While getting older surely means fewer nights out, the desire to get a nice greasy spoon breakfast the morning after a night out hasn’t diminished.

Such was last Saturday morning. I woke up craving hash browns, eggs and bacon. I went through our database of unreviewed restaurants and was reminded of a breakfast spot that had an average rating of 4.9 out of five on Google. A few readers wrote to us in the spring that we should check out Cindy’s Restaurant, located in an industrial park not too far from the airport.

I called the restaurant and asked them if it would be OK if I arrived around 20 minutes before closing. They said it wouldn’t be an issue, so I hopped into my car and drove off, excited to go back to our roots as a blog that scouts out restaurants hidden deep in industrial parks and strip malls.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed it had the vibe of a classic industrial mall hidden gem. But this was not your classic greasy spoon. The clean-interior and laid-back atmosphere had a family-friendly neighbourhood joint vibe. Photos of small towns in the Ottawa Valley adorn the wall, along with a sign of the restaurant’s motto: “Family, Friends, Food.” I begin to sit down at a small table as a solo diner however George, cook and cousin of restaurant owner Cindy, asks me to take a large one to be more comfortable.

I ordered a breakfast hash and a pot of tea. This was perhaps the quickest I’ve had my food prepared at a restaurant. My meal was ready in just over five minutes. George later told me he’s been cooking at the restaurant for over 30 years and has everything prepared well in advance.

I combine my crunchy bell peppers, sunny-side eggs, onions, cheese and bacon into a gooey mix that I scoop up with my warm and buttered toast. It was perfectly salty. The sausages and bacon cooked perfectly, with the latter nice and crispy. As I tucked in, Cindy told me to take my time to finish, even though the clock had struck noon—their closing time on Saturdays.

Cindy inherited the 35-year-old restaurant from her aunt. She first worked for the family business for 15 years and then took it over around 13 years ago. “Most of our customers that are customers that have been coming forever,” she said. “I feel like this is more my family than my own family.”

She emphasizes her commitment to keeping the food simple and using fresh ingredients. While the pandemic was challenging, the flow of customers has returned to pre-pandemic levels, she told me, with lots of new faces popping up on Saturday mornings.

After paying around $20 for my meal—and in staying true to their motto—Cindy and George handed me some fresh peaches that one of their customers had recently returned with from Niagara.

I left feeling like I was already part of the family.