28 on the Lake
2 Cedar Avenue, New Liskeard, ON (View Map)
After a day of driving, we think there’s no better place to land than 28 on the Lake.
Located inside the Waterfront Inn, right on the shore of Lake Temiskaming, the restaurant has a large waterfront patio that makes it very easy to settle into vacation mode. We grabbed a table overlooking the water, ordered a round of cold drinks and tucked into dinner.
This family-friendly spot is known for its big, approachable menu, with the kind of options that work especially well when everyone at the table is craving something different. We shared deep-fried mushroom caps topped with Parmesan, a Mediterranean quinoa and hummus bowl, a Sicilian pizza piled with prosciutto, sausage and salami, and a hearty rigatoni Bolognese with meatballs.
After dinner, don’t rush off. Step outside and take a stroll along the Waterfront Boardwalk Trail, which hugs the shore of Lake Temiskaming. The waterfront is one of New Liskeard’s best features, and an easy walk beside the lake is a lovely way to stretch your legs after a long day in the car—and a great introduction to the community.
LaDonna House
9 Riverside Drive, New Liskeard, ON (View Map)
The next morning started where many good days do: with coffee.
LaDonna House is relatively new to the Temiskaming Shores food scene, but the building it occupies has been part of the community’s story for generations. So much more than a coffee shop, Ladonna House is an all-in-one space that includes a boutique gym, a day spa, a bakery, and cafe.
We stopped in for lattes and breakfast before a busy day of exploring and were immediately charmed by the space. It’s the kind of café where you could easily pop in for a quick caffeine fix and find yourself browsing for considerably longer than planned – maybe even staying for a spa treatment!
There’s also a great bit of local history hiding behind those stylish interiors. The building was once home to Bastien’s Beverages, founded by Wilf “Bing” Bastien in 1938. The company bottled local carbonated drinks, including regional favourites Bastien’s Pale Dry Ginger Ale and Temagami Dry. Today, a new generation of entrepreneurs is breathing new life into the building, with wellness services and LaDonna House sharing the historic space.
It’s a lovely example of something we’d notice again and again around Temiskaming Shores: new businesses aren’t erasing the stories of the places they occupy. They’re adding another chapter.
Dida’s Gastropub
50 10th Street East, Earlton, ON (View Map)
If you want to see what Northern Ontario’s local food system looks like on the plate, make the drive north to Earlton and pull up a chair at Dida’s Gastropub.
Dida’s is Feast On® certified, meaning the restaurant has made a notable commitment to sourcing Ontario-grown ingredients for its menu. There’s no doubt local food just tastes better – and ohhh boy did we ever cover some ground!
There were pickle chips and poutine made with fresh-cut fries, local cheese curds and house-made all-beef gravy, alongside Korean chicken bites tossed in gochujang sauce. We also ordered The Appy Peach — creamy burrata, grilled Ontario peaches and local hot honey, served with crispy crostinis. Local pickerel also made an appearance atop the Three Sisters Bowl, with quinoa pilaf, roasted squash, green beans, corn, black beans, tomato, feta, mixed seeds and herbed vinaigrette.
We couldn’t leave without trying a trio of sliders — we chose the Drunk Peach, the Maple Sriracha and “Earl the Bison”. Picking a favourite felt a little unfair, but one of these has a clear (perhaps unfair) advantage – the bison on the menu comes from Bison du Nord, a Feast On® certified family farm just down the road that has been raising bison in Northeastern Ontario for more than 50 years. This connection between farmer and restaurant is wonderfully tangible: food raised here, prepared here and enjoyed by people travelling here.
Ali’s Grill + Bar
998006 Highway 11, New Liskeard, ON (View Map)
Not every great road-trip meal needs a complicated story behind it. Sometimes you want a generous plate of food, a comfortable seat and the kind of welcome that makes it immediately clear you’ve stumbled upon a local favourite.
That’s Ali’s Grill + Bar.
A longstanding steakhouse just off Highway 11 in New Liskeard, Ali’s has the easygoing feel of a restaurant that knows its regulars and an owner who’s likely to make you feel like one even if you’ve just walked through the door for the first time.
We started with a fresh watermelon summer salad with cucumber, feta and balsamic before moving on to the heartier stuff: steak with a loaded baked potato and Chicken Athena, one of the restaurant’s signature dishes.
But as much as we enjoyed what was on our plates, what stuck with us was the hospitality. Ali himself is known for welcoming guests personally, and that warmth gives the restaurant the comfortable, unpretentious character you hope to find when you’re eating your way through a small community.
Tap That Kitchen + Bar
22 Sharpe St, Temiskaming Shores (View Map)
Tap That Kitchen + Bar rounded out our trip with the kind of scratch-made comfort food that calls for a table full of plates to share. We dug into everything from Wicked Thai Soup and brisket tacos to a Maple Bourbon Burger, Steak Frites and some seriously cheesy garlic bread.
Their commitment to community goes beyond the dining room, too: through Tap That Cares, the team prepares and delivers comforting, ready-to-heat meals to seniors and older adults across Temiskaming Shores each week.
The team there let us know that they’re switching things up and shifting away from its traditional restaurant model and toward more experience-based events, catering and pop-ups. So rather than telling you exactly what to order when you visit, we’ll tell you this: keep an eye on their socials to see what they’re cooking up next.
