Zest Cafe - Guelph

Searched trip advisor for nearby restaurants open for breakfast, and chose this one due to good reviews.Friendly prompt service, nothing fancy but clean & pleasant decor. Ordered a mushroom & cheese omelette which came with fried or roasted potato chunks, toast, and watermelon wedges.I was thoroughly impressed with everything. Obviously everything was freshly cooked to order.The omelette, one of the best I've had, was light, 3-4 inches thick with fresh sliced and perfectly cooked mushrooms, firm, not mushy and just the right amount of cheese. I chose brown toast and was pleasantly surprised to see it was homemade bread.While I could happily return tomorrow for the same breakfast again, I'm looking forward to returning soon and trying other menu selections.

F you are looking something different, Zest Cafe offers a diverse menu of home style cooking for breakfast and lunch. I visited for lunch and had a chicken wrap with side salad. Although it was good, I regretted the choice when I saw other more exciting meals being served! There seemed to be steady traffic of regular take-out customers. It was nice to see support for this local business. The restaurant had a cafeteria atmosphere, but the food was served at your table. I'd definitely return and I'd certainly order something more exciting next time!

Very good, had 3 cheese omelette and would recommend. Wish the cheese was more melted but that is my preference. Restaurant is not afraid to use spices????

We stopped here for breakfast during a road trip - if I hadn't read the Tripadvisor reviews first we would never have discovered the place, as it's tucked away in a commercial plaza, although easy enough to find if you know what you're looking for.I had the plate with bacon, ham and sausage, three eggs, and homefries, and the old fella had a breakfast skillet topped with hollandaise (made to order, no less!). My breakfast was fantastic, what can I say? My eggs were perfect, my bacon was just as I'd asked, the ham was thick-cut and nicely browned but not dry, and the sausages were excellent. But I still wish I'd gotten the skillet! It looked (and tasted, according to the husband) superb. We were both really happy with our meals; even the tea was above par, although I would rather have had a large pot for two, rather than those rickety little metal pots that pee all over the table. The room is light and pretty, very simple, but it doesn't feel or look like a greasy spoon kind of joint. The chairs are super comfortable, too. The prices are great, the portions are large, the service is fast, efficient, and friendly, and the food is exceptionally well-executed. I would love to try some other menu items - next road trip, perhaps.Zest Café is a real gem, and I get the impression they have a lot of regulars. You'd do well to become one.

So, my workmates and I frequent Zest on a bi-weekly basis. We all love this place because they(as in the two people that run the place) just deliver consistently good food, quickly, all the time!The menu goes through quite the spectrum of tastes. You can go and get a good 'ol burger. A good 'ol breakfast. Or you can dive into the more Eastern Indian dishes. It's different though. Each dish has a small, yet effective 'Zest'! It's true. Everything just has that little extra. I've personally experienced only a small portion of their menu, but yesterday my wife and i experienced something new...the breakfast skillets!Wife had the breakfast skillet - two perfectly cooked eggs(the guy cooks perfect eggs....every time!) on top of home fries, melted cheese, diced sausage and bacon, and vegetables. So good!I had the 'breakfast poutine'...And wow..what a flavor explosion! Two perfectly poached eggs(did i mention how the guy literally cooks perfect eggs 100% of the time?!) with awesome hollandaise sauce, on top of home fries drizzled with this buttery sort of gravy, mixed together with diced Ham, Sausage and bacon. Then, when you cut into the perfectly poached egg, you get this beautiful stream of yolk that coats the contents of the skillet too! You may be saying to yourself, "damn, that sounds like it would be greasy!"...well, you're right. It is. It really is!It was so greasy, i couldn't finish the bottom half because there was 1/4 inch of grease at the bottom of my skillet. That being said, it was one of the most creamy, savory breakfast plates I've ever had!I would probably order what the wife got next time though. Just the breakfast skillet. She had very little grease in the bottom of her skillet..Order a small side of Hollandaise, and bam! Both these dishes were around $9 each. Well worth it. This is Guelph's little gem! It's run by two, yes TWO people! The chef is an animal, with the composure that screams modesty. The guy can cook like the wind..The wife(i'm assuming) takes care of serving and customer orders etc..it's amazing really!Check it out...you won't regret it. I only gave it 4 out of 5 because of the grease factor..