Author: Jessica_Watson

I had brunch here this weekend, and it breaks my heart to say it was terrible. This used to be one of my favourite brunch spots, but they changed menus/cooks and I will probably never eat here again. The brunch menu is now extremely bizarre....They went meatless (fine), but every menu item contains egg, and most have dairy and gluten in them, so clearly not catering to the vegan crowd. They do not allow any substitutions on the set menu items, so if you do have an allergy or intolerance, you can either pay full price for the few ingredients you can eat, or get them to make you a sub-par smoothie. They also do not have a Sides menu, so if you were planning to order individual sides in a combination that meets your dietary restrictions, think again. There also weren't any menu options under $15, which would explain the complete lack of any students in the establishment, despite it being located in the heart of the student neighbourhood. The food itself was embarrassingly bad. The hollandaise sauce was that bright yellow stuff from a packet. The "cajun greens" were soggy cooked romaine lettuce and celery with no discernible spice whatsoever. The Benny was served on bread. Not toast, bread, so I ended up with a soggy piece of bread with my soggy weird cooked lettuce. The "home fries" were actually those frozen breaded potato wedges that they serve in high school cafeterias (surprise to the folks who can't eat gluten!). Everything randomly came with sad-looking granola and yogurt, which none of us wanted, so it went entirely to waste. I can't believe I paid $15 for 2 poached eggs and a bunch of tasteless mush. I don't have words. WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS PLACE? Where is the world-rocking Crab Cakes Benny? Why did you stop serving the delicious cajun roumalade? How hard is it to chop up some potatoes and fry some onions for real home fries? Who doesn't have a list of basic sides for people to order from? If this is all an effort to save money on ingredients, or pay only one cook, I gotta tell you: it's not working. I can understand needing to cut corners, but serving awful food and placing the inconvenience of a limited kitchen staff on the customer isn't going to make your business succeed. You lost several loyal, regular customers this weekend with that disaster of a meal. And given how empty the place was during peak Sunday morning, brunch hours, you can't afford that. Some honest, heart-felt advice, because this place USED to be great. Please, please, hire a proper cook. Then hire another one so you can have greater skill/efficiency in the kitchen. I'm sorry, but whoever is in there right now does not appear to have even the most basic cooking skills down. Allow some degree of customization for the customer. Your primary market should be students, and they like cheap, basic, greasy breakfasts. For the love of god, offer the ability to order sides like toast, bacon (yes, you 100% should bring back bacon), eggs, and home fries at will. Add fruit or beans to the menu for people who can't have animal products or gluten. Toast your bread before putting wet ingredients on it. Students love going out for breakfast after drinking. You are steps away from their doors. If your restaurant is not packed out the door for brunch every weekend, trust me: it's you, not them.