The story actually starts with Pastry Chef Tony Holden and a tiny two-table bistro in Moncton.
What began with incredible croissants and classic French pastry eventually grew into Tony’s Bistro & Pâtisserie. Years later, the Holden family took things a step further, opening Atelier Tony in Dieppe a true family-run restaurant built around great food, local ingredients and a love for what they do.
Atelier Tony feels like fine dining without being stuffy. The menu is small, seasonal and packed with flavour. You’ll find beautifully plated dishes alongside things like burgers and lobster rolls. Even better, they showcase Atlantic Canadian ingredients, from the beef and seafood right down to herbs and flowers grown in Sous Chef Mel’s garden.
We started with the Scallop Ceviche, one of our favourites. Local scallops, coconut milk and cucumber made it fresh, light and absolutely delicious.
Next was the Beef Tartare, made with Triple Dot beef from PEI and served over a crispy homemade potato rösti. The spicy zucchini on the side brought the whole dish together.
For mains, we tried the Duck. Jacob told us the inspiration was basically duck frites, but his goal was to make it lighter. Mission accomplished. It had all that rich duck flavour without feeling heavy.
Then came the Steak, another one of Jacob’s creations, and this one had a pretty cool story behind it: his mother’s shepherd’s pie. He took those familiar flavours, pulled them apart and rebuilt them into a completely elevated dish using local beef. And somehow, with every bite, you could still taste that comforting shepherd’s pie inspiration. We loved it.
Atelier Tony is creative, local and elevated, but still approachable….exactly what makes it so good.
If you haven’t been, put it on your list.
And next time… we need to talk about their brunch. Because that’s a whole other story.
