At least they have nice doors.

I’ve read many reviews about the terrific food and terrible service at Hometown Eatery and was very prepared for them. Perhaps a little toooo prepared, both my visits were met with the total opposite. Perfect service and mediocre food.

My server’s name is Becca and she’s definitely one of the best server I’ve had in Waterloo so far – friendly, prompt and very welcoming. In addition, a lot of thought has been put into the menu. There are interesting names for dishes such as The KISS (Keep It Simple Sandwiches), Purple Velvet (Beet soup; daily special) and Yummy/Snoppy/Flirty Burgers. I tried the grilled salmon sandwich ($14) and gourmet grilled cheese sandwich with brie ($10).

$10 for a grilled cheese?

The exotic brie grilled cheese was definitely better than the grilled salmon, contrary to what I expected. It was warm and simple whereas the grilled salmon was dry. Hometown’s Eatery is supposedly famous for its cakes so I tried a strawberry cheesecake. Being a huge cheesecake fan, I was a little disappointed. It was okay, but nothing too fantastic. Perhaps the wrong cake?

If I ever return for another meal, it’ll definitely be for the cosy atmosphere, awesome service and quirky menu items. For the food? Meh, maybe not.

Also, it might be a bad idea to visit on an extremely cold day because they charge $1 for just a cup of warm water.

I come here for coffee and business meetings, so I decided to try it for lunch when my lawyer was in from out of town (no joke).   Their box lunch special is super flexible:  pick a sandwich, a salad, a drink, and some dessert.  The only thing I was disappointed with is that coffee isn’t an option on the drink choices menu for the lunch special!  Juice, milk, pop, water, basically anything but.

Options, Options

So I ordered the boxed lunch because it was 7.99+, no lie. A complete lunch for  under $10 is a blessing.   My choice was the turkey, with a mexican bean salad, and a brownie.  The standout was the bean salad, and I’d highly recommend it; cilantro with bean and light tomato, nice.

Boxed Lunch from Kava Bean

They apparently also have great chili, and the tuna wrap is solid.  I wish their cafe mocha used a slightly less sweet hot chocolate, but that’s a matter of preference, and probably more inline with the needs of the clientele.

One thing that I like about the Kava Bean (broad, sweeping generalisation) is that the people who eat there look like they work for a living.  The hurrying, the uniforms, the auto shop next door – the pace is human, and it makes lunch feel communal.

There is a really quaint English Tea room in the back where they serve a Prix Fixe offering at lunch.  Since it’s Friday a few co-workers and I decided to check it out.  We left with mixed feelings, mostly because it really could be a great $10 lunch experience.

Best Service Ever

Before I get into the food, I wanted to say that the service was fantastic. The server was polite, engaging, and knew when to take my stuff away. This is important when you’re serving three separate courses to a group of people, and is in line with what I’d expect at a “tea house.”  If you plan on being generous with the tip, the stupid debit machine is not set up for tipping.  It’s a small thing, but it turns me off when courtesies like that aren’t extended to the staff.

Sequentially Worse?

Onto the food. The $7.75+ Prix Fixe lunch seems like a great deal, especially given the environment (an upscale chocolate shop).  As each of the three courses came out, each was sequentially less impressive. The coffee, tea, and hot chocolate selection got us excited, and the people who got the hot chocolate won. The hot chocolate was delicious, not too sweet, a good Friday winter starter.  I got coffee like an idiot (also really good).

Look How Good the Menu Looks!

The soup, home-made ginger squash, was fantastic.    After that, the salad was fine but very barren. I commented that some walnuts or cranberries would dramatically improve the course.

The sandwich selection looked amazing on paper. It was tasty, but the presentation was poor (little sandwich, huge plate, following a meek salad). Looking around the table as the sandwiches came out, everyone had on that “Oh, that’s .. pleasant” face.  But once again, the service was great.

Put it Together

If I were to make one suggestion to the restaurateur: just serve the salad and sandwich together. They’re nothing special individually, but together it’d feel like a serious meal. Especially if the hungry plan on having a quick lunch.

Feel free to check out The Silver Spoon, and let me know your thoughts.  Everyone there seemed to be loving the atmosphere, as well as the slow and steady pace of a Friday afternoon.