Table 85

My parents and I had lunch at Table 85 recently and we really enjoyed it. I love discovering places like Table 85 because I feel like I am unearthing a big hidden secret.
Table 85 is not so much of a restaurant per se, but more of a cafeteria/​canteen for people who work in the office building where it is. They also do catering. They mostly serve North American breakfast and lunch items (i.e. eggs, sandwiches, soups and salads), but they also serve some Asian food, their specialty being Korean food.
We went on a Saturday and their Asian cuisine that day was Korean Fried Chicken ($ 28.99) and Korean Black Bean Noodles ($ 7.50). My mom doesn’t like black bean anything so she asked if they had any other type of noodles. The chef said that he would prepare something special for us. How nice was that?
So he prepared for us a stirfry with udon noodles, chicken, broccoli, carrots and onions ($ 8.50). It was very tasty and full of fresh ingredients. The sauce was mild but flavourful. The star of the meal though was the Korean Fried Chicken. It sounds pricey for $ 28.99, but you get an entire chicken, and it’s a good-​sized chicken, not a scrawny tiny chicken! We are hearty eaters and we actually had leftovers. The chicken is cut up (there are still bones in it though, it’s not boneless) and deep fried and then tossed in a sweet and sticky sauce. Crushed peanuts are then sprinkled on top. The chicken is awesome. It’s a little spicy but mostly sweet and sticky. It reminds me of candy apples I used to love to eat as a kid. If you love Korean Fried Chicken, you need to try the one here!
This place is really difficult to find. In fact, I think you have to deliberately look for it. It is not a place that you would stumble upon by accident, unless you were a client of Keller Williams Realty and you got lost in their building. It’s in an office building and there’s no real signage, so you don’t even know it’s there. If you are going southbound on Bronson, it’s a fast right immediately after the Highway 417 Bronson off-​ramp (it will be very difficult to make this turn if you are going northbound on Bronson) onto a one-​way driveway before the office building which leads into the parking lot. If you miss the turn, just turn right on Plymouth and then right on Cambridge and enter through the back of the parking lot. The parking lot is big, but most places are reserved for the companies in the office building. If you can’t find an unreserved parking spot you can park on Cambridge. Then enter the building through the Keller Williams office entrance then you’ll need to go to the basement.
Table 85 is in the basement, and it feels like an office building basement. It is not well lit and feels like a cafeteria. However, it was clean looking. The lack of décor did not bother me, because I was there for the food.
Service was great (for what it is). It is run by a husband and wife duo and they are so nice. The husband cooks and the wife serves. We were greeted immediately and it was explained to us that they run more like a cafeteria than a traditional restaurant. We were served cold water in a carafe as soon as we sat down. Other than bringing the food over though, they don’t really check up on you (but since it’s a cafeteria, this is not really expected). If you need anything, you just go up to the counter and ask.
This is truly a mom and pop joint. Since it was a Saturday, they had their kids at the restaurant. The kids were watching TV in the corner. The TV was muted and set on closed captioning, which I thought was very courteous as not is disturb customers. The kids were incredibly well behaved (and were very cute).
The owners told us that they just opened in February (2015) and other than Facebook they don’t really do much advertising. But let me tell you, there were a lot of people there when we went. Some came for takeout and some were eating in. Everyone ordered the Korean food.
During the week they are open only until 5pm and only 4pm on Saturdays. They are closed on Sundays. So lunch is your best bet, or you can do takeout and eat it for dinner at home.
Table 85 is truly a hidden gem. We will be back!

Table 85 may be one of the best-​kept secrets in Ottawa. A friend of mine from Korea eagerly wanted to find some yangnyum chicken, which is basically fried chicken tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce. Through word-​of-​mouth she found out Table 85 served it. I’m so glad she introduced me to this place, because damn, that chicken was amazing! I also enjoyed the side of pickled radish.
The man that cooked and served us was very nice. The place itself is in a basement so it’s not much for atmosphere, but go for the chicken… Trust me. And don’t go alone, because one serving does it for 3.