Ottawa Foodies

Had a very good Father's Day Brunch at the Manx. Just the regular brunch, but it was Father's Day.

Enjoyed my eggs benedict thoroughly. Nice egg on top of peameal bacon. Mmm peameal. Picked at my daughter's cowboy beans. She thought it was too spicy, but she thinks ketchup is too spicy. Not home on the range, but a good side. Coffee could use a taste punch.

Overall a tasty brunch and kid friendly.

I always get the same thing when we go to the Manx for brunch (the one vegan option), the tofu scramble wrap. It's served with a side salad and is an enormous portion size. Very tasty, and I love the salad dressing. My one complaint is that the wrap can be a bit spicy for the first meal of the day. They pre-mix the spices, so you can't get them to tone down the heat, unfortunately. I also love the orange and mango juice and the limitless supply of yummy coffee.

Haven't been in 3 years, but they had the most sensuous, satisfying garlic mashed potatoes accompanying your original benny. They would poke a couple of little garlic sprouts into the top of the pile of mash; it just made me giggle. Plus its so cozy and informal, you just want to have a game of checkers after brunch so that you can get around to ordering a pint from their ample bar. This place is one of the bigger reasons I want to move back to Ottawa.

My boyfriend and I just had one of the most delightful brunches we have ever had in Ottawa at the Urban Pear. We were started with fresh italian style bread, which was fresh, but not especially original, save for the lovely chipotle and honey infused butter that was served with the bread. I had the pancakes with sage infused maple syrup, freshly whipped cream and bacon. It was absolutely heavenly! The pancakes were perfectly fluffy, fresh and hot and the sage infused maple syrup was an unusual, but welcome change. My boyfriend had a flank steak sandwich with an arugula. I don't remember the exact details of his meal, but I stole a few bits and the homemade mayo was the prefect compliment to the steak. We finished the meal with a cafe latte and rhubarb crème brûlée with a homemade vanilla biscuit and sour cream ice cream. The dessert was perfect! I always appreciate a tasty dessert, made in-house. Boxed or shipped in desserts earn major thumbs down and often prevent me from returning.

The service was impeccable. Our server was polite, friendly and professional, and extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of the menu. The atmosphere is quite pleasant - it's very quirky and fun, and somewhat upscale, without being stuffy. We will absolutely be returning to the Urban Pear for brunch, and also to test out the lunch and dinner menus.

Had Sunday brunch with a few friends, and we were all very satisfied!! We started with the large anti pasti plate, and that was more than enough for three people.

I had the poached eggs with chicken sausage and potatoes, and absolutely loved it. The sauce was a nice portabello broth with nasturtium aioli. Very flavorful and definitely recommended.

My favorite was their french toast with bacon and cheese wedged in between. It was topped with a berry compote, and the salty mixed with the sweet was a great combo.

Brunch may seem pricey at first, but once you try the food, you'll quickly realize that it is well worth the money.

Went here on Sunday with 3 other people for an 11:30am reservation. The place was mostly full, and the wall of windows along one side made for a nice sunny interior which displayed the original artwork on the walls very nicely (the artwork is for sale). Service was very casual and friendly.

We each had a different dish for breakfast: omelette with onions, chipotle, and other stuff ($12.99); french toast with bacon, maple syrup, and cream ($13.99); frittata with twice-smoked bacon and others ($12.99); and an open faced sandwich with fried eggs, some sort of meat, and others ($12.99). Each (except for french toast) came with assorted greens in a light vinaigrette.

I had the omelette and it was amazing. The eggs were perfectly fluffy all the way through, the chipotles were noticeable but didn't take over the flavour of the eggs, and other fillings were cooked to a perfect texture for an omelette (no crunch at all, but no mushiness). The french toast was also very well done and I gathered that the other diners were very happy with their choices as well.

Portions weren't massive, but were definitely satisfactory (I am a notoriously big eater).

Overall, you're definitely paying well above average for breakfast, but the kitchen really makes it feel worthwhile.

The Urban Pear is listed in the Entertainment book.

