Ottawa Foodies

Went here this weekend for breakfast since we were driving around the Merivale area and I got *hungry*. I noticed the Bram-fekta - 1 pancake, 1 french toast, 1 eggs benny, hash browns, 2 sausages, 2 pieces of bacon and juice. My partner ordered the cheese & mushroom omelette which came with toast & hashbrowns. She got a side of bacon with it as well. Coffee came quick, they refilled it on a regular basis. Our order was taken quickly and we were served within 10 minutes. Seems like they've ironed out the kinks! Anyway, the food was alright, the hollandaise sauce had broken on my eggs benny, not the end of the world but it's just one of those nit-picky details. Everything else was fine. Though, and I'm not complaining about this restaurant in particular but most breakfast places in general, why use processed cheese slices in an omelette?! It's just wrong! Even cheap *real* cheddar is a major step up. Anyway, generally, for the money, the food was good and the service was spot on (which based on previous reviews is a bit surprising?!) I'd definitely go back for standard breakfast fare, and I'd be interested in trying the non-breakfast items on the menu as well.

I've been to the location in Orleans a few times. The service has been really good. It was casual and exactly what I'd expect from a diner.

The first two times I ordered eggs Benedict with the eggs poached medium. Once they came hard, and the other they came soft. Hard I can deal with but I hate runny whites!

The potatoes were also WAY too salty for my tastes and I had to cover them in ketchup to eat them. The plus side is that it's never too busy so you can always get fast service.

Went to try the new location on Merivale a few weeks ago. We walked in to a packed restaurant and seated ourselves. After 10-15 minutes of waiting without any acknowledgment - we left. No coffee, no menus, nothing! A busboy even came and wiped our table down and didn't even say a word. I'd love to give this location a chance but service that like that really grinds my gears - there's restaurants out there that do a better job of earning my business.

Went to the one on merivale/clyde area, hope this is the right spot for the review.

We went in around 12:20 I believe on a Thursday afternoon, only two other people eating at the bar area at that time. We sat and took a while to be approached (coming on 8 minutes) for some odd reason...but after that it was fantastic, the server brought menus/drinks right away. She offered up newspaper and brought it over. The breakfast was very good. Eggs overeasy cooked properly. The hashbrowns are the cube type deep fried, and then they season with that orange/red spices, but atleast they toss with some cooked onions/peppers. (we still are having a hard time finding good hashbrowns for breakfast in Nepean area...) The sausage was pretty good too. The coffee a little off, but not so much that I wouldn't go back. We will be back again for breakfast.

After the initial waiting, it was great service. The menu has basic diner items, it's not like they are trying to do too many things...breakfast is all day I believe. There are hamburgers/wraps, club sandwiches etc.

To answer your question, FiH, there's no need for a new entry if both locations have the same menu (which you confirmed in your review). The rule I follow is that if I'm commenting on service or saying anything negative, I mention the specific location. Otherwise, I find it's usually safe to assume that the same menu items are good at different locations.

That said, I have split up multi-location restaurants for which I feel the quality varies a lot between locations (e.g. Lone Star).

Boyfriend and I went to the new Bramasole Diner in the West End (on Merivale - Fresh Foodie if you're reading this I wasn't sure if I should create a new entry for "Bramasole Diner West" or just include it under this one???). We visited last weekend on Mother's Day for a late breakfast. We specifically chose this place because we knew several breakfast/bruch/lunch places would be packed for the holiday, so we hoped this one would be emptier since it is new and not that many people have realized that it is buried in the strip-mall yet.

Interesting note: the first thing that I noticed was that there was a sign on the door saying that they were looking for a waitress. Not waitstaff - waitRESS specifically. That kind of turned me off - why aren't they looking for male waiters too? Sexist?

Anyway, we walked in and were happy to see that it was not crowded at all - only about 4 booths were filled (out of around 20 or so). Ambiance/decor Pros: Every table in the place is a booth! Yay! They are the same style booths as Bramasole downtown (space-shippy with big swooping backs). Pictures on the walls of classic celebs (Elvis etc.). 50's Rock n' Roll music. Ambiance/Decor Cons: It is a BIG space with a HIGH ceiling - so it's like eating in a warehouse. The echo is very off-putting and every plate clink is magnified. If I was the owner, I would invest in lowering the ceiling and/or invest in sound absorption ceiling/wall tiles or something.

Service was lacking albeit friendly: We walked in and, as no one approached us or acknowledged us after a few minutes, we seated ourselves (as is expected with most casual diners). We waited a full 15 minutes (while people around us who came in AFTER were already served)before a waitress came over to us to give us menus. She was very apologetic and said that she thought the other waitress had taken care of us, and that the other waitress hadn't noticed we were sitting there - I know mix-ups can happen, but it might indicate a slight lack of organization/communication with the waitstaff so I'm suspicious that it may be more common than a one time thing. After that point the waitress was very attentive, being very prompt with the coffee refills much to my delight.

The menu is identical to Bramasole downtown. Boyfriend had the Bram Slam (1 Pancake, 1 French Toast (he substituted 2 French Toast) , 2 eggs, Sausage, Bacon, Toast, Hashbrowns and Juice) and I had the Bram-fecta (1 Pancake, 1 French Toast, 1 Eggs Benedict, Sausage, Bacon, Toast, Hashbrowns, Juice).

Food took a full 25 mins to arrive, which is a little long for a diner - especially one that isn't too busy, but the food we received was a tasty basic breakfast- nothing outstanding, but nothing offensive. My poached egg was slightly over-done (this is one of my pet peeves so I'm pretty picky) so it wasn't quite as yolk soaked as I like my eggs benny, but there was still some softness to the yolk (unlike the last place that served me HARD poached eggs lol). Hollandaise sauce was a standard mix or jarred variety but I was pleased that it didn't have that "chalky" quality that some other places sometimes have. Hashbrowns are standard hunks of deep fried potatoes. Boyfriend also had a chocolate milkshake (which comes in the metal container yay!) which was again tasty, but pretty standard as well - a little too sweet for my tastes.

went in on a sunday afternoon and it was a short wait and was a little bit busy. Was given coffee and promptly and ordered food after 5 minutes. We ordered the specials and combo from the menu. After 45 minutes of waiting, they told us that the poached egg for the benedict would take a while. After an hour of waiting for our food, we got upset as they started serving people that had come in 15 minutes after us. We left after they served the table of 6 poached eggs that had come in 30 minutes after us. This was very rude and they did not apologize but only stated that it takes a long time to poach an egg. It does not take an hour and 15 minutes of waiting to poach an egg. Service was horrible and the food did not look apetizing. The washrooms were dirty. Would not recommend this place to anybody. We are respectable and were well dressed, either the waitress or staff were racist or incompetent. I do not know why they provided such terrible service. If you want to wait an hour and 15 minutes or more to get breakfast...this would be the place. We are never going back.