Montrose Breakfast — Restaurant in Hamilton

We were very much looking forward to coming to have breakfast as we watched a promo on CHCH 11 morning show.

After driving for over an hour from Downtown Toronto, we arrived at the restaurant only to be told by the waiter that we needed a reservation.

Prior to going, we went on their website and there was no mention of "reservations required," therefore we assumed that it was first come first serve.

The waiter seemed a little confused not knowing what to do as we stared at several empty tables. The staff kept staring at us and the waiter ignored us as we stood there waiting for someone to come and talk to us. They totally ignored us and they all seemed to be confused as to what to do with us as we just stood there in the doorway.

A well managed restaurant would have been polite and offered us to wait and perhaps sit down at one of the empty tables while a table became available. At least make the guests feel welcomed and accommodating on a freezing (-12) January day.

After about 15 minutes of waiting, the rude waiter came and told us to come back in 20-30 minutes and walked away. We felt very unwelcomed and surprised at their behaviour. So we left and went to a more friendlier and inviting place.

Needless to say, we won't be back nor we would recommend this place as it lacks a friendly atmosphere, has a very awkward cold vibe and is totally mis-managed. We thought the waiters were rude, not polite and the restaurant seemed to be very poorly managed and not welcoming at all. They all seemed confused and not sure what to do.

Maybe the food is great, we will never know. However, what good is a place without an awesome, welcoming, happy vibe?

Perhaps CHCH 11 morning show should do their due diligence based on a certain standard and criteria before they randomly promote restaurants in Hamilton, inviting people to try out the Hamilton Vibe. Like I said, we drove for over an hour only to be met with very unwelcoming staff at a restaurant that CHCH 11...

The restaurant has a nice atmosphere with bright and cheerful decor. There is a lovely shaded patio with lots of tables in addition to the tables inside. We went on a Sunday for lunch. We arrived at @ 11:00 am and had to wait for a table. No worries as we expected a wait. They said 15 minutes. It was more like 40 minutes. As we were waiting, we could see there were several tables that were empty so I wondered why they weren't seating us. Unfortunately, the waiting continued once we were seated. It took another 45 minutes of waiting to get our food. Not once did the waitress acknowledge the wait even when we went to pay. I don't understand that. I heard another waitress speak to people at another table offering an apology for things being slow. She mentioned that it was just really busy. That is surprising: it's Sunday at lunch time on a weekend at a breakfast/lunch restaurant. Wouldn't that be your peak time? Frankly, the wait for our food was not worth it. We found the food to be just ok...certainly not worth a 1.5 hour wait. I had the Hammy Benny with homefries and salad. The salad was fresh but had no flavour and very little dressing. The homefries seemed to be frozen and not what I was expecting. The eggs benedict was pretty good although it was barely warm. To me it seemed that the salad and homefries were just dumped on the plate in a rush. It's too bad because I had heard very good things about this place and reviews were very good. Perhaps we just hit them on a bad day. I would think twice...

They make you pay full price for hair with food in it :-(

Edit : I made a comment on their IG about the fact that front of house charged me full price for a hairy meal and they simply blocked me & deleted my comment. I imagine this is what they do with negative reviews . :-(

Ordered huevos Rancheros , coffee sausage on the side. Costco Sausage came cold, but it was fine, I was hungry. Hair in my food. Cool. Happens. I tell the waitress, she takes the hair and peaces out. I can't quite stomach myself eating food I just found a hair in, so I wait for any explanation or resolution. Nah, she gone. I wait 5 mins, get ready to go and pay the bill for coffee. She fronts me the bill for the whole meal. $39 . I'm like lady, there was a hair you literally took off my food, what do you mean? She goes to speak to a curly haired manager. For like 3 whole minutes they're discussing their next steps. I've worked in hospitality my whole life, what do you mean ? They bill me for my added on sausage and coffee, saying, well you didn't find the hair in the sausage or the coffee, right ? Literally not a sorry in sight. "You didn't find the hair in the coffee or the sausage, right ?"

Word.

The whole establishment , from top to bottom, reeks of reheating Costco food for premium price. From new front of house I can accept some lack of courtesy. From a managerial position though? You kidding me ?

Would avoid now that I know better. Overpriced hype,...