Argh. I have many feelings about The Bauer Kitchen…read more
After a friend's wedding the night before, my partner and I went looking for a hearty brunch spot in KW to celebrate her early birthday. The Bauer Kitchen came up in my search thanks to its high ratings from locals and visitors alike (it's also featured on the Kitchener-Waterloo Cafe Passport). It was a rainy day, and we were lucky to find free parking nearby.
Inside, the decor is rustic and industrial. It feels well established, though with a touch of sterility.
Our server greeted us with warmth and attentiveness, which quickly made me forget about the decor. We both ordered the Champignon Benedict, since the combination of tomato salsa, basil pesto hollandaise, and portobello sounded unreal. I upgraded my side to the Parmesan truffle fries.
The food took a while to arrive, but I assumed that meant everything was being made to order. It came with homemade ketchup and truffle aioli, both excellent. The ketchup was a study in equilibrium, bright with tang, rounded with sweetness, a faithful conduit for the very essence of the tomato it came from - almost spiritual. The fries were a pleasure as well, and so were the smashed potatoes, which arrived beautifully crisp. My only wish is that they'd been cut smaller: more golden crust, less unseasoned potato at the center.
Now for the disappointing parts: the eggs on both Benedicts were hard-boiled. There were no running yolks, just fully cooked eggs sitting on the biscuit. And while the tomato salsa and basil hollandaise tasted great, the dish was strangely cold, or at best lukewarm.
We mentioned it to our server, who agreed the eggs shouldn't have been hard-boiled, and the dishes went back to the kitchen. They returned shortly after, but the problems were the same: hard-boiled eggs and lukewarm food. The GM then came out to apologize and told us the meal was on the house, which we really appreciated.
My theory is that much of the food is prepped in advance and only assembled when ordered (the waffles in my photo looked the same way). That would explain why the flavours, from the ketchup to the sauces to the salsa, are consistently good, while anything that depends on temperature control, like a poached egg, is easily ruined. It would also explain why the food never arrives piping hot. If that's the case, I'd strongly encourage The Bauer Kitchen to rethink its kitchen model.
To end on a high note, our sweet server asked us to wait because they had a birthday treat for my partner: a lovely carrot cake that fully redeemed the experience. We're so thankful to our server and the GM, whatever the state of the food. We'll definitely be back to give The Bauer Kitchen another shot because of them.
Food was 1.5 out of 5 in our visit while the service was absolutely 10 out of 5!!
