Published June 9th, 2025

Photography by Jennifer Bain except for one…can you spot it?

Rob McCarthy and Cristina Gumarang, owners of Samuel's Sammiches & Filipino BBQ in Corner Brook

You never forget your first cold plate.

Mine was from Foodland in Bonavista one April day in 2023 when I was getting hangry and it felt like all the restaurants were closed. It was unusual, I realize now, on the price and protein front. Just $4.99 for two pieces of cold fried chicken, two scoops of mashed potato salad (one yellow, one white), a wee tub of creamy coleslaw and a white bun wrapped in plastic.

It was as plain as it was memorable.

Now when I’m roadtripping across Newfoundland and Labrador, I no longer fixate on finding a hot dinner. Instead I ask everyone for intel about this wedding and fundraiser favourite that sometimes shows up in supermarkets and restaurants.

“What makes a good cold plate? Real turkey. It can’t be processed,” says provincial economic development officer Colin Walsh as we hike East Blow Me Down Trail near Corner Brook. “A good bun. A pickle. I’m not into the different coloured potatoes.”

“A lot of Newfoundland small towns will have mustard salad, and then you’ll have a beet salad, and a potato salad, maybe a macaroni salad. Three of the four probably,” suggests Paul Wylezol from the International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland and Labrador who’s spearheading the Cabox Aspiring Geopark initiative. “Also maybe ham in addition to turkey. Some places even have stuffing like you would have in a turkey dinner. And cranberry sauce. And a roll — you’ve got to have a roll.”

“Gotta have a good bun,” agrees Walsh. “Usually there’s lettuce, turkey and then dressing and cranberry sauce and you make that into a sandwich.”

As we stop hiking to hydrate, talk turns to a few anomalies we’ve seen, like moose, my fried chicken and mustard pickles. “You might be able to have one item you’re not used to, but you can’t have two or three of them,” insists Wylezol, “because then it’s not a cold plate anymore.”

While some say there’s no such thing as a bad cold plate, I have met at least one person who doesn’t love them. “I do appreciate how they are made with love and you will never go hungry afterward,” Transform Gros Morne co-founder/guide Tara Kroes says tactfully.

On my most recent whirl around the western and central parts of the province, these six cold plates kept me from going hungry.

The Cozy Tea Room & Bakery, Twillingate

The Cozy Tea Room and Bakery in Twillingate

Shame on me for never noticing this Main Street gem that serves cold plates every day. Tucked into the basement of a home, this cash only spot serves home-cooked meals and has nine tables and a bakery nook. Not to pick favourites, but this is the cold plate I dream about. It offers a modest amount of sliced roasted chicken and the rolled-up ham I always discard, plus two potato salads and the usual tomato slice and iceberg lettuce garnish. Creamy macaroni salad is a welcome addition and the homemade white bun comes with a pat of butter.

Standout element: Unexpected vegetables, including marinated carrots, broccoli and cauliflower.

Price: $15.99

What I was doing here: Chasing icebergs, having a “mug up” (let’s call it brunch) on the beach in front of an iceberg with Crystal Anstey from Wild Island Kitchen, and bedding down at the Hodge Premises Inn.

Colemans, Corner Brook

The label says this turkey cold plate weighs 454 grams (that’s one whole pound) and it feels about right. There’s white and dark turkey on top of dressing and that luncheon meat ham, plus scoops of plain and beet potato salad. The tomato slice sits on green leaf lettuce (though I don’t eat either), and there’s a bun but no butter. Colemans is a Newfoundland supermarket chain so the beauty of this cold plate is that you can find it, with slight variations, across the province.

Standout element: The creamy coleslaw speaks to me.

Price: $10.99

What I was doing here: Previewing the Cabox Aspiring Geopark (with the same exposed earth’s mantle rocks — peridotite — as Gros Morne’s famous Tablelands) as it hopes to get UNESCO Global Geopark status, taking a private guided ATV tour (in a side-by-side) across forests, beaches and creeks with Pirate’s Haven in Johnsons, and bedding down at the Hew & Draw.

The Shed, Woody Point

This waterfront coffeeshop in Gros Morne National Park just launched cold plate Saturdays. “A perfect mix of meat, salads, and your favourite cold plate fixins.’ We won’t say that they’re as good as Nan’s on Boxing Day, but we will say they’re the closest you’ll find!” is how they describe them. Pre-orders are preferred. Mine comes with three colourful potato salads (you know the drill), macaroni salad (not sure how I feel about cheddar chunks), coleslaw, dressing and that hard to love trio — ham, a tomato slice and iceberg garnish. I keep forgetting to use the white bun for a sandwich.

Standout element: Freshly roasted turkey — white and dark meat — that tastes just like my own Thanksgivings.

Price: $15

What I was doing here: Having three wellness experiences with Transform Gros Morne, hiking Gros Morne’s famous Tablelands Trail, and bedding down at the Gros Morne Inn.

Rosie’s Restaurant & Bakery, Gander

This was probably the heartiest cold plate I tried, with the usual turkey and rolled up ham slice and a surprise slice of roast beef rounded out by three scoops of potato-based salad (beet, mustard and carrot-studded plain), a tiny tub of coleslaw, and the usual tomato and shredded lettuce. Hidden under everything, I found dressing, Newfoundland’s crumbly and savoury-laced version of turkey stuffing. Don’t worry — they throw in a fresh white bun (and a margarine packet) when you’re paying.

Standout element: A single-serve packet of cranberry sauce.

Price: $15.99

What I was doing here: Learning about the Dover Fault and the Come From Away story from Hare Bay Adventures, checking out the Canadian Glove Museum in Point Leamington on my way back to the west coast, and bedding down at the Quality Hotel & Suites.

Colemans, St. Anthony

Just when I was growing tired of cold plates and didn’t think they could surprise me, the St. Anthony branch of Colemans swapped out the dreaded tomato slice for a single grape tomato. What a brilliant idea. Everything else was comforting and as expected — a fresh white roll, white and dark meat turkey, Newfoundland dressing (sorry, still not a fan), coleslaw, beet salad and the plain potato salad they seem to call “veggie salad.”

Standout element: I don’t make coleslaw at home, so eating it on the road always feels like a treat.

Price: $10.99

What I was doing here: Visiting L’Anse Aux Meadows National Historic Site on opening day, spending time in Conche with Moratorium Tours & Retreats, and bedding down on Quirpon Island at the Quirpon Lighthouse Inn.

Samuel’s Sammiches & Filipino BBQ, Corner Brook

Thursday is cold plate day at this fusion eatery owned by Corner Brook-born Rob McCarthy and his Filipina wife Cristina Gumarang. “People in Newfoundland love cold plates,” McCarthy reminds me. “They’re simple, they’re tasty and it’s kind of comfort food I suppose.” He makes five salads. Mustard, beet and potato-egg with apple and green onion are all potato based, and then there’s a herb-laced macaroni salad and a coleslaw with carrots. This quintet is rounded out by slow roasted turkey, a slice of toupie-style smoked ham and dressing. Grape tomatoes appear here with iceberg lettuce. The bun is AWOL, simply because they don’t make it themselves. A packet of cranberry sauce comes on the side.

Standout element: The flavour-packed potato salad trio.

Price: $15

What I was doing here again: Taking a side-by-side tour of Corner Brook with Rugged Edge and dining at Pollen Nation Farm’s Beestro in Little Rapids after bedding down at Upper Humber Settlement in Cormack. Yes, I get around and sometimes I even drive in circles.

The Art of The Cold Plate in Newfoundland and Labrador