Sand and Pearl Oyster Bar puts the spotlight on Canadian seafood

Canada, Food Travel, Prince Edward County, Seafood, Seafood Travel

Reading Time: 6 minutes

When you think of Prince Edward County, you might not immediately think of seafood, but Nicole and Nathan Hynes of Sand and Pearl Oyster Bar are changing that and putting Canadian seafood on the map in the heart of Canada’s youngest wine region.

Nestled between all the vineyards in Prince Edward County, you’ll find a bright blue building with laughter, cheerful conversation, and live music radiating from it.

Sand and Pearl Oyster Bar is a sustainable seafood restaurant located right in the heart of Canada’s youngest wine region. The restaurant was opened in 2017, by husband and wife duo Nicole and Nathan Hynes, who are also the owners of The Auld Spot Pub in downtown Toronto.

“We’re foodies. We fell in love with restaurants and great dining experiences.” says Nicole of their decision to open up a restaurant in the county.

What started out as an oyster bar has since evolved into a larger sustainable seafood restaurant and a one-of-a-kind local dining experience for guests. Nicole and Nathan are firm believers that a memorable dining experience is about more than what’s on the plate. That’s why at Sand and Pearl, you’ll notice a stage set up in their large backyard patio, alongside a campfire. As a mother herself, it was important to Nicole that the restaurant be a welcoming environment for families, “We wanted to create a memorable dining experience, but also an inclusive dining experience so that people could feel comfortable bringing their kids.”

In addition to enjoying a delicious seafood meal, guests can also join Sand and Pearl staff for yoga sessions, live music, and other community events.

This dedication to cultivating the perfect dining experience for everyone is just one of the reasons that Sand and Pearl Oyster Bar was named one of Air Canada’s top ten Canadian restaurants in 2018.

A perfect stop on the way back from an afternoon at Sandbanks Provincial Park, this PEC restaurant serves up fresh oysters, pickerel, hot-buttered lobster rolls, and towers of seafood – all from Canadian waters! Click To Tweet

Maybe the only thing more important to Nicole and Nathan than a holistic dining experience is their relationship with local food producers. “I want transparency and accountability. And I believe strongly in supporting your neighbours.” Says Nicole. “I want to know who I’m supporting.” This dedication to supporting your neighbours is why Nicole and Nathan are on a first-name basis with the individuals who supply their restaurant with its seafood products, produce, and other local ingredients.

It has never been more important to support local food producers – especially seafood producers. The fishing industry is integral to the economic and social fabric of this country. By sourcing seafood from fisheries close to home, Sand and Pearl is shortening the normally convoluted supply chain of seafood products, reducing their carbon footprint and increasing transparency – a critical step towards eliminating problems like fraud within Canada’s seafood market while keeping our local fishermen in business.

The restaurant sources its seafood products from a handful of Canadian seafood suppliers, so guests can feel confident in knowing that their dining dollars are directly supporting Canadian fishing families who are sustainably harvesting Canadian seafood products.

Their famous oysters come from Diana’s Seafood, a family-run seafood supplier that works with oyster farms from all across the country. During our visit, we tried Salt Grass Points from Prince Edward Island, as well as Kusshi and Fanny Bay Oysters from British Columbia.

The unique nature of seafood products makes it that much more important to have those personal relationships with local suppliers. “It’s important to know where our oysters are coming from,” says Nicole. “We’ve got to know how long they’ve been out of the water.”

Of course, freshness is a concern with almost any food product, but especially with seafood where the taste and quality can be significantly impacted if the product is out of the water or freezer just a little too long. It’s even more important with products like shellfish, which are often shipped live.

Sand and Pearl Oyster Bar sources their shellfish, specifically their crab, from Fogo Island Fish, a distributor based out of Fogo Island, Newfoundland that prides themselves on short supply chains and fair prices for fishermen. Nicole’s reason for sourcing crab from Fogo Island Fish is simple: “It’s the best crab in the world in our opinion.”

P.S. Fogo Island Fish owner, Anthony Cobb, has a TEDx talk about the importance of local seafood consumption. Check it out HERE.

Being located right next door to the Bay of Quinte, Sand and Pearl sources from their actual neighbours too. The pickerel on their menu comes from The County Catch, which is the only fish processing operation left in Prince Edward County.

It doesn’t get any fresher than this. Pickerel is caught on the Bay of Quinte in the morning and delivered to the restaurant a few hours later, to hit your plate in time for a delicious fish n chips lunch or dinner.

Mains: Pickerel & chips and hot-buttered lobster roll

What is a “caldosa”?

Caldosa’s are a popular street food in Costa Rica. Vendors selling ceviche from roadside stands (or even the backs of cars) will cut the top off of a bag of corn chips, top it with fresh ceviche, and serve with a spoon.

The chip bag acts as a container for your fish and adds a yummy crunch to traditional ceviche.

So simple, but so yummy. Sand & Pearl Oyster Bar added their own version of a “caldosa” to their menu after a visit to Costa Rica and it’s now one of their most popular items!

When asked how consumers can follow Sand and Pearl’s lead and support local food producers individually, Nicole encourages us all to ask questions. “Ask questions. Who caught this product? Who can I connect with? Get to know the farmers – their voices, their faces.”

And the power of an individual consumer is not to be understated: “We have power as consumers to support people and things we believe in.”

At the time of writing this article, we are still dealing with the impacts of the COVID19 pandemic. It’s important to acknowledge the impacts that this global crisis has had on local restaurants like Sand and Pearl Oyster bar. I’ve written previously about the impacts of COVID19 on both the travel industry and the seafood industry, but the restaurant industry is intrinsically linked to both of these and as a result, has been significantly impacted by the pandemic.

The restaurant industry is so interconnected; the restaurants themselves, as well as seafood suppliers and other food suppliers, are all at risk due to COVID19 shutdowns and social distancing measures. While these public health measures are necessary, the economic impacts on the restaurant industry and their supply chains have been devastating. If support isn’t offered soon, many of these small, hyper-local spots, may not survive.

Despite this difficult situation that Sand and Pearl Oyster Bar and restaurants all across the country are currently facing, Nicole remains optimistic: “I believe strongly in the power of community and that’s how we change the world for our children. When you know where things come from it’s a richer experience.”