Excellent service when the fam and I popped in before closing. They did not have many cake…read moreslices/baked goods/prepared items left before closing, but we ended up grabbing a couple salted caramel cheesecake bites, a chocolate chip cookie and a london fog. Service was excellent and friendly. Patio seating was quaint and relaxing. Cheesecakes were delish.

Thank you to Sam at Thyme and Again for taking the "Thyme" out of her busy schedule to help me with…read moremy vegan order for Thanksgiving. I really appreciate it!

We had a small 50-person wedding where we wanted the emphasis to be on fantastic food.... and we…read morecould not have chosen better than Jason and his team. Service was exceptionally attentive, presentation very attractive and the food amazing.   Even a few weeks after the wedding, people were still raving about the food and how delicious it was.  Some are asking for the recipes and the amazing choice of interesting ingredients that satisfied the taste buds of our friends (including vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians and the plain picky eaters). The Sumac salmon was especially a hit.  Interactions with Jason and Tanya were pleasant, timely and professional. We may just decide to get married all over again, to have Jason cater the next one!   We could not be more pleased or recommend them more highly

Jason and his team catered my wife's 50th birthday party for 18 guests. From initial contact to…read morethe final course I was thoroughly impressed by Jason and his team's attention to detail and professionalism. As enthusiastic foodies our expectations were very high and Jason met them all with a fantastic canapé menu and 4-course meal. Several guests commented it was by far their best catered meal ever! Special thanks to the staff who were congenial and entertaining while maintaining absolute professionalism. It was a fantastic experience - I would recommend without hesitation and will call Essence first for any future catering events. Thank you Jason & crew for a memorable milestone evening!

What an experience from start to finish!  Aram and I had the pleasure of booking culinary…read moreconspiracy for our wedding day.  Moishe and Derek met with us for the first time to craft a customized menu with delectable tastings including plenty of options for dietary restrictions (vegan, vegetarian, gluten free).  We had my wife's parents join us for the first visit only to have Moishe and Derek act extremely professional yet making us laugh over some of the variances in opinion across the table.   Culinary Conspiracy had the unfortunate first encounter and partnership with a rental/labour vendor that introduced us.  This vendor did no show up on the day leaving both CC and us short staffed and in the dark as far as next steps.  Moishe and Derek being the reputable and honourable men that they are delivered above and beyond expectations.  They pulled through with extra rentals that the other vendor failed to deliver.  The meal they provided for our 100+ guest was plated beautifully, hot and seasoned exquisitely.  They were faced with many challenges including space between tables for servers to navigate, a venue without a kitchen and a vendor partner that did not show up all of which they overcame.   Derek is an absolute work horse.  This man and his team pulled through helping move tables, setup stations and coordinate the bar.  Throughout the day he constantly checked on the wedding party insuring we had food and drinks and were not left out because we were across the field taking pictures.   We had CC also provide a late night snack of poutine and smoked meat.  Wow was this a hit, from the moment we had these stations open up we had guests coming to us saying how deliciously crispy the fries were and how tender and flavourful the smoked meat was.  Whenever I passed the station I would see repeat guests in the line which made it obvious these folks were doing something right.  Moishe put together these fluffy, velvety, chocolate peanut butter cupcakes that our guests were talking about for weeks after the wedding.   We cannot express our gratitude enough in this review to Moishe, Derek and their team.  You all pulled through for us on our very memorable day not just with the amazing food but with your hard work, professionalism, attention to detail and heart.   Simon & Aram Vogelsang

Good food, but their catering business features hidden fees…read more I was planning on having culinary conspiracy cater my wedding. When we met with the chef initially, we were impressed. He seemed genuinely excited to create a custom menu that would cater to our needs. They sent us an estimate for the cost. One of the things we asked for was that we be able to provide our own alcohol, and they said that this was fine, we would just have to pay for the bartender's wages. The bartender's wages were included in the quote, and there was no alcohol included, so we were sure that they understood what we wanted. So we signed up for a tasting, which we had to pay for, since we hadn't signed a contract yet. This was fine. We got to the tasting, and the food was delicious. After requesting a few minor changes to our quote, we were ready to sign a contract. So they sent us a contract, and all of a sudden, they told us that if we wanted to bring our own alcohol, we would have to pay a corkage fee: $10 per bottle of wine, $15 per bottle of spirit, and $12.50 per case of beer, pop, water (!), or juice. This would completely negate the savings that we would get from bringing our own alcohol. There was no need for this, as we were already paying for the bartender and the rentals, and they kept this fee hidden from us until we were about to sign. So we asked them to waive the corkage fees, or, if they couldn't do that, to remove the bartender from the quote, as we could always find our own bartender. All of a sudden they weren't interested in working for us anymore. Fortunately, they returned the money we had paid for the tasting, so at least they only wasted our time, and not our money! Don't trust that their quotes are accurate, they will try to add more fees.

