The Garden of Eat’n

I went there mid week for lunch. The advertised lunch special on the board outside was a curry chicken linguine for $ 9.99.
I walked inside at around 1 pm to find it completely empty! I was surprised that I was the only one there.
The owner (I assume) behind the counter asked me to have a seat wherever I chose. He brought me my menu. I asked if I could get the vegetarian version of the lunch special without any chicken. He said he could do it, no problem.
He returned in about five minutes with a medium sized plate with linguine in a curry sauce with some sautéed green beans, cauliflower and bok choy. And on the side was a piece of garlic bread.
The ambience and décor was delightful.
Unfortunately, once my food came, the owner decided to get on the phone to apply for a business credit card. So that was the last I saw of him. He never came back to see how I was doing, if I wanted more water, or if I would like to try dessert.
So I ate my meal, got tired of sitting and looking around and ultimately I went to the counter and asked for my bill, while the owner remained on the phone.
I paid for my meal (no tip of course, because nothing was done to earn a tip) with the owner still leaning his left ear over the cordless phone on his shoulder as I paid. And that was it. No «how was your meal?» or «see you next time!» Nothing.
The food itself was okay. Not much to praise or to criticize. Exactly middle of the road.
Not going back.

The name initially caught my attention and the Unilocal rating was icing on the cake!
I went to the restaurant and was greeted by the friendly waiter. I sat down and was impressed with the décor. I love the picture frames and the choice of music in the restaurant. It’s not too busy right now but I have a feeling it will pick up real soon, real fast!
The menu has quite a lot of selections; I chose the lamb shank. While I wait for my food, I am salivating because of the aroma of the dish from the next table.
The food was fantastic. Service was impeccable and the location of the place is great. I definitely recommend this place if you are rolling around through Halifax.

A friend of mine and I went to check out the Garden of Eat’n on a Sunday afternoon. We had both heard good things so we were anxious to try the food. When we were greeted at the door we were told there would be a 30 minute wait for food because they were short staffed. We said that was fine and that we would wait anyways. When we finally got a glass of water and menus after 15 minutes. We had to wait another 10 just to put in our order. At this time there were only about 4 tables being used in the restaurant and 2 of them were already eating. When we finally ordered my friend explained to the server that she was vegan and the server said he would make sure there was no chicken in the dish she had ordered. Our food came out 30 minutes later… When the dish came out there was chicken in it which she hadn’t realized until she had taken a bite of it. She ended up scraping all the chicken to the side and eating around it. I also ended up finding a hair in my wrap that was definitely not mine. The server didn’t check on us until we were almost done our meal and there were only 2 tables in the entire restaurant. Basically we felt like we were a burden to the server that entire meal. I have been a server for 3 years and this is the only Unilocal review I have ever written. The experience was all around awful.

Wonderful assortment of dips and gluten free crackers, the soul fusion food here is delicious and the owner is really nice!

Excellent Curry Ginger dish and the Mongolian beef dish was great! the proprietor was kind and conscientious. We received our perfect meals very quickly. They also have a very large selection of herbal teas. Loved the calm, pretty and very clean atmosphere. We were surprised that the inside was as pretty as it is. Next time we may try the outdoor tables which we almost missed because they were down a side alley and somewhat private with decorative out door lights above. We would love to check out a poetry reading sometime in the future there as well.

