Foods from Atomic Rooster
Comments
2012 Dec 6
I have been back three times since my last post, and I am happily becoming a semi-regular costumer.
Service is always friendly and fast, which is awesome and sets the tone.
I was not a fan of the reuben, which had chewy meat and quite a lot of gristle.
The meat lover's pizza is AWESOME. Lots of spicy sausage and meatballs, rich sauce, fresh crust. Highly recommend.
Yesterday I tried the ribs (half rack), which were fall off the bone tender and well-seasoned. Could have used a bit more sauce, but I would order these again.
The house dressing (balsamic) is delicious.
Service is always friendly and fast, which is awesome and sets the tone.
I was not a fan of the reuben, which had chewy meat and quite a lot of gristle.
The meat lover's pizza is AWESOME. Lots of spicy sausage and meatballs, rich sauce, fresh crust. Highly recommend.
Yesterday I tried the ribs (half rack), which were fall off the bone tender and well-seasoned. Could have used a bit more sauce, but I would order these again.
The house dressing (balsamic) is delicious.
2012 Oct 4
Tried this place out today for my birthday work lunch (we originally wanted to go to Imperial, but they were closed for a special occasion). We were a group of 8.
Service was great! The server was friendly, chatty in a totally non-intrusive way, and quick.
The food I saw around the table was good, and feedback overall was positive. Some people got the soup/wrap special (looked great), one person got the rotisserie chicken (also looked great) and a handful of people got the black bean wrap (vegan-friendly!!) that I got to taste - fresh and light.
I split an order of wings and the small philly beef pizza with a friend. The wings were fine - medium - not super juicy, the sauce was a bit smoky for my taste, but overall they were ok. They come with a side of sour cream.
The pizza was the most flavourless pizza I have ever had. It has olive oil in lieu of sauce (I believe in an attempt to be fancy?), but when you use olive oil on a fairly fluffy crust, with unseasoned soft slices of beef, under a MASSIVE layer of flavourless mozzarella, you get a warm, soft mouthful of...bland. The concept is fine, but maybe do a thin crisp crust, garlic oil, seasoned beef, a sharp cheese, and caramelized onion? Or something? I will say that the pizza was hot and fresh, and they did not skimp on ingredients. And the small is huge! This particular pizza is just a poor combination of ingredients. I was always a person who thought there was no such thing as too much cheese on a pizza, but I was corrected on that today.
The best part is the selection of beer on tap. I had a fantastic pint of Kronenberg Blanc, and hubby had (for the first time) Sir Perry on tap. We have only ever had it in the can, and the tap version is FANTASTIC.
We will definitely be back for fries and drinks, maybe some other menu items.
Service was great! The server was friendly, chatty in a totally non-intrusive way, and quick.
The food I saw around the table was good, and feedback overall was positive. Some people got the soup/wrap special (looked great), one person got the rotisserie chicken (also looked great) and a handful of people got the black bean wrap (vegan-friendly!!) that I got to taste - fresh and light.
I split an order of wings and the small philly beef pizza with a friend. The wings were fine - medium - not super juicy, the sauce was a bit smoky for my taste, but overall they were ok. They come with a side of sour cream.
The pizza was the most flavourless pizza I have ever had. It has olive oil in lieu of sauce (I believe in an attempt to be fancy?), but when you use olive oil on a fairly fluffy crust, with unseasoned soft slices of beef, under a MASSIVE layer of flavourless mozzarella, you get a warm, soft mouthful of...bland. The concept is fine, but maybe do a thin crisp crust, garlic oil, seasoned beef, a sharp cheese, and caramelized onion? Or something? I will say that the pizza was hot and fresh, and they did not skimp on ingredients. And the small is huge! This particular pizza is just a poor combination of ingredients. I was always a person who thought there was no such thing as too much cheese on a pizza, but I was corrected on that today.
The best part is the selection of beer on tap. I had a fantastic pint of Kronenberg Blanc, and hubby had (for the first time) Sir Perry on tap. We have only ever had it in the can, and the tap version is FANTASTIC.
We will definitely be back for fries and drinks, maybe some other menu items.
2012 May 4
Swung by here for dinner last night as I wanted to try the Beau's Belgian Pale Ale. Food was standard pub fare... nothing much to write about one way or the other. Fries were disappointingly soft.
Here's the important thing though... the service was awesome. Better than I remember having at any Ottawa restaurant. In hindsight, I should have tipped more. The waiter was quick and attentive. When asked questions he was able to answer and preemptively made it clear that if there were any issues, he would be happy to resolve them. I could've taken him up on this fry-wise but I decided to just have another beer instead (and who needs that many fries, really?).
That's the other thing -- they've got a good selection of beers kicking around here: 3 Beau's, Hogsback, Spearhead Hawaiian Pale Ale, and some others.
Will be back for drinks and service but might skip the food next time.
