The Spoke — Restaurant in Ontario

Used to frequent The Spoke regularly in undergrad and have many great memories here. Today I was on campus as an alum, picking up some bookstore swag for a family friend who’s starting at western in the fall, and I knew I had to stop for a spoke bagel. Unfortunately, I had a very off putting and uncomfortable experience that left me with a bad taste.

I arrived right around noon, and the woman who took my order was ill-mannered and disrespectful. As someone who isn’t familiar with the menu (because it’s obviously changed since I was in undergrad), I think it’s quite reasonable for me to ask her for recommendations. I knew I wanted the smoked salmon bagel, and all I asked was what type of bagel and cream cheese people usually get with it. Anyone who has worked in food service knows this is common practice, but she was so impatient and snappish, you would’ve thought I asked her to read me the entire menu. It was also quite loud and I have a hearing disability so I had to ask her to repeat herself several times (I don’t know why she didn’t just speak up after the first time I asked her), which only caused her to become more antagonistic. I was so taken aback—and I’ll be honest, mortified—by her behaviour I felt too uncomfortable to order a beverage and treat like I had originally planned.

I wasn’t sure if the staff generally don’t like questions from customers, feel overworked and take it out on customers, if she was having a bad day, or perhaps that was simply her personality, but as I waited for my order I watched her interact with other customers and noticed she didn’t treat them the same disrespect she treated me—even something as minor as starting the interaction with other customers with a smile, meanwhile I was met with a scowl. I suspect her adversarial attitude toward me may have been racially motivated, which only added to my humiliation.

After that, it was hard for me to enjoy the sandwich, and even though I had originally planned to dine in, I didn’t feel welcome to stick around. I don’t know that I will...

My favourite place to eat right after going to the gym! They have basically everything here!

today, I went to the spoke and their seating has changed and I was amazed! the tables are so big and the seats are so comfortable, perfect to eat and talk with friends here! I have many favourites here, I am in love with their bagels, I usually get their Raisin bagel, but my friend wanted to get the bagel this time but sadly, they do not serve raisin bagel in summer (big sad). BLT bagel is so good as well! They also have a kitchen bar there which serves spaghetti and salad and chicken fingers. One of my favourite there is their chicken fingers with plum sauce. Their plum sauce is the best, the sweet and sour flavour is perfectly balanced! Another favourite of mine there is the Carbonara spaghetti, its so yummy and creamy. I got their chicken Caesar salad and their funnel cake fries. Their funnel cake fries is so good too, it is not very sweet but with the dip they have, it would be very sweet, their dip is caramel dip. With the chicken Caesar salad, it is pretty yummy but the chicken is a little bit too dry.

I absolutely love this place, always the place to eat after class and gym and staffs...

If you're looking for a great place to get bagels, look no further. A staple on Western's Campus, the Spoke is a cafe, pub, and eatery which is located centrally in the University Community Centre. The cafe section serves bagels which are brought in from The Great Canadian Bagel and those are served with your choice of anything from just butter or as an entire sandwich with meats, cheeses, and veggies. As well, the Spoke "Grill" serves burgers, sandwiches, wraps and my favourite fries in the city. Both areas are fairly priced and take campus meal plan. Lastly, the Spoke doubles as a bar and serves beer from all around Canada and the globe, which is how you can do the Spoke's Beer Tour of the World. On most nights, people aren't only there to drink, they're there to watch sports, hangout with friends, for Trivia nights, or for Rick McGee, Western's famed alum who plays classic tunes every Wednesday night. You will not be disappointed at the...