Murphy’s The Cable Wharf

I was here in September 2015 during a cruise. There were beautiful views except for the pigeons flying through as you’re eating. Being served outside I can’t think why that didn’t occur to me. My service was really slow. On a cruise, you’re always on cruise ship time not land time so I was conscious of how long it took me to order and get my food. I ordered mussels in white wine sauce which were really salty and two glasses off Riesling thinking one would come with my entrée (a lobster roll). It never came. Two tables ordered appetizers, drinks, and had their entrees delivered and I still didn’t have my lobster roll. I ended up walking out and paying for just the wine and mussels. My waitress, who I don’t think was all that into me as a customer because she didn’t look me in the eye when she took my order or asked if I wanted another glass of wine, did notice when I left. I told get my service was just too slow. But, she was quick to cash me out. She didn’t even offer me water. I then went to Salty’s as had been suggested and was offered water. I thought everyone did that.

Enjoyed a wonderful lunch on the patio with the breeze and sunshine. The lobster roll was different and worth it to try but the roll did not blow my mind. My grandmother had the burger which was pretty average. We had a great waitress that accommodated my mother’s seafood allergies. The fries are cooked in the same oil as the fish so she had to order a salad with grilled chicken. The kitchen staff was great and made sure that we knew the Ceasar dressing had anchovies so she opted for ranch. All in all we had a great lunch and enjoyed the atmosphere.

We had lunch here on a rainy day. It was nice to sit on the wharf and have a view of the water. The food was okay I had the lobster dip which was really good and excellent for sharing. The mussels were a little salty and not the best I had in the area. The scallops were delicious. The atmosphere was nice and the wait staff were very friendly and helpful.

Great mix of seafood in a nice but low key setting. Model ships and nautical themed. Pigeons abound if you sit on the summer patio.
We had bacon wrapped scallops clam chowder chicken fingers and the summer salad.
All good

I have no complaints about this place. Even though it’s in the middle of a tourist trap– the food, the prices, the view and the staff are fantastic.

One of my co-​workers was celebrating his last day with our section, so we took him to Murphy’s for a farewell lunch. This spot is quite popular with tourists and locals due to its central position on the waterfront.
We ended up on the covered deck outside the main dining area and it was quite packed when we got there just after 12 Noon because several cruise ships were in town. If you are interested in eating at Murphy’s, I would recommend you book a table in advance during tourist season as it doesn’t take long for the people to file in.
The pan fried haddock with rice and vegetables immediately caught my attention and I was optimistic that it would be a decent meal as Murphy’s is known for their seafood; however, the quality of the food was average at best. I found all of the items were rather bland and I left Murphy’s expecting much better; perhaps it’s because I’ve been spoiled too much by the haddock at Henry House, but I thought the meal was not really worth the $ 20.00 price tag.
Despite the disappointment, we had an enjoyable time out in the sun and our server was quite friendly, so I will probably return to Murphy’s to try another dish in the future in the hopes that it eclipses what I had on this day.

We were in Halifax for vacation recently we went to Murphy’s on the waterfront. I ordered the lobster roll and it was terrible. It had a strong «bad seafood» smell (i.e. not fresh at all). They also used too much dressing and the bun was uninspiring (bland and not toasted).
Just to make comparison, a day later we had a McLobster at a local McDonalds. This was 100X better than the one we had at Murphy’s.
For a good dinner in Halifax, try «2 Doors Down», or «The Bicycle Thief», or «Gio». Don’t waste your time and money at Murphy’s.

I loved the lobster at this place. I was part of a tour group recently. I was also here 7 years also and it was great than and it’s great now. The staff were friendly and very accommodating. If this place was in TO were I live it would be even greater.

Amazing patio! Service was great!
I ordered the lobster roll, which was delicious. Bread was a bit dry. But, the rest of my meal was great!
There was a hiccup with the fish tacos my lady ordered… She found a plastic bag in the slaw. Luckily she didn’t totally eat it!
But, the manager was very apologetic and made it right! People make mistakes.
I recommend eating there!