I wanted to like this place. Whether that was because of the clever name, the atmosphere or the diverse menu selection I’m not sure, but I do not like The Garden of Eat’n.
I initially came here with a friend last year and ordered a pomegranate chicken stew. I hated this stew. I’ll never forget the taste of it, and it took me a while but I know what it tastes like now… Ever have cereal that has those little dried fake berries in them? Yeah, those. Now picture that over chicken and rice. Not good. My friend ordered the felafel and said it was «fine», but I’m not sure fine is sufficient when you’re paying double what you’d pay at Tony’s.
I’ve come here a few other times for things like shows or little events (poetry readings and whatnot). Drinks here are CRAZY overpriced and the server was extremely pushy with them, which I didn’t appreciate. I hate that feeling that someone is constantly over my shoulder waiting for my bottle to be empty. I also felt this was a crappy venue for these things, one was an electronic music show and it didn’t fit the atmosphere of the restaurant AT ALL. There is no dance floor and so everyone just awkwardly watched without dancing, the sound also wasn’t great.
Some of the pros: I enjoy the décor and the interesting menu items they have, barberry jam and barberry desserts are neat, and unique. If you’re in the mood to eat outside ask to be seated in the booths they have outside — really cool.

I went here on Mother’s day to grab a bite to eat, and I was really amazed. The service was quick and courteous (please keep in mind though it was fairly quiet when we were there). Most importantly though, the food was very tasty, I feel as though it was well worth the price.

Everyone’s barking about the big changes at GoE. I am one of the ones who LOVED the old GoE and came here looking for the great stuff I had eaten here before, only to find it was all gone! I had a chat with the owner and here’s the deal.
The kitchen staff from the old GoE has left the building. The Persian food is gone. The Acadian food is gone. The menu is totally re-​done, so don’t expect the same thing — this is a different restaurant with a different focus.
The new menu emphasizes local. That means you’re eating more healthfully and supporting local growers and producers. My personal experience was that this didn’t automatically translate into a very exciting meal. The prices are on the high side ($ 12 grilled cheese sandwich anyone? Sure, it doesn’t come with anything but it’s local cheese, right?). The portions are on the small side, but not terribly so. The food is good overall, just not really anything special. The service is really good; they are making a huge effort to make a go of things. Still, on the whole, I feel a sense of loss for what once was, and what has replaced it didn’t work for me.
My one piece of advice to GoE, change the name. People come here wanting Garden of Eat’n and this ain’t it.

What the heck happened?!
I went to Garden of Eat’n last night. Until then it had been one of my most recommended restaurants in the city. It was the perfect place to grab some great, interesting food for decent prices. A cozy getaway where you could order acadian comfort food and koobideh at the same time.
The restaurant is still cozy, the staff still friendly, but apparently they changed their menu (in a BIG way) two days ago. They’ve essentially removed both cuisines they built their restaurant on (Acadian and Persian), in favour of a completely underwhelming list of traditional American dishes available at more than 50 other restaurants within 3 miles, I’m sure. Uninspired is the only thing that comes to mind. Well, uninspired and disastrously ill-​conceived. I will submit that for a restaurant this size, their previous menu was too large, and would have completely understood a down-​sizing. A bit of a price hike would also have been an understandable move. But to remove all of the pitas, stews, and all the dishes that made them unique — I don’t understand.
I’d be interested in knowing who on their management team thought the people of Halifax were in need of another restaurant which sells steak, haddock, pasta, etc… The cooking team at Garden of Eat’n is simply not good enough to make this boring menu stand out in a city of unlimited choices. I hope they see the error in their ways and seek outside consultation because the loss of Garden of Eat’n would be a great loss to Halifax, and in my opinion, we lost it two days ago.

I really enjoy this place. I was there once, and then decided to have a birthday dinner there as I had a great experience the first time.
The first time I went I ordered the beef tenderloin in a mushroom sauce, and it was delicious! Tender, and tasty. The servings were plentiful — and I was really impressed with the veggies. It wasn’t your typical frozen lima beans and corn deal. There were asparagus! And snap peas… mmm! It all tasted fresh.
The second time I went was for my birthday. We made a reservation for 14 people, and the individual on the phone was quite friendly and accommodating. When we arrived the table was set, and water already out for everyone one. The waitress was friendly, and quick to get drink orders. She soon followed with food orders. It did take a little longer to get dinner, but that was 100% expected when 14 people order at once. But, the wait was not really that long — and it was filled with lots of chit chat and laughter!
Everyone was highly impressed with their meals. And left overly stuffed. I had the curry ginger chicken, and it was amazing. I was told that the crème brûlée and cheesecake were to die for.
The thing I like most about this restaurant is that there is a very wide variety of food to choose from, but all of it tastes as though care was put into each meal. Whether you’re a hamburger/​fries guy, or would like some Mongolian stir fry or rappie pie — you’ll be satisfied here.

