The Sandbox Pub & Eatery

Has declined over the years.
Used to have by far the best fish and chips in the area and the kids loved the Sandbox inside after they finished eating.
Now the food is mediocre, the Sandbox is gone and the décor inside just leaves you cold. The fish was good. Lightly batter and not greasy. The fries though used to be hand cut skins on and delicious. Now they are thick cut and not anywhere close to the same. Without the sandbox for the kids and the great fries its really no better than any fish and chips takeout place.

All the marketing for this restaurant makes it sound fun and kid-​friendly, however what we experienced was just a basic expensive pub. We were greeted at the door by the fun lobster cutout, but there was no sign of a sandbox or kid play area… Well from the wall mural it seemed like there might once have been a play area In one corner, but it was empty at 7pm. We chose to eat outside based on that, and a friendly waitress led us to the deck. We were given newsprint menus with a small kids selection: hot dog, chicken fingers, burger, or fish. There was a coloring picture, but we were not offered crayons. Luckily we had some.
For the food, we had been warned by our hotel to stick to the basics. We started with a plate of island mussels, generously heaped, and these were a hit. We had had seafood the night before, so we all ordered burgers. When I asked for my burger to be prepared «medium» the waitress looked confused and said she wasn’t sure what that meant. Sure enough, all the burgers came out the same: well done, dry, and burnt. Not what I expect from a quality restaurant, serving good clean beef… Fast food places, sure.
In comparison, the next night at Yvonne’s I ordered steak medium and a) the waitress knew what I was talking about and b) it came out perfectly.
The fries were good, service attentive, the side salads fresh and crispy, but what really saved the meal was the strawberry shortcake. Very nice.

The food is our standard pub /​road house fair. I highly recommend the fries with the works, which is a local dish that includes hamburger, onions, peas, cheese and gravy over fries. Very yummy.
The service was fast and friendly and prices are in line with other restaurants in the area.
The reason for the 4 stars rather than 5 is the interior is rather plain and uninspiring, which doesn’t bother me, but for people looking for atmosphere, it’s not the place to be.

Would not recommend for anyone looking for freshly prepared food. I was here last year and they couldn’t even substitute spinach for lettuce in the salad because it came in bagged that way. Such a beautiful part of the country rich with fresh local product and they’re ordering in pre packaged dishes, what a waste!

A great place to eat, drink, and play in the sandbox!
The Sandbox Pub & Eatery is a restaurant and bar serving Canadian cuisine and seafood in a relaxed very casual and family friendly atmosphere. The Sandbox offers outside patio dining in the front of the building with a nice view of Route 6 traffic, as well as seating in the pub area and table seating in the lower main back dining area complete with a dedicated kids play area with a big sandbox. I have fond childhood memories of spending countless hours playing in the sandbox with my Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars & trucks. The interior of the airy dining area is finished wooden walls and high ceilings with colorful tarps spread overhanging from the ceilings in dining room.
The menu offerings include chowders, salads, sandboxwiches, burgers, fresh hand cut fries & poutines, pasta, steak, chicken, seafood dishes, lobster dinners (cold or hot), and desserts. They also have a Little Sandboxers menu too! The prices here are moderate, most sandboxwiches/​burgers (with fries or rice) $ 9.99-$ 12.99, and most entrees $ 11.99-$ 25.99. They serve Coca Cola beverages and beer (bottled & draft) and wine.
After a visiting a few sights in Gables country, my friend and I took a lunch break in The Sandbox. Before entering the building, I had to pause and take a quick photo behind the colorful wooden board with painted Lobster with a «head cut-​out.» We sat ourselves in the lower dining room and the waitress arrived with newspaper print menus.
For lunch, we ordered a bowl of Island Blue Mussels ($ 9.99) and a Fish Burger with Fries ($ 10.99) which was served to us in under 15 minutes. The mussels were very tasty and cooked just right in garlic, melted butter on the side. The FIsh Burger had a very crunchy piece of English battered haddock (not too greasy) with lettuce, tomato, and tangy tartar sauce on a toasted bun. The big pile of hand-​cut fries was excellent, which deep fried golden & crisp to perfection. The fries were not greasy and the best tasting fries we’ve had in a while. The PEI potatoes used for the fries have that distinct sweeter flavour than other potatoes we’ve had. It must be that red soil here!
The food was solid good and the service was acceptable, as the waitress checked up on us a few times during the meal. Several young sandboxers were seen having a great time playing in the sandbox near our table, and there were tracks of reddish sand on the floor leading to the washrooms. I wanted to play in the sandbox too, but we needed to boogie and stay on schedule for some afternoon driving around Eastern PEI.