I went there for breakfast on 2010 05 16 with my girlfriend. I had Omelet number 3 (red peppers, smoke salmon and goat cheese) and my date had the Eggs Natasha. We both really enjoyed our meal. Highly recommended for breakfast / brunch. I tried many, many places in Ottawa for breakfast and brunch and this place ranks in the top 3 for sure so far.

This is the reason to come to Stoneface Dolly's - I've eaten a lot of breakfast at a lot of restaurants, cafes, and diners in town and Stoneface remains at the top of my list.

Everything about their breakfasts is taken to the next level. They serve Art-is-in bread and Bridgehead coffee. Even the "hollandaise" is given special attention and made fresh (Cait has told me that their eggs benedict is the best in town).

I'm picky when it comes to potatoes. I'll always be disappointed to see frozen hash browns on my plate (when I'm not at a diner at least), but Stoneface serves a really nice fried mash that is unique, but still familiar.

That's the best way I can sum up brunch at Stoneface Dolly's - unique, but still familiar. All your favourite breakfast foods with a twist.

Tip: Go on Saturday to avoid long lines. One of my favourite places in Ottawa is their patio on a nice sunny Saturday morning.

Made it down to Murray Street with the BF and a couple of friends for brunch this morning, and it was stellar! We got a seat out on their patio which is totally gorgeous - I will have to make it out one evening for some cheese and wine, which also look excellent. We were treated to some sweets before the meal: 2 pieces of stout chocolate cake with ganache, a cheesey biscuit of some sort and a buttermilk (or sour cream?) strawberry scone, all of which were delicious. I got the fritztatta, which was tasty, but probably should have got the smoked fish that my friend ordered, which was halibut with asparagus today - definitely the winner meal. BF had the sausage that came with chai raisin bread french toast, and my other friend had the "track 06" which is different every day, todays was a double smoked ham sandwich of some sort. They have a great selection of local beers as well - I'm not normally a beer at brunch kind of gal, but I've wanted to try the Heritage lager for awhile now so I went for it. All in all, this place lives up to its reputation - can't wait to go back!

This morning after Church I gave in once again and hit up Murry Street for Brunch.

They started me off with some kind of banana bread. It was perfectly moist, it had a ton of brown sugar, walnuts and a nice malt-y flavor.

Today I went for the Steak and Eggs. Which is essentially a piece of smoked beef short rib on top of a fried egg and huge piece toast. The toast was perfectly crispy and topped with blue cheese butter. Amazing.

My only comment is that it is kind of small, and I found that the breakfast cassoulet was many times more filling. The steak albeit small (but what do you expect for 12 bucks), was out of this world. No steak knife necessary, it literally fell apart like butter and thus the butter knife was more that able to cut it up.

I ordered a tea with my meal, and it was a fantastic earl Grey. One word of caution, the coffee is 2.25 + unlimited refills. The tea is 3.50 for one pot. Not really sure the tea is worth 3.50, just some friendly advice.

Otherwise, the service today was excellent, friendly and attentive. The patio was beautiful, and the food was its standard top quality. This dish would be extremely easy to make at home, so I'll be copying this very soon. As for the amazing steak, not sure if I can duplicate the smoked beef short rib, but I'm sure any high quality steak would work.

2 down 5 to go :-)

This morning I had the pleasure of having brunch at Murry Street Kitchen. What an awesome place!

The service was pretty decent - not outstanding in terms of friendliness - however it was prompt and there was nothing to complain about. I was started off with a very good coffee, and a complimentary molasses cookie. The coffee was strong, and the servers refilled my cup when ever they saw fit.

The cookie was pretty good - tasty at least, but it was a tad burnt on the underside. My girlfriend tells me molasses cookies are supposed to be burnt on the bottom?, and it was free, so meh, no complaints.

For the main portion of my brunch I ordered the "Breakfast Cassoulet" which is described in the menu as: Confit of Mariposa duck leg, in-house sausage & bacon, molasses baked beans, bread crumbs, two cracked eggs.

It was served in a piping hot skillet. It was so hot in fact that my first bite burned my tongue a little bit. Over all it was pretty darn delicious, and for the 12$ price tag, I cannot complain. I got my been fix, my bacon fix, and my egg fix in a very interesting fashion.

