OVERNIGHT IN PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY
I got to spend a whirlwind 24 hours in Prince Edward County in July. It was for a Bachelorette party, and everything was pre-planned by the bride to be’s bridesmaids. Honestly, if I ever got married again, I would pay these ladies good money to be my bridesmaids and host my bachelorette. Haha. Everything was thought of, and they did the most amazing seamless planning of events.
Now, I don’t suggest just going one night into Prince Edward County, given the distance it takes to get there but it’s just what worked out financially for me for the weekend.
WHERE WE STAYED
The bridal party booked an adorable little Air BnB in Bloomfield. They call themselves Park and Mill and it’s a newly renovated full house with 3 upstairs bedrooms, one full bathroom and one-half bathroom upstairs, large living room area, separate kitchen and dining room, beautiful backyard space with patio and lounge chairs, hot tub, and an outdoor fire pit. Absolutely perfect for a bachelorette weekend!
The owners of this property also own another property in the Wellington area, Marina and Main. Also, super cute and this property could also be for a larger bachelorette weekend away or multi family vacations. I am itching to stay at either property again next summer for much longer! Park and Mill is in a great central location with not too much driving distance between the popular brewery’s, wineries, and restaurants.
WHERE WE WENT
The bridal party had booked our own personal party “bus” to take us from one place to the next. I highly recommend this company and this driver. It was booked through A1 Limousine Service and our driver was Jim. He was amazing! Apparently the weekend prior he drove the members of Ace of Base around PEC, so we were super pumped that our butts were sitting on seats that Ace of Base butts had sat on.
Our first stop was Parson Estate Brewery, a beautiful little barn brewery in Picton. There outdoor patio is amazing, I just don’t suggest sitting next to the open outdoor BBQ as you’ll leave smelling like smoked meats depending which way the wind blows. They also had live music going while we were there. We all got their Feature Flight, which is a sampling of 4 drinks, which according to their online menu is 3 ale’s and 1 saison. I can’t confirm or deny this is what we had while there but for someone who isn’t normally a fan of either ale or saison, none of my 4 glasses remained filled when I left!
We also ordered food here, which was a smart choice as it was SO good. We got a bunch of chips and guacamole, both were so fresh it was unbelievable and so tasty! We also ordered a few of their shareable platters of grilled meats, seasonal grilled veggies, grilled halloumi and even grilled pineapple and watermelon. I can’t even describe how good this was and how I’ve already mentally pre-planned my lunch there for next visit. I believe from the description the tasting platters we got were Asado Carne and the Asado Vegetariano, we probably got the double size which was enormous and exactly what our larger group required. We also tried out their Sweet Potato Tostadas, didn’t find them that spicy (but I’m a spicy freak so maybe someone with a less spicy palette would?) but very delicious and incredibly filling. Honestly, I imagine you can’t go wrong with any of the food ordered here as everything we ended up with was outstanding in flavour and freshness.
Our second stop was Sandbanks Estate Winery, in Wellington. A beautiful 7-acre winery that has a tasting room, a barrel room and a large picturesque outdoor picnic area where we spent our afternoon. There are great swinging chairs for Instagram worthy shots, perfect for bachelorette bitches am I right? There’s also the option for touring here, but we just partook in the tasting of wines. Haha. We enjoyed sampling 5 of their wines, of your choice off the tasting menu, their summer rose I highly recommend, I chose to taste test that one twice. If looking for more of a sit-down experience they do offer an outdoor patio experience for their Seated Food and Wine Experience. There’s also a more in-depth sampling of wine and tour with paired food tastings. You can also rent a Cabana space for a nice afternoon of wine and charcuterie, super cute spaces! There’s also the option of just wine by the glass and there is a food truck onsite, Shoreline Bistro Food Truck, and the staff of this truck seem like a real good time. This spot was my favourite, but to be fair I’m a wine girl over a cider, ale girl.
Our third, and final stop for the day events was Matron Fine Beer. Unfortunately, due to time constraints we spent the least time here which sucks because it was such a nice place. Now, in reading up about the brewery more I totally understand why I got such a good vibe from here and why it felt so chill and homey. It was started, and run, by a group of friends who aren’t looking to become mainstream but more looking to create an awesome space for socializing and having a good time. Making memories which is what life is all about. This place is in Bloomfield, so very close to our Air BnB and right on, or next, to a hay farm. There were hay bales right beside the entrance of the brewery. There is both a very sunny front patio space, indoor space and then a lovely rustic more shieled from the sun outdoor patio in the back. The people onsite, which may have even been the owners, were incredibly passionate about their beers and the process of making it and the flavours etc. We ordered 3 pitchers of beer; I can’t say which except one which I loved. The Sunblind, Sourbier. I would love to visit again and want to try out their Memento Mildbier with Earl Grey Tea, I feel like I’d appreciate that one. They also offer food on site for those looking for a lunch and sip type of day.
Our evening outing was for dinner at, of course, the famous Drake Devonshire. Now, don’t get me wrong as I’m not trying to negatively review it but I’m sort of perplexed as to why it’s so famous and the “it” place to go when in Prince Edward County. I will give that it has an amazing location, right on the water and sitting outdoors for a dinner would be spectacular. Atmosphere has a lot to do with the hype of a place most times right? They also have a very beautiful bar and amazing cocktails, like a County Lavender Sour. To be honest I think this place should just be a bar with some appetizers, versus a true sit-down dining experience. I think it does breakfast, lunch and dinner because part of the property is also a hotel, which FYI the very small parking lot is dedicated to ONLY guests of the hotel. It’s also very impossible, on a Saturday night anyways, to find nearby parking for this restaurant. The dinner menu in my opinion is incredibly small, as are the portions. Unless you’re getting the fish and chips which our bride got and that was a decent sized meal. The other options are like fine dining type of presentation and so is the pricing, to be frank I think overpriced for what you’re getting. I ordered the arctic char which was a decent size piece of fish but there were literally 4 small round potatoes as the side. Two in our party ordered the Eggplant Balado and honestly embarrassing especially when they’re charging $23 for it. The eggplant seemed overcooked to the point there was no moisture in it, and it was half the size of what an eggplant piece should be. There’s zero way that would be filling for anyone. There was more rice on the plate then eggplant and the tofu cube on the plate was incredibly unappetizing looking. Not even marinated. I also didn’t find the staff to be friendly, it’s almost like tourists are annoying to them?
As I said I’m not negatively trying to steer you away from here, what I’m merely leaning you towards is not buying into the hype so much and maybe just going there for a few fun cocktails and their $30 Burrata appetizer. Haha. Or maybe go for breaky? I feel like you can’t fail at breakfast. Though going in the evening around sunset is absolutely stunning on the water.
Some tips for planning an outing there, definitely, wherever you can make reservations ahead of time. Prince Edward County is the hottest place to be right now and only getting more popular as each summer passes. Most wineries and breweries, all 3 I noted above, take reservations.
Pre-reserve cabs, who knew you could do that? We learned the hard way, there’s like no cabs available as they get all booked up. Literally in July they just launched something called U-Ride, which is like Uber, but because it just launched there was like one driver apart of the program and booked of course. If you’re wanting to enjoy cocktails and not worry about driving you need to book the cars in advance. Maybe even A1-Limousine offers pre-reserved transferring.