
Everything you need to eat and drink on Prince Edward Island

Oct 7, 2025 • 6 min read

A lobster roll at a restaurant on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Chiyacat/Getty Images
Even though Prince Edward Island is Canada’s smallest province, it has an outsized reputation when it comes to eating. PEI’s colorful nicknames – “the Garden of the Gulf,” “the Million-Acre Farm,” “Spud Island” and “Canada’s Food Island” – illustrate the point.
The province’s 1000 miles of coastline and fertile red soil (perfect for cultivation and dairy farming) dictate what should be on your menu checklist. The bonus is that the Canadian dollar is currently weak against the US dollar, meaning your travel budget (and your eating budget) will go further.
Here are some ideas of what to eat in Prince Edward Island, where to eat it and even how to get hands-on before your meal.

1. Slurp up as many oysters as you can…
The clean, salty waters surrounding PEI are the breeding ground for some of the world’s best oysters, with several varieties identified by the waters in which they grow. Each one has flavors that derive from the environment’s unique conditions – their merroir, the terroir of the sea.
Malpeque oysters are the most famous; also look for Raspberry Point and Pickle Point oysters, which grow in the waters of New London Bay on the north shore. Colville Bay oysters come from eastern PEI; the Atlantic Aqua Farms team says tasting one starts off “with medium salt, then fills your mouth with nutty, popcornlike flavors, and finishes with a lingering floral lemon zest.” Bedeque Bay varieties tend to be more strongly flavored than other maritime oysters, possibly due to the extra nutrients they get from living in water with two strong tidal surges each day (they also grow twice as fast as others), and from the dense algae populations in these waters.
Where to try it:
You’ll find oysters at restaurants all over PEI. In downtown Charlottetown, the raw bar at the Sea Rocket Oyster House serves a selection of raw local varieties as well as baked oysters.
You can also head straight to the source: Malpeque Bay, where the seasonal Malpeque Oyster Barn, overlooking the harbor, serves the eponymous bivalves fresh and fried, alongside other many other delectable options.
If you want to learn how to gather and shuck your own oysters, sign up with Along the Edge Experiences to go “tonging” and slurping while you learn about oyster cultivation.
2. …then move on to scallops, clams and especially mussels
PEI is also famed for its scallops, clams and most of all mussels. The dominant species in PEI, blue mussels have distinctive blue shells and are known for their sweet flavor and tender texture. They’re harvested all year long – even in winter, when holes are cut in the ice to get to the mussel crop.
Where to try it:
If, like many visitors, you’ve come to PEI to see Green Gables Heritage Place in Cavendish, pair your visit with a meal at harborside Blue Mussel Cafe in North Rustico (reservations recommended).
If you want to get hands-on with bivalves, sign up for a clam-digging and kayaking experience with By the Sea Kayaking, where you’ll learn the basics of both kayaking and clamming, then cook up what you’ve found.

3. Taste some of the world’s best lobster
Crustaceans are hard-shelled underwater animals with several pairs of legs; they include shrimp, crab and lobster (aka the “king of seafood”). Lobster harvesting is a centuries-old tradition in PEI; today, more than half the world’s supply of North Atlantic lobster comes from the cold waters off Atlantic Canada.
Lobster forms an integral part of many island traditions – in particular the lobster supper. During this classic PEI experience, you’ll be served local crustaceans as well as chowder, mussels, salads, dessert and more. These suppers take place all over the island.
Where to try it:
Whole lobsters grace the menus of countless PEI restaurants, but for a less messy experience, consider ordering a lobster grilled cheese, lobster poutine or the quintessential lobster roll. Rolls come with either cold lobster salad made with mayo, or warm lobster salad with melted butter. At Dave’s, on the Charlottetown waterfront, you can order a half of each to try both styles.
The restaurant New Glasgow Lobster Suppers started the lobster-supper tradition in 1957 as a fundraising effort. The nightly price generally depends on the size of the lobster.
Another option is to join JJ Chaisson, a musician and lobster fisherman who runs The Fiddling Fisherman with his wife. On the Lobster Lovers excursion, you’ll head out on the family fishing boat, get regaled with song and stories, then help haul up a lobster trap. Its contents will get boiled up right away for the freshest lobster supper imaginable.

4. Savor superb trout, salmon and halibut (and even catch your own)
Fishing is a major industry in PEI – no surprise, given the province’s prime position in the Gulf of St Lawrence. Fish species caught off PEI include halibut, bass, brook trout, rainbow trout, mackerel, flounder, Atlantic salmon and even massive bluefin tuna. In fact, the largest quantity of wild-caught bluefin tuna in the world comes from PEI’s waters, though most of it is shipped to Japan.
Where to try it: Fish is on the menu at almost every restaurant on the island – but why not go further by eating your own catch? Tranquility Cove Adventures in Georgetown will take you out on the water and teach you about mussel farming, rock crab lobster and mackerel fishing. You’ll then haul in your own catch – novices quickly get the hang of it – which will be grilled on board for snacking.

5. Try some of PEI’s famous potatoes and other produce
Prince Edward Island’s agricultural bounty is plentiful, and the province is known for its berries, corn, cabbage, onions and especially potatoes. The iron-rich red soil and the balance of warm summers and cold winters make for ideal potato-growing conditions, and the varieties raised here are recognized world-wide for their excellent quality. Tiny PEI is the largest producer of potatoes in all of Canada, and it’s hard to miss all the trucks piled with spuds rumbling along the roads. There’s even a Canadian Potato Museum here, where you can learn about potato farming and taste a variety of potato-based dishes.
Where to try it:
For all kinds of produce, prepared food and really cute handicrafts, stop by the farmers market in Charlottetown.
PEI berries don’t taste any better than when they’re embedded in the province’s favorite ice cream. With several locations on the island, Cows has a PEI blueberry flavor made with the local crop.

6. Bring it all together at the FireworksFeast
One of the ultimate food experiences in Prince Edward Island is the Inn at Bay Fortune’s FireworksFeast, a tradition that since 2015 has showcased the best foods available on the island at any given time. Guests are welcome to come early to explore the property, meet some of the staff and learn about the on-site farm. (Many feast ingredients are grown on the premises.)
Dinner starts with an appetizer hour of oysters and fire-roasted hors d’oeuvres served in the outdoor garden, continues with a multi-course sit-down meal by the giant hearth, and ends with house-made marshmallows roasted over an open fire outside. It’s a meal to remember.
Planning tip: If you’ve booked a room at The Inn at Bay Fortune, you can enjoy a hearty farmhouse breakfast the next morning, too.
Caroline Trefler traveled to Prince Edward Island at the invitation of Tourism PEI. Lonely Planet staff members do not accept freebies in exchange for positive coverage.