The Hen and Hog Cafe — Restaurant in Courtenay

I asked my dad to go for breakfast since we had some time before our flight home on our last day in Courtenay. A neighbour back home had recommended The Hen and the Hog Cafe, and at a glance online it seemed to have good reviews. We ordered the waffle and quinoa bowl to eat. The table next to us received their food about 5-10 minutes after we sat down. They ate their food and paid, as we waited for our food to arrive. 3 tables had been seated after us (2 single people and a couple), and they all received their food and were eating as we waited.

My Dad inquired to the wait and the reply was, “There are 2 sides to the kitchen, a hot side and a cold side.” He noted that several tables came after us and were already eating. The same sentence was repeated to us. We were told our food was coming.

Sympathizing with the customer goes a long way. Acknowledging our wait (30+ minutes) and that seeing other food come out for people who came into the cafe after us, would have put us at ease. Explaining the structure of the kitchen set up does not. Taking our orange juice and tea off the bill would have made us feel welcome there and we would have left on a positive note. Checking in after a few bites would have turned the situation around. Once we received our food no one came to us until my Dad’s plate needed to be cleared. We unfortunately had absolutely no service which is super unfortunate and a sad way to experience breakfast while on vacation.

The Benny’s looked great. If you love eggs Benedict you may enjoy this place. However between the poor service, the location only a few feet off the highway (we could hardly talk as the trucks rumbled by), and the ill-proportioned amount of quinoa I received (I’m not sure who eats that much quinoa in one sitting. I would have cooked that much quinoa for several dinners in a week) we don’t recommend you eat...

I was really looking forward to eating at the Hog and Hen . I had tried to about a year before but was time restricted and we couldn't wait for a table and left. This time it was the same. We waited about 15 minutes but I had planned for that . The service was quick and friendly but we were right after a table of 4 then two tables of one and our food ended up taking a long time. The table of 4 and the one table of one that was literally seated under a minute after us had already finished their food a bit before ours arrived. It was just the two of us and I had an Omelette and my Dad had the French Toast Platter with Bacon. The omelette was pretty good but had a different taste to it which I thought was the sausage . It wasnt terrible just not a flavor I enjoyed. I noticed my Dad hadn't eaten any of his Bacon except a little bite and when I asked him he said he didnt like it. I realized then that must have been the flavor I tasted and wasn't a fan of. I was a bit disappointed being excited to finally get to try it.The bacon was locally sourced as well as other items on the menu which appeals to me but unfortunately I didnt like it I ended up eating maybe half of my omlette because they cook the toppings right into the egg and wasn't able to pick the bacon out. The service was good my only thought was that they might have asked how our food was especially seeing the bacon and a big part of my breakfast wasn't eaten . I would try it again possibly if I am in Courtenay and they are open . I would just leave out...

We didn't even eat. I've been there before and the food was really good but this time I just couldn't get past the way this one particular server was acting. There would have been no way she deserved any tip, she was loud, seemed entitled, made comments that should only be said when working in the back and not infront of paying customers. She spent most of her time chatting with her friend, while all the other staff ran around super busy. When she said a comment to her friend, laugh inappropriately loud (and I'm a loud laugher, hers was just startling in such a small restaurant environment) and then looked over at us and said "oh well, I guess it wasn't that funny" with a dirty look, as we just sat there still waiting to be seated (while we stared at an empty table the whole time). We just walked out and went to Atlas down the road and had a lovely meal, spent $100 on food and left satisfied.

Call me a Karen for this review but truly the experience left a horrible taste in my mouth and it wasn't because of something I ate. Kudos to the staff members that have to work around her, she seems super annoying and entitled and knows how to play the system to work as little as possible and still keep a job. She probably gets most of her tips too that she gets only because behind the scenes the cook staff and the guy clearing tables and the lady behind the counter doing the payments are actually working to make...