Groundswell Pub & Inn

Went with my fiancé for my birthday dinner this evening. The pub is super cozy, and down to earth. We loved all the mismatched dining sets. The gentleman serving us ( I believe he’s one of the owners) was extremely friendly and was on top of service. Our food was extraordinarily delicious. We have absolutely no complaints and will definitely be back when we are down visiting from Sydney. Hopefully for a stay in the inn as well!

Perfect room, perfect food and the nicest hosts/owners ever.
Be sure to visit the pub, loved the food.
For the room, do include breakfast , it is soooooooo good.

This was our favourite stop in the maritimes! Matt is a great host and immediately made us laugh and feel welcome. He made our few days there memorable. To top it off, Colleen is an exceptional chef and, no exaggeration, her food is worth the drive from Ontario alone. 2 months later, my 8 year old is still reminding me every week, “remember how good that pasta was in Cape Breton?” Sitting on the patio overlooking the water was a perfect Cape Breton experience to enjoy a pint (or few). We already started planning our next trip back before we left. We highly recommend this place.

Thanks again Matt and Colleen! We’ll see you soon!

The Groundswell Pub and Inn is a great place to get away from it all. The hosts are friendly and responsive. The vibe is quaint and personal. Our room was clean and spacious. The pub was good for dinner and/or drinks. We enjoyed the outside patio very much as it overlooked the water. Overall, a wonderful place to relax and enjoy some peace and quiet.

This is one the gems of Isle Madame and all of Richmond County. Friendly owners and staff, great food, and excellent music. The outdoor seating options are fantastic (weather-permitting) and, along with the nearby Community Hall and Post Office, this feels like part of a re-emerging village "centre." My family ate here multiple times in June/July 2023 and it's worth the trip if you're not already staying nearby.

My husband and I stayed at the cottage here December 01, 2022 to December 07,2022, and had a wonderful experience. The owners went out of their way to ensure our experience was a positive one! The accommodations were upgraded while maintaining its original charm. Situated on the water, it made for wonderful views and abundance of wildlife. While we were there, we often took advantage of their restaurant and local evening entertainment. The food was excellent as well as the local musicians. We look forward to returning and would highly recommend the Groundswell.

I loved this little place. The rooms are great and the TVs come loaded with Netflix and Amazon Prime. The staff are awesome and outgoing and the food was fantastic. Would definitely come back if we are again in the area.

A beautiful gem in a rare and peaceful location. Beautiful clean room, great pub atmosphere, with a terrace and gorgeous views. Tasty food and very friendly owners. Reasonably priced. A must stay! We’ll be back!

Absolutely love this place! The food is delicious, atmosphere is awesome, wonderful live music. You can rent kayaks and SUPS here too, AND it's an Inn! So much to do.
I also hear they host a couple weddings a year! Would recommend this place to anyone looking for an awesome meal with a gorgeous view. Must visit on Isle Madame :)

Cute Inn with a cool little pub. We only stayed one night and really enjoyed our experience. Dinner was good but pricey. Had the Green Thai curry Haddock. Flavour was great but for the price I would have expected a bigger piece of fish. Mussels were good but again small portion for the cost. I like a lot of broth with my mussels and this did not have it. Flavour, again, was good. My daughter had the Maple Bourbon Bacon wrapped scallops and she still remembers them They were great.

Breakfast brought to the room (scrambled egg wrap with bacon , lettuce and tomato) in the AM was very tasty. I'm a big guy and would have liked more but it did the trick.

Overall a great experience and would definitely stay there again for a longer period. The pub was closed for the general public the evening we were there so I don't know how the activity in the pub would affect noise levels in the room.

Note: I don't know what food costs are like in Cape Breton but high restaurant food costs were encountered throughout our trip. Everyone was charging Vancouver downtown menu pricing within a casual restaurant environment.

Stayed here for 2 nights while attending a wedding and it was a great place to stay. very quiet and staff were very friendly. great food too! would recomend to anyone staying in the area.

