Recess Café — Restaurant in Rideau Lakes

Great unexpected pit stop on the way from Ottawa to Kingston looking for coffee and to use the washroom. We almost made the tragic mistake of stopping at the gas station 700m up the road but thankfully saw this gem instead!

This is a bustling spot that offers sit down and takeout cafe options that are a cut above most places. The decor is modern and bright, with beautiful plants and interesting artwork. With steady stream of clientele in and out, my one comment would be about the acoustics - it was a little noisy, my grandfather was finding it a bit difficult but over all we would all return without a second thought.

The menu offers some interesting options like a baked French toast, and lattes with real maple syrup. My latte was expertly made with the perfect temperature and it had a balanced taste. I also appreciate that they offer more of a choose your own adventure breakfast assortment at reasonable prices - I often find that I end up wasting a lot of food at breakfast. I was able to get one egg over medium with home fries and what seemed like homemade ketchup, which was perfect for me. I think it was less than 8$ and I ate the entire plate.

My grandfather had the soup of the day which was some kind of mushroom soup and he really enjoyed it as well

I finished the visit with a blueberry scone warmed with butter on recommendation from our waitress, and it was one of the best I’ve had. I wasn’t sure id be able to finish it but all of the homemade goodies were too tempting to pass up. Not overly sweet, nicely balanced with the right amount of buttery saltiness. Finishing wasn’t an issue lol.

Everyone was very welcoming, friendly and personable from start to finish. Everyone wished us well and said goodbye on our way out. They did this with just about every customer and it seemed as if they knew many people as regulars, which was really nice to see

Don’t miss this spot if you’re in the area :)...

So first of all the aesthetics of this place is a vibe. I wish I had gotten more pictures other than my meal.(the people I was with we're older and wouldn't have understood.) The bright white walls. The color scheme, the mural and the framed pictures are all awesome. I liked the robot picture and the library card framed picture.

The service was second to none.

The food: if I had been a smarter person I would have realized that I was getting a samwitch. Everything else was a samwitch. If I was smarter I still would have ordered the breakfast club but I wouldn't have ordered my egg sunny side up. I would have opted for a more cooked yoke but that's on me. Not their fault at all. The meal was tasty. I couldn't name all the flavours.

I would have expected this lunch experience in the gleeb or westboro neighbourhoods in Ottawa not in rideau lakes. 10/10...

Drove by many times and finally decided to stop in for lunch. Very glad we did. While pulling into the parking lot we noticed a young lady, from the restaurant, waiting for us at the door with two menus, and a great big smile when we entered. The place is small but very open. Staff were very friendly and full of smiles, yes the staff was actually smiling!!!!!!!! As far as service was concerned, literally could not be better. The place is clean and very charming. The food, chicken salad and roast beef sandwiches, were absolutely delicious and very filling. Pricing is what one would expect for quality and freshness. Definitely will stop in again and try different...