There were several bars and restaurants to choose from along the boardwalk but settled at Murphy’s as it had a great view. I had a one pound cooked lobster and was cooked just right and reasonably priced at $ 29. I had a ‘lobster dinner’ at another nearby restaurant for $ 80 and sure they had a live band but the lobster itself was just ruined because it was over cooked. Service was very friendly, Brenna was very attentive. I recommend this place!

We had a nice afternoon snack here on the semi-​enclosed patio. Protected from the wind, but open above, it’s a great way to enjoy a brisk day. The lobster dip was a generous serving, and mostly lobster.
There are a lot of similar menus in this touristy area, but you can’t beat the view at the end of the pier this restaurant sits on.

All I can say is wow– so glad we didn’t pay for that! This review is for the «Nature and Whale watching tour» through Murphys.
My husband won tickets to go on the whale watching tour at a golf tournament so that’s the only reason we went. I was pretty excited, I thought it was going to be a lot of fun! All I can say is zzzzzzzzzz.
The service and everyone working is GREAT; so nice and helpful! That’s the only reason I gave two stars. We arrived at the waterfront and realized we forgot our voucher for the tickets, we knew we had no time to go home and get it so we decided to go down to murphys and see what we could work out. We ended up paying for the tour ($ 92 for two people…) and they would refund us when we brought in our voucher. This was awesome and totally reasonable. This was good since we wouldn’t have to reschedule or anything.
As for the actual tour… The hostess and captain and first mate were great. You get to hear some history on halifax on your way out the harbour, just your basic stuff (nothing we didn’t really already know) but still cool. The boat goes VERY SLOW. Wouldn’t be so bad if you actually saw something. We were actually hoping it would end sooner. The trip is about two long hours of a slow boat ride basically. I guess they try to make up for this by hauling up a lobster trap and doing a little show and tell on lobster and passing them around. We only saw some cormorants and one seal (that we saw ourselves, not pointed out to us) and nothing else, no whales on this whale watching tour. On the way back they invite you to throw some bread to seagulls…
I am writing this review as a native Nova Scotia girl, born and raised. Might be fun to a tourist, but to me a lobster trap and some seagulls ain’t nothing special. At almost $ 100 for two people, it’s a little misleading to call this a whale watching tour when all the reviews I’ve read on both Unilocal and trip advisor no one has seen a whale on the trip. I’m just glad we had the gift certificate for it or else I would have been pretty disappointed at spending $ 100 on that. Sorry if this review sounds harsh! Definitely a tourist trap kinda thing.

After walking by and along the boardwalk time after time, we finally decided to try Murphy’s for dinner.
The scenery and location is awesome! We had a small wait for the patio area, which is still enclosed but with plenty of windows to see the water and feel the breeze.
We all wanted seafood, since it is kind of the specialty of this spot. We got mussels with a great white wine sauce, and fish and chips. There was a bit of a wait for food, our server did let us know ahead of time about the wait. Although it was pretty quick considering we expected a wait and it was well cooked, it was a little more expensive for what it was.
I would definitely try it again, and I am sure on a less busy day it might be a little less hectic! Plus the view alone is worth the trip down!

My husband and I decided to try Murphy’s for dinner, and we have no regrets! He ordered the Captain’s Plate and I ordered the lobster. Mine was a nice, generous 1−½ lb. and it was wonderful. It was the sweetest and most tender lobster meat I’ve had in a long, long time. I had sweet potato fries and they weren’t all sugared up like some places. Great flavor. My husband enjoyed the scallops the most on the platter. Yup, it was fried, but he’d order it again. He also ordered the Captain Murphy’s beer for some local flavor. He gave it an 8 out of 10. This may be pricey for lunch, but we thought it was fairly reasonable for dinner in a tourist area. Too many reviews aren’t giving this place a fair shake, IMHO. Location can’t be beat, wait staff was friendly, our meals were terrific. Watched the sunset from our patio table, had a nice evening, and we were charmed.

