Dining in Bayfield

It’s been over thirty years since I became enamored of Bayfield. Restaurateur/entrepreneur Tania Auger, of Sarnia’s Lola Lounge, had asked me to join her in opening the Shark Inn (formerly the Ritz Hotel — now the location of the rebuilt Virtual High School — on the main street across from The Little Inn).

Tourism officials refer to this region as Ontario’s West Coast. There are two well-known inns located in this area. The 19th century The Little Inn of Bayfield is known for being Ontario’s oldest operating inn and for its full-length double-deck verandahs.

Beginning in the 1830s, the Inn was a stop for stagecoaches on the Sarnia to Goderich route. The other notable property is Benmiller Inn & Spa (a former woolen mill) located in a hollow beside the Maitland River, twenty minutes outside Bayfield. Benmiller’s contemporary rustic lodgings and its white-linen Ivey Dining Room retains a more buttoned-down ambiance.

Restaurants in Bayfield menus highlight old world classics like Chicken Duxelle, Maple-glazed Duck Breast or Metzger’s Seared Beef Tenderloin with Butter Poached Shrimp. On Highway 21, three minutes north of town, is the appealing Ashwood Inn, a revitalized 22-room boutique property.

On the wide, pedestrian-friendly, Main Street with its pea gravel pathways are historic yellow brick and clapboard buildings that are designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. In many ways the village nestled on the precipice of the sandy eastern shore of Lake Huron remains much as it was three decades ago.

Restaurants in Bayfield can boast more than 20 stops for food enthusiasts, on the main street, the highway, and near the harbor. Local menus showcase dominant food trends including elevated street food. Fish and chips are de rigueur, but not all of the fish comes from Lake Huron. There are galleries, boutiques and one-of-a-kind shops. A favorite is Martha Beechie’s indie Village Bookshop, situated in a yellow clapboard house on Main Street where I recently spotted Ruth Reichl’s recent memoir, Save Me the Plums, about her days as editor of Gourmet magazine.

We are long-time fans of the seasonal drive-in restaurant and when we want to wax nostalgic with old school fast food the long-established Woodland Drive-In just outside Bayfield also continues to be a local hot spot.

In the morning, be sure to grab yourself a coffee at Shopbike Coffee and a salted caramel cupcake at the Pink Flamingo Bakery to start your day.