Here's the important thing though... the service was awesome. Better than I remember having at any Ottawa restaurant. In hindsight, I should have tipped more. The waiter was quick and attentive. When asked questions he was able to answer and preemptively made it clear that if there were any issues, he would be happy to resolve them. I could've taken him up on this fry-wise but I decided to just have another beer instead (and who needs that many fries, really?).
That's the other thing -- they've got a good selection of beers kicking around here: 3 Beau's, Hogsback, Spearhead Hawaiian Pale Ale, and some others.
Will be back for drinks and service but might skip the food next time.
2011 Dec 28
Ok. I feel the need to follow up on my earlier review.
I've been back to the Atomic Rooster several times since I wrote that review about the eggs Benedict, for breakfast, and the service and food have both been good.
I haven't ever ventured into eggs Benedict territory again, out of sheer fear, but I did witness one delivered to a nearby table this past weekend and it looked 10x better than the one I was subjected to.
All in all, I've more-than forgiven AR. It's my breakfast place now. My one-egg brekky costs less than $5. I still tremble at the memory of my past experience, but it was a once off.
I've been back to the Atomic Rooster several times since I wrote that review about the eggs Benedict, for breakfast, and the service and food have both been good.
I haven't ever ventured into eggs Benedict territory again, out of sheer fear, but I did witness one delivered to a nearby table this past weekend and it looked 10x better than the one I was subjected to.
All in all, I've more-than forgiven AR. It's my breakfast place now. My one-egg brekky costs less than $5. I still tremble at the memory of my past experience, but it was a once off.
2011 Aug 28
Oh, I usually shy away from writing scathing reviews, and it hurts me to do this because I love the Atomic Rooster. But I must. It was freaking horrible today.
Before I give my report on breakfast, I'd like to note that I go to AR every Wednesday for the burger-and-beer deal, which is usually fine and dandy, if nothing to write home about. And the servers are always wonderful.
On with it:
Three of us went for breakfast this... um... Sunday afternoon and we were immediately told the wait would be about 30 to 40 minutes. No matter! We weren't in a rush. My boyfriend and I ordered Eggs Benny, while our friend ordered the lumberjack, and we all started drinking coffee.
An hour (or possibly longer) later, the breakfasts came out. When we finally got cutlery, we were ravenous and dying to dig in. Even though the hollandaise sauce was a curious translucent color with yellow specks in it, I still went for it. And I really shouldn't have because it was disgusting. And it takes a lot to disgust me.
The hollandaise, as mentioned, was a yellowish-clear liquid which saturated everything beneath it, including the bread. The eggs were poached terribly, delivered in bunches of stringy clouds. One was over hard, the other one was over easy. I know this because I cut the other one in half to check, as I couldn't stomach eating more than 50% of my meal. My boyfriend's was the exact same. Also, our meals were lukewarm upon arrival.
On the side was the most boring excuse for hash browns I've ever eaten. I used a lot of ketchup, but they were edible.
All in all, I applaud the server for warning us--albeit inaccurately--about the long wait. I don't mind a long wait, especially when coffee is timely refilled.
However, our food was too cold upon arrival, we had to wait another five minutes for cutlery, and my friend had to ask where his accompanying toast was for his meal.
However, they did make him an "extra big" pancake to make up for our wait. Oh, thanks! I'm glad I got one too, oh wait, no. I just got a sh*tty, lukewarm breakfast after an hour of waiting.
It's been hours now, and I'm still this ticked off. There ya go, my first scathing review.
Before I give my report on breakfast, I'd like to note that I go to AR every Wednesday for the burger-and-beer deal, which is usually fine and dandy, if nothing to write home about. And the servers are always wonderful.
On with it:
Three of us went for breakfast this... um... Sunday afternoon and we were immediately told the wait would be about 30 to 40 minutes. No matter! We weren't in a rush. My boyfriend and I ordered Eggs Benny, while our friend ordered the lumberjack, and we all started drinking coffee.
An hour (or possibly longer) later, the breakfasts came out. When we finally got cutlery, we were ravenous and dying to dig in. Even though the hollandaise sauce was a curious translucent color with yellow specks in it, I still went for it. And I really shouldn't have because it was disgusting. And it takes a lot to disgust me.
The hollandaise, as mentioned, was a yellowish-clear liquid which saturated everything beneath it, including the bread. The eggs were poached terribly, delivered in bunches of stringy clouds. One was over hard, the other one was over easy. I know this because I cut the other one in half to check, as I couldn't stomach eating more than 50% of my meal. My boyfriend's was the exact same. Also, our meals were lukewarm upon arrival.
On the side was the most boring excuse for hash browns I've ever eaten. I used a lot of ketchup, but they were edible.
All in all, I applaud the server for warning us--albeit inaccurately--about the long wait. I don't mind a long wait, especially when coffee is timely refilled.