You would never know that this barbecue place was hidden in an office park. My family ordered a…read morefamily barbecue platter from this place. We got the signature pulled pork and premium pork ribs. For sides, we got the tater tots, pasta salad, and corn bread. Both the pulled pork and pork ribs were very tender. The tater tots and corn bread were good. I was very surprised with the pasta salad which was made with elbow macaroni, and red onions. It was delicious! One of the best pasta salads I have had for a while.

Best BBQ on the planet…read more I've been to a lot of barbecue joints in the US but I haven't had anything that's as good as the barbecue here. I did the takeout and chose beef brisket and a pulled pork sandwich and they were amazing. I like that they pay attention to every detail. Everything is top notch from the buns they use on the sandwich to the salads, coleslaws and fresh cut fries. No sloppy sides here. I hear the onion rings are to die for. Another thing I liked about this place is everything isn't drowning in barbecue sauce. It's so hard to get pulled pork that isn't swimming in sauce. They just put a little bit on the bun which was perfect. You actually got to taste the meat and as you'd expect, the sauce itself was ridiculously good.

On Sat. Aug 16 our friends in Rockcliffe Park suggested we go to Edpicuria to get sandwiches for…read moreour drive back to Toronto. My husband got a very nice Roast Beef with Ancho & Chimichurri sandwich and He got me a Herbed Egg Salad sandwich. Both cost $9.25. I must say the egg sandwich was not a quality sandwich. The egg was very thin and the lettuce very sparce and the top was a DRY thick other half of the bun. ...very disappointing and over priced. Thought this comment might help improve with this item that you sell. Thanks, Shannon

Epicuria's donuts are so buss man they are fire. The service is W and the staff are absolutely…read moreGoated. The Ambience is really cool and I can smell the yummy food!

I was in the area for an appointment today and stopped by to grab some lunch. Overall the food was…read moregood, but expect to wait in a small space during peak hours, and it's hard to find parking nearby. This place is in an industrial park and there are only a few parking spots reserved for their customers and when I went around noon they were all full. Nearby parking is reserved for other businesses, so I had to park along the street, but even a spot there is hard to find. I circled around a few times until I saw someone pull out then I had to parallel park real fast, lol. They are caterers, but they open for breakfast and lunch takeout. They do have 4 tables of 2, so can technically seat 8, but the place gets really crowded with people ordering takeout, so unless you don't mind people milling about like 4 inches away from you, you may want to take it to go as well. Even though it was super busy, staff were well organized and very pleasant. The wait was a little bit long, but I got something made to order. They have a "grab and go" section with premade sandwiches, salads and snacks, so if you're in a rush you can get those. I got the Jerk Chicken Wrap Combo ($10.95), which came with fries and coleslaw. The wrap had jerk chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese in it. It usually has mayonnaise, but I asked them to hold the mayo. The jerk sauce had a spicy kick to it. The chicken was lean pieces of breast meat, which I liked. I thought the wrap would be served hot, but it was cold. It was a good size and on its own I think would make a satisfying lunch. However, I'm glad I got the combo because the fries were great. They were like chip wagon fries. Very hot and well done. The coleslaw was vinegar based and a bit sour for my tastes, but I was happy that it wasn't mayo based. You get a good serving of fries and coleslaw in the combo. I liked that no styrofoam was used. The wrap was wrapped in paper and the fries came in a cardboard container. The coleslaw came in a plastic container. Overall, a great place to grab lunch if you're in the area. I'm a big eater and the combo was actually too much food for me; I had leftovers (not complaining). Just parking is a pain.

