Lavena's catch cafe

Of all the meals I had during our week+ road trip along Nova Scotia's Bay of Fundy, this was my favourite, and my favourite of the seafood dinners I had. By the time we found Lavena's I had had my fill of fried food. I was pleased to see the variety of options and fresh preparations available at Lavena's.

We had the last of the rapure pie (an Acadian mix of potato and chicken), scallop and haddock chowder, and salted fish cake with green tomato chutney.

Everything was delicious and NOT deep fried! The rapure pie was a new discovery for us and my husband found it hearty and comforting. The chowder was full of huge chunks of fish, potato and scallops with a nice light broth - green onions a simple but nice addition of flavour. The fish cake was good size, soft with a lot of fish. The lemon pie was light, lemony and not to sweet, a nice finish to the meal.

I was hoping to come back for dinner after we explored Brier Island, but learned they close at 3pm (September), maybe they are open later during prime season.

I'm hoping to return to the area and Lavena's one day!

There are few times in life where everything is perfect and tonight was it. We were not thrilled with our choices to eat in Digby. So when we went whale watching the young man suggested Lavena's for dinner. At 1 we quickly called and got the last reservation-very small place. It was divine-the best prepared meal in Nova Scotia. We started with the chowder (mouth watering),split the cran feta spinach salad and it really hit the spot. I got the captains platter, haddock and scallops and my husband got just the scallop dinner. We thought we'd died and gone to heaven it was that good. No room for desert but it looked amazing.
Take the time to dine at this magnificent establishment.

I consider myself a seafood fanatic, and have traveled half the world and eaten seafood at every opportunity.

Lavena's is among the top four places in my world for fried fish, and one of the top two for chowder. There are a VERY few places as good as Lavena's, but none (in my experience) which are actually better.

This quiet, lovely, and out of the way little place uses only the finest and freshest local seafood. Fantastic cooking, great view, and the staff...Lavena, Stanton, Helen, and Kristen, all very friendly, professional, and attentive.

This is an experience not to be missed, and certainly worthy of the drive down from Digby.

This is a small place, easy to overlook. There is no fryer, everything is stove or oven baked. The food is to die for!!! Bacon wraped scolups are huge & the best I ever had!!!
The pan fried haddock is incredable with garlic mashed potatoes and steemed vegies..it is well werth the drive out to long island, just before Brier island,Digby. You cross 1 car farry and stop basically at the 2.nd farry,&your ther. Awssome!!!

First off, it should be noted that I am not a seafood person. So it's usually a hard sell as a meal for me. But after I had finished at this restaurant, I think I may be a believer. Several members of my family who have a more educated seafood palette than myself were glowing about their meals.
A local recommended this place to our family after we had been whale watching all afternoon. The cafe is located in such a sleepy little fishing town. It could almost be mistaken for a house. It was cozy and bright inside and our group of 15 got some comfortable tables in the back.
Our server did a great job with what was probably a crazy dinner rush where it went from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye.
I ordered the cranberry pecan salad to start which was very fresh and crisp. The centerpiece though was the scallop and haddock chowder. The fish and scallop were cooked so perfectly it practically melted in my mouth. The broth was buttery and amazing.
I tried a bit of the sauteed scallops too and those were equally delicious. The server claims that the chef has a very simple method of preparing these but he/she must have magic in those hands.
We finished off the meal with some shared carrot cake and rhubarb pie and those were cruelly delicious as well.

If I had any complaints, it might be that they ran out of some food early (like the biscuits *sob) and also, if you have a large party like we did, the staff splits the bill and takes orders in a somewhat convoluted way. But these are minor complaints.

In short, if you want some killer seafood in this area, Lavena's is 100% worth your while.

A group of us decided to eat here after a whale watching tour. The tour itself was very cold, and the waitress was kind enough to serve us some warming hot chocolate even though she had a half hour to go before her shift started.

Most of the people at my table ordered seafood dishes, and they responded positively to all of them. The chowder dishes and the scallops were an absolute favourite, and their fresh lobster was also a definite highlight. Personally, I was a bit disappointed with my portabella sandwich. It was just a cheese and mushroom sandwich which I thought was rather lacking in flavour. The fries that accompanied it though, were absolutely delicious, and my friends are still talking about them!

We were directed Lavena's cafe for lunch after our whale watching trip this past summer. Enough good things can't be said about the quality (& quantity) of food & friendly service. Great chowder & fish sandwiches, our best meal in days! A hidden gem at the edge of the world (or the province at least). Excellent home made deserts too, that we got 'to go' and ate en route to the ferry on the other side of the island. A highlight to our first trip to Nova Scotia, thanks!!!

Highly recommend. I had lunch there on a sad day after my proposed whale watching adventure was stymied due to inclement weather. Lavena was there to raise my spirits, fill my belly, and make the 2-ferry 2-hour drive from Digby well worth the visit. This place is amazing. I've had many lunches in my life and this was one of the best ever: an "as good as it gets" scallop sandwich with homemade tartar sauce and toasted mini-baguette, vinegar-based cole slaw, and a side of "local ingredient infused" caesar salad (washed down with hot coffee and cold water). Really outstanding. Much better than the more expensive scallop dinner I had in Digby the previous night. Do it.