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Fredericton, the capital city of New Brunswick, the bilingual East Coast province of Canada. While it is not the largest or the most populated, Fredericton has two beautiful university campuses, a vibrant cultural landscape and a wonderful culinary scene, meaning these best restaurants in Fredericton hold their weight against some of the best restaurants in the province more broadly.
And on top of its restaurant scene, Fredericton also boasts an impressive number of breweries. This city has one of the highest number of taprooms per capita in the whole country – and while more doesn’t always mean better, rest assured that Fredericton also has some of the best brews of the entire East Coast.
We’ve curated this list for your East Coast gastronomical needs!
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5 Best Restaurants in Fredericton
1. Claudine’s Eatery
One of my favorite spots in Fredericton is Claudine’s Eatery. This restaurant is owned and operated by a mother-daughter duo and has all the trappings of an amazing Fredericton restaurant that you’ll come to know and love. Claudine’s is a cozy restaurant with incredibly good, East Coast comfort food and an amazing atmosphere. If you’re looking for that perfect Fredericton feel, Claudine’s is undeniably one of the best restaurants in Fredericton.
The team knows to make a mean eggs benedict and, if you’re so inclined, they have the perfect breakfast cocktail to accompany your breakfast or brunch.
If you’re unsure about what to order, you absolutely cannot look past the Shediac Lobster Benny, a soft poached egg on top of buttery local lobster (it is a cut above lobster elsewhere) topped with delicious hollandaise sauce and served with home fries. To make your experience truly memorable, go for the GOAT Caesar for your drink of choice.
This drink is not for the faint of heart. It is a Caesar (think bloody Mary but Canadian and unbiasedly better) topped with a lobster roll, fried chicken tender, maple bacon and a full size lobster claw. The GOAT is probably made to be Instagram-worthy will equally amaze you by the sheer variety of flavors and textures.
2. St James Gate
If you’ve been to Moncton, you might know that St James Gate is one of the best restaurants in Moncton. But if you haven’t made it to Moncton, luckily for you, St James Gate has three locations across New Brunswick and each have their own head chef who creates daily specials. The Fredericton location is also absolutely fantastic.
St James Gate proudly sources its products as locally as possible, including fresh scallops from Gran Manan and local beers on tap. My favorite part of visiting St James Gate (and please go ahead and judge me) is the fresh loaf of bread that is served as you are perusing the menu. It comes with sweet cinnamon brown sugar butter and it is as good as it sounds (I’m tormenting myself just typing about it).
For menu recommendations, the daily specials are usually pretty top notch, but we also recommend the goat cheese and beet salad and, my personal favorite, the pork tenderloins. St James Gate really is one of the best restaurants in Fredericton.
St James Gate in Fredericton is located on the golf course, so it’s the perfect end to a great golf day.
3. MoCo Downtown
MoCo Downtown is a fantastic date night restaurant. The food here is fresh and fantastic., and it’s very clear that the owners and chefs really pride themselves in using locally sourced and fresh ingredients. The food speaks for itself, but the atmosphere is equally present. MoCo is absolutely the right choice for a special occasion.
The team serves a modern twist on Italian food. Pasta made fresh and served with delicious homemade pestos and sauces that are impeccable. Chicken marsala that will make your mouth water for days, a brown butter sage ravioli that you will return for over and over again.
Plus MoCo is, as it’s name suggest, downtown, so take the time to stroll around and visit the beautiful and historical parts of Fredericton. We suggest taking a walk along the river and crossing the footbridge that’s located downtown at sunset. Picturesque is truly the best way to describe it. If you’re looking for more of a fine experience, MoCo is definitely one of the best restaurants in Fredericton.
4. Tokyo Ramen
Arguably one of the best ramen restaurants in Canada, Tokyo Ramen is a family-owned eatery that is situated in the heart of the university district. It’s in an unassuming building, next to a convenience store, but don’t let that deter you from going in. The handmade pulled noodles are delicious, the miso broth is exquisite and the atmosphere is wonderful.
I know when you picture eating in New Brunswick, you aren’t thinking of hitting a ramen spot. That’s fair; however, New Brunswick is a very diverse province and while we love to embrace our cultural heritage, we are so happy to have a very culturally diverse capital city that offers us so many different types of food.
I feel confident that, despite Tokyo Ramen not being a ”East Coast” food spot, you will feel all the warmth and familial atmosphere that you would at any mom and pop restaurant on the East Coast. I have no doubt that New Brunswickers would agree that Tokyo Ramen is one of the best restaurants in Fredericton.
Temporary closure
Tokyo Ramen announced a temporary closure from July 2024 due to health issues affecting the head chef of the restaurant. We wish the team the best during this time and we sincerely hope it will be reopened soon, as Tokyo Ramen is an incredibly special place to so many people in Fredericton and is a mainstay of the culinary scene.