I am working on an event that requires catering. After asking around for recommendations, and…read moregetting quotes, settled on Grenfell. Went out to see the facility and talk thru the menu and other points. They are tucked away in an industrial park. It's an industrial kitchen and the décor is what you would expect. Met with Christine who is absolutely wonderful! She helped us identify a few details we might have missed and made some great suggestions on the food - all while keeping in mind we have a budget to stay within. Since they also serve breakfast and lunch Monday to Friday - mostly for the workers from other businesses around them, we ordered lunch while we were there. I had a grilled pulled pork and carmelized onion which was great! It was however over-shadowed by the daily special, a Brie Burger, which went beyond great to amazing! Also tried the poutine - which had a thinner than usual gravy so I had to mix it a bit - but very flavourful. Last but not least, we took Nanimo Bars to go and had them later in the day with coffee at home. Perfect. Straight Nanimo Bars with traditioinal ingredients just like mom used to make. So happy the folks at Grenfell know when *not* to mess with perfection. :-) So: For Catering: Would I recommend: At this point yes, but proof is in the pudding and I'll know more in September. Would I return: Same answer. For Lunch: Would I recommend: Yes Would I return: Yes - wish they were open on weekends though!

I've attended 2 functions that were catered by Tulips and Maple so I am strictly commenting on the…read morefood and the service I received as a guest. The events were a birthday party at their old location (on Merivale near Slack) and a work-related luncheon at their new location in the Nepean Sportsplex. The food was good at both events, but very different, which shows the range that Tulips and Maple can accommodate. At the birthday party, the food was mostly appetizers and hors d'oeuvres. They were beautifully presented and the food was very creative/innovative. At the work function, the food was buffet style and more benign in flavour. Obviously I am not faulting the company for this as firstly it was the organizers who selected the menu and secondly when feeding a large group of people with varying tastes, levels of "adventurous-ness," dietary restrictions, etc. it's safer to be less creative and more mainstream. I was very impressed how their regular buffet was able to accommodate most dietary restrictions in the group (celiac, various allergies and intolerances, etc.) and they were able to provide separate meals for the remaining restrictions (vegan, vegetarian, no red meat, and Halal) - I believe a vegan meal covered the rest of the restrictions. Service was very professional and courteous. Apparently, the have cafes in the Ingenium Museums, called Maple Cafe, and they also have a branch in Kingston, ON. I think it's nice to have a resident caterer at the Nepean Sportsplex, so if you have an event there, they are already on site. Looking at their website, prices range from reasonable to a bit on the pricey side, so I think they can accommodate a variety of budgets, tastes, etc. I neither live the kind of life nor work the kind of job where I am regularly requiring the services of a caterer, but I would definitely consider Tulips and Maple should I ever be in need of a caterer. And the great thing about them being at the Nepean Sportsplex is that there's lots of free parking ;)

Quality of serving staff - training and professionalism. Planning was poor - no proactivity on the…read morepart of the team captain for the event. Disorganized, did not know the menu of canapés, and just seemed totally disinterested in their tasks!

