ottawa foodies

I used to frequent the Golden/Richmond location as well.

Now I go elsewhere ... like Equator Coffee (Churchill/Richmond).

But please do not go to Equator
... I like finding a seat.

I have to agree with the poor reviews. I am a long time Bridgehead customer (previous history was visits many times a week), but I've started going elsewhere.

My most recent bad experience was the toast at the Golden location. I ordered the cheddar and poached egg and it arrived with the eggs uncooked. The poached egg did not hold its shape at all, the white barely cooked and cold and runny. I returned it and was told if I wanted the eggs more cooked I needed to ask for it when ordering. I showed and explained the eggs were not cooked at all, so I wanted them cooked, and they just repeated the same phrase over and over. If you want your eggs cooked more you need to request it.

My thought was since you have no clue how the eggs will come, good luck ordering correctly.

After endless back and forth, they finally recooked it, delivered it to me and said if I wanted the poached eggs cooked for longer I'd need to request it when ordering - in case I didn't get the point after they repeated the same phrase again another two times.

I've had many - hundreds? - of poached eggs at restaurants. I've never had poached eggs so lightly cooked they could not hold a basic shape and the whites cold to the touch.

Other bad experiences were with the bean and cheese burritos. They heated it to beyond edible. The wrap was hard and the filled spilled out of the wrap completely.

Also, drip coffee stale, or luke warm, or so bitter tasting it was undrinkable.

I do think their Iris location is downright TERRIBLE for quality. I've had enough bad coffees, lukewarm teas, poorly toasted toasts, and "sorry we're out of that tea" visits to last a lifetime.
I just moved closer to a different location and the quality is significantly better. I hope it doesn't change :(

You're right, I should be more specific with criticism.

The regular (not specialty flavour), medium-sized hot chocolate with whipped cream ordered yesterday at the Iris Bridgehead location was as described in the previous post. As was one ordered a couple weeks ago from the Third Ave location. As was one ordered from the Rideau Centre location over the Christmas holidays. I tried a few times from a few locations and each time it wasn't good. I think their method or ingredients must be sub-par, because it was consistently bad in my recent experience.

>Their hot chocolate is nothing more than hot water with a faint cocoa flavour and colour and grainy texture.

How many times have you had it? Maybe it was made wrong. I find their hot chocolate pretty good. My daughter was addicted to their peppermint hot chocolate when it was available. I mean, it's not Cylie-quality but I'd certainly have it in preference to Tim's or McDonald's (not setting the bar high, I know).

Their hot chocolate is nothing more than hot water with a faint cocoa flavour and colour and grainy texture. Not recommended at all.

Thanks very much Bridgehead for your generous contribution to the Connaught Public School Stone Soup fundraiser!

My Chai latte was so pretty. I didn't want to drink it. I did...and was even more content.

I also took a sandwich to go which turned out to be equally tasty. Variety in assortment was lacking but that would be due to the oddball time of day I imagine.

I only wish they were open later since I often work till 8 and like to go home first to change.

Love that it is local - I enjoy keeping my money in the community.

Bridgehead Roastery will be open for Doors Open Ottawa this year Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. More info on Doors Open is here: ottawa.ca

So, Rizak, when you said " thank you" did they say "no problem". God, I hate when they say that, like they saw me coming, decided whatever I wanted was going to be a problem, and then when they realized I wasn't, (no doubt much to their relief) they thought they would convey the message, that, you know, I wasn't such a problem after all. What's up with that? Do parents/ employers no longer teach these kids (and it is invariably the younger crowd) to simply say " thank you?" Sorry for the rant.

We ordered an urn of coffee for our wedding from Bridgehead; 50 cups of coffee for about $35, including milk, cream, sugar, cups (which we did not use).

I was really impressed with the service; they misplaced our order and replaced it free of charge. (The misplacement had to do with a change in staff and a leaving staff member not following through).

All in all, very pleased.

Definitely the best coffee chain in Ottawa--fresh, not over-roasted and smooth, smooth. smooth. They're a bit slow on the service. But it's worth it.

