O'Carroll's Restaurant & Irish Pub

Description:

• O'Carroll's is one of the best options for a fulfilling seafood meal in Halifax, though it's changed direction recently, becoming a lot fancier than the average fish house about town. The kitchen has taken a rather creative slant to the food, with global dinner offerings from Chef Colin Stone such as planked salmon, mixed seafood in a lemon-chive crème, raspberry-brie chicken, and duckling with star anise and cassis. Lunch is equally classy, with lamb burgers, lobster salad, crab cakes, finnan haddie, linguine with pesto and chicken, and peppered halibut. Options available in the pub section include more comfortable grub such as nachos and wings, but even here the menu still leans more heavily toward the Continental (cheese plates) than to fish and chips or steak-and-kidney pie; in fact, those two dishes don't even appear on the menu anymore. Sign o' the times. The restaurant remains a dusky, Gaelic-influenced spot laid out in white tablecloths, potted plants, and stained-glass lamps, though, and there's still live Celtic music in the pub, making that section a worthwhile stop.

• © Frommer's 2013