Halifax is back! Not necessarily back to normal—if you can even remember, three years into the pandemic, what normal used to be. But as Nova Scotia ended mask mandates and gathering restrictions in 2022, Halifax got back to being itself. That unique sweet spot between small city and big town, with a great mix of restaurants and shops, creativity and conviviality, laid-back attitude and entrepreneurial drive. This place punches above its weight for pretty much everything, expect punching down. People and community come first here, and the BOH survey reflects that. The Coast organizes things, but the voting public makes all the decisions: tens of thousands of people casting more than 500,000 votes across categories from lake to lobster roll, songwriter to spa. Haligonians have spoken, awarding gold, silver and bronze wins to other Haligonians in a celebration of excellence like no other. This is the 28th annual Best of Halifax.
VOTED BY HALIFAX // Written by Coast staff Martin Bauman, Alyssa Goulart, Kaija Jussinoja, Jenn Lee, Morgan Mullin and Matt Stickland // Edited by Kyle Shaw