Wake Bistro

Nice little place! I only walked in here because this was the only place that was open on New Year’s Day.
Good service, good coffee, good food. Pretty good for a diner.

The food is pretty good at this place, and our server was really friendly. I had the breakfast poutine which was made with big hashbrowns, real cheese curds, bacon, two poached eggs, and a chipolte hollandaise sauce. SO yummy! My only advice for whoever gets this is to stir it up because most of the cheese/​sauce had sunk to the bottom which is obviously not something that the restaurant can help!

I. Love. This. Diner.
I almost never have to wait (or wait long) for a seat yet it’s still always busy. I think it’s because parking is so bad in the area. It has a great atmosphere and super friendly staff.
The food is always really good! I love their hashbrowns and they are responsive regarding coffee refills. I love love love coming here for brunch!
Sometimes Wake is the victim of dishwashers who don’t show up for whatever reason and this resulted in really slow service one day. If you’ve ever had that experience, don’t let it ruin your experience of Wake because it’s definitely worth coming to again!

Finally had a chance to try to Wake, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to pop in here. I had a brunch date here, early on a Sunday morning. We came in around 9, which was perfect as by 10 the place was pretty much full.
The service in this place shines, really it’s refreshing to be taken care of and not rushed. I was there on a first date, which meant lots of gabbing and lots of caffinated beverages were consumed — our server was always right there to offer more hot water or top up coffee.
The food was good, I had the traditional breakfast. I loved the bread that it came with and I also really loved the raspberry jam — so good! The hashbrowns were my least favorite of the meal. My date had the breakfast poutine as he had heard good things about it, I must say it looked awesome. I don’t really like hollandaise and that is the «gravy» part of the poutine but he seemed to enjoy it.
All in all, I like this place. It’s unpretentious, the eats are great for breakfast and the service can’t be beat.

Another Breakfast option for us. Be happy but assertive. You will be waited on. If you sit in this joint expecting them to come to you first, you will be disappointed. This is not a bad thing. I like a place that focuses. I hate sycophantic service — I would much rather kindly yet clearly say ‘excuse me’ and order.
Better quality coffee than Dairy Lane. Chill atmosphere and cris’ munchies all around at Wake. The Wake n Bacon sammie is really why I keep going. Check it out. It’s nice to have a relaxing, reasonably priced breakfast joint on 10^th. Over all, much better value than Vendome Café, but still a touch behind Dairy Lane’s quality.

We needed to find a place that wouldn’t take an hour or more to get seated, so I suggested why not try Wake. Not the greatest idea. Actually, I blame it on my sister, who said it was great, so I believed her (thanks sister, pfft).
Both of my friends felt the server was extremely awkward and didn’t attend to us well. I just think he’s new at serving, so I cut him a break. Ok, so maybe he didn’t make eye contact and seemed to hate the fact that there was a higher male to female ratio at the table but still… maybe he’s just really new.
I had the Salmon Egss Benedict, and wasn’t impressed. The smoked salmon was WAY too salty, the eggs were fine, but the sauce and the egg combined were so wet and saucy that after 4 bites and a bit of talking, the bread underneath was so soggy, it was gross. You should be able to recognize your food after a few bites, this thing was suc a mess, that it had contorted into mush, that smelled like fish. Dramatic sounding, but true.
Another friend had the vegetarian omelet and said it was quite bland. The other had the meatatarian something or other and said it was ok. All in all my bill came to $ 20 for my breakfast and a coffee, which I thought was way too much, especially since it was so unsatisfying I stopped eating it halfway through. I ended up going to Beano after and getting a bran muffin to sustain me through the morning.
The décor looks exactly like the old store it was, and they haven’t removed the gelato freezer at the front, which I think doesn’t look appealing. It looks quite drab inside, and I don’t think I’d try this again.