To paraphrase the guestbook, «It’s like Jesus holding a plate of cookies and riding a unicorn over a rainbow straight into my mouth!»
I’ve been here three times — twice around 10 in the evening, once at around 1 in the afternoon — and have been tickled every single time. The hummus is rich and creamy, drizzled with a fruity olive oil and garnished with an assortment of fresh, sliced vegetables and soft pita wedges. Furtively checking the restaurant, I ran my finger sheepishly around the plate to get the last of it when I’d finished all the dippers. This is literally the best hummus I’ve ever had. The garlic accentuated the smooth taste of the chickpeas without overpowering them and it was the consistency of cake batter, smooth and decadent.
And oh, the falafel. Deep-​fried to a beautiful, crispy brown finish on the outside, moist and seasoned on the inside. I had it twice on its own, then once in a pita wrap. Every time the falafel was perfect — dry enough to crumble but moist enough to make it truly enjoyable. The wrap included slices of tangy pink pickles and fresh tomato slices that burst into zingy juiciness when I bit into them. Of course I had dessert — the baklava was sweet, sticky and excellent and the apple crisp was tangy and sweet all at once.
The menu is enormous, as one would expect at a Persian/​Iranian/​Acadian joint, but anyone can go here and find something wonderful to eat: gluten-​free, halal, vegetarian and vegan are all represented. I wish I could speak to more of it, but I haven’t been able to move past that incredible hummus and the falafel.
I haven’t had the problems with wait staff that others are reporting — it’s always the owner who greets and seats me and yes, he’s quietly pleasant and courteous. The dining space is small and warm, but there’s still plenty of room to bring a group. The owner tells me that there are regular coffee houses and lectures that take place around a variety of topics and they draw good crowds. Something else to look forward to at this great little spot!

Love this place. Service is wonderful, ambiance is fabulous (great patio along the side), prices are reasonable and it would be really hard to beat their calamari in lemon sauce.
I Unilocaled about this restaurant once before, but after the calamari on Tuesday night, I feel compelled to spread the news. I can’t stop thinking about how good it was.

My experience at the Garden of Eat’n started out well enough. We got a table right away, our server was very friendly and the menu looked amazing. Unfortunately, after ordering things started to go downhill.
The tables are close together, which I’m usually okay with but it was so loud that I had to lean across our table to hear the person I was with and our server had to lean down so he could hear us. My dining partner ordered the roasted veggie wrap, which was delicious, but it was delivered to our table a good fifteen minutes before I received my order, the Mediterranean Combo Plate. We had already waited a little while for our food but I would’ve preferred to wait a little longer and get all the food together. The combo plate was okay but nothing special, especially given the other similar but better meals I’ve had in Halifax. We had baklava for dessert, which was fine but again, nothing special.
Overall, I feel like The Garden of Eat’n is a 2 ½ star restaurant. I’m rounding up because I would go back again just for the roasted veggie pita.

The reviews on this restaurant need to be a lot better, because they deserve a ton of praise. My boyfriend and I live nearby and we eat here all the time, and despite the fact that we say we should try the other places around, we still end up here every single time.
The food is super delicious. I often get Curry Ginger Chicken, which has a big pile of spinach rice, a salad, naan, and the chicken with mushrooms, peppers, onions, broccoli, snap peas… yum! Plus that amazing curry ginger sauce. And the plate is so full I always have leftovers.
On top of that, the waiters are never less than courteous, fun and attentive though not overly so. And because we are there often, the owner, who is not very talkative but very nice, recognizes us and greets us with a smile.