I have a few comments about the dish. First I thought the beans were a little under done. Meaning that I found them hardish, and not as soft I like my baked beans. Not sure if this was a mistake or if they are intentionally a little bit hard.

The dish was nice and sweet providing a nice counter balance to the confit. At first I didn't notice any bacon, however after a couple of bites I noticed that there were liberal amounts of thick bite sized pieces. I must say, I didn't notice, taste or see any sausage, but maybe it was just a very little bit or finely crumbled.

The eggs were perfect, well done just as a like them. The yolk was still soft yet not runny. Perfect! They were topped with bread crumbs, and a few greens.

I would definitely have this dish again, however only after I had sampled everything else on the menu. That being said, I will definitely come to Murry Street kitchen in the near future for brunch. And to think in that in the past I have wasted money on breakfast at Zac's, Denny's and/or Cora's.

Highly Recommended!

hmmmm...
hmmmm....
well....
what can I say?

wow!
inspired and inspiring!
bloody fantastic

had the steak and eggs
hard toss up between the cassoulet and the steak and egg

steak...errr....beef....obrien's farms' short rib
braised to a melt in your mouth tenderness

egg...beking farms...no words needed

true loaf bread...first time...awesome

blue cheese butter....perfect

12$ yea! I used the same concept last summer

10$ Chateau de Charmes Gerwurzt...nice pairing but 10$?

service...the Ozzie chap was very informative and well mannered
the blonde companion, always smiling and pleasant
the waitress that greeted us makes me wish she worked everywhere as it is rare to be greeted and seated so efficiently

all in all, two thumbs up
and I rarely give two thumbs up and made it a point to mention it to the Kitchen

now, for a nap
(brutal month with allergies and hectic work for April)

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My daughter's "Fritztatta" was pretty good. She wanted it without goat cheese, so that probably threw off the flavour ratios, meaning the acidic dried tomatoes overpowered the dish. But the eggs were nicely cooked, with tender layers and a nicely browned top. It wasn't clear from the menu that the hand-cut Spaetzle were actually cooked into the fritatta. She was hoping to have them on the side, but was pleased with the toasted baguette she got instead.

Overall, the food was carefully prepared and nicely presented. The spacious outdoor patio is a great place to be! I admit to being a little disappointed by the blandness of the food, but to be fair my expectations were high.

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Miss:
* My Hash was a bit of a letdown. It was made with "leftovers from last night's special" and served with a poached goose egg. Our server informed us that last night's special was smoked ham hock, so I was quite excited! The dish contained exactly three tiny morsels of tasteless but nicely crisped pork, each one smaller than a grape. The perfectly poached goose egg had no seasoning whatsoever (and there was no salt or pepper on the table). I found the strong taste of the yolk and the tough, translucent white to be a little off-putting. That may be my own problem, but it prevents me from recommending the dish. The potatoes and scallions (or were they leeks?) were nice enough, but the dish as a whole was a big boring bomb. As you can see from the photo it looks nice!

It wasn't very big though -- I ended up requiring half of my daughter's fritatta to fill myself up. :-)

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We were a group of five, here for brunch today. Our experience was hit and miss.

Hit:
* Service was helpful, friendly, accommodating, and overall excellent. Except for only telling my wife that they were out of hot chocolate at the end of the meal (she'd ordered it with the food), but they comp'd my Americano to make up for the oversight.
* My Americano was excellent!
* The complimentary raspberry streusel muffin and cinnamon sugar fritters were truly awesome.
* The Sausage (with a cheesy fruit bread french toast, garlic maple syrup, and a poached egg) was enjoyed by both my wife and my son (he ate his entire dish!). You can sort of make it out in this photo.
* My bro-in-law enjoyed his Charcuterie Sandwich, which was served on great-looking bread, with some nice greens and a fried egg.

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New favourite! A selection of plates available for a flat $12. I had the "Sausage" - description from their menu is - Grilled in-house sausage, garlic maple syrup, true loaf apple bread & cheddar French toast, poached egg.

