Into the Mystic: A review of Halifax's newest fine-dining adventure
Everything I ate at Mystic at the Queen’s Marque
The moment I walked into the restaurant I understood why Chef Malcolm Campbell had been bewitched by the space. It was a few hours before service, Mystic was quiet, ready and waiting for the show to begin. After a quick coffee chat with Campbell, he showed me around the kitchen and dining room in the light of day. As I followed the chef past the wall of huge jars preserving foraged ingredients from across Nova Scotia I could feel the magic, the reverence, the mystic.
Hours later, post pre-dinner cocktails at BKS, the Muir Hotel’s speakeasy (an experience in its own right with plush seating and storytelling cocktails), Adam and I entered the restaurant and the place felt even more magical. Dim lighting and velvety music paired well with the sleek Italian furniture and soft Scandi-inspired design – the eyes are immediately drawn towards the ceiling that’s curved like a ship's hull and guides the gaze into the harbour through the three walls of glass that make up the restaurant. Ned Kahn’s kinetic sculpture Tidal Beacon, which has become a landmark at the Queen’s Marque, sits atop the wharf-like restaurant and extends down into the dining room.
And, as we were led to the chef’s galley – the dozen or so chairs squaring off the open kitchen – I knew we were in for a good time.
Dinner at Mystic is more than a meal, it is a fine-dining adventure not only highlighting local ingredients and wines but revealing a myriad of makers and producers I had no idea existed in Nova Scotia – did you know there’s some excellent saffron coming out of Upper Port La Tour?
Mystic has two different tasting menus – Fauna and Biota, both $165 per person – and at first, I assumed one was vegetarian, but neither is. Chef Malcolm told me earlier in the day they take dietary preferences and restrictions very seriously and pretty much anything can be made vegan and/or vegetarian if need be — sitting near the pass that night I can attest to the fact that accommodations were made in spades with careful attention and precision.
Speaking of precision, I’ve never seen (or should I say heard) an open kitchen so quiet. The kitchen staff worked gracefully and with diligence not instilled by fear but by a passion for what they do, and it was palpable. It’s a silent operation but smells betray the kitchen – lamb searing, bouillabaisse reducing, the cheese cart rolling by.
Both Fauna and Biota menus have a choice of main and only differ slightly in the dishes, not in the number. Here’s everything Adam and I ate and drank at Mystic (you know we had to try both menus).
Snacks to start
The first dishes to adorn our section of the galley were the snacks: Gougères filled with foie gras mousse (divine), a thinly sliced dehydrated cod chip with seaweed aioli and sea asparagus and a little sable sandwich filled with Dragon’s Breath blue cheese which wasn’t as funky as I expected (or hoped).
Snacks were paired with a bubbly Blanc de Noir from Avondale Sky Winery in Wolfville, N.S. Sommelier Sam Melanson’s pairings throughout the night were a mix of Nova Scotian and world wines, with lots of surprises. The wine and cocktail pairing is $80 per person, and it’s worth noting that Mystic also has a $55 non-alcoholic cocktail option on the menu.
A surprise Amuse
Next came a surprise course, which the Chef colloquially calls “Oyster-on-Oyster-on-Oyster” – balanced on a real oyster shell were two crispy oyster shells, filled with poached oyster, smoked oyster aioli and topped with caviar. It was clever, delicious, and tasted like the ocean in the best way.
Acadian Caviar
I’ve always praised the egg yolk which I consider to be nature’s sauce, but this smoked egg dish took it to a whole other level. Poached for hours in oil at 66 degrees, the result is a creamy, custard-like yolk, balanced carefully atop a crunchy round of brioche set in place by a Wakame emulsion and topped with more eggs: Acadian caviar.
Paired with: Jean-Marc Boillot Montagny 1er Cru from Burgundy, France
Menus diverge
Here’s where our menus diverged – I was exploring the Biota menu, so I had the Tuna: loin sliced paper thin, dotted with chunks of toro and pickled turnip with a gooseberry verjus.
Paired with: Piquena Dilema Doc Douro Branco from Douro Valley, Portugal
‘Pasta and Bread’ for Adam: koji ricotta ravioli bathed in the most delicious bouillabaisse sauce that was reduced for hours from 10 litres to 2 litres (it bubbled away on the stove being carefully stirred throughout service). This was a standout dish for the whole evening.
