Birthday Dinner at Inn on the Lake in Fall River, Nova Scotia

On a very dark and absolutely freezing night we filled up our friend’s car and drove out to Fall River to have my birthday dinner at Inn on the Lake. The inn is just off the highway which makes for easy driving if you know which exit to take. Every time we haven drive by the inn I have admired it wholeheartedly. An old stunning building with its own carriage house and beach? This was definitely the place to go for a special dinner. It was time to finally go for a visit and taste the food.

The inn is beautiful and even has its own separate pub called Oliver’s Gastropub. We dined in the restaurant named Encore. Not only that, when we showed up they took us to a private room! How exciting! Beautiful mood lighting for dining creates wonderful social ambiance but also makes for the most challenging food photography but hey, technically it was on my night off.

My husband and I shared the artichoke and spinach dip. It was one of the best versions of this classic I have ever had. Nice big chunks of artichoke and lots of spinach, swimming in a sea of a cheese sauce scooped up with fabulously crunchy bread. My only complaint? This totally filled me up!

Everyone else ordered either a steak dinner or the lamb shank special served with mushroom risotto but ever since I was a little girl I have always had seafood on my birthday and I was not going to change that ritual for this birthday. I ordered the Pasta Marina and the presentation of the seafood pasta crowned with mussels was quite dramatic! The basil cream sauce was nice, not too strong. I liked the dinner, it was tasty and filling, I just felt like something was missing.

Speaking of missing, I was so full I just could not have dessert! Did they look delicious. On the left you have my friend Kelly’s Death by Chocolate and on the right you have my friend Jen’s apple crisp. My husband also ordered the apple crisp and when he bit in to the decorative apple chip I heard the most amazing fabulous crunch! From all accounts, the desserts were excellent. The service was also fantastic. Very friendly, charming and attentive, our server was very professional and yet completely accessible.

A friend of ours completely lavished us with champagne, how absolutely surprisingly decadent a birthday it was! I was spoiled from the moment I woke up the moment my head hit the pillow.

I am so very blessed to have such fantastic friends and a wonderful, wonderful husband. I do wish our friend Eric could be there but sadly, he could not. Because of some changes coming up for some of our friends, I was very aware that this is the last year we will be all together so we made the most of it. Our friends make our lives so much brighter. Even on this dark night in January the evening was warm with conversation, food and laughter.  They are our family here.

If you are feeling bad that I did not get a dessert, don’t be. We finished the evening at our place with my friend Kelly’s homemade brownies. She searched high and low for the original recipe from her childhood and shared it with us. It is very rare that someone bakes anything for me so this was such a thoughtful and beautiful gift that means so much. And, Kelly promises to share the recipe here with you all soon!

I must say that Inn on the Lake was the perfect place to celebrate a special birthday with friends. Elegant yet homey, sophisticated but fun, a truly special place in the world of restaurants, as well as the province of Nova Scotia. They made us feel at home and like royalty all at the same time. Our overall evening gets four and a half out of five wooden spoons.