Since August of 2009, Big Tide Brewing Co. has been providing hand-crafted all-natural ales and lagers. It is located on Princess Street in Saint John, New Brunswick, and of course, I have had their nachos a handful of times now.
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| Big Tide Full Beef Nachos - August 2024 |
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| Big Tide Full Beef Nachos (what was left over) - August 2024 |
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| Big Tide Beef Nachos - June 2023 |
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| Big Tide Beef Nachos (what was left over) - June 2023 |
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| Bigger Tide Full Beef Nachos - March 2023 |
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| Bigger Tide Full Beef Nachos - March 2023 |
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| Big Tide Beef Nachos - November 2021 |
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| Bigger Tide Chicken Nachos - September 2021 |
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| Bigger Tide Chicken Nachos (beneath the cheese) - September 2021 |
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Bigger Tide Nachos (beef) - March 2021
 | Bigger Tide Nachos (beef) - March 2021
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| Big Tide Beef Nachos - November 2018 |
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| Big Tide Beef Nachos - November 2018 |
Distribution of Toppings
There have been many times now where the distribution of toppings has been pretty poor. It's probably one of the worst places for distribution of toppings in the Saint John area.
Quality
When you look at the picture, it looks like there would be a lot of cheese on the nachos but the chip-cheese ratio was also poor. Not nearly enough cheese for the amount of chips piled underneath. They do not add any seasoning on the nachos. The veggies, which included tomatoes, onions, green and red peppers, black olives and jalapeños, were tasty and I do appreciate getting a lot of veggies on nachos.
Value
The full size Bigtide Nachos are $19, or you can get the half size for $16. The base nacho comes with tomatoes, onions, green and red peppers and cheese. For $2 each you can add pickles, black olives, or jalapeños. For $4 each you can add bacon, ground beef, chicken, BBQ chicken, or pepperoni. An extra cheese option is not mentioned on the menu but it is recommended for these nachos which are lacking in cheese by default.
For the nachos pictured above from our latest visit, the cost was $27. This is on the high side considering the lackluster quality. You can get better nachos cheaper elsewhere.
Quantity
I thought the Bigtide Full Size Nachos were sufficient to share for a meal for a couple, or a few more people for a great snack.
Conclusion
We really want Big Tide's nachos to be great, but it seems like most of the time they just don't cut it. The distribution and chip to cheese ratio just has to improve to get these nachos where they should be. Big Tide is a special place - it was the first craft brewery to open up in Uptown Saint John after Tapps closed. They have great staff, and a fun vibe, lots of great apps and mains on the menu, and they're always brewing new and interesting beers, but they just don't seem to make nachos a priority. They were great in March 2021! They just need to bring that magic back.
Nacho Blog Rating: C+
