We came here for the ChickAdvisor brunch. Not knowing Ottawa that well, I asked for a recommendation and this was one of the options. The building is historic and has lots of little private nooks and cranies. We lucked out with a spot by the fire in our own private area, which was a great start.

Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. Though we were the first table seated, the wait for the food was excessive - and there were only 3 of us. The server had to be flagged down repeatedly for fresh coffee etc, because we were totally neglected. We also had to ask if our food was coming. I was a bit embarrassed that we were here for our event and this was the service we were getting. This could have been an off day and maybe they normally have better service, but this was quite bad.

Despite the many delays in getting our food and the fact that the 10 tables that came in well after us all got their food before we did, we were charged full price for everything. People, if you're going to starve someone for an hour, you might want to offer to comp something. Our server was friendly but not apologetic for her bad service.

The food itself was mediocre. I ordered french toast, which is made with cinnamon buns. It's pretty good but very fatty and not worth $10. It came with a side salad that tasted very strongly of onions, though there weren't any on it. I couldn't eat it and I normally love salad.

I recommend this place for beer and nachos or a glass of wine and to see a beautiful historic building in the byward market, but not for brunch. Also ensure you have plenty of time on your hands as you may be there quite a while.

15 Clarence Street
The Byward Market
613.241.0712