Review The Trellis Cafe - Hubbards

Well, after several years of many great experiences at the Trellis, I have to deduct a star or two after our last visit. I've always assumed that pretty much everyone in Nova Scotia (especially restaurants that serve seafood) know that you don't eat mussels that don't open fully when cooked... but I guess that isn't the case. So, we were a party of two couples. We ordered mussels as one of our appetizers. When they were served, about half of the mussels weren't open (closed tight). No biggie... we ate the ones that were open, which were good, but naturally (or so it seemed to us) we didn't eat the closed ones. I even opened one of them, but as usual with mussels that don't open when cooked, it smelled bad. (but I always have the urge to check) Our waitress (who was lovely) came to our table to see how everything was. We point out that we couldn't eat half of our mussels because they weren't open (again assuming they knew what we meant by couldn't eat them). The waitress takes them away, saying she'll need to speak with her manager. After a little while, another waitress returns with our half plate of mussels and says, "so the chef managed to pry open your mussels for you. Here you go..." . We all said, no, you don't eat mussels that don't open when cooked. She said, "no, they all had a little opening where you can pry them open". ..and we said no thank you. She says, "so you don't want them?", and again we expressed, no, your not supposed to eat mussels that don't open on their own... ... anyway, she didn't understand I guess, nor did the "chef". We were having a nice evening, so we didn't press it or want to make anymore fuss and said we didn't want them. Then about 5 minutes later we overheard the second waitress tell the table next to us, that had just seated, that there were no mussels (coincidentally it seemed). ...Anyway, it's a long story, but it's hard to believe that when you are spending over a couple hundred dollars for a dinner out that the restaurant would go to the lengths they did over a half a plate of mussels (which they charged full price for). Why bother asking how everything is if they're going to insist that everything is ok, and basically you're wrong? When you eat bad mussels, aside from the fact that they don't taste very good, they very often make people sick. Restaurants serving closed mussels, should be a no-no (if it isn't already). The chef prying open closed mussels and giving them back for you to eat should be a no-no. The rest of the food was good as usual, but I don't think we'll be hurrying back to the Trellis right away ... especially if we have a craving for mussels. In response to the reply; I guess I should have taken a picture, because the mussels were closed shut, and the one that I managed to pry open didn't smell very good. It happens, but I guess we were mistaken, because apparently it doesn't happen at the Trellis. It's too bad it had to go down this road over some mussels because we really liked the place.

Limited parking, clean indoor and patio dining. Great service (thank you Fallon!). The food was good but a little pricey; two sandwiches and one home fry, and two sodas + tip $50.00.

Enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the Trellis Cafe during our recent trip out east -- delicious food, really nice covered patio. Sarah, our server, was fantastic. Thanks for a great experience!

I personally find the prices to be a bit high in this restaurant, but the food is always fantastic. Staff is friendly and the patio is a blessing in the summer. It's really the only restaurant right in Hubbards so it gets most of the business, other than the fish and chip wagon in the summer. My husband loves the fish cakes here and comes for them every time. They also make lovely soups. Worth stopping by.

Friendly fast service and lots of parking. Our lunch was very tasty and a great list of desserts. The coconut cream pie is amazing!

Great breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. The toast was homemade and wonderful. My partner had the fish cakes with the tomato chow and I kinda wish I had that as well...so good, but my eggs and sausages were great. Was surprised how many people showed up without vaccine passports but the staff did amazingly well and were courteous and diplomatic. Watching this and how well they dealt and how diligent they were with everyone was super appreciated. Thanks for keeping us safe and making a great brekkie!

The BC Burger was incredibly delicious! I will definitely be stopping here again next time I'm in the area!

Amazing fish cakes and awesome garlic tortellini alfredo!!! Great service to match it all.

Went too Trellis Cafe yesterday for lunch and had the salmon benny and my girlfriend had the Turkey cranberry sandwich and both dishes were delicious! The sandwich tasted like xmas dinner and the hollandaise sauce on the benny was the best if had in years and it was homemade with great care! Can't wait to go back and try something else from the many great choices on the menu!!! Great job Trellis Cafe!!���

Not one to give a bad review and was hoping this place was awesome but unfortunately me and five friends stopped in for breakfast one morning and may have received the worst service I have ever seen, it almost seemed like a joke it was so bad (let's say we had to ask for a spoon to stir the our coffee, now that I think about it, we pretty much had to ask for everything!)... when we hit our breaking point one of us asked for the manager and the very polite girl let us know the manager happened to be our waiter......unbelievable..

