The Savoury Cafe

breakfast sandwiches, salads, soups, homemade cookies, doughnuts, and hot chocolate loaded with fudge sauce and marshmallows (the perfect after-school snack)

Location: 106, 1841 Oak Bay Ave

Monday-Friday 7am-5pm

In the middle of February me and my mom headed to Oak Bay Ave for a long awaited snack after an extremely long day of school. Walking into the shop we were immediately greeted by Alan with:

“Ugh. What do you want?"

and I immediately knew that I loved this place.

Atmosphere + Service:

Walking in, although the space was small, it was very cozy, which a couch and 2 tables (so not a big group place, more grab and go.) and walls filled with photos and inspirational messages (which we all need). After asking Alan some questions that he answered very enthusiastically, I learned that he was the owner and everything was homemade in small batches in the kitchen behind him, except for the doughnuts that come from Simply Sweet. I asked some of the other customers what they thought of the cafe, and all of them said that the soup and sandwiches were marvellous.

Flexibility:

The cafe had almond/soy milk substitutions for drinks, as well as gluten free cookies, gluten free sandwiches, and vegan muffins.

Affordability:

Me and my mom deciding on getting:

• hot chocolate with soy milk (we love lactose intolerance) - $2.85/$3.15

• corn, black bean, and pepper salad - $4.00

• breakfast sandwich -$3.75

Wait Time, Food Presentation, + Food Quality:

My hot chocolate came while I was still deciding what snack to get, and it came loaded with marshmallows and chocolate sauce (and in a fun mug!!)

It was sooooo good, and the perfect temperature so that you didn't burn your tongue off or get to that awkward lukewarm temperature that everyone hates. Shortly after, the breakfast sandwich (that Alan had toasted) and the salad came. The salad was very refreshing and

delicious, and it was a good portion (not overwhelming, not too little). Although having not very many ingredients, it was super flavourful and:

• gluten free

• vegetarian

Lastly, my breakfast sandwich. Since breakfast sandwiches are one of my favourite things in the entire world, I have had plenty in my life, and this homemade breakfast sandwich was delicious! Although it being on the smaller side, the english muffin + ham + melted cheese (which wasn't processed) + scrambled eggs was seasoned perfectly and was served at the perfect temperature!

But what really makes the Savoury Cafe feel like home is Alan. He will always have a conversation with you about anything, and is engaging and passionate about the cafe. One of Alan's preferences is to always have a human to human connection, so there is wifi available, but you will need to ask for the password.

Some things that Alan really wants teenagers to know about the cafe is that although there are desks and wifi, Savoury is a place where connections are made and stories are told, so he would prefer if you didn't bring in your laptops and earbuds for working.

Bonus!

• wheelchair access!

• free wifi!

• locally sourced ingredients/products!

• free + filtered water!

more photos: