WINE BAR DOWNTOWN HALIFAX

Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2023 

A refreshing new breed of wine bar, Peacock is both a relaxed and boisterous hideaway. Located at Queen’s Marque district overlooking Halifax’s picturesque waterfront, Peacock welcomes locals and visitors alike for everything from cinq à septs to wining and dining to late night grazing.

Passionate about crafting a menu that is both local and international, our team at Peacock prides ourselves on our ever-evolving list of 90+ wines, featuring many small-production, hard-to-find labels from around the world. An extensive by-the-glass selection, balanced cocktail list, and chef-driven menu of small plates make Peacock the perfect place for both quick pop-ins and leisurely evenings out.

Our confident and knowledgeable team of servers and bartenders are super passionate about wine and eager to strut their stuff. Don’t be shy about telling us what you like or don’t like—we’re always at the ready to help you navigate the menu, dole out recommendations and stories, and offer tasters. Our goal is to leave you sipping pretty on a glass or bottle you absolutely love.

For all you peckish folks, Chef Bill Osborne and Chef Moira Murray have combined their talents to deliver a tightly curated menu of seasonally inspired dishes where vegetables and handmade pastas take starring roles. Each plate is thoughtfully composed with creative flourishes and made fresh in house. Word to the wise: Don’t sleep on the eggplant sandwich.

While our space incorporates bold colour palettes and dramatic lighting, our sense of whimsy runs wild throughout our ceiling and wall murals, birdcage banquettes, floor tiles and even—ahem —the washrooms. Our space may be a little on the fancy schmancy side, but don’t be fooled: All are welcome at Peacock Wine Bar. So what are you waiting for? Let’s flock to it!

Woman at a table pours a glass of white wine behind fermented, fresh and cured local vegetables in a dark blue bowl
District executive chef Bill Osborne smiles and writes notes at Peacock Wine Bar Halifax

District Executive Chef

BILL
OSBORNE

Chef Bill Osborne’s culinary journey has taken him around the world and across Canada to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he serves as District Executive Chef at Freehand Hospitality. Chef Bill is looking forward to serving a diverse collection of globally inspired small plates at Peacock Wine Bar, while showcasing seasonal vegetables and handmade pastas in all their glory.

Chef De Cuisine

MOIRA
MURRAY

After 10+ years of culinary experience in Toronto, New York and British Columbia, Chef Moira Murray is excited to return home to her native Nova Scotia to oversee the kitchen at Peacock Wine Bar. Playing with a vibrant array of seasonally inspired and vegetable-forward dishes, Chef Moira hopes to surprise her guests with simple yet unexpected flavours paired with beautiful wines.

Chef Moira Murray smiles and leans on a green chair at Peacock Wine Bar Halifax

Mark your calendars for Sunday, March 24! View our special menu and book today.

Enjoy Chef Moira's $60 three-course prix fixe on Mar 31 from 11am–3pm! Book now.

Feast on Chef Moira's delicious five-course prix fixe! Book today.

Sip on half-priced local wines every Wed–Sun from 4–6pm!

District executive chef Bill Osborne smiles and writes notes at Peacock Wine Bar Halifax

District Executive Chef

BILL OSBORNE

Born and raised in Ontario, Chef Bill Osborne’s culinary journey has taken him around the world and across Canada to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he has settled in his current role as District Executive Chef at Freehand Hospitality.

After earning a diploma in Culinary Management from Niagara College, Bill immediately began apprenticing at Wellington Court, one of the top fine dining restaurants in Niagara. His natural ability, combined with his highly curated technique and skill set, led him to his next role at Scaramouche, Toronto’s renowned fine dining restaurant. Having built a solid reputation on the Toronto food scene, Chef Bill’s desire to expand his culinary horizon propelled him across the pond. His international experience kicked off in London, England, where he worked and trained at the Michelin-starred Foliage at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge, followed by a role at Bar Boulud in London, working directly with critically acclaimed chef Daniel Boulud. His passion, skill, and ability to fuse exciting flavours into classic French cuisine impressed Chef Boulud, who then appointed Chef Bill to the prestigious position of Sous Chef of DB Bistro Moderne at the luxury Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore.

With classical training under the world’s culinary leaders, it was only natural for Chef Bill to return home and take up residence as Senior Sous Chef at Canoe, one of Canada’s top restaurants. His talent, quiet leadership, refined technique and penchant for creating beautiful and exquisite tasting dishes, quickly impressed the Oliver & Bonacini culinary team and lead him to rise through the ranks and earn the role of Chef de Cuisine of the brand-new America Restaurant, where he would deliver a never-before-seen contemporary and lavish take on classic American cuisine. In 2015, Bill was appointed Chef de Cuisine at Biff’s Bistro, O&B’s enchanting Parisian-inspired haunt, where he spent nearly five years at the helm.