Just about the best brunch I've had in Ottawa. Service was awesome too. Will have to try Murray St for lunch or dinner one of these days.

Love, love, love Benny's for brunch! Went there today with friends, and the French toast with aged cheddar, oat crumble with brown butter and salted caramel was amazing. The portion was just perfect, I was completely full after I was done. Complete with that came a frothy cappuccino with Illy coffee. I also tasted their orange juice and it was very fresh (I'm pretty sure if was freshly pressed). My partner asked that the egg be removed from his plate, since he doesn't eat them. The cook compensated by adding a lot of salmon. Service was very nice, everyone was smiling, it was awesome. Would definitely, definitely go back!

My Pan-seared gnocchi, crispy lardons, spinach, poached eggs and chipotle mayo were just amazing. Again, the photo makes it look like a puny portion but it was right for me (and I eat well).

The poached eggs were top-notch aside from a slight tang of vinegar noticeable when eating just the white (I know you need some vinegar in poaching water to keep things together but I think they use a lot). Perfectly cooked, though. The crispy lardons were delectable and married perfectly with the pile of spinach buried underneath. The gnocchi were pleasantly chewy and very nice to eat. All in all a delicious feast!

Wifey's Croque Madame with green salad was phenomenal (she let me try some)! Everyone should try this. Our dishes, and also those we saw delivered to other tables, were delightfully presented and extremely tantalizing.

This photo doesn't do justice to the generous size of this plate!

We went to Scone Witch this past Saturday and were very pleased. My gf and I both got the scrambled eggs special (she went with the one with goat cheese (and the goat cheese was plentiful), and I got the mushroom rague). We both got salads on the side, 2 glasses of orange juice, a scone each (she got the onion and herb scone and I got the vanilla one - though we shared), I got a coffee and she got a hot chocolate. All together, the meal cost $32 and we left a $5 tip which is reasonably generous given that you place your order at the counter (though they do bring it to you.

For our money, we were very pleased. Some more upscale brunch places should come here to see how food should be cooked. The scones were incredible as was the rest of the food. I particularly loved my coffee and she was very happy with her hot chocolate.

The downside (if its important to you) is that its pretty informal place and you place your order at the counters. Having said that, I found them to be polite and quick to bring it to our table. I am fine with a relaxed atmosphere and ordering at the counter but if its not your thing...

We went to the Metropolitan about 5-6 weeks back for brunch and this was easily better in terms of the food and the service - and it was cheaper. I wasn't disappointed in the Metropolitan (it was what I expected - it was ok) but it was not that memorable. Scone Witch left me feeling impressed and thinking this is the place to go for a nice little brunch. As Mr. Schwarzenegger once said, I'll be back.

Cheers

4 of us went to Jak's Kitchen for brunch (located at 479 Bronson Avenue, just north of the Queensway on the east north corner of McLeod) following the 1/2 marathon (not me!) race on National Capital Race Weekend. The place was busy and we had to wait. Nice problem to have for them since it was already past 1 pm. The brunch does carry on until 3:00 pm. They have room for about 24 inside and a dozen plus on the patio. It is wee but has a nice cozy atmosphere. You can look right into the kitchen and watch the action first hand. I can't imagine they can swing a cat in there but they did seem to make it all work.

We loved the toasted molasses-oat bread. Although we didn't pick up any on our visit, it was good to know that they do sell their bread for $5 a loaf.

The homemade strawberry jam was also delicious and went well with the toast as the toast also had a hint of cinnamon.

And any of us with the kitchen greens as a side just loved the dressing on the very fresh greens.

Although the eggs were a wee bit cold, we had such a positive overall experience we would like to go back again for brunch but to also try a dinner experience.

I took just a ton of pictures so perhaps you would like to see them and read more on my blog.

ottawafood.blogspot.com

I always saw Stonefaced Dolly's as being the best breakfast in town, no competition. However, as the months got warmer, I noticed an increasingly large line out their door (despite construction), and an increasingly short temper on their wait staff (whom I love dearly).