It takes chutzpah to move into that Bermuda’s Triangle of restaurants known as Kensington. Wake delivers a full serving of chutzpah, along with lots of bacon and a pretty respectable poutine.
It doesn’t hurt that they specialize in the neighbourhood’s favourite meal, brunch. Passing by on a warm summer weekday, the outside patio tends to be full of beaming, coffee-​sipping Kensingtonians. No doubt it’s a great people-​watching spot. The interior also has a bright, cheery look, amplified by the sunny personalities of the servers.
I’m vegetarian and therefore can’t speak to the bacon, but I loved the breakfast burrito, and enjoyed sharing the veggie poutine. I will definitely be back to try the omelettes or French toast, as long as Kensington’s deadly restaurant vortex doesn’t claim them first.

Been to Wake Bistro twice now, and there is a reason there is no lineup out the door. The place is not bad, but in no way is it amazing. If I am to have breakfast in Kensington, I have my beloved go-​to place, on the other side of the train tracks, but lets not digress. This review is about Wake, so here we go.
Their omlettes are very good, and the toast they use is great too. However, I like to compare Eggs Benedicts at all breakfast places I go to, and the one at Wake leaves me wanting a LOT more. First off, their egg on the eggs benedict was too hard-​cooked. Eggs benny needs to have soft eggs that run onto your bread as soon as you cut them. But this one was almost like a soft boiled egg, sadly. Not only that, but it was TINY, and they only served it on one slice of their awesome bread. And their hash browns on the side were too dark, flavourless and too little. The entire plate was pretty sad looking.
I hate to bash on this restaurant as I love and support all Kensington businesses, but seriously, they need to step up their game. The second time I had gone there, I just wanted to hide from the world because have breakfast on my own on Easter Sunday. Thats the only reason I had went to Wake, and surely, the place was half empty. The service is good, but their food needs to be a bit better, especially their eggs benedict.

Food: ⁴⁄₅
Atmosphere: 3.5÷5
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Overall experience: ⁴⁄₅
(1– Terrible; 3– decent; 5– Fantastic)
Cute little bistro with a clean and simple décor of hardwood floors, green and white wall panels, and comfy seats. It seats about 10 – 15 people inside and a couple more on the patio. The service was exceptional — our server was very friendly, professional, and attentive (made sure our cups were always filled with coffee) but not too intruding. The food came out quick… then again we were the only ones there at 10am on a Wednesday
Their menu is simple with breakfast and brunch options such as your basic breakfast (eggs, choice of meat, toast, hash), omelets, french toast, paninis, poutines, salads, and lunch combos of which can include your choice of fries/​salad/​poutine or even gelato (yes, they serve Fiasco Gelato here). The prices are average for a breakfast/​brunch restaurant, ranging from $ 10-​$ 15 for breakfast, $ 10 for sandwiches, and around $ 20 for combos.
My friend ordered the Wake Scramble (mix of hash browns, onions, peppers, sausage, ham, bacon, with scrambled eggs and melted cheese on top); and I ordered their ‘meat-​atarian’ omelet (3 eggs, mix of sausage, ham, bacon and cheese, hash browns, and two slices of toast from a fresh loaf of crusty bread). The food was delicious! My friend and I enjoyed our meals very much and we were stuffed by the end. The hash was not overdone and perfectly crispy (just how i like it); the omelet was light and fluffy, not too eggy and packed full of meat; the toast was a little too crunchy for me and came with homemade berry jam that lacked a little sweetness.
Overall, the food was fresh, tasted great, and cooked perfectly. My only disappointment was how the menu wasn’t extremely unique since it’s the usual things you would see on a brunch menu.
Despite that, if you are in the area and looking for some excellent brunch food I suggest a visit!

Good, solid breakfast with no line in Calgary? Fantastic!
Wake has a pretty basic breakfast/​brunch menu — eggs, toast, hashbrowns, etc. They also have some nice surprises, like nutella-​stuffed french toast, which sounded amazing. Staff were very flexible about subbing out our hashbrowns for a spinach/​tomato side.
I also had a peanut butter latte, which was a little too strong on the coffee side for me, but I’m sure others would enjoy it.
The space is small — maybe 10 tables — but all very bright & colourful.
All in all, a fantastic new spot to meet!

Discovered a new breakfast place, tried it out. its very cheery and inviting, they’ve added unquie dishes to the menu, a step away from the traditional breakfast. Food was good!