal healthier than standard frozen and deep fried pub grub–food you can tell we've taken care to make from the best raw ingredients, and to source from excellent local suppliers. We have a small crew of hard working and enthusiastic cooks, helmed by Jody Fanning (Georgeville, Antigonish Co.,) and Lani Vidad (Manila, Philippines). 

Excellent local suppliers:
Knoydart Farms (organic cheeses)
The Pork Shop (gluten-free sausages)
Vacheresse's Meats (Antigonish and Guysborough Co. beef)
Kingsville Farm (organic baguettes)
Tony Overmars Farms (locally raised eggs)
We buy seasonal produce from several small, local producers:
Seabright Market Gardens, 
MacLennan's Glen, 
Eastern Sun Farm, 
Admiral Bayfield Gardens 


Still want really great fish&chips? Try Boyd's at Cribbon's Wharf or Fish 'n Ships at Ballantynes. Want great burgers, fish, and hand-cut fries? Try the Sunset Cabana at Malignant Cove. But hurry, they're seasonal too!






Why aren't you open for lunches?

We had initially intended to do both lunch and dinner services at The Townhouse. However, the demand for our food and atmosphere so far has exceeded our most hopeful expectations, and we are doing quite a large volume of food on a daily basis. As we prepare everything from scratch, and strive to serve the freshest food we can, it means the kitchen crew are putting in long hours, usually starting around 9am  just to make the 4pm dinner service. In addition
















, our kitchen is on the small side, and can only hold a certain volume of prepped food. We have decided for now to focus on offering Antigonishers and visitors alike interesting and delicious options for a  casual dinner out, adding local & seasonal specials, and providing this unique community with a proper neighbourhood pub–a meeting place for friends and family, with 



























great Maritime craft beers and ciders, tasty and reasonably priced wines by the glass, a decent selection of scotches, and a cozy, atmosphere and (we hope) some real local, character.
















































Are you an Irish pub or an English pub?





Neither really. We're just a pub. If anything, an Antigonish pub. However, if you really want to label us: Rose is half English (her mother was born there, although HER father was Polish), and her father's family came here from Ireland when he was a boy (although HIS mother was also English). One our chefs, Will, is actually from Dublin, and Terry is from Irishtown, in Newfoundland.... We have done a fair bit of visiting of Irish and English pubs (and Scottish, and Welsh, and Gaspésie, and Irish pubs in Spain, and English pubs in France, as well as the tavernas and bars of Spain and Italy) and they certainly have inspired us in creating the Townhouse. So... make of it what you will.




Do you brew your own beer?

We have built a tiny brewery upstairs from the pub–it's a 1/2 barrel Brewmagic by SABCO, (about 50L capacity). Terry is currently still in R&D brewing mode, but honing in on the final recipe. We're brewing a traditional English-style bitter ale that we will be cask-conditioning and serving from a hand-pump or beer engine–you may have seen them in pubs in the UK or Ireland, where the bartenders really have to "pull" the pints. If things go well, we hope to gradually increase our brewing capacity, and eventually retail growlers (2L refillable jugs) of our own brews.

In the meantime, we are proud to offer northern Nova Scotia's best selection of Maritime micro-brewed beers outside of Halifax. We have 8 taps serving selections from Big Spruce Brewery (Cape Breton), The Granite Brewery (Halifax) , Propeller (Halifax), Garrison (Halifax), The Pumphouse (Moncton, NB), and hopefully, very soon Uncle Leo's (Lyon's Brook, Pictou County, NS). We also offer bottled selections from some of these breweries, plus Hell Bay (when we can get hold of it, from Cherry Hill, NS), Picaroon's (Fredericton, NB), PEI Brewing Co., and a great selection of ciders, including Nova Scotia's own Shipbuilders.

No comments:

Post a Comment