As a result, my partner and I tried Jak's a few weeks ago, and we are hooked. Not only is there no wait (though about half to 3/4 of the tables are full) to get in, the food is downright incredible, and the three times that we've been in the last two months, we have been impressed with the service.

The double standard breakfast (3 eggs, two meats, roasted potatoes, double order of toast, and fruit) is a good value and their other specialities breakfasts (omlettes with ridiculously amazing cheese, veggies and meats, or macs--fried eggs on your choice of bread with equally amazing toppings) are equally good in value and down right wonderful.

The only thing that this place is lacking is some good pancakes (found at Stonefaced Dolly's), otherwise I see them succeeding in the long run on account of word of mouth.

Disappointing, really. I wanted to like it and I wanted for my husband to like it. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't amazed by it. My husband didn't say much through the meal, but for all the wrong reasons.

We asked about the donughts as a dessert, and the waitress suggested ordering the meal sized portion to split. We did this, but considered spliting another dish so that a) we wouldn't be too full and b) brunch would come in under $50.

We split the Scrambled Eggs, which I wasn't impressed with.

The donughts were really quite tasty, but I think that had as much to do with the freshness as anything else. The maple syrup was a nice touch, but the caramel apple compote was too sweet and it was served cold resulting in this weird hot/cold donught.

I'll be back for lunch, but the brunch left me underwhelmed.

A lot has been said about this place so I will keep it short. I was thrilled with my experience at Fraser cafe this past weekend, the service was pleasant and attentive (even with an energetic one year old at the table!), the atmosphere at the new location was warm and the food was great as usual.

I also had the burger and I totally second nickfoodies comments, in addition, I will add that even the bun is made fresh in house (being totally blown away after finishing I had to know all about it and the server was happy to inform me that absolutely everything was made in house, two big thumbs up!) My only comment would be that the fries could have been salted a bit more, but other than that a really great meal.

For Dessert we tried the doughnuts and ice cream as well as the lemon cake and both arrived piping hot, a nice treat on a cold winter morning!

Excellent bacon cheeseburger on the Brunch menu. Delicious, perfectly fried double-smoked bacon and pretty aged cheddar, with a sweet mayo sauce, garnished with tomato and greens. Great fries too, fresh, thick cut. Nice salad with a variety of greens. At $13 a great deal, very filling. Washed down with a pint of Beau's and I'm a happy man.

This is my favourite burger in town

Did brunch here again last weekend, and it was pretty darn good. Service was fast and attentive, and the food was tasty.

I got a croque monsieur, since I was in the mood for a brunch-that-was-more-like-lunch. While the sandwich itself was really delicious, I didn't have my socks knocked off by the sides I got with my dish. The fries were good and crisp but (as FF says down below) pretty salty. I think part of the reason why is because they use kosher salt instead of table salt? It makes the salting a bit uneven. Also, the sauce they served on the side for my sandwich was odd. I wasn't sure what it was, and it didn't taste like much.

Didn't see how much the bill was, because we were being treated by friends of ours. Maybe one of these days we'll even do dinner here!

A friend of mine was in town from London (Ontario, sadly!), so a bunch of us (7) went out to the Metropolitain Brasserie for brunch.

Service was great: our server was knowledgable, attentive, and fun. A little bit scatterbrainted, but not a dealbreaker in any way, shape, or form.

Among the dishes we had:

- Eggs en cocotte forestière (two eggs baked in demiglace with cubes of double-smoked bacon; delicious)
- Crèpe of the day (duck, asparagus, sauce Mornay with smoked Gruyère; really good, but the asparagus was a bit icky, since it's obviously not from here)
- Daily special (a vol-au-vent filled with wilted spinach, sautéed oyster mushrooms, lobster (a whole claw and some other delicious bits), and sauce Mornay; definitely a hit.)

Plus an assortment of mimosas, cafés au lait, and crèmes brûlée.

We will definitely be returning; it's a nice change from the greasy spoon breakfasts, though I love them so.

Todric's is a lovely little place that you're unlikely to find unless you work for the government on McArthur or are egged on by your trusty GPS. Only meters away did we finally realize we were in the vicinity of gastronomic potential.