In 2021, Chef Bill and his wife and colleague Cori (and their daughter Ruby!) made the leap east to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they would take the lead on opening several exciting new dining concepts under Freehand Hospitality. Since 2021, Chef Bill has played an instrumental role in the openings of Drift and Café Lunette, while taking every opportunity to enjoy and explore the region’s vast roster of purveyors and impressive food scene.

Chef Moira Murray smiles and leans on a green chair at Peacock Wine Bar Halifax

Chef de Cuisine

MOIRA MURRAY

Growing up in Nova Scotia, Moira Murray always identified food as the thing that brings people together. While her maternal grandmother cooked and served hearty roast dinners, her paternal grandmother spoiled the family with baked goods and pastries. Although Moira loved playing around in the kitchen herself, she didn’t quite see herself going down a career path in culinary arts. While attending Dalhousie University for kinesiology, she still managed to distract herself by cooking and throwing dinner parties for her friends. Moira soon realized that the kitchen was her happy place, and decided to make the jump to Toronto to enroll in George Brown’s Culinary Management program.

At George Brown, Moira found herself surrounded by passionate, talented young cooks who helped inspire, challenge and motivate her on a daily basis. Moira quickly hit the ground running in Toronto’s restaurant world, earning a Chef de Partie position at Splendido under acclaimed Chef Victor Barry. There, Chef Moira built a foundation of discipline and organization, before moving on to join Chef Patrick Kriss at Acadia while she waited for her U.S. visa. Visa in hand, she moved to New York City where she landed a Tournant role at Dovetail, a Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant specializing in vegetable-forward New American cuisine incorporating classic French techniques. There, Chef Moira devoted herself to learning this new and exciting approach to cooking, as well as soaked up the endless culinary delights that New York had to offer.

Shortly after returning to Toronto, Chef Moira settled in as Chef de Partie at Actinolite, working alongside chef-owner Justin Cournoyer for nearly three years. Actinolite’s vegetable focus meant that the chefs would work very closely with local farmers, picking everything directly from farmers markets or the farms themselves — or even foraging produce from Justin’s hometown of Actinolite, just north of Belleville, Ontario. Justin’s commitment to the quality of every single ingredient coming out of the ground would greatly influence Chef Moira’s approach to cooking and eating — realizing the intrinsic beauty in simple preparation and allowing an ingredient’s natural flavours to shine with minimal intervention.

Following her time at Actinolite, Moira moved on to work with Chef Anna Chen, opening Alma Restaurant as Sous Chef. Starting the restaurant from the ground up was an invaluable experience, and Chef Anna’s mentorship and friendship continue years after Chef Moira’s departure from this small but mighty gem in Toronto’s Bloordale neighbourhood.

Most recently, Chef Moira led the kitchens at Duncanby Lodge and Bison Lodge Revelstoke in British Columbia as Head Chef and Private Chef, respectively. Although it was a big change from tasting menus, Chef Moira challenged herself creatively to come up with new daily specials throughout the 110-day season-and succeeded, as well as routinely created custom menus for her clients at Bison Lodge Revelstoke.

In late 2021, Chef Moira decided she was ready for her next step. Enter Peacock Wine Bar, which represents everything Chef Moira could want in a restaurant. Here, she is proud to offer guests a meaningful vegetable-forward dining experience where vegetarians don’t have to feel restricted to one corner of the menu, and the Everything from the breads to the vinegars to the pastas are made fresh in house. Wine is thoughtfully incorporated into the cooking. Chef Moira and her team have fun with their cooking and menu planning, inviting guests to experience the bursts of beautiful produce and flavours that represent the season.

When she’s not experimenting in the kitchen, you might be able to find Chef Moira swimming a few laps in Chocolate Lake, or enjoying one of her personal favourite food and wine pairings: chilled Champagne and freshly shucked oysters.

Please note that all available tables are listed on OpenTable. Please consider another time if you are unable to find your requested reservation. Thank you for your understanding!

To view our location and parking information, please visit our contact page.

BOOK YOUR TABLE

HOURS

DINNER
Mon + Wed + Sun: 4–10pm
Thurs–Sat: 4–11pm

BAR
Mon + Wed + Sun: 11pm–midnight
Thurs–Sat: 11pm–1am

Reservation Form