Morrison’s Restaurant (Kingston) – My weekly mistake
After a long shift, sometimes I take out the junior who was working with me out for breakfast. Our usual destination: Morrison’s Restaurant. I am not entirely sure why.
This is the Morrison’s Super Breakfast Pancake (pancake, french toast and two eggs with either bacon/ham/sausages) for $7.95. Pretty plain breakfast food. The bacon is crispy, the yolks are nice and runny, but the pancakes are a bit on the doughy side. I really enjoy that the food is served within 5 minutes of being ordered so it is literally still steaming when you get it. Take that Cora’s!
This is the same thing but with ham and easy over eggs. Again, nothing special here. The price is a bit steep compared to some of the other breakfast places I’ve been to recently. One big gripe: they use margarine. Margarine!!!
This is the Western Omelette with Cheese for $7.95. Underseasoned, bland, and all-together sloppy. The potatoes are pretty bland too. The cheese they use is Velveeta (or Velveeta-like). When did fake cheese become equivalent to real cheese? Probably when people started to consider fake butter (aka margarine) equivalent to real butter.
Despite persistently mediocre food, I find myself here surprisingly often. On the weekend in particular, it is jam packed with locals. I theorize that there is something about going to a diner that is appealing to our collective unconscious. We want to go to a place where the servers are deathly old, the coffee is stale, the tables are greasy, the food is greasier, and the service is crude. I’ll be back again and again and again.
Morrison’s Restaurant, 318 King Street East, (613) 542-9483, no website.
A Glutton in Kingston 
I look at Morrison’s like I’d look at a cheap pizza joint: It’s not very fancy and it’s not really even that good, but it’s exactly what it needs to be.
When I go there, I don’t get pancakes or an omelette, I get something including some of: bacon, eggs, toast, sausage, hash browns. It only costs a few bucks and the food arrives pretty fast. I consider it like paying someone to fix breakfast for me.
Like I said, it’s not great cuisine, but at the right time, it’s exactly what I need.
I agree… except that even the basic stuff, like eggs, toast, bacon, is better elsewhere and cheaper. The homefries in particular are bland, oily, and mushy. I’d really check out Cafe Le Matin if you are interested in the basic breakfast. I’d even go to Pete’s but I do like Cafe Le Matin more.
lol… your last paragraph made me laugh , we always joke about where can we go and get yelled at by Waitresses… Morison’s! Great blog – I just discovered it!
They are always so pissy. I don’t get it! But somehow… it is part of the experience.
i don’t get these greasy spoon diners with meals that drop you close to $10…I think it’s an issue of conflicted identity. Like Denny’s..I don’t think I’ve had a meal at Denny’s under $10, and every time, I’ve been disappointed. The food is supposed to be cheap, grubby, and fast. Instead, it’s slow, pricey, and…still grubby.
No, the only restaurant in this class that holds up for quality and value is a breakfast at ABC Bakery & Cafe in Calgary’s Chinatown. ~$5 with drink.
Funny that you mention ABC Bakery in Calgary. My mom used to take me and my sis there all the time on Sunday morning when my dad went to work for a bit. We’d get the macaroni + ham + corn soup. Sooo good. Thinking back on it, it was nothing more than luncheon meat, macaroni, chicken stock, but it really made me feel good.
We see eye to eye on Denny’s. The other day, my dad wanted to go to Denny’s for breakfast. For breakfast???? I’d hit anywhere in Calgary (Avenue Diner, Diner Deluxe, Belmont Diner, Galaxy Diner, Dairy Lane) before I hit Denny’s for breakfast.
Denny’s is where I go at 5am after playing an epic game of Risk for 9 hours.
Morrison’s is great when you want fast, cheap and greasy. Otherwise, don’t expect much. The food isn’t spectacular and the servers are usually surly. That said, we usually visit this place once a quarter. So long as you know what you’re getting into, you won’t be disappointed. My mom always gets a strawberry milkshake when we go here. She claims that they are the best in the city.
This resturent make me water, the food here is amazing. they are a small business and despite all the yelling i love it here. so please don’t slander a great restaurant that has been there for years, the owners are good hearted people and don’t deserve your rude comments. they use produce from across the street to help local farmers you know and love. and they use the best food from the best company. the students love the place and every time i go there customers love the food!! i see them happy and i know that the food is good. not lie denny’s which the bacon doesn’t even taste real, Morrison’s use’s real bacon i asked the owner he’s very polite but he seems angry is because it’s so packed, his family they all work there and I always found the staff entertaining! they don’t use cheep music or tv’s to draw there most loyal customers in. just there smiling face’s!
also i forgot to add all there stuff is homemade if you go to any other place i have noctied they get there food in a bag!!!! like eggs! that really gross, but morrsions if you take a closer look they use real eggs and i asked how maney they go through a day they said about 2000 and it’s double or triple that over the week end!
Hey Helen,
I am going to have to disagree with you about the freshness and quality of the food at Morrison’s. Don’t get me wrong. I like simple greasy spoon type food. But Morrison’s really doesn’t stand up compared to offerings elsewhere (heck, I even like the breakfast at the KGH more!). That being said, I do come to Morrison’s fairly frequently because I live nearby and it is close to the hospital. I will keep coming back again and again and again and again.
Russ
The food there is simple and good but the service varies from the extremely charming and polite to the downright rude and abusive. I found out the name of the one fantastic server is Adeline or Adelina (sp?). Request her and don’t take no for an answer. You are the customer and if it’s a choice between them losing your business or sitting you in her section, they will take the latter. There is a woman who works there who’s name I did not catch but she is older (probably late 50’s) who is Greek and just very obnoxious. She visibly shoves the other waitresses out of her way in view of customers and is rude to them in front of customers. It seems like she bullies the other servers. Her behaviour was downright unacceptable. I don’t know who she thinks she is but if I go in again and see her acting like this again, I will call the better business beaureaux and ask that they send an inspector there.
On a better note, Adeline(a) and the younger girls are just lovely. I will always specifically request the young girl I mentioned (if she is working). At all costs I will not be served by the older woman even if I have to politely tell her to her face.
I would give it five stars if not for the rude employee.
Haha so true Julie. I’ve gotten used to it though and to be honest… I go to Morrison’s wanting to be abused. Does that make me a masochist?