Perched on a pier that juts out into the Halifax Harbour, the striking steel wedge of Mystic restaurant is wrapped in floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, giving the diner the illusion of floating on water. Designed by Nova Scotia-based architectural firm Mackay-Lyons Sweetapple with interiors by DesignAgency, the space creates a dramatic stage for Campbell and his team, who work in an open kitchen. Muted blues and grey, moss green, and stone and driftwood accents echo the coastal landscape outside, enhancing dishes artfully plated on organic ceramics by noted Nova Scotia artist and designer Heather Waugh Pitts.
Two eight-course tasting menus, Fauna and Biota, offer a taste of the terroir in refined, creative ways—buttery scallops nestled beside strawberries and cloaked in goldenrod cream, for instance. “The menus come from a respect for the place of origin, using everything Nova Scotia has to offer, from local seafood to wild foraged herbs and mushrooms,” says Campbell. For those who just want to stop by for a drink, The Unwritten Bar program is a guided tasting of two bespoke cocktails utilizing house-fermented and foraged ingredients, each paired with a chef-curated bite.
Tribute RestaurantPhoto: Jessica Emin
Tribute’s convivial, cozy atmosphere and open kitchen showcasing live-fire and charcoal cooking recalls an elevated dinner party in a friend’s home. After stints at lauded restaurants everywhere from Chicago to the Napa Valley to London, chef Colin Bebbington returned to his home in Halifax with a goal of enlivening the fine dining scene. Alongside Mystic, Tribute is nominated for Air Canada’s 2025 prestigious Best New Restaurants awards. The nod is a recognition of the hand-rolled pasta and smoky grilled steak being perfected here, all sourced from family farms and small local producers and foragers. Served alongside a playlist of nostalgic ’90s hip-hop, the dishes at Tribute hit all the right notes.
The CanteenPhoto: Courtesy of Discover Halifax