What a great place to eat, do business, hang out and chill. Loved the fish cakes and to die for chowder!! Lovely, friendly wait staff! Highly recommended!

It was a great late lunch! We sat outside on a lovely summer day and shared three vrry good meals. My fishcakes were excellent! Taditional made with salt fish, potatoes, onion and summer savory. My cousin had a veggie burger which wss savory and quite tasty and the seafood chowder was also great. It came with homemade btown bread! I enjoyed the homemade iced tea. Good food, good service.

My husband and I stopped in to Trellis on our way back home to New Brunswick yesterday and it was really good. We got the Trellis breakfast with eggs, your choice of meat, home fries, baked beans and home made bread. And it was the best home made bread I think I ever had. If we are ever down that way again we will make sure to stop in again.

The coconut curry was amazing. Great, cozy, eclectic atmosphere. Pan fried haddock and burgers are fabulous too. Good coffee spot. We loved this place 15 years ago on our honeymoon, and we loved it again 15 years later when we took our daughter yesterday.

This restaurant is fantastic - stopping here to eat is an absolute must if you're anywhere near the Hubbards area.

thank you for your veg options, the falafel burger is amazing, I love this place!

One of my faves for breakfast and for water bottle refills when cycling. Great service. Best front deck.

Amazing food. All speciality made. Highly recommend

Awesome food and our waitress even remembered us from a previous visit.

On a not very busy weekday for lunch I waited 55 minutes for a club house sandwich which was all bread, and the singular potato that was supposed to be home fries, was terribly cut an cooked. I was not impressed, especially when people seated after us received their food first. I should of just went yo the chip truck 30 seconds down the road, it would of been better and 1/2 the price.

We had two very good meals here. Brunch on Sunday was really yummy. I had lobster benedict and it was delicious. My husband had the fish cakes and they were good. A few days later we came for dinner and I had lobster fettucine, which was ok/good and he had haddock which was AMAZING. The key lime and coconut pies we had for dessert were also really good. The service both times was very pleasant and we didn't have to wait long for either meal.

On our last night in Nova Scotia the clan descended on Trellis for a fabulous meal. The Live music was a huge bonus! Thank you for a wonderful night and great memories.

We love going down for breakfast, such a lovely spot. The food is fantastic, always fresh, great flavours and service. One of our favourite spots

I love the Trellis! My family and I had a fantastic breakfast worth great service. Everything was fresh and delicious and the coffee was perfect. Will definitely be back.

We try to dine here whenever we return to Hubbards, wonderful food and service, and if you are lucky, music to entertain you in the evenings. I was disappointed they were out of Bumbleberry Crumble though 😱 I cam all the way from Florida for it.

Excellent seafood chowder and salad, a little pricey but you get what you pay for, I certainly would go back!

Best fish chowder on the South Shore! Need I say more?

Excellent, FRESH food! It was delicious! All five of us were very satisfied with out lunches!!!!!!!!!!!!! Service was good too!

Owner /operator on the front lines to insure expectations are met. Club sandwiches are great; staff is friendly; ambience is relaxed & welcoming.

Delicious food and well-served. It was nice to have some gluten-free items, too. I'll return for sure. :)

Great food, friendly people. You can buy desserts to take with you, and they help a local artist by selling his hand-crafted cards. Going to go back for lunch and dinner before we leave.

Great service, delicious food.

The service and the food were excellent. Seafood chowder with plenty of lobster, fresh baked brown-bread and followed by coconut cream pie. Heaven!

Celebrated 2 of my daughters birthdays here we had a great lunch and the owner went out of her way thank you so much for a wonderful lunch

Great spot for lunch and dinner. Food consistently good.

Best seafood chowder ever! Service wax a little slow, but we were not in any hurry

Great food, i especially loved the african peanut soup.

Enjoyed the lamb burgers.