dairy lane cafe

best patio for breakfast. i love dairy lane year round, but my favouritetimeto 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.

i love dairy lane year round, but my favouritetimeto 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.

dairy lane cafe is a neat little restaurant tucked away in a strip mall on 19th street nw between 2nd and 3rd ave. it has been a longtimesince 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. dairy lane cafe 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 dairy lane for the firsttimewith 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!

went here with a group for my friend's birthday. i got the dairy lane burger 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 longtimeto 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.

i had heard a lot of great things about dairy lane, so we decided to head down there for dinner tonight. it took quite a while for a server to ask us for our drinks order, my little brother asked for an iced tea, which turned out to be actual iced tea, and not the sugary stuff that we all know and love. my brother asked the server if he could switch it, to which she replied “yeah that’s fine but i’m going to have to charge you for this one”. why not just switch it out without charging for the untouched drink? most restaurants wouldn’t charge for that but ok. we ordered the nachos to start and they were amazing. they don’t have a huge assortment of ingredients, but the peppers, and beans that they add on, with the drizzle of cheese was seriously good. i ordered the buttermilk chicken sandwich which was wonderful, the chicken was light and seasoned really well. my brother got the fried chicken which was seriously juicy and light, it was amazing. my best friend got the cheeseburger, prob the least tastiest, it was dry and not really that good. service was ok, the place is very small so there’s not much room, only a few tables. waittimewas really long, we waited quite a bit until our food arrived.

wow! what a great vibe! the employees greeted us with the most beautiful, genuine smiles. it's small and cozy, so either go early or prepare to wait (we went at 815 am on saturday morning, were the second ones seated, and in 15 minutes the place was full). we got the hillhurst breakfast sandwhich and the breakfast burrito with brisket with fruit on the side and a slice of cherry pie to share. the food was excellent and the portion size was perfect. the brisket was perfectly cooked but a little boring in terms of seasoning. we will definitely be back though, looking forward to trying a more traditional breakfast meat nexttime:p

this would have gotten a 4.5 star rating but...
firsttimei ate here with my husband, both food and service were great which made for a memorable meal... enough to travel from edmonton to calgary again just to eat there. the food is homey and comforting for a good price. my husband and i recently returned in the middle of the afternoon and was told there would be a 45 minute wait. at first, the staff seemed to be welcoming and friendly when we walked in. we declined to be put on the list but later changed our mind so my husband called up and explained we were just in there and changed our minds and we now wanted to be added to the waiting list. when we came back to be seated the same server who greeted us the firsttimewas rather rude and waved us to a table without barely acknowledging we were there.
the rest of the service staff was rather rude and had a lot of attitude; they acted like the customer had no choice but to deal with it if you want to eat there because it's such a popular spot. in terms of the food, my dish was good... grilled cheese with bison chili and sweet potatoes fries. the sweet potatoes fries were enough to come back from the firsttimeand even travel from edmonton and the best i've ever had; crispy on the outside and soft inside with a hint of cinnamon in the coating. my husband had the same burger as he had the firsttimeand it definitely wasn't as good as the first time; the patty was borderline burnt but, in fear of not wanting more service with attitude, we chose not to send it back. 
overall, i definitely wouldn't drive from edmonton anymore to eat here again for the fact that the service was lacking and very unwelcoming, which for me ruins the experience no matter how good the food is. there is never any excuse for bad service in the restaurant biz although there's certainly enough of it. i think my husband and i have to find another calgary go-to restaurant. if you read this and have any suggestions, please feel free to message me with your recommendations.

went for lunch at 1:00pm on a weekday and got a table in 15 minutes. it's quite a busy place and they don't take reservations. had the stacked chilli grilled cheese and my wife had the back bacon grilled cheese. the sandwiches were really good and the fry's that they came with were amazing. service was also decent but it doesn't seem like there is atimeyou can go to this place without waiting. i imagine breakfast would take a while because it's quite small with limited tables.

i was real excited to try dairy lane as i had heard about it in the summertimebut 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 dairy lane once before and the waittimeto be seated was half an hour so we decided not to stay that day. thistimewe 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!

our server was so pleasant and made us feel really welcome and excited to be there. the place was busy but the staff are amazing at their jobs. the food was delicious and the nexttimei'm in town i have to go back. seriously people..try the french toast with berry compote!!!!!!!

amazing breakfast spot. went here for breakfast for the firsttimeand absolutely loved it! i had the "all in omelette" and it was perfectly cooked. great portion size and all the ingredients were delicious. i would highly recommend this place for anyone looking for a great breakfast place! yummy!!!!

this place has to be one of my alltimefavorite restaurants in calgary. been here multiple times with my husband and close friends. but no matter who i am here with,the food and service is always exceptional.

great brunch spot. i've been to dairy lane a few times and i always leave satisfied. the lasttimei came i had a huge omelet stuffed with fillings. it got a bit heavy towards the end, but i finished! the toast was great and even my sister who isn't a big toast fan finished hers off. service is decent, too. the only downside is that the location is quite small so if you come during the peak hours be prepared to wait.

it was my husband and my firsttimeat dairy lane and it was great! 100% of today's sales and gratuities went to flood relief and it was such an amazing thing to see the servers be to selfless and still provide amazing service even though realistically, they were not keeping the tip.

i had the breakfast burrito and my husband had the smoked salmon and asparagus eggs benny and both were wonderful. we both enjoyed the hash browns. we will definitely be back.