Bobino Bagel — Restaurant in Gatineau

We found this cute little place as we were heading to the Canadian Museum and needed to grab something to eat. Bobino Bagel popped out on google and with its good reviews, we wanted to give it a try. As we drove by, the restaurant immediately grabbed our attention as it sat there radiantly in flashy pink. We went in on Thursday lunch, so the wait time wasn't too long. You order at the front, then pick up your order when it's ready. It gives you time to find a spot to sit. They have lots of tables in and outdoor, also a small sitting area with books/toys, playdough for the kids. A big hit with our 3 kids, kept them entertained. Very kid friendly place. 4 bagels to share. Pretty good portions. We tried the salmon, BLT, déjeuner and Philly fromage. It was ... yummy!!! fresh bagel made right in front of you. The kids kept on saying how the restaurant smelled good. They also have an ice cream stand conveniently located right next door, perfect for the summer time. Props to the staff, on how they kept the place sparkling clean. Saw them moving around quick, clearing the tables, making sure it was ready for the next customers. We had the chance to bump into one of the owner. We can tell he cares about his customers, all the little details and attention well thought of. Even gave our little kids candies as he said he was bothering us for repairing the parasol right on top of us (but really, he wasn't). It made their days!! We learned this place opened up about 6 months ago, a cute little gem and we hope they ll get to serve for many years to come as we need to have more healthy restaurant to go to. Encourageons...

Great building and space, nice patio, awesome bagel sandwiches and their iced coffee was pretty good.

Management has taped a “No Amex” sticker on the point of sale terminal, but they do take Amex.

It’s unfortunate that a seemingly successful, growing business with delicious bagels has to resort to underhanded business tactics like lying at the cash register.

Edit:

Responding to the Bobino response 9/5/24:

Hi Bobino, thanks for your response.

In my review I gave an honest 5/5 review for the great food and atmosphere, anyone reading my review will see my issue was only with the "No Amex" sticker, not the food, service, or atmosphere.

My problem with your current setup is that Bobino does take Amex. You got a deal from your POS/credit card processing company to take all cards (Visa/MC/Amex) in order to receive a bundle on processing fees. You're then double-dipping by posting a 'No Amex' sticker on the POS terminal to dissuade Amex holders from using their cards, trying to reduce the transactions you process from Amex cards.

When you go to Loblaws and try to pay with an Amex, their POS terminal will not accept it, because they set up their system to not take Amex. There are numerous small businesses that have set up their payment processing systems the same way.

Instead of relying on a sticker to dissuade Amex users, why don't you set up your POS terminals to not accept Amex? That would clarify your situation regarding Amex better...

We went for the first time earlyer this afternoon. Yes, the place is VERY busy. Yes, parking is limited. But the place is new and it's Winterlude with lots of visitors lining up. The bagels are the real deal, finally! I wont have to go to Ottawa or Montreal to get my fix of wood fired bagels. It's a good thing that there is a nod to one of the icons of our youth; Bobino aka Guy Sanche. This man shaped our youth for decades on TV. We took takeout due to the busy crowd, but the service rolled very well. Some things were starting to run out by noon, but that's not something that can get fixed. Lack of planning on my part is not their fault. The next visit will be in the morning, their sandwich menu looks so good I cant wait. When things calm down a bit, eating there will be fun. The place is nice, airy and clean. You can see the bagels come out of the oven. I'm not a crowd person so it was a bit overwhelming; still not their problem. They are popular for a reason. I wonder if they could offer a quick drive through option to resolve the...