Hydrostone Cafe

I had a perfectly pleasant, simple lunch here. Nothing special, and I wouldn’t be back for the food, though I’d happily grab a takeaway coffee and a cookie or whatever. the server/​owner/​cook (?? ?) was nice.
however, i was pretty skeeved out when i used my credit card to pay and the server/​owner/​cook added the 20% tip option (the highest option) to my order and pressed the «ok» button before handing the machine over to me with the adjusted total.
come on, dude, what the heck is that? I was ready to tip that amount anyways, but taking those liberties isn’t cool. i could MAYBE understand if it was a situation where there was more staff that needed tipping out, and so if i didn’t tip, the server would have to pay their tip-​out out of his pocket… but there was only the one guy working.
a couple of bucks isn’t worth losing future business over, is it?
Also, since we’re being honest here, I noticed the chicken breasts seemed to be kept behind the counter in a tupperware full of water (with surrounding flies buzzing). This was a turnoff to me, but I figured what do I know about food prep, maybe this is normal??? It wasn’t until watching an episode of Kitchen Nightmares (don’t judge) that I learned this is actually unhealthy/​dangerous.

While I understand the groupons have created a lot of extra business for the Café, I also think that was the point of the groupons. The posted hours for the Café are M-​F 10 – 4. After arriving one day to find it closed, we called later that day to be told that current hours are 12 – 2. We called ahead today to check that the Café was open, after asking if I was «a grouponer» i was then told they were openf or lunch from 12 – 2. When The atmosphore wasn’t great today, the staff was clearly stressed out, the music too loud and the café was over crowded. We were aiming for take out anyway. A sign on the counter advised us that tipping should be done on the full value of the order (approximately 14 $) not the 8 $ groupon value. The suggested Minimum tip was $ 5. 40%. All that aside the food wasn’t great either. The pulled pork should probably have been described as pulled apart pork with a store bought BBQ sauce slathered over dry bread. The pulled chicken we ordered came to us as a chicken salad sandwich. The food had potential that was completely unrealized.
I think we could have forgiven the atmosphere and slow harried service, considering the circumstances, but poor food won’t bring us back.

This place gave me the creeps. As another reviewer said, I also feel guilty giving a bad review on an independent café, but the atmosphere and experience at this establishment leave a lot to be desired.
I received a Groupon to Hydrostone Café as Christmas gift and went to the café for a Saturday lunch with my fiancée. There were a few other customers at tables in the place when we entered, but something seemed wrong with the atmosphere. It was a little bit like walking into someone’s home. The seating was a little cramped as it is a very small café, but that didn’t really bother me. The walls were adorned with local artwork for sale, but despite this, the décor still felt lifeless. There was classical music playing slightly too loudly during our visit, which added to the creepiness.
The person serving us, who I assume is the owner, did not seem thrilled that we had arrived, which put a sour taste in my mouth. This may have something to do with the fact that every customer was using a Groupon ticket that day (a fact he shared with us while apologizing for a delay in our food). He hesitatingly asked us what we would like to eat when we approached the counter, and let us know that we would need to pay HST on our order in addition to the coupon. Oddly, there only seemed to be one copy of the menu, which was on a small sheet of laminated paper at the back counter. Overall, he seemed preoccupied and could have made the entire experience a lot more inviting by being a bit friendlier and more enthusiastic.
Our food was perfectly fine, despite hearing microwave beeping shortly after I ordered. I had a pulled pork sandwich, which came served with a single slice of cucumber (?) and a handful of veggie chips (the type you can find in the natural food section of the grocery store). The sandwich was tender and tasty, and it came drizzled with a well-​matched barbecue sauce. I had a hot chocolate with my meal, which came hot, but was weak and pales in comparison to most other cafes I’ve been to (Coburg Coffee, Just Us!).
Overall, I wouldn’t recommend the Hydrostone Café. Although there’s nothing wrong with the food, the atmosphere is depressing and I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could.

Would not recomend, was not even worth the amount of the Groupon

I stopped in because I bought a group-​on. I checked the webiste for their hours; went at 4 10 as the close @ 5. Buddy was trying to lock up early and made me feel like a heel for keeping him. I told him it was my first visit and that I would have what he reccomended; the pulled pork sandwich. It had no flavor and was a very skimpy portion. No sauce, no garnish.
We took them home to eat (so he could lock up) and made supper an hour later as we were still hungry.

The food is very good and reasonably priced (and sometimes cheaply priced). However, there’s a lot of inconsistency here and half the time I walk in to order something, I walk out because no one’s around or they don’t have what they advertise. In other words, it’s hit or miss. Lots of potential, great location.

I do feel pangs of guilt for giving this independent café a two star rating, as I didn’t end up having any of their offerings. Reasons are as follows:
A) I had just had lunch. B) The space isn’t very inviting. In fact, it gave off a slightly oppressive vibe, despite the light yellow walls. C) The menu (which is apparently being reworked) isn’t at all trying to capture the imagination — reading simply «coffee,» «tea,» … you get the idea. D) It just didn’t feel like there was much of a vision for this place; located in the historic and trendy Hydrostone Market, this café doesn’t seem to be stepping up to the plate.
First of all, if you’re going to call yourself the «Hydrostone Café,» embody all that this Halifax treasure offers. It’s such a unique part of town, with authentic independent shops and lovely eateries, if you’re going to arrive on the scene, a palpable vision is a must! This joint felt more like an airport café, with desserts in the display case wrapped in saran, and a very blah ambiance.
The gentleman at the counter was friendly and chatty, but I want more from this café. With a great location, all that’s required is some menu and décor tinkering to up the ante. Best get this place up to snuff, with the looming Starbucks setting up shop, this poor place could suffer.

The Hydrostone Market area has a new resident… The Hydrostone Café, just across the park from all the other restaurants and shops. It just opened Monday, so the menu is still sparse. Patrick, the owner and first time café owner is hoping to get more insights from his customers as to what he’ll be serving.
After years in the Craft Service industry, supplying food on film sets etc., he’s bringing his healthy choices for lunch. I had a roasted chicken & feta sandwich with fresh spinach that wilted just the appropriate amount when heated through to melt the feta.
The café is open from 7am and he’ll be serving his very popular sausage burrito breakfast wrap.
So if you’re in the neighborhood, give Patrick and the Hydrostone Café a try.