thyme & again

soooo good! the lemon shortbread is fabulous. my daughter gave me a gift basket full ofthyme& again goodies. the lemon shortbread butterfly cookies are a melt-in-your mouth lemony treat. soo good! i can't wait to try more things from this store! :)

disappointing. i was quite disappointed withthyme& again. i dropped in for lunch and ordered two servings of the filet mignon with sesame sauce and a side for each: parsnips and carrots and basmati rice. it took approximately 15 minutes while i waited at the counter for the waitress to retrieve the filet, sauce and side from the fridge, plate it, and warm it up in the microwave (yup you heard right !). the staff as a whole was very slow. it was almost like they were walking in quick sand. painful to watch. by the time i paid for it and took it to my table (which took another 2 minutes) the meat was ice cold. it was nearly raw in the middle, and one of the two portions was at least 1/3rd gristle and fat. to add insult to injury the standard issue knife they provided was very dull and we both ended up having to basically saw back and forth around 10 strokes to cut through each piece of the meat. i asked the waitress for a sharper type of knife and watched as she asked several of the staff. in a few cases they reached for butcher knives and laughed at her, in others they merely shrugged their shoulders. alas they were not able to come up with a proper knife and we were left to struggle with our dull utensils after receiving a "sorry that's all we have". the espresso was also disappointed. they need to invest in a proper espresso machine (see coffeegeek.com for reviews/blogs, etc.). it had no crema and was burned, resulting in a strong, bitter taste. all in lunch with the espresso including a soup came to $53.00. i don't mind paying those sorts of rates but in this casethyme& again fell staggeringly short. i will not return.

cutest little place.thyme& again is my favourite place to take a quiet lunch, grab a great handmade sandwich with the best coleslaw i've ever eaten and a crunchy dill pickle. their soups are to die for and service is quick and sweet. the atmosphere is great, although on the main level and patio, there is limited seating. if you go up the back stairs, there's a lot more room/chairs/tables to house more people, although the light and airy feeling on the main floor is a lot more attractive. there's decorations and knick-knacks for sale and i often find cute little things to buy for friends and family there. overall, it's a great place to go for a coffee, a snack or a meal. it's suitable for children, working or just meeting up with friends for a great meal.

...everythingthyme& again had to offer looked amazing.

delicious catered lunch!. this is the second year we have ordered lunch for our staff on april 30 and both times we have been very pleased. the sandwiches have been delicious, the salads lovely and the desserts mouth watering! even the four special diet sandwiches ( gf & vegetarian) were delicious. having everything arranged on ceramic platters and serving bowls made the presentation much nicer. i would not hesitate to referthyme& again to any office looking for a catered lunch in house.

close to tunney's pasture, where the parking is bad, but the business is good, is "ottawa's favourite catering & food shop" as they said on their website.thyme& again is a two-story bakery/cafe/sandwich shop that is a lunch haven for middle-aged and old alike. with its attractive location on a main road that is close to a handful of office buildings, this specialty food shop was hustling and bustling when i went at around 12:30pm...

read more on my blog. link provided below.

amazing catering service. hard to believe that with just a few short phone calls i could make myself look like the hostess extraordinaire! have always loved the “take-home” food fromthymeand again, but this year for our birthdays my husband and i used their catering service to host a dinner of twenty friends and family. the food as usual was delicious. from hors d’oeuvres to dessert their servers and chef turned my home into an intimate high end restaurant... far better than anything i could have imagined. if you are not used to hosting, their experience and ability to improvise without direction are certainly what you need. by the time they packed up and left there was nothing left to do but remember our lovely evening. a big thanks to rose for knowing exactly what we were looking for. lorraine

bad service, not worth the price. we ordered two slices of cake to go and a couple of candies for the kids, and after we paid (close to $20), the guy handed us a box and said "here's your cakes" (notice the plural). we chatted with someone we recognized at the cafe for several minutes then went home only to find one slice. we drove all the way back and politely asked for the piece we were not given. the guy made it a point to say "oh yeah, you guys forgot it" - no apologies no nothing. after having to drive all the way back, i certainly wasn't expecting to be blamed for their mistake. i didn't argue, just wanted what we paid for. so i said "we were told our cakes were in here", and he insisted "no you guys forgot your piece, you left without it". if we were there for several minutes talking to someone else, couldn't he have just told us we have one more cake coming? he said he gave our piece to the next customer. terrible service. the cakes weren't worth the price either - couldn't taste any lemon in the lemonthymecake. the experience soured me enough that i won't be going back. i've had it with some of these pretentious, over-priced cafes in westboro that don't even have the decency to provide a better level of service in exchange for the prices they charge!

unorganized and overpriced. i'm not one to write a review for something unless it's exceptional good or bad. in this case, it's bad. the set up forthymeis horrible and the staff is rude and impatient. nothing is fresh, everything is pre-made. they asked if i wanted my chicken microwaved or re-heated in the oven.. if i'm going to pay $18 for a small piece of meat and vegetables i expect it to at least be fresh and not leftovers that were made that morning. after waiting 15 minutes for my leftover meal to get warmed i sat down and at my meal with was comparable to a lean cuisine in regards to the taste and portion. i am never coming here again and i wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone. there are much better restaurants in ottawa with gluten free and vegetarian options. overall, one of the worst experiences i've ever had at a restaurant.