However, our food was too cold upon arrival, we had to wait another five minutes for cutlery, and my friend had to ask where his accompanying toast was for his meal.
However, they did make him an "extra big" pancake to make up for our wait. Oh, thanks! I'm glad I got one too, oh wait, no. I just got a sh*tty, lukewarm breakfast after an hour of waiting.
It's been hours now, and I'm still this ticked off. There ya go, my first scathing review.
2010 Oct 8
Not sure how to go about this without getting a majority of thumbs down but here goes. After getting a message from Beau's on where locally they serve their beer this establishment was on the list. Usually beaus on tap is a good indicator that the food will be enjoyable. Not in this case. I have never been put in the situation I was in tonight. If the food is good I really have no problem with shady clientele or cigarette smoke billowing in the open door from the plethora of smokers congregating at the front door. This is the worst experience yet in Ottawa. I started with a Beau's no problem there. Then some hot chicken wings. They were edible a little dry from being frozen too long but the franks hot sauce helped cover that. I ordered a cheddar bacon cheeseburger and fries. The burger was small by any standard, burnt dry and frankly not edible. After two bites I put it down and finished the french fries which were average at best. My wife had the chorizo quesadilla. She also did not eat her entire meal,picking out the chorizo which really was a type of kielbasa covered in caramelized onions and a sprinkle of cheese wrapped in a overly toasted dried out flour tortilla. The jarred salsa that was served with the quesadilla was stale and had no flavor. So surprised at the quality of food we were in a bit of shock and did not know what to do or say. When asked if everything was ok I froze for a moment and said "not really" obvious from the food left on our plates. Our server asked what was wrong. I said "can we have our bill and not to bother" wanting badly just to leave. By the amount of alcohol being served it dawned on me that this is just a drinking establishment. A $53 mistake I hope doesn't happen to anyone else.
2010 Aug 11
Been here a few times, the food is decent - good service, and I agree with other poster, nice choice away from Royal Oak. I think I have been here twice, and in both cases for lunch. I had a club sandwich the first time, and probably the second time too, since I cannot remember - and that is my default choice almost everywhere. The first time I went there the service was a bit slow, but we came in after the rush time at about 2pm, and they were probably in shift change or some such thing. Our plans changed and we needed to get the mains of our meals to go. When I went to the counter to ask that we needed our food to go, they were responsive and helpful.
Older
2011 Apr 17
Good cheap breakfast. We go nearly every weekend. The home-fries are consistently good. They also serve a decent fruit salad (large bowl $4, side $2). The menu expands into fancier, more expensive selections, but I haven't found anywhere to beat the bacon & eggs deal at the Rooster. Most of the time, the service is blisteringly fast too.
2008 Apr 12
On a rainy Saturday morning, my partner and I ventured out for a delicious brunch, our mouths watering for a classic Mayflower breakfast. Upon arrival, it was packed solid, and we just were not in the mood to be crammed into one of their tiny two-person tables...So we hit the road!
Walking down Bank street we were inspired by the fresh, renovated look of the Atomic Rooster and their billboard out front advertising a three egg breakfast for a very decent price. Exchanging glances of "Why not give it a try?", we went in.
Not wanting to ruin the ending of this post, but brunch was delicious!
The lovely servers kept our cups filled with freshly brewed caffeine-laden coffee, while ensuring our meals were brought out hot, made to order, and beautifully presented.
Even though we both got the simple two egg breakfast with toast and house salad and homefries, everything was great - Eggs perfectly prepared as requested, toast toasted to perfection,and homefries tossed with sauteed onions. The kicker - combined check for two people: $11. Splendid.
The plates coming out of the kitchen for the other hungry patrons also looked superb,enough so to entice me back to give those a try.
So, with friendly service, relaxing ambiance, and fresh, delicious food, I will definitely return to the Atomic Rooster another Saturday morning for my first meal of the day.
Walking down Bank street we were inspired by the fresh, renovated look of the Atomic Rooster and their billboard out front advertising a three egg breakfast for a very decent price. Exchanging glances of "Why not give it a try?", we went in.
Not wanting to ruin the ending of this post, but brunch was delicious!
The lovely servers kept our cups filled with freshly brewed caffeine-laden coffee, while ensuring our meals were brought out hot, made to order, and beautifully presented.
Even though we both got the simple two egg breakfast with toast and house salad and homefries, everything was great - Eggs perfectly prepared as requested, toast toasted to perfection,and homefries tossed with sauteed onions. The kicker - combined check for two people: $11. Splendid.
The plates coming out of the kitchen for the other hungry patrons also looked superb,enough so to entice me back to give those a try.
So, with friendly service, relaxing ambiance, and fresh, delicious food, I will definitely return to the Atomic Rooster another Saturday morning for my first meal of the day.
Honest Tooth
Laugh. Out. Loud.