We’ve been here a couple of times for brunch and overall it’s a good experience, though not outstanding. The first time I was here for brunch I had the best Hollandaise sauce I’ve ever tasted in Halifax, but this past weekend we went back and it was pretty sad — thickened up with lots of flour, which was totally different than any I’ve ever had! I’d say the food is 3 stars, but the lovely décor really helps save the place.
There are plants around, a running fountain by the entry, and a warm wash of colour on the walls. An inset gas (?) fire at the very back makes the place feel very cosy. A range of portrait photographs of authors and historical individuals makes for a fun game of recognizing the academic celebrities. The service is a bit slow but it’s a nice relaxed place with decent food that will certainly fill you up. If you’re in any hurry or need anything, just flag someone down and they’ll immediately help you out, though they might not stop by in the meantime to see if you’re taken care of.
I haven’t had take out from here yet but they offer a 10% discount on takeout orders, which is a nice bonus.

We’re all familiar with the ubiquity of Mediterranean restaurants in Halifax. There’s even a smattering of Persian restos around too. Acadian restaurants? Not so much. Mediterranean, Persian AND Acadian? Welcome to Nova Scotia and welcome to the puntastic Garden of Eat’n.
From what I’ve read, I understand that GoE is simply the previous restaurant at this address, 308 South, with a new owner, name and a Persianified menu. Having never been to 308 South, I can’t attest to any changes in décor or service, but Garden of Eat’n seems to have a good thing going. In an effort to whittle down the list of new restaurants on Quinpool I hadn’t tried yet, my girlfriend and I arrived on a Tuesday evening to find it surprisingly bustling, with a few tables put together for a group and most of the rest occupied by other couples. We were seated at one of the few remaining tables and perused the large menu while we waited for our drinks. It’s some significant reading with several pages and several dozen offerings of varying international foods. Due to its uniqueness to the city though, I had to go with some of the Acadian fare.
I’ve had rappie pie before, but only the pre-​made frozen sort that you can buy at the grocery store, so I wanted something a bit more authentic. And what could be more authentic than rappie pie at a Mediterranean/​Persian restaurant, amiright?! Thankfully it came with a side salad of your choice, as who needs a side of fries or other starchy fare when your entrée itself is re-​hydrated potatoes and animal fat? So I went with the Caesar and also got an order of beef kibbi as an appetizer.
Considering the hustle and bustle of the place, the food didn’t take long to arrive. Initially I was disappointed in the kibbi, as there was only three lonely pieces, with some shredded lettuce, red onion, and a few pita wedges to fill up the plate. What kibbi there was though was good, with a crunchy exterior and a meaty and herby filling.
When the rappie pie arrived, it was more or less what I expected. It’s hard to do any sort of impressive presentation for rappie pie, it’s a slab of re-​hydrated potatoes, fat and chicken cooked in a pan to form a crustless ‘pie’. But like myself, you don’t have to look good to be good. It was pleasingly salty without being overwhelming, and managed to have a noticeable chicken flavour, with a good amount of meat strewn throughout it, and it had a nice crust on top for a bit of textural contrast without being difficult to cut through. While I was familiar with rappie pie, my girlfriend hadn’t tried it before so I gave her a bite, but she wasn’t a fan of it’s admittedly mushy texture.
Service was friendly and attentive over the course of the evening and deserves bonus marks since there was only one server for the whole place.
Being the fan of diversity that I am, I hope Garden of Eat’n survives the turnover that has accorded at this address in the past few years and continues to serve up its unique mix of foods to the QPR area.

