Steve's Open Kitchen — Restaurant in Hamilton

TL;DR - Disappointed. Did not represent good value. A classic breakfast, a club sandwich, a cup of Orange Juice cost us 38$ before tip.

Long Version: Despite the warm welcome, the menu was limited and altering your order without incurring an extra charge was not possible. (it's 4$ to remove egg from your order and replace with 2 pieces of ham, which judging by their sandwich, would probably be disappointing)

Today in particular, they were out of white bread and rye bread. We adapted our order and asked for the sandwich to be made using hamburger buns instead. No issue.

To be understood, Club sandwiches - including the one on the menu- are typically three pieces of bread, bacon, chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo.

The mayo was served on the side, and tomato removed, per our request. But the sandwich was disappointing. It had no cheese, it was 85% lettuce, and the slice of chicken was incredibly thin in comparison to the amount of lettuce. The chicken piece was 1\4 of an inch thick.

Of course, would it be possible to make a proper club sandwich with hamburger buns? Debatable. Adding a third bun in the middle of it all might have been a huge mess... Nevertheless, the dish, in it's totality cost 18$ before tax, for what seemed to have been a lettuce sandwich, with little to no meat, and a side of hash-browns. The cost of that dish was double its value.

We were quite disappointed with this. Honestly, I feel like we were charged too much... our total bill came out to 38$... I was really hoping to find a breakfast place to frequent regularly while we're in Hamilton working, but unfortunately, this will not be it.

P.S. Despite specializing in breakfast, their fryer was not on? Their menu had several items with French Fries, but we couldn't...

FYI: Benedict peameal bacon is not available under the option recommendations tab (or I would highly recommend it). Probably one of the best breakfasts in my life. The portioning was a little low for home fries especially if I'm paying over $16 for a breakfast plate with tip. However, The Benedict (peameal bacon) was perfect, juicy and flavourful, but the home fries were a bit on the harder side (if you like them that way or) ask them to cook a bit longer if you want them softer to chew.

The service was really good. I haven't had a server on top of her game like this one in a long time. She asked if I wanted coffee right away and I sat there for less than 2 minutes before I was served. The place was also busy and the server was accurate, fast and had a wonderful demeanor that kept conversation to a minimal while busing and waiting, it really was a great experience and deserves more recognition (new servers take note or shadow this lady if you have the ability to). The waitress deserves more than a 20% tip for her charm and service if she waits tables like this every time and I spend around $30 with tipping the kitchen and waitress over 20%.

It was hard to find, it's on a very busy steet. I walked past it twice and quick, and you'll have to park off a side street to walk over or get dropped off at front in the winter time especially if you're a senior.

This place is the definition of a hidden gem breakfast spot, highly recommended,...

Awful, I'm a huge fan of greasy spoons, but not this one. It was the worst experience ever. I paid for an hour and a half in the parking meter , and thought I would read the paper and take my time over several cups of coffee. I ordered a toasted bacon and egg sandwich, which came in one minute flat. The bacon half raw and the toast was like warm bread. The bill came at the same time . I had barely finished half the sandwich, when Steve informed me they were closing soon and wanted the money right away . I didn't tip of course and complained that he should have told me before I ordered. Then he came back and said he was closing and had to leave. I had only been there not much more than 10 minutes. He seemed like a dope fiend in a huge hurry to get to his crack or crystal meth. I only had a few sips of my coffee. I should have thrown the rest in his face. As I left a lot of swear words were exchanged. The only reason I would go back is to burn it down, but I wouldn't do that, as the insurance company, would only give Steve more money to buy crack. I'll just let Steve alone, and let him live in his own self...