dad and i seem to have a set point of waiting ’til the last minute to get in our outing of the month! more often than not, i do believe, it seems to come down to the final days of the month before we finally get our acts together and get out for our father-daughter bonding time!
cora‘s opened its uptown waterloo location – the franchise’s 113th spot – in november 2009. since then, i have heard varying reports about this popular breakfast/brunch/lunch restaurant. here’s feedback i have received: on the positive side, people rave about the fresh fruit that accompanies each dish, and the generous portions you receive; on the negative side, it’s been reported that the menu is overpriced and that the dining room (for the waterloo location, anyway) is loud and impersonal.
it was time to find out for myself.
cora's - located in the mall in uptown waterloo
who else to drag along invite to do a cora’s review than dear dad?! [dad has dined at cora's many times before - a good sign that he was willing to go back??].
me, ready to dine!!! dad must have been very hungry - his camera work is a little off (chopped cora's sign!)!
the restaurant was not busy at all this morning (on weekends, they are lined up 20 deep, right into the mall). we got seated at a lovely window table.
dad!
the menu is, quite honestly, the most extensive brunch menu i have ever seen:
namesake cora, on the menu cover!
take a look (and drool not):
page one...
page two...not done yet...
...and page three!! zowie!
holy moly was it tough to choose – i spied at least 10 choices that would have made me very happy.
those readers who know me well will laugh at this: you know my taste buds have been wonky since i had the flu. well, this morning, i knew there was ONE SPECIFIC FOOD that i had. to. have. as part of breakfast:
bacon!!!
[ok, you can stop laughing now. but i'm so serious about needing bacon!!!]
so, i narrowed my picks to two:
option a...
or, option b
i ended up choosing…
cora's special!
wow – you would not believe what was included in my plate: two poached eggs (you can choose how you want your eggs); bacon, ham, sausage, fried potato wedges, a thin pancake/crepe, and fresh fruit. oh, and toast!
dad's plate was much like mine, but he got blueberry pancakes instead of the crepe
let's dig in!
so, what did i think?
cora’s rocks.
i absolutely loved this breakfast and would give it an a- rating. my favourite was the thin pancake! everything was really tasty. my only suggestion for improvement would be to crisp up the bacon and cook the potatoes longer – they were both a little underdone for my liking. otherwise, the quality leaves nothing to be desired.
thoughts about the pricing: most selections run between $10 – $14 so it’s not the cheapest eatery in uptown, but the quality matches the price point, to my mind.
service was just fine. nothing spectacular, but our food arrived without too much delay and all of the servers were very polite. dad had his coffee cup refilled quite a few times. [i did not have coffee!!!!].
and loudness? now granted, it was not full while we dined, but we could not even hear the table directly behind us, so the atmosphere was pleasingly quiet.
cute and tasteful colour schemes and wall decor - very relaxing and welcoming
final thoughts: i can’t wait to go back to cora’s, honestly. really, you go to a restaurant for the food, right? (service, atmosphere being secondary and supplementary). and cora’s offers an extraordinary array of delicious options.
dad and i enjoyed perhaps our best outing to date! we never shut up the whole time, and i so appreciate being able to yak dad’s patient ear off. dad is a very wise man. pops, i ♥ you!
can't leave without the requisite self-portrait!!
over breakfast, we already discussed options for our september outing. bet we get out before the end of the month, we are so eager!
what’s your favourite brunch spot? in uptown waterloo, angie’s kitchen is perhaps the best known (it’d be the one recommended in a tourist guide). personally, i think angie’s reputation outweighs the quality…although mom and dad just had a very positive brunch outing there this past weekend! to each their own!
Comments
I love restaurants with extensive menus! Sometimes it can be a tiny bit overwhelming to make a choice, but I prefer to have many options.
And I love poached eggs, too. I have several favorite brunch places – just went to a new one in NYC called La Cava – it was delicious. And Bubby’s is another NYC favorite. In Dallas, there’s a place called Dream Cafe that has a great menu. Come visit, and I’ll take you there! 
i agree – sometimes a lot of great-sounding options is tougher than a small menu! brunch places in nyc – wow, that would be a wonderful experience! glad you had a good time at la cava!
I love Cora’s. I’m actually going for breakfast there tomorrow morning before heading in to school (ick!)- I usually get Cora’s breakfast or the crepes with fresh fruit. You should try it the next time. Their menu blows me away!
ooo, enjoy your breakfast, nicole! if anything can ease the pain of having to go back to school, a cora breakfast is it! i got one crepe with my breaky and it was delicious so i will take your recommendation for next time!
That place looks great, and even just from the looks of Cora on the menu…I would have tried it too–she looks like she knows what she’s doing in the breakfast kitchen!
I don’t really have a fave brunch place…it’s not really something we’ve done all too often, but I really need to scout one out in my new town!
it’s a great story – cora started with one restaurant, and now the chain is all across canada! brunch is a big deal on the weekends in waterloo – places get really lined up! maybe your mom has a brunch suggestion?!!
Cora’s looks like a cute place — and I like having lots of options, especially when it comes to breakfast foods! I loved what you picked out — that is usually the type of meal I get, except if there is biscuits and gravy on the menu you know I will pick that out instead!
There are a few small diners around here — we don’t go too often, but every once in a while we’ll venture out on a Saturday morning.
biscuits and gravy ARE missing from cora’s menu!! i think that is the only type of thing they DON’T have! i definitely look forward to trying other items…dad and i could pretty much do a year of cora’s breakfasts and have no repeats!