Bird’s Nest Cafe
Downtown's breakfast and lunch hotspot
BY LAUREN MEDEIROS
PHOTOS MICHELLE DOUCETTE
It’s hard to imagine Halifax’s Barrington Street without Bird’s Nest Cafe’s powder blue storefront. Nestled in the downtown core in a charming, early 1900s building, Bird’s Nest looks like it is meant to be there.
The cafe has a rich history, with roots dating back to 2008—quite a feat for a small business. To this day, Bird’s Nest is relied upon by the commuting corporate crowd and urbanites alike for its nourishing and plentiful breakfast and lunch options.
Brady Muller
Owner Brady Muller has witnessed the cafe grow with the city. A combination of tireless hours and a dash of kismet has solidified Bird’s Nest as one of Halifax’s favourite coffee spots. It also helps that Muller has an entrepreneurial personality—determined, adaptable, and fiery in the best way.
Muller, originally from New Jersey, has been interested in food from a young age. She takes inspiration from her mother, a passionate home cook, and her grandfather, a baker by trade. So, when Muller graduated from university in Chicago in 2003, opening a catering company felt like the best next step.
Her dream became closer to reality on a family trip to Halifax later that year, where she met Craig Flinn, the owner of the former Chives Canadian Bistro.
Their first meeting was the epitome of a “right time, right place” encounter—Muller connected with Flinn while out for dinner at Chives, and as soon as she expressed interest in catering, he offered to teach her the basics.
Muller was flying back to Halifax before she knew it to shadow Chives’ kitchen for a month—in the space next door to what is now Bird’s Nest. She quickly fell in love with the city and moved here full-time to pursue her long-term goal of opening a business.
“I loved how quaint Halifax was. Those moments of coming across the bridge and looking out over the harbour, or hearing the fog horns in the morning—it was magical,” says Muller. “I'm grateful I was able to see Halifax through the lens of a tourist first.”
Hungry to learn in a new city, Muller enrolled in Nova Scotia Community College’s entrepreneurship program. She soon put her learnings into action, partnering with Flinn in 2008 when Bird's Nest's predecessor—Ciboulette—was born. Ciboulette is French for chives and a homage to the company’s heritage.
Muller eventually bought out Flinn’s share of the partnership in 2014 after Ciboulette opened a second location in The Discovery Centre and won over Haligonians for its fresh paninis. Three years later, she rebranded the cafe and catering business to ‘Bird’s Nest’ and it expanded into its current space in 2018.
Approaching two decades of self-employment, Muller remains just as bright-eyed and joyful as she has been from day one.
“I think Halifax retains a lot of its small city charm—that’s what drew me here, and that’s what keeps me here,” she says. “I feel like I have roots now because there’s such a strong sense of community.”
Bird’s Nest’s success reflects this welcoming community. The two-story cafe is like a friendly face greeting you on an (often gloomy) Halifax morning. The fairly priced menu of breakfast wraps, sandwiches, soups and salads means a wide range of customers float through the door.
“We’re a place where everyone can come and get a good, solid meal, made from scratch, by people who care,” says Muller.
Regular customers are the backbone of Bird’s Nest’s business. A solid group of office workers visit multiple times daily—first for coffee and breakfast, then later for lunch and a sweet snack.
They are the same people who propelled Bird’s Nest forward throughout the COVID-19 pandemic when they shifted to selling flour and yeast to make up for product shortages.
Muller believes in the old-school cooking method, where thought and love are put into every component. The Bird’s Nest back-of-house team crafts real dishes that will get you through the day—not food taken out of
a bag and reheated.
“Our food speaks for itself,” she says. “It’s harder and harder to find simple food that’s a little more elevated than what you’d make at home, but isn’t so fancy that it feels unapproachable and like it can’t be a daily routine.”
Muller created the menu for Bird's Nest using the 'greatest hits' from the Ciboulette days. The holdover included several paninis, like the Southwestern Chicken Club, made with chicken breast, bacon, tomato, mozzarella, avocado, and chipotle mayo. The bulk of the menu has remained the same, apart from a few seasonal add-ons.
“I managed to take the Southwestern panini off the menu for about four days once thinking it would make people try something new, and people were so upset with me,” says Muller. “I learnt to not mess with the core menu because so many people get the same thing every single day.”
In terms of experimentation, Bird’s Nest’s baked goods specials are where the magic happens. Beautifully hand-crafted Portuguese Custard Tarts, Apple Dutch Babies and Pumpkin Bread have all been previous features in the pastry cases. In contrast, a few classics like the Blueberry-Oatmeal muffins and Chocolate Toffee Cookie are always available.
Perhaps Bird’s Nest’s most coveted sweet treat is its bite-sized Fleur de Sel Caramels, stocked on the cafe’s shelves every December and available for preorder through the holidays.
“I’ve been making the caramels since my time at Nova Scotia Community College, so it’s been 20 years,” says Muller. “We wrap tens of thousands of them every year.”
Most of Bird’s Nest’s day-to-day orders come through its online shop, which allows customers to choose a pick-up time. Larger catering orders for corporate meetings are Bird’s Nest’s fastest-growing business arm—so much so that an off-site kitchen is in the works.
“We’re getting catering booked up two weeks in advance and making all of the food at our Barrington Street location, so it's getting too tight,” says Muller.
Along with familiar favourites, the Bird’s Nest catering menu has platters of homey finger food like homemade pita chips and hummus, deli trays with high-quality meats, and a selection of bread and rolls.
People come to Bird’s Nest for the food and stay for the atmosphere. Although only 30 seats, the cafe has a presence that feels much larger, having 15-foot ceilings and a constant upbeat energy buzzing through.
Moving from the city’s busy street into Bird’s Nest, with its white walls, wooden tables, and bright pendant lighting, feels like a fresh start. Whether just stopping in or lingering, you'll leave satisfied.