(Also, for Brunchies, Stoneface Dolly's serves it as their standby coffee)

My favourite coffee in Ottawa. I love the Brazilian and Mexican roasts.

I recently tossed my masculine insecurities aside and ordered a "French vanilla latte" at Bridgehead. It was deeeeelicious! :)

Bridgehead is possibly the very best place in town to grab a delicious healthy salad to eat on the go. Their salads make a lovely meal, anytime of day. Their Chicken Club with crunchy double-smoked bacon and chunky pieces of tender and juicy marinated chicken topped with tart and creamy lemon basil dressing was to die for.

This picture of their (tuna) Nicoise Salad lightly covered with a beautiful vinaigrette tells part of the salad story being made at Bridgehead.

Since this is the first entry on Bridgehead's scones, I figure I will add a bit of background information: Bridgehead usually has two types of scones, one sweet and one savoury. They had been carrying a cheese scone and a lemon scone for quite some time, and added a maple oatmeal scone recently.

Today, I went in and noticed that there was in place of the lemon scone a lemon-blueberry scone, which I was quite excited by. They looked a bit darker, but I didn't think anything of it. The girl who rung me through a was surprised by the existence of the new scone, so I'm guessing today was the first day.

Anyway, I suspect that either an ingredient was missing or that the dough had been mixed for far too long, because these might have been the driest and toughest scones I have ever tasted. Certainly, they were an anomaly for Bridgehead. Although, my general experience is that they need a few batches to work out any kinks in the recipe. I'm just surprised that they released them, given how tough they were...presumably previous batches weren't as bad.

ETA (September 4): I emailed Bridgehead about this and they agreed with me. The lemon scone returned and they've been working to improve their other scones in the kitchen. Meanwhile, they compensated me a lemon scone on my next visit and since then, their lemon scones have been the best they've ever been!

typicallydia: Can you comment on how much a glass costs? Too pricey for one person might be the right amount for another, if it actually tastes perfect...

Far too pricey for what you know is simple syrup, water an a lemon or two. However, it tastes perfect.

I literally just came back from the Bridgehead at Golden and Richmond. A friend invited me for latte and then treated me to an Almondine. We both quite liked them. Really flaky on the outside and the inside had that yummy paste but still had the layers of croissant. It was a pretty decadent treat calories wise I am sure so I best not do that too often but for me it was a delightful treat. I guess different strokes for different folks.

I love the new Bridgehead croissants. I hate the new Bridgehead Almondine. An almond croissant should still taste like a croissant. It should be a bit flaky, a bit crispy and the almond mixture shouldn't be so buttery and thickly layered that it makes the inside of the croissant soggy.

Honestly, I wasn't impressed and I probably won't order it again. On the other hand, they have three other croissants that impress me time and time over.

Very good croissant, should probably have made the top 3 and beat out Le Moulin de Provence... I had the ham & gruyere croissant, amazing! Definitely rich though, maybe a once a week type of indulgence. I wish I would have taken a photo, but I ate the thing too damned quick... was a beautiful looking pastry while it lasted.

The new croissants are better than the average grocery store croissant but they don't really compare to the French Baker ones that they used to carry.

I'll probably get baked goods from elsewhere instead of their now overpriced croissants.

I was not first but I also got one of their croissants this morning. I was pretty dubious about them getting rid of the French Baker croissants and chocolatines but I have to say their new ones are excellent too (the croissant anyway, I did not see any chocolatines). They are very crispy on the outside, soft and flakey on the inside; maybe not as buttery as the French Baker but perhaps closer to what people might expect in a croissant. I'm a fan of the F.B. style but these will certainly do.

I was fortunate enough to be the first to try their new croissants at the new Metcalfe and Sparks store this morning at 6:30 am.

Cheaper than a flight to Paris!!!

Run, run now. They won't last long.

ottawafood.blogspot.com

Rumor has it that the new croissants will be made from the same dough that they are using for the Morning Buns (see review below). If this is the case, I think they'll survive just fine.

Gasp! Looks like Bridgehead is switching from French Baker Croissants to... (wait for it) MAKING THEIR OWN! Big shoes to fill! Looks like no croissants at Bridgehead until they get going on April 12th. I am interested to see how this goes down!