5. The Lunar Rogue Pub
You are not likely to find The Lunar Rogue on many ”best food” list, but you don’t go to The Lunar Rogue for the gastronomical experience (but the food is good, don’t worry about that). You go to The Lunar Rogue for the ambiance, the camaraderie and the overall good feeling you get from spending time in a pub with friends.
The Lunar Rogue is your local pub – it’s everyone’s local pub – with that quintessential New Brunswick maritime feel that others simply cannot mimic no matter how hard they try. It has a unique style that is straight out of the colonies – and if you don’t know what that means, you absolutely must visit Kings Landing in New Brunswick to learn about the colonialist and loyalist history of New Brunswick.
At The Lunar Rogue, you will find a huge selection of malts and blends, whiskeys for everyone, beer on tap and delicious wine. Paired with equally good food, we suggest you try the blackened haddock. The Lunar Rogue has something for everyone, with daily specials that are sure to make your mouth water. Come for a pint and stay for the joy (that should be their new motto).
3 Best Breweries in Fredericton
It is rumored that in Fredericton, you can find a brewery on every street corner. While that is not true in fact, there really are so many breweries to choose from in the capital city of New Brunswick. It is a fact that there is one tap room in Fredericton for every 5,400 residents, making Fredericton has one of the highest numbers of taprooms per capita in the country. And don’t be fooled: just because there is a large quantity, it is still a lot of quality.
Fredericton has a network of bike trails that connect many of the breweries. If you’re ever in doubt about where to go, or if you want to try many breweries, we suggest renting a bicycle and riding the trails to the breweries of your choice. This is obviously best enjoyed during the summer and fall, but be ready because summer brewery season is busy.
1. Picaroons Roundhouse Brewery
Picaroons Roundhouse is undeniably a local favourite spot, if not, the local spot. It is the beer that comes to mind when you think of Fredericton and they have capitalized on that notion very well. The owners of this brewery have built an impressive establishment where people feel happy to go and spend their day hanging out.
Picaroons has a wonderful indoor facility that is convivial in atmosphere and wonderfully designed for people to be able to spend time together, but their best attraction is without a doubt the outdoor patio. Nestled along the Wolastoq river (also known as the Saint John River), the patio at Picaroons is a remarkable community staple. They have a wide selection of seating arrangements from Adirondack chairs that surround a firepit, to picnic tables, swing sets and more.
The beer is obviously Picaroons’s forte and we recommend getting a flight so that you can taste as much as possible. But to make your experience even better, they serve casual food as well. It might not be one of the best restaurants in Fredericton, but it is absolutely one of the best breweries in Fredericton.
2. Graystone Brewing
Graystone Brewing has been around for less than ten years but is firmly one of our favorite places in downtown Fredericton. This taproom is modern, friendly and simply a great time and it is a very welcome addition to the city’s long list of breweries and taprooms. I have no doubt that will enjoy Graystone Brewing for so many reasons, but the principal reason is that their beer absolutely lives up to the hype.
Local tip: Try the ”Devils Peak Black IPA” or the ”Belgian Dubbel” if you like a strong beer.
The story behind Graystone is really interesting in itself. The owner was inspired by his travels to Patagonia and created a brewery that would appeal to many people. In a city that has so many taprooms and breweries, it can be hard to stand out, but for us, Graystone is a top contender. Enjoy their patio in the summer (they have hammocks and everyone brings their dogs) and winter (they have a delightfully warm fireplace) as well as their expansive taproom year-round.
Don’t feel like driving anywhere after visiting the brewery? Book a room at one of their two suites (obviously do this in advance, these are beautiful and definitely get booked up in advance).
3. Big Axe Brewery
Okay, hear us out. We know this is NOT in Fredericton proper, but it is worth going to. Big Axe Brewery is located in Nackawick, New Brunswick, which is a (short) 40-minute drive from Fredericton – or you can take the more scenic route along the Wolastoq River if you have a bit more time and want a more memorable drive.
Big Axe Brewery is named such because Nackawick is known to have the world’s largest axe statue in its town (New Brunswick is known to love big statues to commemorate its towns, like the world’s largest lobster in Shediac).
Big Axe Brewery actually started as a bed & breakfast located along the Wolastoq River and evolved into a fully serviced taproom. Its location is as picturesque as they come. The beautiful setting along the river will make you feel incredible. The Wolastoq river is a natural beauty in this province and it is celebrated as such.
Enjoy your impeccably crafted beer on their patio, enjoy the breathtaking views of the river, and then take a relaxing walk. Big Axe Brewing even has its own dock situated across their taproom. This place is pure joy and the owners will make you feel as such.
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