The catchphrase of the mixed-use Queen\u2019s Marque development on Halifax\u2019s waterfront is \u201cBorn of This Place.\u201d This promise is reflected in the stunning harbour views that encircle the city\u2019s first luxury boutique hotel, The Muir, and the architecture and craftsmanship that tip a captain\u2019s hat to the area\u2019s shipbuilding past. But nothing delivers on the hyper-local notion more than the complex\u2019s new marquee restaurant, Mystic.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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<\/div>\nThe fine-dining destination, which opened last September, has a lofty ambition: to introduce locals and tourists alike to Maritime terroir through local ingredients and global techniques.<\/p>\n
Head chef Malcolm Campbell, originally from Newmarket, Ont., is what locals might playfully call a \u201ccome from away.\u201d Campbell made a name for himself after a decade in London, including a stint at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, and a chef de cuisine post at Toronto\u2019s Auberge du Pommier. Before relocating to Halifax, he spent five years at Cabot Cape Breton, an acclaimed golf resort. During that time, he fell in love with Nova Scotia, spending his off-hours trout fishing on the Margaree River and tending to asparagus bushes on his own land.<\/p>\n
Still, he felt the siren call of haute cuisine. \u201cI was missing this,\u201d he says, gesturing to the restaurant\u2019s artisanal ceramics, pristine open kitchen, and chic marble shelves of backlit glass jars full of preserves. \u201cThis is my kind of food and style.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Campbell\u2019s vision? Not one, but three eight-course tasting menus that showcase the excellence and abundance of local ingredients from land, sea and air. The first menu, \u201cFlora,\u201d is a plant-forward vegetarian selection. \u201cBiota\u201d is for omnivores and includes fish, meat and game, while \u201cDiscovery\u201d is a m\u00e9lange of seasonal ingredients highlighting the chef\u2019s creativity. While the bulk of Mystic\u2019s seasonal produce comes from farms like Abundant Acres, an organic farm about an hour from the city, the restaurant\u2019s chefs also go on frequent foraging missions, scanning fields, branches and ditches for treasures like goldenrod, a flowering plant that makes a tasty vinegar. \u201cWe use that as one of our main acids,\u201d says Campbell. \u201cYou won\u2019t find as many lemons or limes in our kitchen as you might at other restaurants.\u201d When adding sweetness to dishes, Campbell swaps in the darker and more robust black honey for maple syrup.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Though the menus change frequently, some dishes seem destined for mainstay status \u2014 swordfish bresaola with turnip; rack and shoulder of lamb sourced from Shobac, on the province\u2019s south shores; and baby halibut with crispy seaweed. One of Mystic\u2019s signature, and arguably most Instagrammable, dishes is dessert \u2014 a selection of petit fours that, depending on the day, might range from juniper p\u00e2te de fruits to sea-salt caramels and smoked bone-marrow fudge served on a moss-like bed that resembles a tide pool.<\/p>\n
Both outdoors and in, the environment supports Mystic\u2019s ambiance and desire to take guests on a sensory journey. Designed by internationally recognized Nova Scotia architect Brian MacKay-Lyons, the restaurant is housed in the development\u2019s wedge-shaped Rise Again building, underneath steps that lead to artist Ned Kahn\u2019s rooftop Tidal Beacon sculpture, which lights up to chronicle the changing tides.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Inside, Mystic is a study in elegant contrasts, with materials like locally quarried sandstone slabs and metal-panelled walls in the reception area, designed to recall a ship\u2019s cabin. The expansive stainless steel kitchen is fully open and calls to mind house party tropes, but in an upscale, understated way. The palette is natural (think tones of driftwood, pine and ocean) with curved banquettes and custom rugs that highlight the region\u2019s topography.<\/p>\n
With water views on three sides, the dining room juts out into the harbour on a wharf, making the space feel yacht-like. In fact, above the open kitchen is a sculpture built into the ceiling that resembles the underside of a ship\u2019s hull \u2014 the pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance of Toronto-based DesignAgency, the firm tasked with the restaurant\u2019s design.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was our first significant project in Eastern Canada,\u201d says Matt Davis, who founded the firm along with long-time partners Anwar Mekhayech and Allen Chan. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to part from the region\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the decision to keep the kitchen open and \u201cshowcase the artists at work,\u201d Davis says the designers finalized that direction in close consultation with the chefs. \u201cThey were all in from the beginning with no pushback. It\u2019s a theatre-style approach, like watching a play in real time. You\u2019re at an upscale restaurant, but you still get that kitchen-party feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hard work, tasty food and a flair for the dramatic \u2014 \u201cborn of this place\u201d sounds about right.<\/p>\n
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