The Lab Street Eats — Restaurant in Kitchener

Husband and I finally ventured here after hearing nothing but stellar reviews.

We popped in around 2pm on a Saturday just in time to snag a free table as a few others waited on take out or to get their food. There are about 7 tables inside total and a little bar area with a few seats that is used more for those waiting on takeout it seems. It is by no means a large place but you can call to make a reservation off peak times if you're worried and parking is located for 2 hours just on Oak street. Not even a 2 minute walk from the door!

The atmosphere was very relaxed with no one rushing around, music at good levels and no one yelling or having to talk over one another which was fantastic.

The menu ranges from burgers to chicken and even soup with a variety of local drinks to choose from alongside the usual sodas, coffee, and tea. We ordered the cubano, badass cheeseburger, fries, and a poutine. I'd heard they made the best smash burgers in town so I was eager to try them out!

We snagged a cherry cider and craft elk juice while we waited only a few moments for our food to come out.

The burger was huge! Two patties, two cheeses, all the fixins topped up between a brioche bun. After the first bite I couldn't set it down! Crispy on the outside and juicy inside with the perfect amount of sauce and toppings for layer after layer of flavour. And the homemade pickles? We couldn't get enough so we got a jar to take home!

The poutine came out in a small mixing bowl and was layered perfectly for bite after bite of gravy, fries, and true cheese curds.

The fries came out the same way and were crispy and airy, another difficult dish to put down.

The cubano was also large and stacked with the right amount of pork, ham, cheese, pickles and oh-so-good sauce. We definitely did not leave hungry, but we weren't stuffed either.

We took the fries home to snack on later and after tip (and a jar of pickles) our total came out to around $88! More than fair for both service and food!

We are SO GLAD we stopped in and we can't wait to go...

This is going to be one of my new go to places! The food was incredible quality and generously portioned. I ordered the Cubano sandwich with a "small" poutine. I was immediately impressed with the quality of the meat in the sandwich and the freshness of the bread. The poutine was large for a "small" and even as a big guy I was stuffed by the time I finished them both. The fries stood up really well to the gravy and didn't immediately turn to mush and the cheese curd was at that perfect point of meltiness that it was stringy while still keeping its structure.

Despite being quite full I was told by a friend that I had to try "The Dessert" and was I ever glad I did! It is an ice cream sundae. The homemade vanilla ice cream is smooth and delicious. The caramel is made with hot honey that brought an unexpected spiciness that played perfectly with the saltiness of the crispy bacon pieces and sweetness of the ice cream. It was playful and perfectly balanced and I am in love.

The atmosphere is very friendly and it seem the owners knew everyone who came in. It was really busy on a Friday lunch with so many people picking up food they had to warn new people coming in that it would take half and hour for new orders. I dined in and my food came in a reasonable time...i would estimate 10-15 minutes. The space is small, only about 6 tables, but I found it a cozy, friendly atmosphere. Only downside is that it was -17 outside and door doesn't close properly so ever time someone came or went (which was constant) the whole restaurant got blasted with cold air. Was it worth putting up with for such a good meal? Absolutely! But if you are sensitive to such things choose a seat out of the door's wind line.

Very very highly...

Cute place for lunch and interesting food choices. The establishment was a refurbished single level house second from the corner. Street parking was available at lunchtime on a Wednesday. When you come in the lady said just seat yourselves and brought us the one page menu (available online as well) with drinks on the backside. Many varieties of beer plus cans of soda and drip coffee. Food included mostly hot sandwiches, burgers, chicken, fries with toppings, and an interesting mac and cheese.

I ordered the cheeseburger fries with apple slaw while my partner ordered the jerk chicken burger and poutine. We both got a can of pop. Considering I ordered my food specifically without onions, it would've been nice if she had warned me that the apple slaw had onions but she did not. As for my main course, I did not like the food. If it had been cooked well, it might have been good. Fries topped with cheese sauce, crumbled burger patty, and pickles sounds great! But the burger was way dry and overcooked as were the fries.

It was gross and I could only make myself eat so much. It was a waste of a meal. I politely told the lady there that I did not want anymore because I did not enjoy it and she said okay. When I was paying, she asked if I just didn't like the sauce and I told her that the burger and fries were very overcooked and tasted bad. She said that this was how they cooked the burgers here and that the fries were kind of hit or miss. She charges me full price for everything and I tipped normally because I always do.

I...