Service 7.5/10
Food 7.75/10
After a morning of ogling, sampling and buying some Jacek chocolates and hitting up Costco (I'm addicted to Costco even though most of their product sizing can feed a family of 16 lol!), we bumbled around to look for a bite of brunch. After some random driving around, we came across an unassuming strip mall, and wandered into Cafe Haven. It was like walking into a different world once you cross that threshold. Warm, bustling, packed with lots of folks and yummy smells in the air. It had a feel of a down to earth coffee shop where students and families like gather to, and after taking a quick peek at the menu, they used local ingredients and we were sold. Brunch time!
After waiting in line for a bit - it was apparent there were many regulars as the staff knew what they wanted and spent time catching up while they filled their order and the regulars wandered over to the cozy little seating area flanked by a fireplace hung with stockings to find an open table. We eyed a tasty looking (sans- cream cheese) cinnamon bun, and ordered that with some drinks, our food and found our own table with a numbered marker in hand (so our foods finds our way to us later!)
The iced chai was flavorful and just the perfect amount of creamy richness, and a few ice cubes that didn't dilute it down overly much. It was huge, and I spent a bit of lazying around after the meal finishing it off. I think the recipe is from Remedy Cafe... or they've got the recipe pretty darned close! Didn't find out till later they flew in Stumptown's coffee roasters every Tuesday... ah well, next time!
the FOOD
My boyfriend went with the Irvings Farms ham and 2 eggs, wholewheat toast choice of seasoned potatoes or fruit salad. Since we had ordered the cinnamon bun, he went with the fruit salad to lessen the guilt :P Lean hot ham, 2 eggs scrambled and a freshly chopped up fruit salad of fruits (oranges, grapes, melon and pineapple) along with toast was a simple yet tasty repast. I'm guessing they use liquid egg from the texture of the eggs - and you weren't able to get the eggs done "whole" over easy.
I went back and forth between their special of Eggnog waffle with warm caramel sauce, gingerbread crumbles and a freshly whipped vanilla cream, but ended up going with something more hearty - In house quiche: Irvings Fresh bacon, shredded potato, green onions, roasted red onions with gouda on black pepper crust, served with mixed greens. The slice of quiche looked small, but was super filling. I didn't taste much of the black pepper crust, but it was light and flakey, without getting overly soggy at the bottom. The quiche, while good could have used more of the bacon (there's never ever such thing as too much bacon!) as I really had to search for the bacon, and left some larger pieces of potato in to add texture. Sharper or older gouda would have been nice too, as the egginess overwhelmed any cheese flavor in the quiche. The salad dominated the plate and was dressed in a light tangy dressing... perfect to cut the heaviness of the quiche.
For our dessert, which we were rapidly running out of room, was the cinnamon bun. As a traditional cinnamon bun, this one was the only low note of the meal. The cinnamon bun had so much butter in it, it had a rather... fried tasting dough. If they had marketed it as a fried cinnamon bun, it would have worked, but since we were expecting a lusciously soft tender melt in your mouth cinnamon bun.. nope. But to each their own... if you like the crunchy crusty brownie edges in a brownie type of person, you'll probably love this cinnamon bun!
the VERDICT
Overall, a great little cozy family run cafe with friendly neighbourhood atmosphere for brunch, caffeine top up and catching up with friends if you're in the area.
Address 9 Sioux Road, Sherwood Park, AB, Canada, T8A 4C7
Phone (780) 417-5523
Hours Mon-Wed 8am-5pm, Thurs 8am-9pm, Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm
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