Sunday Brunch

Situated on the northwest corner of Portland and Adelaide Street West, Sadie's Diner and Juice Bar is an interesting local vegetarian/vegan eatery in downtown Toronto that features an extensive and reasonably priced all-day breakfast and drinks menu. Its down-to-earth atmosphere makes this a great place to meet up with friends for brunch and catch up over a generous serving of huevos rancheros ($10), buckwheat pancakes ($8.50), or scrambled tofu with veggie bacon or sausage ($7.50), but, sadly, this relaxed environment also translates into a very lazy and non-service-oriented kitchen and wait staff.

I decided to order a classic grilled cheese and tomato sandwich with salad ($6), along with a side dish of home-baked spinach and tofu samosas ($4). Taking my first bite out of the sandwich made me question whether or not it was, in fact, a cheese and tomato sandwich. Upon further inspection, and to my disappointment, I quickly discovered that the only ingredient between my otherwise decent-tasting sandwich was a layer of melted soy cheese between two buttered slices of Wonder whole-wheat bread. As for the samosas? Home-baked, perhaps, but then frozen and nuked in the microwave. Hmm ... a tad soggy and a very unappetizing appetizer.

After I inquired with wait staff about the grilled cheese and tomato-less sandwich, the server went to the kitchen and checked her notes, then returned to confirm that it was indeed a simple grilled cheese sandwich. I suppose I wasn't being all too explicit, however, when I followed up by indicating that it would still be nice to have some tomato prepared with this grilled cheese sandwich. Rather than apologizing and graciously offering to correct the order, the server then came back, somewhat flustered, and plopped down a side plate of two cold slices of tomato, perhaps thinking she was being generous by adding that she would only charge me for the grilled cheese sandwich ($5) and not for the two tomato slices. She then walked away. Lovely.

With so many fabulous brunch alternatives in the city, I can tell you now that I have no intention whatsoever of returning to this diner, nor will I be recommending this joint to family, friends, or colleagues. Instead, I'd be inclined to do them a favour by warning them against this establishment and offering up helpful alternatives. Trust me—you'd be better off taking your appetite and business elsewhere. Sadie's Diner no more.

Sadie's Diner and Juice Bar is located at: 504 Adelaide Street West (Portland Street)