Restaurant: Gallant’s Canteen
Address: Shore Club Road, Hubbards
Date: August 14, 2010
Fish: Haddock
Cost: $7.00 taxes included!

It was Skippy’s turn to choose and he’d been chomping at the bit to visit a place that had been highly recommended to him. First off he asked if we minded a bit of a drive because, while Gallant’s is technically in HRM, it’s a bit out there for some.

But what kind of Fish & Chips reviewers would we be if a bit of a drive discouraged us from discovering a deep fried goldmine.

So, off in the car we went for a lovely Saturday drive to the town of Hubbards… down the Shore Club Road to the Hubbards Beach Campground where Gallant’s serves food to campers, locals and tourists alike.

Be forewarned however, Gallant’s is a seasonal venture and only open from mid-May to mid-October.

Well, Gallant’s ended up being the cheapest place we’ve ordered a two piece F&C… and by far the fastest place for delivering our order… but it fell just shy of being HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by us (a place must have an overall score of 80 or more to be HIGHLY RECOMMENDED).

This is a great place to visit, with some very good fish and batter. Sadly the fries are the weak link in this meal. Having said all that though, each of us would happily drop in for a feed when in the area.

Fish and Chips Score: 79.5

FCP Review Crew

Rachel’s Thoughts

Neat spot… brings back lots of childhood memories of campgrounds and vacations.

The fish was greasy, but very tasty. You could tell it was fresh. For some reason the fries looked better than they tasted. I’m not sure why, but I still ate them all.

Overall it was a fun spot and the food was ready faster than any place we’ve ever been.

Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments

Rachel’s Final Score: 78

Poochie’s Thoughts

Wow… our food was super-quick arriving. So fast I was sure they thought I had ordered sushi… but the fish was cooked. Seriously though… I’m still in shock at how quick the food arrived.

The fries were home-cut and packed with large and small pieces. The bottom of the food tray was filled with all sorts of debris, such as fry fragments; many of which had certainly endured several cooking cycles. The larger fries were cooked good, but definitely needed salt. All in all they were so promising looking, but ultimately disappointing in taste. I found they lacked WOW… if you know what I mean.

The coleslaw was homemade, creamy style and good. Not GREAT, but better than average. The tartar sauce was Kraft and came in huge squirt bottles.

The fish was certainly fresh and tasted great. It had a real nice flavour and I thought it was perfectly seasoned. The batter was thin, crispy, tasty and very greasy. I did find a couple of spots where it was a tiny bit doughy/pasty on the inside.

There was also a tray of squirt bottles of various vinegars to go along with the usual ketchup and tartar sauce.

And you can’t complain about the portion… there was a lot of food for just $7… and that included taxes! That makes Gallant’s the cheapest place we’ve dined at. I really liked my experience here… if they worked on the fries a bit, and dialed down the grease a touch, this place would have been amazing.

Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments

Poochie’s Final Score: 79

Minnie’s Thoughts

This is a seasonal spot, so put it on your calendar for next Spring if you want to visit.

The fries were home-cut and good, but certainly needed salt and ketchup. There were lots of little bits and pieces in the fries. Overall they looked really good, but lacked flavour.

The batter was thin, lightly seasoned, AND VERY GOOD! It was greasier than average BUT, I didn’t mind it one bit. You could tell the fish was fresh and, like the batter, lightly seasoned. I really liked it.

The tartar sauce was your standard Kraft variety. The coleslaw that came with our meal was good… reminded me of what you’d get at a store deli.

Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments

Minnie’s Final Score: 79

Skippy’s Thoughts

Rachel said it best (about the fries) when she said, “They look better than they taste.”

The fries weren’t bad… they just didn’t… taste. (Sentence intentionally ended as you see it here.) I mean, they didn’t even taste like potatoes. Once you loaded the salt and ketchup on they were fine, but good fries shouldn’t need those extras. Because of this, and considering the fries were home-cut, I have to say they were average.

But the fish? Dee-lish.

Thin batter. Crunchy batter. Flaky fish. Tasty fish. And when I cracked open a piece, a waft of steam came flooding out. (I recently read that’s a sign of properly cooked deep-fried fish, so I might have to add this to my standard taste-testing routine.)

Overall, a little on the greasy side (let the oil drain off, willya?), but hey – it is, after all, Fish and Chips. And as for my score hitting the 80s, which means highly recommended, I will state the fish should definitely be in this category, however the fries should not.

Fish
Batter
Fries
Grease
Portion/Value
Condiments

Skippy’s Final Score: 82