But it was worth it!

The brunch menu was filled with choices including omelets, poached eggs, pancakes, quiche, and more. The food was presented simply, but it was definitely tasty (for the record, I had a chef's omelet – cheese and asparagus - with toasts and a cappuccino).

The decor is unassuming, warm, and cozy. We got service at the table, but it seems the place can also metamorphose itself into an order-at-the-counter establishment (perhaps on weekdays for lunch?).

Food there is also very affordable.

Service was friendly, and we had a nice chat with the cook, Eric Patenaude, who's engaging and very enthusiastic about his cooking. He showed us around the frozen take-home entrees and emphasized value for the money. We made off with a lamb curry that we polished off tonight ... mmmm.

Went to Todric's on a weekend (it's on McArthur...just a few blocks west of Vanier Parkway...I know the location seems odd)...this place is FABULOUS!! One of the best brunches I have had in Ottawa. Their focus is on catering...but I will definitely come back for brunch/lunch. Fresh, delicious food! Omelettes and french toast were great. So was the quiche! The chicken club was to die for! Great ambience!!

I am very impressed by Todric's (the only thing that might seem weird is that the cutlery and condiments are self-serve...other than that, everything else is served to your table). The owner and staff are very friendly. Oh and they also carry quite a few take-home dishes, marinades, rubs and preserves.

You've got to give a place credit when they put pizza and burgers on their Brunch menu. I had the Texas Pizza, which had a sweet BBQ sauce in lieu of pizza sauce, and chicken breast pieces. The pizza was pretty large for a single-serving, and I did think the thin-crust was a bit soggy. But overall, it was a good pizza. My gf had the bagel and lox (cured salmon fillet), and I'm told it was excellent. They didn't skimp on the salmon.

Service was attentive, and the atmosphere is great. They have a front and back patio, as well as a decent-sized interior.

Worth a visit, in my opinion. I know I'll be going back to see more of the menu.

I decided to stop here on a whim on Saturday morning for brunch. I had a water and eggs benedict ($13), while my friend ordered a caesar ($8.50) and eggs benedict. She was impressed at the preserved beans in the drink, but felt that the price was steep.

The eggs benedict was quite good. It came traditional style, with a salad, home fries and a fruit salad garnished with mint. The ham wasn't your deli sliced ham, but rather as if they'd cut it off a freshly cooked ham. The egg whites looked as though they'd been whipped and tasted a little watery- maybe it's just a different style that I have yet to encounter, as most times it's just hollandaise sauce on top of poached eggs. Anyhow, the eggs were good and runny and the hollandaise sauce was just right. My friend thought it could've been more rich, but I suppose that's more of a subjective opinion!

Service was attentive in the first half, though it dropped off around halfway through the meal. I'd go back... the food was good and the ambiance was nice.

My french toast.

I had no idea that Play does brunch, but there you go. Went on Sunday with a friend and was really impressed! The prices are reasonable, great atmosphere in the middle of the Market, and the food was amazing. I spent $30 with tax and tip and got:

a large pot of tea
fruit & yoghurt parfait with homemade (delicious cinnamon-honey) granola
banana bread french toast with homemade nutella
SIX cookies

Everything was amazing, but I have to say my friend's pancakes won the morning hands down. I don't normally eat pancakes (find them mushy and tasteless), but these were crisp on the outside and had the most amazing buttery flavour.

Attached - picture of the omgyum pancakes.

Last Sunday morning after the snowstorm
this was one of the few places on Somerset/Wellington/Richmond that had parking spots (city did plow) & sidewalk was done also. So at 10:05am we were the first customers for brunch.
Coffee was hot and fresh and replenished nicely (after the server ran back from Herb&Spice across the street--fruit was very fresh!) Very reasonable prices. Vegetarian fritta platter was excellent, incredibly good homefries, oven baked veggie frittata, small side of fruit. Nice fruit cup with granola. French toast in triple sec with fruit and bacon or sausages was the most expensive item ($9),was huge and good. None of the 3 of us ordered benedict (there were 2 choices) but prices were about the best I've seen $8 or$9 and given how good the rest of the stuff was it seems like a great place for brunch. Friendly service, good food, hot coffee as needed. Love the friendly service here!

