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Le Moque-Tortue: Shediac, N.B.

When you visit Shediac, New Brunswick in the summer, you expect to have good seafood, sit on a nice beach, and see a giant lobster. One night we were biking down the road and made a few stops along the way in our quest to find entertainment for the night. We made a stop at a place that took them a long time to ask us for beer (we left), another place that was closing, and finally we stopped at Le Moque-Tortue. In this case, third time was a charm as we were entertained by some live music and it had an impressive menu. I had my heart set on the Acadian dish, Frico; however, I saw other people order nachos, and little did I know that they would soon become a contender for the best nachos in New Brunswick.

Le Moque-Tortue is a bistro that has the largest selection of board games in Atlantic Canada. It is located in the downtown core of Shediac, New Brunswick, which is a 15 minute drive from the commercial Moncton, New Brunswick. Shediac has a special place in my heart as a lot of my family is from there. It has really grown since I started visiting the town in the 80's and I'm happy to see how busy it is in the summer with people from all over the world. (Hopefully we will see healthy people back from all over the world soon)

Le Moque-Tortue Chicken Nachos- July 2019

Le Moque-Tortue Chicken Nachos- July 2019



Le Moque-Tortue Chicken Nachos- September 2019
Le Moque Tortue Chicken Nachos- December 2019

Le Moque Tortue Chicken Nachos- December 2019





Distribution of Toppings

There were some chips left over afterwards; however, there were many things to entertain me while I was having the plain chips. The dips came in huge ice cream containers and there was still a lot of chicken left over to just put on a chip and complete the transaction. I would say that on paper, I have seen better distribution of toppings, but they more than prepared me for the possibility of plain chips. The last picture is from my latest trip in October 2020. 

Quality

The quality is where Le Moque-Tortue receives the most points. The chicken is made fresh on the barbecue with each plate of nachos. They were going to have generic chicken, but the head chef/owner (Sebastien) said that they must make fresh chicken with each plate of nachos. The chips were fresh and crisp and there was an effective toast factor of the cheese. They did have barbecue sauce on the chicken and if you read my previous reviews, you would know that I am not a huge fan of sauce on nachos. In this case, the sauce was just on the chicken and not drenched on the chips. Therefore, the sauce was not smothered on the chips which would make me taste only sauce and take away from the excellence of chips and cheese (the essence of the nachos).

Update: No sauce on the chips in December 2019

In October 2020, I decided to go all out and have the lobster nachos. In a past visit, Sebastien told us to have the chicken as it is the best one. While the lobster was good and there was a lot of lobster on the nachos, I think the chicken is their best one because of all the effort with the preparation of the chicken. 

Value

The nachos are $15 if you do not ask for anything extra which is the average cost of veggie nachos in New Brunswick. The extras are BBQ chicken for $5, lobster for $7, sour cream for $1 and bacon for $2. If you go somewhere with excellent nachos, you are paying close to $30 for them, whereas we paid less than that. I think the value is amazing if you consider the quality and distribution of toppings.

Quantity

They are a lot if you are just having them on your own as a meal. I recommend sharing them after a nice bike ride around Shediac. 

Service

This is tough because their customer service is everything that I would imagine when I think about perfect customer service. The owner/chef/waiter is extremely nice and we have some great conversations. I think that he is prompt and checks up on us to ensure we are having the best experience. Therefore, picture the ideal service and you get Le Moque Tortue. I think his wife was the waitress in my latest visit and she was efficient and friendly as well. 

Conclusion

I wrote "this is tough" in the service part and I am guessing you are wondering why I did that. The debate comes with the quality of nachos and service with Le Moque Tortue in Shediac vs The Snooty Fox in Fredericton. I will conclude with this question:
Do you want better nachos with mediocre service? Or less than perfect nachos with amazing service? I think Le Moque Tortue is a solid #2 based on my last visit.

Nacho Blog Rating: A