I agree that these are great. A nice lemon/orange peel taste mixed in with the sugar is really nice. These are a kind of hard-baked flaky bun. It's hard to describe.

NOTE: Do not eat in your car because you will get pieces and sugar all over everything. This is how you get ants. Do you want ants? No. Eat it carefully over a napkin. Then dispose of the napkin. Lick your lips, enjoy the rest of your coffee. You will still have coffee left because this bun will take all of your concentration.

These are evil, in a good way. Massively delicious and oh so bad for you. Between that and the lemon squares, my willpower fails me every time.

I had only heard of these in passing before visiting Bridgehead this morning. I thought I would give them a whirl...man, I was impressed.

They peel apart in fluffy layers, and are sweet and spicy with a bit of citrus kick.

I might have to up my cardio training to make up for these...on the other hand, they are smaller than the croissants.

I have developed a slight addiction to those. It's the star anise flavour that makes me like them. They taste like something as opposed to just sugar and the combination with lemon is interesting. And they are fairly tart. If they sold jars of the lemon curd, I would buy some to spread on good bread. Yum!

I too had a lemon square last week after comments from LWB. YUM!!
I'm normally a ginger cookie gal and didn't really take a look at these (likely the colour didn't make me think - hmm that's a lemon square). However, that may change as I love the tart, fresh, lemon zing. I certainly hope they don't mute the flavour, it is lovely as it is. The extra fruit makes it more interesting.

I decided to try Bridgehead's lemon squares after reading these reviews. Normally, being a bit of a chocoholic, I go for their (choc chip) cookies or brownies, but though I'd give these a try. They are excellent, the only thing I wasn't really keen on is that they are much sweeter than I'd normally like. I'm guessing it's the addition of raspberries (as well as sugar, of course). So they are def a bit sweet, but I really loved the strong tart and fresh lemon flavour. I'd def get them again if I wanted something really sweet, but I'm guessing that probably won't be too often.
They are better than other lemon squares I've had though!

These Bridgehead lemon squares are delicious. I'm a sucker for a tart lemon square, and this fit the bill. It has rhubarb, anise, and raspberries in the curd to give it a little extra oomph. I hope they keep it around, one of the cashiers mentioned there had been some complaints that the flavours were too intense... wake up your boring tastebuds Ottawa, these squares rock!

After foodiePrints' recent review on twitter of Bridgehead's new lemon squares recipe, I thought I would pick one up for breakfast.

These ain't your average lemon squares. They are tart, lip-puckering tart! The lemon is sharp and fresh, and there are pieces of rhubarb and raspberries throughout. These are my kind of lemon square (although, every kind of lemon square is my kind of lemon square).

Usually, I am a fan of their sandwiches, either the tofu/peanut butter spread, or the cheese and tomato, with wicked Dijon.

However, much to my sadness today, the person who made the tofu spread at their kitchen left out the peanut butter. It was, as my friend's 2 year-old says, a bit yuckty.

But, I know I will eat one again next week.

I spoke with one of the Barristas and he told me that the roasting was done outside of Montreal (likely between Ottawa and Montreal)

He also told me that they were preparing the roasting facility as we speak, so I am guessing that they will have some excellent roasting over by the end of the year.

I never realized they roasted locally. I love the freshness of the beans and they can grind it well, but I thought it was roasted from afar.

Coffee at Bridgehead is roasted about an hour's drive from Ottawa, and is used within two weeks of roasting (which is some pretty good turn around for a chain, if you ask me). They also grind it in store (unlike Starbucks/Second Cup), meaning that the roast/blend changes depending upon how quickly they sell out (they grind in 5 lb doses).

The company is working on developing their own roastery within the next year or two.

Organic! Yummy, great to go of you're downtown and don't want to eat IN anywhere.

Comes with a piece of bread as well.

Unlike other coffee chains in the city, Bridgehead literally gives you ICED coffee.

So you can bring it to the sugar/milk/cream station and put whatever you want in it, if need be.

This is so much better then the other places that give you the disgusting syrup in it.