This company tried to pay us a considerable sum of money not to post this review when we approached…read morethem to try and resolve the poor service we received. If that isn't enough for you to select another company please read on. We hired them to do our wedding this past September. I had no issues with any of our other vendors. I was in tears and so stressed I couldn't focus at work more than once over working with them. Two months out we would willingly have forfeited our deposit and walked away had we thought we could have found a replacement in time. We were very clear about our allergy concerns when booking. Their internal communications were abysmal - including over writing our quote and relying on us to recreate it. They later informed us that they could not guarantee allergies. They also informed us they were unable to get our table runners rental 4 days before the wedding. They failed to provide the required smart serve to our venue on time. They had us move up the access time to the site then planned to come hours later. That is just the issues before the actual day, and is a shortened description to meet the character limit. The day of the wedding, I worked really hard to ignore the caterers. We ran out of appetizers about 15 minutes into cocktail hour. One of my bridal party went to get us a plate to take out to photos and the kitchen advised there were no more. We also did appetizers for the late night snack (mini kobe sliders and apple brie grilled cheeses). They were not good, and we had bucket loads of them. The grilled cheeses were not grilled and served on paper thin bread rounds. The burgers were on par with my high school cafeteria. The buffet was also cleared while food still remained and before most people could get seconds. The company policy is also that they keep the leftover food to avoid improper storage and liability. I don't object to the policy - however I hope the catering staff enjoyed their feast of our overly hastily removed food. Lastly we had 4 sheet cakes to cut and some special nut free, gluten free, vegan cake. I managed to grab one of the last pieces of cake served - and also catch my friends eating the special cake straight out of the tray. That is how the caterers gave it to them when they asked about getting the allergy friendly cake. And that barely getting one of the last pieces? Well we received an entirely unopened and uncut cake returned to us at the end of the night. Then there was the bar. Given that we were getting out own licence and going to have to have a family member be the designated licence holder we wanted to ensure we were being as responsible as possible with alcohol service. Smart serve professional bartenders, transit friendly location and shuttle to hotel, no wine bottles on the tables to avoid casual over-consumption and unmonitored serving, no shots and limited hard liquor. At this point I should also mention that our favours were corkscrews. I went in before dinner, and there were a white and red wine bottle out and opened on each of our 18, 6 person tables. That is two glasses per person (including minors & non-drinkers) just over dinner. I went up to the bar and asked why they were put out and that they be removed. Apparently they didn't know if they should put them out, so rather than following the contact list of who to ask they asked the groom. He didn't know and told them to do whatever they normally do. I reiterated that I specifically requested multiple times that there be no placing wine on the tables. The bottles were not removed. We actually had to get one of the groomsmen to get up from the head table during dinner and stop the children who were being cute and serving the wine - all unnoticed by the servers. After dinner the bottles were still not removed despite many full open bottles being left on the tables. I went to bar around 9 to specifically ask them to collect and serve from the already opened bottles rather than opening more new ones. At the end of the night we had 11 opened (some partially drunk) bottles of 2 types of wine given back to us, and as opened wine doesn't keep more than a couple days and we were leaving on our honeymoon the next day, wasted. Additionally we had multiple guest reports of the bartenders serving the wrong wine to guests. i.e. ordering one type and receiving another. 2 weeks later, after our honeymoon, we discovered they had returned open unsealed juice to us in a bag, and poured left over cocktail into a pop bottle. The fermenting alcohol literally created a pressure bomb and damaged our ceiling finish when the seal was cracked.

Some friends got married over the long weekend, and Bytown Catering were the ones catering for the…read morewedding dinner. I had never heard of them before and I'm not knowledgeable in the world of catering. I have been to few weddings though so I had an idea of what to expect. Bytown Catering exceeded my expectations as a guest. (I cannot speak for the Bride & Groom!) It was a buffet, we would get up to get a plate and were served by the staff. They were super friendly and polite! Very impressed with the service! There was not shortage of food and it was very delicious. There was beef, chicken, cheese tortellini with rosé sauce, potates and vegetables. The chicken was a bit dry, but otherwise the beef was AMAZING! The cheese tortellini with the rosé sauce was very good as well. Potatoes and vegetables cooked perfectly. I was disappointed in the salads, both the rice and the pasta salad felt undercooked, the rice and the pasta were hard to chew on, but the flavors were good. The desserts were SO GOOD! I don't know if they bake their cakes themselves but I wish I could have one for my birthday every year. There was black forest cake (I didn't try that one), blueberry shortcake and strawberry shortcake. Along with cream caramel. The shortcakes were sooo delicious (I'm still dreaming about them)! They were soft and creamy and the fruits tasted fresh. They didn't taste too sweet nor too bland, just perfect! There was also platters of fruits, but who cares about fruits when there's cake?! If I'm ever to get married in Ottawa in the future, I would consider Bytown Catering before any other companies. Very great staff and service, and delicious food!

So ++ pleased with the cleaning. VERY CLEAN! Love the buffet/salad bar. I walk 5KM daily to have…read moremy fav salad. Totally worth the walk. Fairly priced, great food. Very aware ownership and staff...definite pride in ownership here. Best to go right at lunch for best product like all buffets.

Marcello's is a wonderful deli in Little Italy. I would have never guessed it is a franchise…read more How I wish Marcello's would take over for the cafeteria's in Tunney's Pasture! This has become my destination of choice for breakfast. I love their fresh made deli breakfast sandwiches. They serve a great selection of coffee, bakery items, deli sandwiches and a buffet. Their variety of fresh, home-made food gives one the sense of pride in the service they provide. Marcello's Market & Deli also provides catering services for the office. Paid metered parking on Preston St. Located just south of the Queensway.