dairy lane cafe

best patio for breakfast. i love dairylaneyear round, but my favourite time to eat there is on a sunny, weekday morning - when it's warm enough to sit on the patio, but not so hot that i am sweaty and/or developing a sunburn! even the sometimes long line-ups for a table are worth it - they provide water and coffee (if you desire) and hydration for the pets too (i don't have one, but i frequently see the waiting dogs provided with water bowls).

i almost always get the eggs benedict when i come here because the hollandaise is fantastic, but on my last trip decided to order the croque madame as it was part of their mealshare program (and also because it had mornay sauce and pulled pork). this was delicious (i wish it was a permanent fixture). the pork was melt-in-your-mouth tender, the mornay sauce was just the right touch of richness, and my sunnyside up eggs were perfect! i punctured the lovely yolks before remembering to take a picture. the hashbrowns were a nice side, and not too big. and because this was a later brunch, i also got a vanilla milkshake, which was amazing - i really love that they give you the whole carafe it comes in so you can top up your milkshake by yourself!

overall: always, always worth the wait. the service is fantastic, and the food is excellent.

yummy!. finally got to try dairylanewith my bf over a beautiful weekend. the wait was well over 30 mins but it was totally worth it! the food was so good, not just some other breakfast place but it is beyond other breakfast places! also there floats and milkshakes are also to die for! will def come again and hoping to try their dinner menu soon :)

i love dairylaneyear round, but my favourite time to eat there is on a sunny, weekday morning - when it's warm enough to sit on the patio, but not so hot that i am sweaty and/or developing a sunburn! even the sometimes long line-ups for a table are worth it - they provide water and coffee (if you desire) and hydration for the pets too (i don't have one, but i frequently see the waiting dogs provided with water bowls).

i almost always get the eggs benedict when i come here because the hollandaise is fantastic, but on my last trip decided to order the croque madame as it was part of their mealshare program (and also because it had mornay sauce and pulled pork). this was delicious (i wish it was a permanent fixture). the pork was melt-in-your-mouth tender, the mornay sauce was just the right touch of richness, and my sunnyside up eggs were perfect! i punctured the lovely yolks before remembering to take a picture. the hashbrowns were a nice side, and not too big. and because this was a later brunch, i also got a vanilla milkshake, which was amazing - i really love that they give you the whole carafe it comes in so you can top up your milkshake by yourself!

overall: always, always worth the wait. the service is fantastic, and the food is excellent.

dairylanecafe is a neat little restaurant tucked away in a strip mall on 19th street nw between 2nd and 3rd ave. it has been a long time since i visited such a small place to eat, but i am sure glad i did! entering the restaurant i noticed there were only nine tables, and eight of them were full; a good sign for a newly discovered restaurant. dairylanecafe could definitely buy out one of the retail spaces adjacent to it and still be packed to maximum capacity for breakfast on any tuesday morning. i am an eggs benedict lover, so i ordered one of the variations with gluten free bread, roasted pepper, avocado and requested they add back bacon as well. the eggs benny came with hash browns and the waitress brought along some funky india hot sauce, which just happened to supersede my reigning hot sauce favorite, franks. after that first bite, i no longer was paying any attention to my surroundings, not even to my sister sitting across from me. i

awesome server.. went to dairylanefor the first time with my son last week and even on a weekday it was busy! we were greeted by a friendly blonde girl who informed us the wait would be over 30min. she got us coffee while we waited, asked us what we were doing for the weekend & after we had been outside a few minutes she came around with more coffee making sure it wasn't cold.

our table was ready before the 30 minutes were up and as she sat us, i informed her of my gluten and mushroom allergies. she didn't have to go ask anyone about what was available to me, she simply went through the menu confidently, raving about a couple of her favourites.

for the rest of our stay we were served by another girl, who was just as friendly but i must say our first impression was great! the food was quick and delicious as well! we will certainly be back!

i can't express how much i like dairylane- from the retro diner decor to the super friendly staff to the incredible food (which uses ingredients from local producers), there's definitely a lot to love! everything i've tried has been excellent - the dairylaneburger ($14.5) and the bowview bowl ($15) are both highly recommended. definitely give it a visit - you won't be disappointed!

feel good food. the best part about dairylaneis the fact that it's local stuff - you know it's fresh, you know you're helping out local produce farmers (which is something to feel good about, right?).
the atmosphere is also cozy and it's always busy - lines go right out the door on weekends.
the milkshakes are filling (try sharing this between two, the jug fills two glasses), the breakfasts are solid, and the prices are decent. coffee is refillable, and the staff is friendly.
just an all-around feel good kind of place. how often can you make a meal at home that uses only local produce?