..

.

I went to Vittoria for brunch with my girlfriend last weekend. I had "Siena" Brunch: Bacon and Fontina cheese omelet served with seasoned potatoes and nine grain toast. My girlfriend had "Francesca" Brunch: Poached eggs, smoked salmon, mascarpone cheese and dill sauce served on grilled toast with seasoned potatoes. Everything was tasty and fresh. My seasoned potatoes were excellent. Good service. Impressive wine list. It's cosy!

Finally got to try the weekend brunch here and was sadly disappointed. It was certainly no where near as amazing as their lunch was (see my other post).
I had the eggs benedict with no bacon or smoked salmon, and asked for provolone cheese instead. I got cheddar cheese, which wasn't that huge of a deal, but I was pretty sad about the lack of everything on my plate. I got about 6 pieces of cold potato, and the fruit salad was also about 6 pieces of melon over a small amount of greens. The dressing over top of it all was quite good though.
I mean, everything was good enough, but at 13 dollars a plate it should stand out, and I shouldn't be leaving still hungry.
That being said, I will still go back for their lunch (dream about that goat cheese salad), but I'll skip the brunch.

Went with a group of 8 people for Sunday brunch. We had actually intended to go to Baker Street Cafe, but it was full. Service was generally good with one or two minor exceptions for small things that were forgotten (cream for coffee, extra bacon). Most people ordered either the eggs benedict or the mediterranean omelette, with one person getting the pancakes.

Everyone was happy with their food, but I didn't hear anyone blown away by the flavours. I only say this because for $12 eggs benedict I would normally expect a little more than just standard eggs benny done well. For quantity, everyone but me seems to have been satisfied, but I'm a notoriously big eater so I think the general population would be happy with what they get.

All in all, a good breakfast with good service, but I'm not sure if it's worth the slightly inflated prices.

A filled crepe.

Surprising (mild) complaint: "too much meat."

From the same diner who had the platter-o'-animal here ottawafoodies.com/vendor/620 , hence "surprising"...

A 'mediterranean' omelette.

Top marks for a good combination of veg.

Deductions for the tiny amount of feta.

And no toast to the toast. It was so dry as to be melba, and no butter ever showed up (neither did anybody to ask until the end).

Strawberry juice was great, though -- not the bottled sugar water most places with "strawberry juice" on the menu are flogging.

I had brunch here several weeks ago. They do a table d'hote brunch menu.
The day I was there the options were:

Black Bean Soup OR
House Made Granola

Breakfast Burrito OR
French Toast with Bananas and Chocolate Sauce

Choice of Dessert

I opted for the Granola, followed by the French toast.

I had a latte to start, and the granola which was really good, and fortunately in a small portion because it's pretty heavy as a starter. It was nicely carmelized and really tasty.

The french toast was unusual...it was a large wedge of brioche type bread that had been coated in oats before frying. It came with sliced bananas and chocolate sauce, 2 large pieces of thick cut bacon that were a little too crunchy for my taste and 2 sausages that were slightly longer and thinner than the standard breakfast sausage, and a lot less greasy. I wish I knew where they get them. There was also a nice salad on the plate, and fried potatoes (not deep fried, either!).

Upside: The latte was included in the price, which was about $17 so there was a lot of food for the price. And almost everything was tasty. I had to have them box my dessert (Peanut Butter Pie) to go, as there was no way I could eat it after all that.

Downside: This is not the place to go if you have plans after. I was seated shortly after 12:00 and had my bill dropped at 1:40. Also, it is a lot of food, so go hungry, or with someone who has a bigger appetite than you. Also, I liked the table d'hote format, but probably wouldn't have if they'd offered choices that didn't appeal to me.

All in all, I'd go again.

The husband and I came here for brunch today, because our standard (Jak's, right now) was doing repairs.

I had been here once before, a few years ago, and remember it being fairly good. The impression that we left with was that they took great care in some things, but didn't seem to care at all about others.

