This is not my last Ottawa post, but it is my last Ottawa eats post. Fittingly, it was also the last place I ate in the city – Mellos Diner on Dalhousie in Byward Market
After a very long and exhausting 8 days, we were ready to pack up and head home. We all managed to secure late checkouts out of the Novotel on that Sunday morning and I promised to take the boys out for breakfast as a thank you for all their hard work. We were tired of bagels and reheated scrambled eggs in a buffet line. We wanted a proper greasy spoon breakfast (especially after a few martinis the night before to celebrate a successful show!).
I’d passed by Mellos a few time and loved the old neon sign outside the building and had a feeling I should check it out. But when I did an urban spoon check for diners a few days later this one came up with really high results so that sealed it.
The place is tiny. And a bit run down. And if you have more than 4 people in your group, you’re going to have to split up or, as we did, pony up to the counter for a seat. But this gave us a bird’s eye view of the chef making our breakfasts (that dude could crack eggs lickety split!).
My ham and cheese omelette
There’s no standing on ceremony. If you want something other than coffee you better speak up quick or you’ll have coffee in front of you before you can blink. I don’t drink coffee but I got some anyway. I did manage to pipe up loud enough to get an orange juice set down before me though. The service is down home and friendly and the crowd ranged from old timers to hipsters. It was full from the time we got there till we left, with a crowd waiting outside for tables.
All I could think of through breakfast was the Seinfeld episode where they're all at the coffee shop counter and the conversation gets lost in translation. Still, I love these fellas
Breakfast is standard diner fare. Eggs or omelettes, bacon, sausages, ham, toast and hashbrowns. Nothing fancy. But fast, plentiful and pretty damn tasty. All cooked right in front of you and you see exactly what’s going in to your food – all solid fresh ingredients. When the waitress caught me taking photos she told me to make sure I uploaded them to Urban Spoon and to check out their reviews. lol.
At $60 for 5 of us including tax (but not tip), it was great value and we were all full to the brim. It was a nice way to say goodbye to my fellas for another year!
loved this street art on our way to breakfast - so long Ottawa. I'll shut the door on the way out!
Got to love a place that serves up good food with old fashioned flare and down home hospitality. Nice review and happy that you enjoyed your time in Ottawa with all the fellas.
I can’t believe it! I used to live right around the corner from this place, on Clarence Street, when I was going to journalism school at Carleton in the late 90s. My flatmate and I would sit in that diner to read over our draft papers, the cook was a terrifying Quebecer, veeeeery tall cross-dressing prostitutes would hang out there and make you tell them stupid jokes. I had a state-of-the-nation marathon coffee drinking evening in there with my crazy boyfriend. I’m so thrilled it’s still open.
In 1998 the place was alive and kickin at 3 am! The waitress’s name was Brenda, I was welcome there, everyone was! I’ll never forget the place!