Calvin's Cafe & Catering

After driving all the way to Deep Cove for some donuts, we were hungry for more food.  Seeing how most of the restaurants in the area were either mediocre or expensive, we decided to head somewhere else.  Well, it was actually *I* who decided that...  Hey, I had the car keys!  We didn't venture very far though.  Just up the road on Mount Seymour Parkway is a little place called Calvin's Cafe & Catering. It's one of those places where if you weren't looking for it, you'd drive on by not knowing it ever existed.  Much like a stop sign in Richmond...

Well, I did end up driving by the place and had to resort to parking at the back lot rather than the front.  Not a huge deal since there is a rear entrance as well.  After we were seated, it took like an eternity for water and our order to be taken.  Don't get me wrong here, the server was very pleasant.  I think she was just over-extended.  However, we were perplexed by her response when my Yukon Gold Potato Soup with mint arrived.  It was not the large that I had ordered and she realized it.  But she proceeded to serve it to me anyways saying that she had brought me a small by mistake.  Um, couldn't she just turn around and put it in a large bowl and add more?  Oh well...  Turns out that she did me a favour because the soup was pretty bland.  It was slightly sweet with some savoury notes, but I did not taste any mint at all.



For something a bit different, I decided to try their Swiss Rosti which consisted of a hash of potatoes, bacon and Swiss cheese topped with 2 poached eggs and Hollandaise. As you can see, the eggs were perfectly runny, although the Hollandaise was rather
salty.  The eggs were a nice contrast to the crispy hashbrowns.  I liked this dish, but it was pretty small for the price. Now, about 25 minutes after we had ordered (and I was already eating), our server informed Viv that they were out of chili.  Um...  Wouldn't chili be pre-made and hence easy to figure out if it was all out?  Anyways, VIv went for the Smoked Meat Sandwich instead.  Not a particularly impressive sandwich considering the meat was the store-bought pre-sliced variety. It was also quite small.  My kids ended up with the Grilled Cheese with fries and it wasn't bad.  The fries were very crispy.  Honestly, I really wanted to like this place.  But in the end, the value wasn't there and neither was the service.

The Good:
- Quaint place, pleasant surroundings
- Some interesting items

The Bad:
- Confused service
- Pricey for what you get