Sully + Porter
Oxford Street's Hot New Café
BY LINDSAY WICKSTROM
PHOTOS MICHELLE DOUCETTE
Something is baking in the West End: Sully + Porter’s superior pastries and lunch options are putting Oxford St. on the map
Nobody talks about Halifax’s West End as a destination for food or nightlife, but they should start. The predominantly residential neighbourhood is home to families, bikeways, dog walkers, and a large mall. However, the section of Oxford Street from Quinpool to Bayers Road is emerging as an area of interest. As you move away from the bustling Quinpool District, you might think the action is over, but then you come across Osprey’s Roost, a butcher shop specializing in grass-fed beef. And if you keep walking, you’ll stumble upon a “secret” mini foodie haven where the combined 2 Crows Taproom and Yeah Yeah’s Pizza have set up shop, neighboured by café par excellence: Sully + Porter.
West Enders might know Sully + Porter as the former location of Local Jo’s, a place where they’d always grabbed a cup of coffee in the morning, and that hasn’t changed. But what has excited in-the-know foodies is that the pastry mastermind at Sully + Porter is Laura Porter of The Old Apothecary (a destination bakery in Halifax’s downtown until it left a hole in our carb-loving hearts).
Initially, Laura Sullivan, who purchased the Oxford Street building with her husband and decided to open a café on the retail level, brought Porter on as a consultant.
“A friend of mine had suggested reaching out to Laura because he was like, a ‘super fan’, and he knew she was doing some work at Digby Pines,” explained Sullivan.
“Then we just got to talking about food,” laughed Porter, summing up the partnership.
They combined forces and opened Sully + Porter, referencing each Laura, Sullivan and Porter.
Porter makes a mean croissant, and her cinnamon buns are also a big draw to the café. On weekends, she comes up with special flavours of croissants and “swirl buns” (her name for cinnamon buns that aren’t cinnamon buns). When I visited the café, it was barely the beginning of rhubarb season, and Porter had already made a trip to the Valley to get a head start on local rhubarb for some swirl buns. She also makes some novelty items: “crookies” (croissant-cookies), “cruffins” (croissant-muffins), and on special occasions, “piecaken” (pie-cake hybrids). Porter’s creativity is too much to condense into my word count, but pursuing Sully + Porter’s Instagram gives a glimpse into a world of pastries in imaginative flavours, both sweet and savoury.
Her laminated pastries are so tender and flaky, and her puff pastry is also exceptional. It is vegan, and Porter makes vegan sausage rolls as well as tofu and spinach hand pies. There is no shortage of gluten-friendly and/or vegan options at Sully + Porter, including the flourless chocolate cake (GF), the marble cake (GF/V), the three-layer raspberry lemon cake (GF), and the tahini honey cake (GF, dairy/egg-free).
Sully + Porter is not just a stop for excellent baked goods but a top choice for breakfast and lunch.
“Originally, we came bursting out of the gates and we were going to do a full night service every night. So that’s why our logo has the wine cork in it,” says Sullivan.
“But the neighbourhood very quickly said: this is what we want from you. We want a really good lunch menu.”
The menu is small but mighty, featuring sandwiches, salads, and soups. I start with the new Spring Salad (a seasonal take on the popular Autumn Salad). It’s a lush bed of arugula in a maple vinaigrette, topped with local asparagus, lightly cooked carrots, goat cheese, and candied walnuts. It is light and fresh, making it the perfect introduction to the lunch fare.
Next up is the Smoked Turkey Dinner Sandwich, with deli-style smoked turkey, crispy onions, and cranberry mayo.
“The bread is the stuffing,” says Porter. “I make a bread that has sauteed onions and summer savoury and sort of gives that bread stuffing vibe. We have a different bread for every sandwich.”
A recent addition to the menu is the Montreal smoked meat sandwich, served on caraway rye bread. Meanwhile, the egg salad sandwich comes on miso bread. Porter makes focaccia for the baked halloumi and tomato jam sandwich, and when the tuna sandwich is available, it comes on squid ink bread.
“This is genius stuff,” I remarked and immediately texted a friend to tell them there was a new contender for the best sandwiches in Halifax.
“We tried to take the smoked turkey dinner sandwich off the menu because we thought, nobody’s going to order it in January after Christmas,” says Porter. “But people freaked out!”
So, the turkey dinner sandwich is now a permanent fixture on the menu.
I finished off with a “crookie,” which combines the flakiness of a croissant with a dense, soft chocolate chip cookie centre. Heavenly.
Had I wanted a plant-based meal that day, I would have opted for the vegan breakfast burrito stuffed with house-made refried black beans, tofu scramble, cilantro lime rice, and cashew queso, or perhaps the vegan breakfast bagel.
After honing their lunch game over the past year, Sullivan and Porter plan to extend their hours this summer to 7 p.m. They serve cans of local wine, beer and ready-made cocktails. Since they are fully licensed, the space is also available for private events.
I would be remiss not to mention the ice cream window, where folks can swing by for a scoop or dog walkers can conveniently grab a coffee.
“Lots of little kiddos, too. It’s a hot spot after dinner,” says Sullivan.
“One of our busiest ice cream days last year was the last day of school,” adds Porter.
Moon mist is always available, and you can jazz things up with salted caramel, hot fudge and cookie crumble.
The coffee is locally roasted and ethically sourced by Have Fun Coffee (of Dartmouth), and all the classics are on the board, from Cappuccino to Matcha Latte.
I noticed something on the menu I was unfamiliar with, though, and inquired, “What’s a fluffy”?
“So I lived in New Zealand for a time and that was the first time I encountered a fluffy,” says Porter. “It was basically if a little kid wants a cappuccino, it’s just the foamed milk. And you can get a bit of chocolate syrup in it. When I lived in New Zealand the kids were like, 8 and 12, and so I would go and get my cappuccino and they would get fluffies. It’s adorable.”
“You’re going to try one, aren’t you?” joked Sullivan.
While tempting, there is no shortage of temptations here. I left with a box of pastries to try, each more delectable than the last.
This little strip of Oxford Street is not saturated with cafés and ice cream like downtown or even the Quinpool District. It's just far enough away from both to offer a quiet yet vibrant neighbourhood vibe. Sully + Porter is a welcome addition to the community, which is no longer bereft of fun food options. And it is home to some of the best pastries and sandwiches in town, so it's unlikely to remain a secret for long.
Sully + Porter
2959 Oxford St, Halifax
Café & Eatery $-$$ B/BR/L (GF/V)
sullyandporter.com