*******We’ve been here twice, both in the span of three days, but each experience was so completely different that it warrants two separate reviews. ******
The first time The Mister and I visited The Garden of Eat’n was a sunday afternoon. We sat outside on the patio, and were given a marker to add to the doodles and messages written on the wall outside. Cute concept! I had a coffee right away and it was served in a teacup, which was nice.
We were a little late for brunch, but our server said she would make sure we got «whatever our hearts desired», which was very kind. I had a grilled cheese and a cream of broccoli soup, which were both so rich that I wish I’d had a salad or something a little more fresh to cut through the delicious saturated fat.
The Mister had the fish (can’t remember which, but it was one of the persian dishes) and it was great — the kitchen even made him a simple lemon-​butter sauce when he mentioned it was a wee bit dry. We shared a «persian milkshake» for dessert — amazing. Very very good experience…5 stars.
—–
we returned again tuesday night because we had had such a great visit on sunday, and they are open late. We chose to sit outside again since the weather was nice and it’s kind of dark indoors.
(I want to preface this with saying that our server was most definitely, positively stoned. The other reviews make mention of some kind of «distracted» servers, and I would doubt it that they were high. Hey, nothing wrong with that if you’re doing it in your own time, but if i have to ask you SIX TIMES for a coffee, maybe smoking at work isn’t for you.)
Anyway, she took our orders for two of the persion curry-​type dishes, both without meat. The menu has them listed as with beef, but it also states you can have them vegetarian if you ask. We had the eggplant/​garlic dip thing for a starter and it was great — almost as good as Shiraz. This was probably the only good part of the meal.
Our meals took almost over an hour to arrive. By that point, I was putting my coat on when she came by with the food. We decided to stay, since it was in front of us at that point, but when I actually got into eating, there were huge chunks of meat in the curry part of the dish. My partners meal, which was the type of entrée I had ordered but a different variety, was fine and meat-​less as he had ordered it. After waiting another 15 minutes or so for her to come back for the 2-​bite check, I ended up flagging down another server. He didn’t seem to understand what the big deal was, and even suggested i just eat around it.
Uh…what?
I ended up just asking for a (MEATLESS) version of The Misters dish, which wasn’t even what i wanted but just seemed to be something they could make without fucking up. Even after all the shenanigans with the food and wait times, our bill was still over 60 dollars. We haven’t been back since, though I am willing to give them another try when the mood strikes… I’ll probably just be more explicit with my order next time. One Star.

Let’s start with some positives…
They have a great space. The restaurant itself is small, but spacious, and decorated nicely. The menu is huge; big menus make me wish I was a picky eater, too many choices! It’s also quite random — it offers Middle Eastern and Acadian dishes. You can get crab cakes… and a falafel.
Ashley M. and I started with the quartet of dips. It was a lot smaller than expected, but that’s probably for the best. You don’t want to fill up on the pita bread! My favourite dip was the Baba Ghanoush.
Here’s where things go negative…
I ordered the haddock sandwich with a Greek salad. I never ended up getting the salad. She brought out my sandwich and told me my salad would be out shortly. I ate half of my sandwich and waited for the rest of my meal before I finished it off. It looked like she forgot as she brought other guests their food. I asked her again if my salad was on its way. I mean — it’s a Greek salad… it’s not like I was waiting for a hot speciality dish. It is lettuce, tomato and some black olives. I ended up finishing my sandwich and walking up to the counter to tell her I didn’t want the salad anymore. I told her I didn’t understand what was taking it so long. She told me the kitchen overlooked it. I felt like saying did you tell them to hurry it? Or are you just waiting until they notice they missed it…
It was a Sunday night and our server seemed to be the only one. Mind you, she certainly wasn’t run off her feet. While we were eating I saw other diners walk up to the counter because their meals were wrong. That poor girl seems a little too spacey to me.
My bill was 30+ dollars for two glasses of house wine and a haddock sandwich (with no side). That’s insanely pricey. The kicker — we had to ask for the bill twice, then walk up to the counter to actually get it. Needless to say my first, and probably last, experience at the Garden of Eat’n was not a good one. Which is a shame because I’d really like to try more of their menu; but I know now that I’m not guaranteed to receive it when I order.