great diner!. my friends and i went to dairylaneon saturday for a early dinner and the place was not extremely busy. i ordered their feature burger and it was juicy and moist. the price is reasonable and i am definitely coming back~

went here with a group for my friend's birthday. i got the dairylaneburger and it came out over-cooked and barely warm, and my fries were soggy. everyone else seemed happy with their food, even though it took a very long time to come out. before i got there, my friend's younger brother ordered iced tea without realizing it was the authentic kind (he's a kid, he thought it would be like the nescafé stuff). anyway, my friend asked if she could get something else for him instead, but was told she would be charged for the iced tea (which was $4). i thought that was a bit strange. they also charged me $4 for a mini bottle of coke. i probably won't go back, there are plenty of places in the city with better, cheaper food and better customer service. i also don't like being crammed in a tiny restaurant like a sardine.

dairylanecafe is one of the well-known and most-frequented brunch spots in calgary, along the likes of oeb breakfast and monki. there are a lot of tables inside and on the patio (during summer), but more often than not, there’s a wait when you come for breakfast or brunch. it's not the cheapest spot to eat at, but it also won't break the bank. i ordered the vegan tofu scramble which was good, but left much to be desired (it was a small portion for $17). the servers are friendly & very welcoming, and they also filled up our coffee and water whenever it was empty!

went here today with my boyfriend and it's a cute and pleasant place to stop! it was busy at 2:30 on a sunday but we did get a table right away. it's a little cramped in there but manageable.
i ordered the dairylaneveggie burger and it was delicious. the patty is thick and hearty and tastes home made. fresh lettuce and thick tomatoe slice! great bun that was very soft and fresh. the fries were a little dry but i didn't really have a lot of room for them after i finished the burger.
my boyfriend ordered the canadian omelet and loved it. very thick and packed with ingredients. great home style hash browns. very great comfort food.
i would definitely come back as they have a lot of vegetarian options.
16 dollars for each entrée but well worth it.

i was real excited to try dairylaneas i had heard about it in the summer time but hadn't had the chance to try it until now. my initial impression walking in was "cute café, but so cramped". and i've been to other local restaurants, but this is the most cramped i've experienced. on the bright side, there's a ton of free residential parking to take advantage of and it's in a very convenient location just off kensington.

next was the service. was welcomed right away and given the choice to sit wherever. i'd been to dairylaneonce before and the wait time to be seated was half an hour so we decided not to stay that day. this time we came early to ensure prompt seating and service. it's quite busy so if you're wanting to try it for breakfast, come before 930-10 am to avoid that wait time. as far as service, we were given 2 waters right away, offered any other beverage (for a price, that is) and menus were already at the table. our server was great, but didn't smile nor introduce herself the entire time. kind of like she didn't want to be there..? but great service nonetheless - she took our orders right when we were ready, gave us waters, asked us how our meals tasted, took our plates, gave us our bill, and wished us a great rest of our day. just no smile or introduction - and that's okay.

next is the food. i've been really craving eggs benedict lately and have been on the hunt for the best hollandaise sauce, so i tried their spinach and mushroom eggs benedict (soft poached eggs). i thought the food was decent. not amazing, but good. the eggs were definitely not soft. i was looking for more of a runny yolk kind of effect. the hollandaise was creamy but could have had more flavour, and there wasn't much of it. overall, it was about average to me.

finally, price. the price didn't bother me as much as other people. i think it's pretty standard that eggs benedict be $15 but that's just me. and when i skimmed over the menu, i'd say it's reasonable.

overall, it wasn't bad. i'd give it another chance in the future. i think i just hyped it up too much for myself. 3.5 out of 5 stars!

i think i’ve finally figured out how to enjoy brunch. over order. simple but genius right? well, it was a sunday so being in calgary, we obviously had to go for brunch. i still can’t get over how much calgarians adore brunch – it reminds me of montreal so much. we decided to check out dairylanecafé, which apparently has been in the hillhurst area since 1950! wow, 65 years and going strong.

tess and her mum go to dairylanebefore a concert

my mum loved her burger, mine was just okay. it claimed to be a stuffed burger but it was really just a double burger with toppings, so a little bit of false advertising. my lemonade was delicious though! 

we also ordered a piece of pie and it was the saddest, smalls glop of pie i've ever seen, but it was delicious. 

the service was insanely slow considering there were 3 tables in this super small space, but our server was super nice. 

i will give this place another chance sometime even though it didn't wow me the first time.

dairylaneused to be one of my favourite places for brunch, but it's not in my top 3 anymore. the place feels so cramped and gets really loud. they used to serve free coffee to customers who were waiting, but they haven't done that the last couple of times i was there. there's a small waiting area in the back.

i think they need to keep up with other breakfast places and experiment with their menu a little bit. after years of going there, the menu gets a little old.

quality of the food is still great though. i just don't enjoy actually sitting there because it's hard to talk over brunch due to the noise level and being so cramped.