Pip — Restaurant in Edmonton

Just a horrible experience.

I was out doing some errands and got a hankering for some brunch, hadn't tried this place so gave 'em a call. The phone was staticy and the girl on the other end sounded exasperated and unfriendly that I didn't put an order in online. Sometimes I prefer going in, she said it would be 15 minutes and I didn't mind waiting.

When I went in the unfriendliness continued, I was wearing a mask, I sanitize my hands 15 times a day and the suggestion that I should pay for my order up front (by me!) was greeted as if I was a walking avatar of pestilence. When I asked for a coffee I was met with shocked stares and advised to go outside - which I was going to do anyways. Normally I wouldn't care, but I could see in plain view that a staff member was eating lunch with no mask on in the customer dining area. Seems like a pretty big no-no to me from a customer service perspective, and a violation of AHS policy to me.

Finally after I sipped my coffee and went back in the suspicion continued. It was like the waitress and restaurant just didn't want my business, which is fine, I don't dictate whom a business deals with. What got me was the feeling of total disrespect, as if my moderate requests to... pay up front, drink a coffee outside, and step inside to ask an update on the status of my order were somehow awful? And if they're so afraid of COVID, why is a staff member dining in full view of customers with no mask at the front of the restaurant?

Honestly I'd have overlooked all of these things if 2 conditions had been met: a modicum of friendliness by the staff, who treated me like I was a plaguebearer because I didn't put an order in online, and if the food had been good.

Well, the friendliness was awful and you can look at my food which speaks for itself. My breakfast of avocado toast (I'm a basic millenial, I know, sue me) was $17 and the portion was really small. One piece of soggy toast, 2 pieces of maple bacon that didn't balance at all with the avocados. Worse yet, I ordered avocado toast not guacamole toast, and this guacamole tasted like it was 70% lemon juice. Normally I wouldn't care, but for $17 the portion was off and the flavours just weren't worth it. Hate to say, but in the neighbourhood at this price I'd rather just go to Meat or Under the High Table.

I won't...

We went to Pip to celebrate our wedding anniversary. My wife had been there numerous times and finally convinced me to go. For me, going out to eat is not just about the food but also the experience. From the moment we arrived, our server, Cara, made us feel like this wasn't going to be an ordinary night. She was so intentional about answering our questions, helping us feel like we were VIP's, and recommending the best drinks and food that suited our appetites. We started with the arugula, kale and fried cheese salad. It was exquisite! I could have easily ordered this as my main meal and would have been more than satisfied. Cara recommended the focaccia which turned out to be one of our favourite things of the night. For our mains, my wife had the Atlantic salmon which was cooked perfectly and combined well with the confit potato. At Cara's suggestion, I had the cassoulet. Not a dish I would typically order but so far, Cara had proven to be trustworthy. I was not disappointed! It was hearty and delicious. To scoop every bit of the stew I ordered a second serving of the focaccia and I was in an elevated state. Throughout the night, Cara, with her expertise knowledge in wines and cocktails, ensured our dinner had the perfect drinking accompaniment with every food item we enjoyed. By the end of the night, while we had no more room to spare, she recommended the morsel that stole our hearts: the brown butter cake. I can write essays on how this cake changed our lives but I would rather leave the reader taste heaven on their own than for me to describe it. I highly recommend this restaurant and wish you get to have Cara as...

We arrived early ~9:30AM on a Sunday for brunch. They fill up fast and it's a pretty small restaurant, so definitely utilize Yelp waitlist before your arrival for a shorter wait! They accept reservations for dinner. The street parking nearby is free on Sundays.

Pip is the first restaurant I've ever been to that offers lobster rolls at brunch! I was super excited about this and of course had to get it. The lobster roll features lobster salad with lemon aioli served on a toasted herb-butter bun for $24. They were generous with the lobster chunks! This is my first time having a lobster roll in a bun brushed with herb butter. It made all the difference! The herb butter on the toasted bun reminded me fondly of garlic bread. Sooo delicious! As long as they keep serving this lobster roll I'm going to keep returning. The lobster roll is available for other meals as well (lunch, dinner). For brunch it is served typically with hash but I opted to add $1 to sub for their house salad. - butter lettuce, feta, tomato, red onion & herb parmesan vinaigrette.

My boyfriend ordered the Short Rib Eggs Benedict ($19) - braised beef, caramelized onion, dill hollandaise, soft poached eggs served with house hash. This seemed to be a very popular dish. The dill hollandaise was delicious! So creamy. The hash was excellently done as well.

I would love to see them do a smoked salmon eggs benny with that dill hollandaise!

Our hostess and the server were both awesome, and the vibes inside the restaurant are so cute! Perfect for a date, or meeting up with some girlfriends. I did not try their cocktails at this time but they...