Since this blog is called Breakfast at Midnight I think it’s about time that I write a bit about breakfast! Breakfast seems like a pretty safe zone, compared to brunch, which for some reason people have such strong opinions about. I feel like you can categorize people into two buckets: brunch lovers and brunch haters. I know you know what I mean, there’s the total brunch lovers that take birds eye view Instagram pictures of their perfectly crisp croissant or eggs benedict on blue and white china, with their glass of OJ and coffee placed right at 1 and 2 o’clock. Then for others, brunch and by association brunch lovers are just the bane of their existence.
Well I’m a brunch lover, so haters gonna hate.
But we’re not talking brunch! We’re talking breakfast, a.k.a. Switzerland in this battle.
There’s nothing I love more than going for breakfast on a Saturday or Sunday morning and I just happen to live in a city, four months out of the year, that is bursting with cute little spots to grab a bite to eat early in the AM. So here are my favourite breakfast places in Ottawa broken down into a couple of categories:
1) Best Vegetarian Breakfast
2) Best Trendy Breakfast
3) Best Bring-Your-Mother-In-Law Breakfast
4) Best Greasy Spoon Breakfast
5) Best Classic Ottawa Breakfast
1) Best Vegetarian Breakfast goes to The Wild Oat
If you’re frolicking around the city with a vegan or vegetarian and you’re looking for a good breakfast that veggie-heads and meat lovers alike will enjoy, then the Wild Oat is for you. They have a great selection of plant based breakfasts and a wicked good bakery attached to it. Bonus: It’s kind of hippie moms/Glebe adventurer central so don’t feel bad if you just rolled out of bed, threw your hair into a bun and strapped on your Tevas, you'll blend right in!
Favourite thing to order: The Croissant Breakfast Sandwich with cheese…. Those croissants alone bring me back to sipping a café au lait along the Seine.
2) Best Trendy Breakfast goes to Art Is In
I love Art Is In because even though everybody and their brother knows about this bakery/restaurant, I feel like I’m in on a secret when I turn into the big ugly factory complex that it is nestled into. This place is filled with urban hipsters drinking matcha lattes and munching on kale salads (#guilty) but I love it. It’s popular for a reason, and that reason is that the food is so dang good! They also have the best bread in town, so more often than not I buy a loaf to-go after my meal.
3) Best Bring-Your-Mother-In-Law Breakfast goes to Scone Witch
When I used to work downtown I would sometimes treat myself to one of Scone Witch’s mouth-watering scones on my lunch hour. And now that my yoga studio is a hop skip and a jump from their newest location I am finally reunited with the cutest little spot to go have some tea, scones, or a light breakfast with the ladies. They’re famous for their sconewitches, which are scone-sandwiches… brilliant, I know!
Favourite thing to order: The Cream Cheese & Cucumber Sconewitch on a lemon poppyseed scone.
4) Best Greasy Spoon Breakfast goes to the Elgin Street Diner
This place could leave a huge football player full after breakfast or could please your elderly grandmother, in other words, they have something for everyone! The Elgin Street Diner has been featured on You Gotta Eat Here and word on the street (or on their website haha) is that they have been voted best diner, best breakfast, best poutine, and best milkshake in Ottawa. Phew!! Aside from all the stellar honours, they have won a place in my heart for the sole reason that they offer a gazillion choices of bread with your meal, including bagels!! Oh and they have 99 cent cappuccinos... the real key to my heart.
5) Best Classic Ottawa Breakfast goes to the Ottawa Bagel Shop
Bagels? Did someone say bagels?? I guess maybe bagels aren't really a thing like they are in Montreal, but whenever I'm back in Ottawa this is the first place I go to, and I've been going to for my whole life. There’s a bit of controversy over what is the best place to get bagels in Ottawa but since the Ottawa Bagel Shop is a ten minute walk away from my house it wins over Kettleman’s Bagel Shop any day. Either one has freshly baked bagels and an array of tasty breakfast options to go along/on the bagels. When I was a little kid, it was the biggest treat when my parents would bring home some of their cinnamon puffs!
**Honourable mention goes to Baker Street Cafe because it seems to be a Westboro staple. To be honest though this breakfast joint didn’t make my top 5 cut because there’s usually at least a half hour wait to get in and I’m so not about that life. Also, the portions are HUGE, so much so that my mom and I split a meal and were still SO full.
*** Other places that have been on my radar but I haven’t tried out for breakfast yet are Stone Face Dolly’s, Fraser Cafe, and Wilf and Ada's.
**** I should probably also say that the pictures for Art is In, Scone Witch, and Elgin Street Diner weren't taken by me, but I couldn't wait a second longer to post this guide to breakfast in Ottawa, so I cheated a bit :)