This place has such a great vibe with some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. I highly recommend the wedges and the haddock. The owner clearly loves his job and treats all the customers so nice. These are the most unique wedges I’ve ever eaten but the best as well. There’s a huge selection of beer as long as live music Friday and Saturday. It perfectly captures the local vibe of cape Breton and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes good food and good company.

We stayed in Paperback Writer and loved the tasteful and comfy room. It had everything we needed and beautiful view of the water. The host Matt was awesome and the pub entertainment and food was fantastic. We would definitely stay here again and highly recommend. Thank you for a wonderful stay!

Awesome stay! We stayed for 2 nights, 3 days.

Accommodations: We stayed in the white room. It was tastefully decorated and the heat warms up the room quickly. Good view of the water.

Food: The food was fantastic - homemade meals. I recommend the jalapeno and mozzarella burger and the hot wings. The potato wedges - fully loaded or just on its own were delicious. They tasted like they were baked. It was so so good and very reasonably priced. Great selection of local beers on tap.

Customer service: Matt was a great host. We felt extremely welcomed. I highly recommend this place if you need time away from home and just need some rest and relaxation in a seaside village.

Just an amazing stay at this perfect Inn. Matthew was pleasant and friendly. It was a perfect ending for our Cape Breton holiday. Food was so good plus breakfast was best of course courtesy of the adorable room service. Everything spotless and so well maintained. Would return in a heartbeat. T

Spectacular stay at the Groundswell. Matt met us when we checked in. The upgraded us to larger room and opened the kitchen to cook us dinner. Started with Ceasars salads and local beer. Followed by wonderful Mussels, Seafood Linguine and Thai Haddock which were all fantastic. Breakfast sandwich the next morning was a great send-off. Oh and the sunset from the water front backyard was pretty good too

We stayed at the Cottage for a few days and it felt like we were home. Our stay there was planned way ahead of time but when we realized we needed a couple more days , the owner, Matt, was able to secure our extension without any issues . Talking about Matt, he was welcomy, helpful, joyfull , easy going , just an amazing host !

We haven't had the chance to experience the pub and the full extent of the menu offered but people around town highly recommend the spot .
If it wasn't for the fact that we found a new home , I would've wanted to stay there a couple more weeks . Thank you so much for making us enjoy our first few days in Nova Scotia .

New to d'Escousse or passing by , The Groundswell is definitely a place you need to stop at .

What a beautiful place! We stayed in the paperback writer room and it was very beautifully and tastefully done up!
Very accommodating, friendly people. Excellent service and the food we tried -apps- excellent prices and portion size! Just amazing
Very happy!
Now I got bright red hair and I felt mortified over it potentially staining perfect whites... asked if they had a older towel and he was happy to supply it.
Obreakfast was 'whatever the chef made that day' and boy was it good! Simple but perfect

Only feedback i have is perhaps the soaps.. rather slippery and not easy to get off you, didn't leave a clean feel
Aside from that.. definitely will come back

We had a dinner here and stayed in a spacious 2 room suite. Prices were reasonable, the food was excellent and the management was lovely. Our kids loved the great selection of board games (perfect for a rainy morning). As a bonus, it was the perfect opportunity to introduce our almost-3 year old to the Beatles! We’d go out of our way to stay here again.

Excellent food here. Even though I live right down the street, I love walking down for a nice meal once in a while to relax, chat with staff and feel so welcomed and invited. Matthew is an amazing host, very friendly, wonderful personality and is great for conversations while waiting for the food to be made. I definitely love there Fettucine Alfredo with 2 slices of garlic toast and I have mine with Chicken added too it and my second favorite is there 8oz Original Groundswell Burger which I like to add to it Bacon and Cheese. And they take care well of how they make the food. So if there something you don't like they will prepare it just how you like it. So definitely recommend coming here for a meal or if need a place to stay for few days.