wow! what a spread!. everyone raved about the lunch, especially the quality and presentation of the food.

the team atthyme& again made our celebration stress free and we greatly appreciate it!

also, thank you for providing some gluten free sandwiches. one of my colleagues was so thrilled because she hasn’t eaten a sandwich since october!

we will definitely be calling you for our next catered event.

catering for events.thyme& again catered an event for the community foundation of ottawa.

they did a wonderful job. they provided professional and creative input in the planning stages and friendly, respectful service throughout the evening. the colours of the dropcloths and the food was stunning. i did not sample everything, but the canapés that came my way were absolutely delicious.

awesome catering for my wedding!. when trying to think of words to use to describe the service and food provided bythyme& again at my wedding this past weekend at the museum of nature there is only one that comes to mind..... amazing! they handled everything perfectly from start to finish. every aspect of the service went off without a hitch. our wedding required a good deal of room changes and set-up between ceremony, reception and dinner, and the staff made everything look flawless and beautiful. it was so nice having everything taken care of and not having to worry about a thing. also the little things made me and my bride feel extra special; such as the servers making sure that we had the chance to enjoy each of the appetizers served during the cocktail hour since we were busy taking photos for most of that time. the food was also outstanding! i am still thinking about the chocolate oblivion cake :)thyme& again also took great effort to accommodate everyone’s food sensitivities, restrictions and allergies (we had a quite a few people at our event that required this extra care taken with the food). i highly recommend anyone planning a wedding to usethyme& again for catering. me and my wife's wedding day wouldn’t have been as special as it was if it wasn’t for the effort they put in.

and a very special thanks to sandra for being such an awesome coordinator!

fabulous, except..... my daughter and i have been patrons ofthyme& again for many years. they catered my sister's wedding. we routinely order their cakes for celebrations. and we've tried so many items on the menu that i really feel i can give a thorough, experienced review of this establishment.

so here's the dirt: i love this place ... except for the hot entrees.

i love their soup. sometimes it can be a little bit salty, but mostly it's delicious. if you ask, they will give you a small shot to taste before you place your order and my daughter and i have taken advantage of this offer in order to ensure we choose the right soup. the sandwiches are also wonderful and my favourite is the smoked salmon (lots of smoked salmon, red onions and sprouts on a chewy, fresh bun!). their tuna and apple sandwich is also delicious. and their salads are lovely as well.

so if you're looking for a meal, stick with the soup/sandwich or a salad and you won't be disappointed. it's marvelous. and inexpensive.

they have hot entrees that sound like they are going to be delicious and yet every single time, have disappointed us. don't fool yourself by thinking these meals are going to be prepared hot for you: they are pre-made and then microwaved. as such, meals are always in varying degrees of lukewarm and cold. my daughter once ordered lambchops that were so rare, they were bloody and she couldn't even bite through them. we've learned to stay away from these expensive items on the menu.

but we routinely go back not only for soup/sandwiches, but for the desserts. oh my. the desserts are out of this world fabulous!!! my daughter always insists we bring home the vegan cherry brownies (we're not vegan but we also don't discriminate and these are the superb!) my favourite cake is the poppyseed grand marnier cake which, sadly, is no longer available by the slice (but you can take home an entire cake). i also love the lemonthymecake. honestly, if you stop by, you need to try one of their desserts. don't be disciplined. don't be good. just do it.

the atmosphere of this shop is so lovely, i often bring my friends for some coffee and a dessert. i love the brick, the fresh green paint and the old wood floors. it looks like a small shop, but if you go upstairs, there is a large room with more seating. but it's so much more fun to sit in the front windows, partake in a delicious piece of cheesecake and watch the people stroll by. there's nothing more pleasurable than one of their café au lait or warm apple ciders on a cold day.

they also have package food to take home. we love to bring home pate (they make it) and their tortiere and chicken pot pie is also good. my daughter loves to buy a bag of their spicy pecans.

i highly recommend this place (if you stay away from the hot entrees).

not always fresh!. i have bought lunch atthyme& again several times since moving to the neighbourhood, and about half the time when i get to the cash and take a closer look at what was served to me at the counter before paying for it, it is old. wilted lettuce, translucent fruit, nasty salad dressing... on top of that your sandwich is always served to you with bare hands that squish down the bread as they wrap it up to go. is this place too trendy for their staff to wear gloves?! it's not cheap, either, so i don't think i will be going back again.

the food has been ok but unfortunately the service has taken a significant turn. i can't comprehend a scenario where the staff, on a sunday morning at 10:04am, with absolutely no one in the store, tell my wife that her order of six sandwiches should have been called in ahead as a large order. note: the sandwiches are pre-made and took all of one minute to pull from the fridge. the tone was smug and this isn't the first time. we are proud supporters of local business and have grown up in family businesses. we have been consistently supportingthymeand again but the service has become increasingly unwelcoming. unfortunately no morethymeand definitely not again.