HANGOUT CAFE — Restaurant in Ottawa

I've come here a few more times since the last review, and I noticed something else. Whenever just the boys are on duty, things get sloppy. It's great that they're having fun, but they're also technically working. The tables were not bussed frequently enough and often dirty, and some drinks were not made properly. When I asked for a wipe cloth so I can wipe the table down myself (since they looked busy) they said "oh we'll do it for you" - 10+ min later a guy came and did such a poor job of wiping that bits and pieces of food were still stuck on the table and some fell onto our laps. And left it stickier than before.

tl;dr = the boys working there need to learn how to clean and make drinks properly, but all the positive things from the last review are still there.

ORIGINAL REVIEW (2015/12/19)

Food & drink = I will start by saying all of what they offer is pretty good. Areas of improvement, i.e. minus 1-star for: 1) could stock more pastries. 2) could have more non-sweet food, like sandwiches, for people who come to join friends but did not have time to eat dinner etc. 3) one time they ran out of most of the things on the menu, so they had to custom-make a brick toast for me with the very few ingredients they did have....so....inventory management could be better. 4) I would LOVE it if they had fresh fruit/veg beverages, e.g. real taro smoothie; however they don't seem to keep that much fresh produce. This was a big disappointment at my first visit.

Service = It's like visiting a shop run by an acquaintance (even though we are not). Not rude but not overly friendly - it feels a little more comfortable than what we get as mere 'customers', which is cool. Prep time is reasonable - never surprisingly quick or noticeably slow. What I really appreciate is their willingness to customize the drinks/food.

Ambiance = 4/5, awesome. Spacious, well-lit, cute decor, good selection of board games. Very convenient hours. Could get loud but it's to be expected. Comfortable seating. Good for big groups.

Cleanliness = 3/5, could be improved, especially WC and sticky...

I ordered a Taro Milk Tea with Pearls size Medium, and their drink prices have slightly increased from the current Google menu(7/30/2024; as of writing this). That's fair and normal, given the current economic climate. That said, the drink w/taxes came to around $9.60, which is a pretty steep price in comparison to bigger chains like Gong Cha and Chatime, which are typically a dollar less for a slightly larger serving.

What made the price point worse for me was that the barista added in an 18% tip on her own, without any prompt from me at all. So, at the evaluation of an $11.33 drink, it is quite okay. It was a bit warmer than I thought for a cold drink, and the taste was okay, at least for my Bubble Tea hankering

Still, with the price hike and the secretive addition of a tip, I can't justify coming here just for Bubble Tea if you can afford the extra walk to Gong Cha, Tea Live, Cha Time, or even a traditional coffee place like Bridgehead or La Fayette.

To Hangout's credit, they do offer a game pass for $4(I haven't had a reason to come here, but I assume it's at least an hour), and they have a good collection of games, including a well-loved Monopoly Mahogany Board Game(the 1991 Franklin Mint Monopoly Collectors Edition), which I thought was cool. So if you're coming here for the board games and overall vibe, Hangout isn't a bad option.

The only other nitpick I'd have is, I'm not sure there's much air conditioning in the eatery - there was a fan in front of the cash, and the barista was visibly sweating. It might not be an amazing place to go to for a heat wave, but I also would not mind if they simply turned off the AC for cost purposes(I assume I went in during one of the quiet days).

TL;DR come here IF you have a desperate hankering for Bubble Tea. Otherwise, Gong Cha is expanding in Ottawa, so...

I've been here twice and I really like this place! They have a decent selection of drinks and boardgames but I feel like it could be even better if a couple changes were made:

More comfy seating and a bit of a decor change up. It could be so cute but it feels kinda empty to me.

I find a lot of the staff seem a bit uninterested. I feel like places like The Loft really work for the whole board game cafe thing because the staff are really hands on and helpful and I think this place could really benefit from that.

More snacks! I noticed they have ramen and cake but maybe more finger foods like chips or candy served party style. It would be cool to have different asian style snacks to munch on while playing the board games.

Related to food, I'm not sure why plastic cutlery is used? It seems more cost beneficial to use metal cutlery. I don't think it could be a sanitation issue because regular plates are already being used.

This review is meant to be constructive, not condescending. Also shoutout to the guy who I'm assuming is the manager! You're doing a great job. Very friendly and...