Paired with: Gachot-Monot Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Beaune from Burgundy, France
Palate cleanser
The palate cleanser was like nothing I’ve tried before – usually, restaurants offer a sorbet but at Mystic it's a drink. Kefir with sea buckthorn served in the most delicate of stemware was almost kombucha-like in its consistency and flavour. The perfect transition to the main courses (pluralization was intentional here).
The pre-mains
Adam’s Swordfish was one of the most exciting platings of the evening: the swordfish was given the bresaola treatment (dried and aged), thinly sliced and then plated like a rose (remember that TikTok charcuterie rose trend? It gave off those vibes but in the most artful way possible), with turnip, sea vegetable and crispy kombu on top.
Paired with: Lightfoot & Wolfville Ancienne Riesling from Wolfville, N.S.
My pre-main was also visually stunning: aged, blackened apple (remember that wall of preserves I was telling you about earlier?) with a cauliflower puree and topped with an intricate lace-like thyme toile. Here again, I wanted some more punch to the cheesiness of this local cheese.
Paired with: A fantastic Grand Pré Vintage Cider, a 13-year-old cider from Grand Pré Winery in Wolfville, N.S.
The choice
Next came the mains to choose from. I opted for the Baby Halibut which might have been the most gorgeous piece of fish I’ve ever consumed. Tender, flakey, melt-in-your-mouth with the tiniest tender gnocchi Parisienne with pickled wild leek, seaweed smoked mussels and goldenrod butter (made from more wall preserves).
Paired with: Jermann Vintage Tunina 2022 from Friuli, Italy
Adam’s Lamb was a highlight for him – the rack was balanced upon a condensed cube of melt-in-your-mouth shoulder meat alongside endive and dandelion mint jus.
Paired with: Promis Toscana IGP 2022 from Bolgheri, Italy
Dessert in two courses, with a cheesy interlude
My dessert was beautiful. Rose Hip arrived at the table with parsnip tonka bean flan, sea lettuce, yoghurt fennel ice cream with a crunchy disk of rose hip-infused tuile. Adam’s Chocolate Urchin was delicious – it had the essence of urchin with long chocolate spikes, but shorter ones would have been more intriguing and more urchin-like (and make it easier to eat, poor Adam was a disaster).
Paired with: A fantastic cocktail specially designed by Elise Sergerie, who oversees the beverage program for all Freehand Hospitality
As we were enjoying the last bites of dessert, General Manager Andrew Flynn (a fellow Newfoundlander who we bonded with instantly, naturally we have mutual friends) wheeled over the cheese cart. A gorgeous selection of Quebec and Nova Scotia cheeses were sliced and plated in front of us – Sauvigne, Hercule Charlevoix and more.
Paired with: Château Rieussec 2011 Sauternes from Bordeaux France
The finale was truly a work of art: Mignardises (housemade caramels, jellies and chocolates) dotted a sculpture of ocean-foraged objects. A climactic finish if there ever was one.
Mystic doesn’t break the mould in the context of tasting menus in their most generic form – the tenants of a classic tasting menu are all there and done in the typical order (and done very well). That said, there were a few moments of surprise and delight, a trademark necessity of a truly unique dining experience. And what’s more, there is nothing else like it in Nova Scotia, or on the East Coast, really.
Dinner, or should I say an evening, at Mystic is for a special occasion – there were more than a few birthdays and anniversaries being celebrated the night we were there — but it’s also to get lost in the foodways and ingredients of Nova Scotia. A culinary voyage of appreciation I would definitely take again.
Note: Adam and I were guests of the restaurant for the evening during our fabulous culinary weekend staying at the Muir Hotel. Thanks again to Chef Malcolm and the whole hospitality staff.
Very interesting review, Gabby. Nice to have that inventiveness showcased in Halifax again. When I lived there the best was Maple by Michael Smith, and it was not a calm, quiet kitchen.
I'm presuming, since you don't say otherwise, that this was on your own dime, apart from anything sent up as a courtesy of the chef? It seems like pretty decent value for what you got. I recognise you were focussed on the food, but how did you find the pairings? Not much local there, except for the cider...
Naturally, I envy the magnificent meal, but the caibre of the writing was breathtaking. You've always been a skilled writer but there were many moments when I had to pause reading and savour the collection of words that you served up. Amazing images and sentiments. Bravo!