Route 19 Brewing: A Full Review

Relax on the sunny patio with a panoramic view of the ocean, sip a cold, delicious beer, and enjoy East Coast pub food at Route 19 Brewing in Inverness, Cape Breton.

Getting to Route 19 Brewing

From the Causeway: After crossing the causeway, enter the roundabout. Take the third exit (pointing to the far left-hand side of the island), onto Ceilidh Trail/ NS Trunk 19 toward Inverness. Drive for one hour and Route 19 Brewing will be on your right.

Visiting Route 19 Brewery

Route 19 Brewing is located right on, well, Route 19. You really can't miss it if you're driving between Port Hood and Cheticamp. There is lots of parking available behind the building and you can also visit it on bike or on foot.

The inside of the brewery has a modern, industrial/rustic kind of feel to it, with high ceilings and a wooden bar.

It features a few murals on the walls, lots of big windows, and a TV, which was showing sports when we were there. Tables are well-spaced out to allow for proper social distancing.

The well-stocked bar features all of Route 19's beer options on tap.

There's a large patio on the front of the building, with views overlooking the Atlantic ocean, rolling hills of Cape Breton, and the pretty famous Cabot Links golf course.

The patio has cheerful turquoise tables and chairs, and each table has an umbrella, which is really nice for shade on a hot day.

The Menu (2021)

The menu isn't huge, but I found there was a nice variety of food on it - with something for everyone. There are quite a few East Coast inspired dishes, like fish tacos, seafood chowder, fish and chips, pan-friend haddock and seafood casserole.

If you're not much of a seafood fan, there are more traditional pub options too like burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, nachos and steak.

Several of the menu items have a vegetarian option (or are already vegetarian), a few have a gluten free option, and a couple of them even have a lactose free option.

I like that there's a kids' menu too!

I'll show you what we ordered and tell you what we thought of it below! ⬇⬇⬇

Route 19 Beers on Tap

If you like beer I think it's pretty much a given that you should try some while you're visiting Route 19! They have all their beers on tap and all the ones I've tried are delicious.

I absolutely LOVE that there is an option to get a tasting flight - I find it's a great opportunity to sample a few different options.

Since we were visiting Route 19 on a hot day, we opted for some of the lighter, more refreshing options on their menu.

From left to right, we tried The Nineteenth Hole (a pale ale), 1497 (IPA), Dog Daze (passionfruit sour), and Supernova (New England IPA).

Personally, I'm very partial to light and refreshing beers and I absolutely LOVED all of these. I was most surprised by the Dog Daze passionfruit sour. It was super fruity, very sour, and I found it really tasty. I also really enjoyed the Supernova - it was a really easy-drinking summer beer.

The Food

I ordered the fish tacos and they were absolutely delicious. When we were there it was 2020 and there was a cilantro crema on the tacos (and listed on the menu). It's not listed on the 2021 menu, but it might still be on the tacos, and I hope it is, because it was lovely.

The haddock was super fresh, had a nice light and airy crunch, and was perfectly complimented by the mellow guacamole and the salsa fresca.

Laurier had the southern fried chicken sandwich, which was on the menu in 2020. For 2021 it looks like it's been replaced with the crunchy chicken burger, which sounds fairly similar. It was a really tasty sandwich.

The fries were also really good - nice and crispy and well salted.

We shared the Caesar salad, which was really good (I really love Caesar salad and almost always order it at restaurants). It went really well with the tacos and also Laurier's food (we pretty much always share everything). 😊

The Service

We had great service at Route 19. We were there at lunch time on a hot, sunny Saturday on the long weekend in September, and it was BUSY. But, the waitstaff were friendly and helpful!

When I looked Route 19 up this year (2021) they seem to have had some issues with service lately and there were some bad reviews as a result. However, many of them seemed tied to reservations, and when I reached out to Route 19 I was informed that they are no longer taking reservations, which will hopefully alleviate some of those issues.

A Great Spot to Eat and Enjoy the View

All in all, we had a great visit to Route 19 Brewing in Inverness! The beer was cold and delicious, the food was fresh and tasty, and the view from the patio was great!

I think this would be a gorgeous place to watch the sun set over the Atlantic ocean with a nice glass of something cold.

In fact, next time we're back in Inverness maybe we'll do just that! 😊