Went in their deep sea fishing boat with my son from 10am-2pm…it was a lot of fun… captain was helpful with my 10 yr old as was the staff on board… cold beer and great fishing… mackerel were small but plentiful! Boat can rock a bit for those weary of getting sick but well worth the price!

I vetoed going to another place to go to this one because of the view. I instantly regretted my decision after looking at the menu. A lot of fried seafood. Good seafood should have enough non-​fried alternatives so that you can actually taste what you want to eat.
My date got the bacon wrapped scallops which weren’t bad but pretty small. I had figured that out when the waitress let us know there were «only five» of them in the appetizer (a good restaurant will serve you three or four for a full meal — the difference being the incredible size difference between the good restaurant’s scallops and these).
I got the fish and chips which wasn’t my first choice but they wouldn’t allow me to get the seafood platter and substitute non-​fried scallops for the fried ones. Mistake all the way around. WAAYY too much breading (and not very good breading, at that) on the fish. There was a pool of grease at the bottom of my dish at the end and I was only able to eat one of the two fish as my stomach couldn’t handle any more grease.
They also charged for each soft drink (meaning they charge for refills!!). Who does that anymore. I usually take that additional money out of the waitress’ tip if she doesn’t tell me ahead of time but I found out after the bill had been paid.
One good thing — the view. Definitely some of the best restaurant views in Halifax. But you really shouldn’t have to overpay for bad food just for the view.

I had a mad craving for seafood chowder and had previously loved what I had on a harbour cruise. We decided to head Murphy’s so I could satisfy this craving on e and for all. Don’t get me wrong, the chowder is really good! But as with any tourist trap restaurant downtown, the prices are not sensible for the portion size. A shallow bowl cost $ 14(ish) and some dry bread that was nothing special. I was also disappointed that my bowl had mostly fish pieces in it but that’s really just the luck of the draw in a pot of soup. The hubby got some sort of fried fish/​shrimp/​scallop and fries plate that was okay but bland. It looked a good size for the price of it but then we noticed that the inside bottom was domed so it was less than we previously thought. Please note that my issues are not with the actual portion sizes, which are reasonable, but rather the price for the portion size. If you do what we did before going and check out the website, be aware that it’s not updated and the prices are actually about $ 2-​$ 3 more than listed online.
If you choose to drink the sweetened iced tea — they really mean sweetened! And the water had a funky aftertaste.
We sat on the patio and though our table was clean it felt dirty, like that clammy, gumminess of an overused picnic table that’s been reprinted and the kids have gotten Popsicles and puppy hair all over.
Service is fantabulous though, again tourist trap place so they make their money on their attitudes so you shouldn’t expect anything less.

I really wanted to give Murphy’s a little more love, but I just can’t. The ambience and location is terrific — think Maine boat works with plenty of open airspace and live tanks presenting the daily fresh catch options.
The lobster roll left me underwhelmed. The actual lobster meat (from a alb lobster per the menu) was actually pretty decent. The untoasted and unapologetic bun that it was resting in was the problem.
Service was efficient and very friendly, but I just can’t get over how much of an impact the bun has on a lobster roll. It is my sincere wish that Murphy’s will either engage the skills of a local bakery or make an adjustment to their bun selection as soon as possible (and let me know so I can come back for another chance at lobster roll greatness)!

The one star is for the view only. Have dinner there if you don’t care about the quality of the food and really don’t know what seafood could taste like. Tourist Trap is the descriptive word here and it is way over priced. The view however, is great on the patio.

My friend, Chrissy, and I met for a late lunch at Murphy’s Restaurant today.
Murphy’s focus seems to be on seafood. The restaurant was packed when we arrived.
Chrissy had pan fried haddock with rice and veggies. She said it was good.
I’m not a big fan of seafood. I felt snacky so had nachos. They were okay … there could have been a bit more cheese spread around.
Our server, Ben, took good care of us.
You can get fresh lobster at Murphy’s.
Murphy’s is a cute restaurant right on the water. It would be a good place to have a drink and a bite to eat on on a summer afternoon.