The service was really unattentive. We waited quite a while without being acknowledged, and when there was finally a table ready, we weren't seated so much as shooed into the seats. It was very strange. When ordering, the waiter was mumbling a lot. He didn't ask what my husband wanted for sides, homefries or salad, or what kind of bread. I don't think those things should have to be prompted from the customer.

They brought us banana bread and butter to start, which was a nice touch. This is one of those things that they clearly thought through, and I appreciated it.

I ordered the French Toast, with a side of bacon. It was a good portion and very tasty. I might say the best french toast I've had. The "season fruit salad" annoyed me, because it was a lot of berries that were not ripe and not in season. The bacon was a good portion, though crisper than it ought to have been.

My husband ordered the Western omlette. The homefries were a really, really small portion, albeit nicely seasoned. We talked about how the portion was smaller than you get in most restaurants, and had their been a second side (beans, salad?) it would have been a bit more explicable. He said the omlette was good, but nothing that he couldn't have gotten at a diner.
He asked for white toast, but got brown (there was no third option, which was a bit odd)

The orange juice was alright, though marked up as it is everywhere. The cafe au lait was quite good as well, though more milk than coffee. I asked three times for a glass of water, before it was finally brought.

The french toast was really good, but it would be the only thing that I would consider worthy of revisiting for. The bill was $28 for two drinks, two meals and my side, before tip. Not a bad price, but not worth such inattentive service.

We went for Father's Day brunch around 10:30 am, expecting a line-up but it was actually very quiet, probably due to all the construction on Bank St.

They had three choices for brunch, all of which are served with a grilled tomato "provencal", fried mushrooms, home fries and grilled toast.

Traditional: 2 eggs done as you like, double-smoked bacon, house sausage and ham. Vegetarian: Sweet potato, leek and ricotta fritatta. Vegan: Blueberry pancakes with coconut cream filling.

We tried the first two, and ordered toast for our toddler (who ate our homefries instead).

All the food was yummy and done well, the bacon was particularly delicious, and we all went away stuffed. The variety of sides was so nice, and made the meal feel very complete.

It's a locale with a touch of local history, built in the home of the old Imperial Theatre. It's actually a totally cute place, with art deco touches (check out the gorgeous wallpaper on the back wall) and cheesy old movie posters for a bit of visual entertainment. There are a video projector and a screen set in the ceiling, and a promise to start showing movies some time soon.

My parents have been taking us here for Saturday brunch for as long as I can remember (guesstimate 8 years).As creatures of habit we always order the same thing:
Dad: eggs Benedict (I'm pretty sure this is on back bacon)
Mom: omelet special of the day. I always sneak a bite and they usually use a good cheese, though they are never good enough for me to think to order them the next weekend
Myself and sister: eggs Portuguese. poached eggs on potato pancakes with sliced tomatoes and basil hollandaise sauce. Notably absent is basil, but it is still our fave!
The benedicts are always delicious and even the portugaise which comes on potato pancakes still comes with amazing home fries. It comes with a selection of somewhat to overly ripe fruit (slices of melon, orange, grapefruit, strawberry, pineapple and kiwi)oh and a small chocolate
(the kind they sell at costco, maybe even the kirkland brand I cant remember for sure)
the coffee is decent at best, but free refills are aplenty. To give everyone a heads up, the later you go the more likely you will wait at the tiny crowded entrance.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE brunch at The Buzz. They serve real maple syrup (surprisingly a rarity in Ottawa, unless you hit a foodie joint like most of those listed here). The menu is brief yet varied, the food fantastic and chef-like (as opposed to 'line'-cooked) and the service is delightful...always. Crepes, home-made sausages/banana bread/granola...

My friend ordered the home-style omelet souffle style.

Had brunch here,and it was really good. Basicly their breakfast is eggs cooked in the oven on an iron skillet prepared 3 ways, Israeli style. You get some really good side salads, hot bread with different spreads, olives and coffee for around 10 bucks.

I went with the Mediterranean style prepared with peppers and tomatoes, could have used more spice but it was really good. I'm definitely going back!