ottawa foodies

Ralphs has the best eggs...the bacon is hit and miss. It used to be the best bacon, but not anymore.

The home fries are among the worst in the city...dry and flavourless is the best description I can come up with.

Coffee - no complaints

beans - clearly heated in the microwave...which is just a huge minus, in my books.

toast is fair as well.

Tina is the best waitress though...sharp and efficient. She'll know your order within a few weeks of going there.

Ralphs is the best breakfast
Eat there once a week at least
-Eggs good
-Beans home made very good
-Potatoes not deep fried very good
-coffee good, always a second or third cup offered
-Shorie always remembers my order
-Overall the best, but I like Coras in Kanata as well before 8:00 for the price but if I ask for beans instead of bacon its always a drama so I stay away
Ralphs is the best.

We have been going to Ralph & Sons every weekend for breakfast for the past year+. It is a family run, home cookin, seat yourself kindof restaurant.
The prices are mid-range and the servings are normal, not USA portions. Two eggs, two toast, four bacon or sausages and pan fries. We love their sausages and substitution beans instead of pan fries! My hubby only likes bold Starbucks coffee black and he says Ralph's coffee is good. Their tea is Red Rose. :) (only negative; I do agree the pan fries are just Ok.)
The waitress' have always been friendly, prompt and helpful. Danalee (smiley, petite blonde) on the weekends and Shorie (sp?) (smiley, middle age, black haired) on the weekdays are great waitresses! Shorie remembered our orders from day one and always has time for a quick chat or tease! Danalee always remembers our names. (The complaint about the elderly waitress not being very friendly, hmm...it is the Owner, the Mother of Ralph's Sons. Ha. She can appear brisk, but she's efficient. It is a VERY busy place.)
We have never been asked to leave, so other customers could be seated. (There are only two booths which are reserved for four or more seating...perhaps the customer asked to leave was at one of those? They were there Jan 4...busy holiday season.)
I haven't hesitated recommending this restaurant and will continue to make it a part of our weekends!

I have recently paid a visit for breakfast at Ralph and Sons, I was not pleased to at the overpriced pedestrian breakfast and rude service. As we were finishing up our coffee we were approached by a member of the staff and asked to leave, as they wanted to seat other customers. If we had been long finished our meal I might understand but this was simply not the case. I would not personally recommend the food or the service.

I've been to Ralph and Sons over 20 times. Besides the homefries which are average at best, the breakfasts are tasty and filling and the service is average to pleasant and always quick.

There is also a nice family feel to the place. I also like that you can clearly see the grill which I personally believe leads to cleaner food preperation since the customer is always watching.

I'd recommend Ralf and Sons if you're in the mood for a yummy "greasy spoon" breakfast at a reasonable price.

Best of luck!

Had another great breakfast special here yesterday. It is quite big (I couldn't finish it all) and at 7.49 it includes bottomless coffee, 2 eggs, 2 slices of toast, choice of sausage, bacon or ham and choice of beans or homefries. I always get the beans as they are homemade and their homefries are not great. I do enjoy their bacon as well, as it is not that paper-thin, pre-cooked crap that some restaurants are now serving. Our service is always with a smile. At lunch time I have only had the club sandwich, which is always terrific. It is my diner of choice in town.

We live less than 5 minutes away and have gone in a couple of times. The portions are not very large, but the quality of food is pretty good. The prices are a bit high for sandwiches and breakfasts.
Our experience has been you don`t have to wait long for your food, but holy cow the wait staff was grumpy. The elderly waitress rarely smiles. She does not make you feel very welcome. Because of this, Ralph and sons is would not be my first choice at anytime.

Funny thing... I popped into the Loblaws in Bells Corners this morning and on the way out two ladies stopped me to ask if there was a good place for breakfast nearby. (This happens to me a lot -- do I *look* like someone who's interested in restaurants??) Anyway, I told them about Ralph's and gave them directions. So they were there this morning too. :-)

Went here today for breakfast. I had the veggie/mushroom/cheese omelette with hash browns & James had bacon, eggs, toast and hashbrowns. The coffee was excellent, the food was delicious and the service was quick and efficient. The potatoes are SO good - very flavourful. We'll be back!

Overall a really nice unpretentious neighbourhood diner. Service is friendly, comfortable and efficient.

I visited again with my wife a few weeks ago, since this place is in our neighbourhood and we really want to love it. Alas, this breakfast is just a ripoff now. The prices keep going up and the quality hasn't kept pace.

$9.95 for a standard breakfast: 2 eggs, 3 bacon, home fries, toast, small OJ, coffee. I paid $0.50 extra to get rye bread as the regular sliced bread makes me sad. The home fries aren't as tasty as they used to be and I think we're done.

For the best basic egg breakfast in town we'll continue to go to Kal's Place and for the cheap-eats version we'll choose Al's Diner.

I've been twice since my last visit, and the home fries have changed for the worse. They are no longer ripple-cut and both times they were undercooked on the inside and blackened in parts on the outside. For an expensive breakfast, this is not good.

Took this photo at breakfast today! This is the Breakfast Combo for $9.95. Two eggs, two bacon, two sausage, home fries with onion, baked beans, two toasts, coffee (with refills), and orange juice.

It's just really well done. Everything is tasty. I think I'm back to calling this the best standard breakfast in town again, but certainly not the cheapest. The sausages aren't as good as those at Kal's Place, but everything else is a little better, right down to the coffee.

Prices have gone up a little and the quality has suffered a little, making this place no longer the best breakfast in town. It's still way above average though, and those homefries are still magical.

I'm posting this pic (with permission) from twitter.com/cestboncooking because I thought it was particularly appetizing. It shows the more usual bacon (not extra crispy like I always request) and I like the idea of getting the potatoes on a separate plate! [EDIT: it turns out this is a side order of homefries, ordered separately.]

I go to Ralph's every Sunday...and while not every Sunday is identical, I can say that I believe it to be the best bacon and eggs in the city. Now..the homefries are sub-par, and the beans are about average....but the bacon and eggs can't be touched! Farm fresh eggs are notably tastier than regular eggs....I love their coffee too!

Here it is, baby! Again, the bacon isn't this crispy unless you ask for it that way. I was so excited that I dug into it before taking the photo -- hence the scoop taken out of the ketchup pile. ;-)

Not the cheapest or biggest egg breakfast in town but quite possibly the best. Cooking this stuff isn't rocket science but it's amazing how many places screw it up. Here the quality is always good. The homefries have a bit of diced onion and the bacon is top notch (I specify "crispy" when ordering).

I've been going to R&S for at least 4 years - I just love their pancakes - so good, thick and filling. I always order them with the sausages.
Tip - when ordering ask for 2 maple syrup packs because these pancakes absorbs the syrup up quite good. Great with their coffee. Never had any problems there at the restaurant nor any problems with the service.

Big Nick Burger is a large and well executed American classic bacon cheeseburger. The fries are very good, but can be substituted for their delicious home fries.

Having some of Ottawa's best bacon on it makes it sing.

I am a big fan of the breakfast here as well. Very consistent quality, and a nice family run atmosphere.