Relish

Relish is becoming a bit of a New Brunswick institution. It's going all over the province, bringing the gourmet burgers, overenthusiastic staff, and great sides that started in Fredericton to people across NB, as well as to Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and PEI. I've had the pleasure of visiting most of the Relish locations in NB. My most recent visit was in Moncton a few days ago, so I'll review it based off of that, before giving some more general info: When you walk in to Relish, they greet you loudly, as does the decor and general vibe of the place. The menu consists of a variety of gourmet burgers, available as either beef, chicken or veggie patties. I've never tried the latter two, but the beef is a high quality burger, to be sure. The menu can be confusing: burger prices are given for the combos, while sides are priced separately, although included in the combos. This makes it hard to tell how much you'd pay for the items separately, and directs you towards buying the combo. My favourite is the "L.A. is my lady", which combines flavours like avocado, peppers, and goat's cheese. It's fantastic with sweet potato fries. All of the burgers I've tried are really good, the restaurant is clean, the service is (generally), friendly, and the experience is fun. The caveat, however, is the price- the combo I described will set you back almost 18 bucks, which means it's not something you should consider "fast food", but rather "a nice dinner". Now, on to the various locations- each one has a signature burger, named in some local way. I haven't tried them yet, but they're a fun way to vary things up and make it worth checking out different locations. I really appreciate how widespread they are: after over a week eating every meal out in the Miramichi, we were ecstatic to see a Relish location (although it seems to have been forgotten on their list of locations!). The original Fredericton location is a nice little downtown building, which takes the whole experience very seriously (those who are shy or socially anxious should be prepared that they will joke around with you, very loudly). Moncton has a great, large spot right smack downtown (though I'd hate to park there during business hours- Moncton is notorious for bad parking), which is clean and very friendly. Saint John, however, I was less enamored with: the location is very convenient (though less so than Moncton), but small and less friendly. To my recollection they didn't call out your name or anything like they do in Fredericton which, although uncomfortable for some, is part of the experience. I say "to my recollection" because, despite repeated attempts, I didn't get to try Relish in SJ this year- twice I arrived around, though not at or after, close. The first time, about quarter to close, it seemed no one was interested in serving me, and they were already cleaning the grill. The second time, five to ten before close, they had already switched off the sign, turned off the grill, and told us they were closed. I'm a bit torn about this- on the one hand, we were near close, and it does take some time to clean etc. On the other hand, more upscale restaurants tend to treat their posted close time more as a last serving time; I've had places tell me they were reluctant to serve me so close, but I've never been told they flat out won't. Somehow, that doesn't seem to jive with the overall image. That said, I love Relish, and would recommend you go- yes, even in SJ.