ottawa foodies

Despite my tendancies to favour more exotic cuisines I admit to having a slight weakness for diners. I have been working in the Wellington West neighbourhood for a few months now and after reading the reviews and seeing the sizeable lunch crowd indoors I decided to give Fil's Diner a try. I have walked by during my lunch hours a number of times and from the outside it looks quite large but upon entering it is much smaller than I had anticipated. However the tile floor and formica tabletops did not disappoint. The rather lengthy menu lists all of their breakfast items (available until 3:00 pm), sandwiches, burgers and other standard diner fare. One of the chalk boards above the bar announces that Fil's has the best club in town. According to whom I have no idea but I can't resist a club so that's what I ordered. I had a choice of white, whole wheat or rye so I picked rye and it included a side order of fries and a pickle. The sandwich consisted of perfectly toasted bread - crisp but not crumbling when eaten - the moistest chicken I have ever had, and fresh lettuce and tomato slices. The fries could have been a little crispier but overall not bad but the pickle had a slightly funky taste to it so it went uneaten. However with tax and tip it came to $17 which I found a little steep for diner fare since I have had much fancier breakfasts for that price. I would still go back though since I do like having good diner food in the area. One thing that caught my eye was the last page of the menu which included a price list for the bowling lane next door - shoe rentals and the like - so I am assuming they are under the same ownership.

So in other words Fils Diner is good? (Sorry I couldn't resist...)

all things considered, I think this is the best breakfast in town.

It's cheap...that's the first plus.

The eggs are good..above average, I would say.

Home fries are usually good or very good. The odd time they have a fish taste, but it's very rare.

Bacon is simply good...lots of twists and curves as bacon should have. Tasty...just usually not a whole lot of it on the plate.

Sausage is very good as well..

coffee gets a thumbs up from me too.

Even if the price was in line with other joints, this place is still good. Add in the cheap price, and it's the best.

Kudos for letting us feed a family of 5 breakfast, with pretty good tip, for 42 bucks

According to staff at Stittsville Fil's location - The Glen Scottish Pub will be moving from the Kanata location to this location to take over both the Diner and the Irish Pub. No firm date when The Glen will re-open in Stittsville

Fil's Diner is closing its doors in Stittsville on June 29th as well as the Pub. Breakfast crowds were great but dinner and pub crowds were apparently pretty slow. As a weekend regular for breakfast, it will be missed

Best Diner...indeed!

We still go here regularly - probably once a month and sometimes even more. Never once been disappointed. Gotta love a place where you can take the family out for breakfast for $22.

My wife noticed a sign this morning saying they now have another location in Stittsville. Check their website for details.

I am surprised by ANOM comments - I am a regular at Fil's in Stittsville and the only complaint over the many months was my wifes poached eggs were way too hard - they happily took them back and returned them medium and gave her extra bacon. Customer service is excellent and quick. Big steady crowds on Saturday and Sunday with spill over to the Pub next door. Maybe a bad hair day from ANOM

JDK

Lady Who Brunches - Good points, and a fair assessment.

However I did read Anons one other Review (Dec 2008)... also a RANT (typical line saying Montreal has better food). How then is this poster helping me "Connect to Ottawa's Best Food"?

Not a "contributing" OF Member... just someone who appears to use this site to b!tch.

Review therefore marked accordingly.

I ate here today for breakfast!

I had the wake up call and a large chocolate milk!

2 eggs - over easy - were perfect!

Ham was a little thin for my liking, but great taste all the same.

Toast was nice and thick! The home fries come with onions, but I asked for them without onions - it was no problem!

They came unseasoned and hot with no onions. They were amazing! I think I liked them better without the seasoning!!!

My meal came to about 8 something before tip!
Service was fantastic and helpful.

Ohhh and I had a bite of blueberry pancake which was delicious! We were a group of seven and they gave us a nice big table so we could all sit together:)