For some reason, my massively funny review was erased! Oh well, time rewrite it all over again.
SO my buddy Paige H and I decided to have a little Unilocal date last week and we’ve both been eyeing this one for a while. She drives by it everyday and I live on Quinpool. I’ve had Perisan food once before and I loved it. I found it so rich and flavourful, and I have been meaning to have a 2^nd go at it. So really the cards were in place to try it.
The setting was a little dark for my choice, maybe it’s because I was outside all day. They do have a patio, but we chose to stay indoor because somehow we misread the sign and thought that the patio does not open until 8pm. (It turns out that it’s for the shisha! Which btw, I am soooooo excited about! And I’m a non-​smoker, but something about that flavoured tobacco just makes it sooo much better!) I loved the paintings and the small little icons that were up on the walls and the colours were simple but nice, it made the room look bigger on the inside (Kind of like the TARDIS, for all my Doctor Who lovers!)
Moving on, our server was wonderful. She was very knowledgable about the food and was super friendly. She was very attentive, especially when Paige was giving her some PR tips for promotion and stuff!
We started with the Quartet of dips, and that was good. The roasted red peppers dip was my favourite! Paige ordered the Lamb while I went a little crazy and ordered the Khoreshte Fesenjaan or the Persian Pomegranate and Walnut Stew with Chicken. You know the lamb was well cooked when Paige just touched it and it simply fell apart on to the plate. But seriously, my dish was simply divine! If heaven tasted like anything I want, I’d have two flavours, Nutella and that dish. It’s been over a week and I can still taste it!
Needless to say, this place is here to stay. So head on down there and try it out. I promise you that you will LOVE it!

I pass by The Garden of Eat’n almost every day when I drive my husband to work. I’ve noticed it change from a vet’s office to Bermudan place to a café-​like place and now to The Garden of Eat’n. I jumped on their Unilocal profile first, but found no reviews. So I headed to their website, followed them on Twitter and then decided it might be something worth checking out.
The idea of Persian, Acadian and Canadian food in one spot intrigued me. I’ve never had Persian food and I wanted to see what it was like. So I grabbed Liane K. and we headed out for our first Unilocal Review meal. I have to tell you — I was NOT disappointed!
Let’s start with the restaurant itself: Small, but not tiny. They’ve probably got 20 tables inside and 8 – 10 booths outside (in the ally. Which is SO neat). We opted for inside and sat ourselves at a quiet table in the middle of the place. There were 2 or 3 other tables when we arrived. It’s a little dark inside but there’s some really interesting décor. And the place smells FANTASTIC. The smell of Persian and Acadian food was wafting through the place… I can’t believe people weren’t running in off the streets!
Our server was quick, helpful and friendly. She gave us some great suggestions and even helped us pronounce menu items properly. Liane and I shared the dip quartet (which has hummus, roasted red pepper, olive tepenade, tzatziki and a something that was kind of like relish???) and it was delicious! Just the right amount to get us started and good taste test.
For our mains: I ordered the Baghali Polo and Liane had some other Polo which came with chicken in a pomegranate sauce (more on that in a minute). The chef actually brought our food to the table and made sure to check with us several times throughout the meal. Which was a great touch!
Now, on to the actual food: The Baghali Polo which is Persian white rice with lima beans and a lamb shank, was FABULOUS. The rice was delicious, especially when I added the perfectly cooked lamb. Liane’s polo, which from here on will be referred to as the pomegranate polo, was even better! It was a delicious plate of rice and pitas with a huge plate of chicken, covered in an almost-​gravy like pomegranate sauce. I ended up stealing at least half of Liane’s sauce to add to my meal — FAN-​EFFING-​TASTIC!
At the end of our meal we chatted with our sever, and again with the chef. They were so kind, and really very interested in what their customers thought about the meal and their restaurant. It was a fantastic experience and I can’t wait to go back with more friends to try more of that delicious Persian food. Well done, Garden of Eat’n!!!