Mayflower Restaurant & Pub

OMG I used to work as a waitress at the Mayflower in Ottawa in 1968, when the Karalekas family owned it — George, Angelo (who died in a car accident), Jimmy and his wife Bev, Johnny and Nitsa (in-​law I think)… all were like family. My first job and I still remember the prices. Cokes 10 or 15 cents, spaghetti or liver $ 1.00, and Pepper Steak, the most expensive thing on the menu, $ 1.95. I am so sad to see that it is closing even though the Greeks sold it years ago.

Went here for a quick brunch, I had eggs Benny which came with some fresh fruit and breakfast potatoes. It was definitely good but won’t blow your mind. The mayflower has standard food, nothing that will impress but it’s good if you want something quick that you know is safe.

Absolutely love this place — SO sad it’s shutting down :(I was here on Friday night with some friends and it was so fun jamming with the guitar players at the back. The service is quick and friendly, and I could hardly believe how cheap our bill was at the end of the night. We were at the pub over the weekend, but I’m usually in the restaurant part for breakfast. Their breakfast are super cheap and delicious. Man I’m gunna miss this place! Here’s to hoping something cool opens in its place

Stopped in here for breakfast on Sunday morning after there was a marathon run in town.
They were swamped but managed to treat us with courtesy despite what I observed to be a very stressed staff.
The food came quickly and was diner-​style. Expect your scrambled eggs to be creamy and unsalted, your sausages to be little, you syrup to be «table syrup,» your poached eggs to be all exactly the same shape, and your pancakes to taste like cheap pancake mix.
The home fried potatoes were tasty but they came with fried onion chunks and green pepper mixed in them. The veggies were undercooked and not very appetizing at all.
Apart from the peppers/​onions I enjoyed my meal.
I have the feeling this is a place you can rely on consistency and unlimited refills on coffee — and hey, sometimes that’s exactly what you want.

I have been a Mayflower regular, as I live around the block and this was my go-​to diner and corner pub. Good breakfast, cheap, friendly service and a perfect neighbourhood diner. The bar also has a great feel to it. I was very sad to hear that it will be closing down this October as its hard to find a good, no-​nonsense homey breakfast place, specially on Elgin street.
That said, my last experience this weekend was a disappointing one. I arrived on Sunday morning at 11:30 for my usual breakfast. The restaurant was full (not unusual) and so I was seated in the bar section. After placing my order (simple breakfast– over-​easy egg, toast, homefries), I waited. After 35 minutes, I politely reminded my server that I had been waiting. «So is everyone else» was all I got. I waited another 15 minutes with no results and finally asked my server if I could get the bill for my coffee since I had to leave. He shouted out to the kitchen «No. # is Bouncing. Cancel the order.» With no apologies for the delay, I was left waiting once again. I finally had to asked the bus boy how much a coffee costs at Mayflower, put the money on the table and left the restaurant. I spent a total of an hour, with no breakfast and pretty rude service. I really hope my experience was a function of mayflower having a bad day and this isn’t how they’re treating everyone else.
Despite that, I’m giving it 3 stars for the overall experience over all the times that I’ve been here. Hope you have better luck!

The best for a diner-​style breakfast with awesome attentive service and perks like WiFi & clean bathrooms. The icing was we were able to charge the Volt at the City Hall charging station and walk to the Mayflower. Thank you!

I finally made it to the Mayflower! I live super close to this place and I’m not quite sure why it took us so long to try it out, but I am sure we will be going here again. We checked it out for brunch on the weekend.
The Mayflower offers a no-​nonsense kind of dining experience. You seat yourself and menus are already at the table – the servers are quick with the coffee and tea and if you’re sitting in the middle, the condiments and sugar trays are shared with another table. It’s a nice relaxed atmosphere with no sense of rush.
I had a Belgian waffle with strawberries and some bacon and I was pretty content at the end of the meal. The waffle was fluffy, but not soggy and the strawberries were fresh. My dining partner also enjoyed his eggs benedict – it was a nice and successful outing!

Bön restaurant à déjeuner dans le centre-​ville d’Ottawa alors que plusieurs sont fermés le dimanche. Prix abordable pour de bonnes assiettes garnies.

I had breakfast here three times while visiting Ottawa. The eggs Benedict where quite good. Service was good. Might be a bit pricey for breakfast.

I realize now that the Mayflower is a bit of an institution in Ottawa, but I hadn’t heard of it before this past weekend. We stayed down the block, and I just knew by the look of the place that it could be a good greasy spoon breakfast place for Saturday AM.
Happily, it is exactly as expected. The place is compact, the seats feel well-​worn, and the décor is, well, reminiscent of a by-​gone era, but it’s really fun to marvel at. (I like what someone else posted about it looking like a Nova Scotia mining town spot; I concur!).
The food is good; exactly as expected, a basic but tasty eggs /​ham /​potatoes combo (I skipped the toast). Coffee is diner coffee; I’d probably go with tea next time.
Service is kind of hilarious. Everyone is friendly but they all move around so fast it’s comical to try and flag them down for something extra!

The Mayflower wouldn’t look out of place in a Nova Scotian mining town from the interior. You almost expect an old wood panelled cigarette machine with the knobs to operate it and blue hairs croaking ‘Hot coffee comin through!’.
That being said, it’s a nice quiet (except fr brunch and lunch) Elgin st diner in midtown Ottawa. A touch spendy for simple Canadian fare… But a great place to grab a late pint and a burger after a long day for a quiet read of the paper.

This place is exactly what everyone else here has said. It is a cheap greasy spoon and that’s what makes it great in my books.
A typical grungy breakfast place is tiny, the booths are small and the four of us had to snuggle up but the whole place is like that.
The service was really quick. As soon as I sat down I was able to get a coffee and we ordered.
My friends ordered pancakes/​waffles which looked great. I got a fritatta. It was good. It wasn’t what I was expecting, it was pretty flat and COVERED in cheese, but it was good. Filled me right up.
The coffee was just a okay and the food one everyone else’s tables looked great.
I have to say considering our brunches were each about $ 9 it’s the best brunch place I’ve found so far.

Fabulous small pub and restaurant. Serve breakfast all day… humongous portions of perfect eggs, pancakes, fresh bread/​toast. Lovely burgers, including veggie, and big, very fresh salads. Pub open late… nice selection of standard beer and ale as well as a number of local brews. Very friendly place with efficient and professional staff. Loved it!

Decent patio and nice location on Elgin. I ate here once (Caesar salad) and didn’t enjoy the food that much. They were also out of both the beer and the dessert I ordered.

It’s funny Suzee Q would mention that server Dave because we also had a server named Dave who was an absolute riot (we almost asked him if he wanted to hang out with us after his shift lol) and incredibly helpful when we were looking for directions. Incredibly accommodating and fast service, we ended up going here because we were starving having walked around Ottawa all day and just needed something to eat. I had the philly steak sandwich which was pretty bland but the sides of fries and onion rings were decent. Average rating but the service was great so I might go again if I find myself hungry in Ottawa again. (:

The Mayflower is a brunch institution in downtown Ottawa. Whenever I visit Ottawa, I always make sure to grab brunch at the Mayflower one of the days I am in town. They have an extensive brunch menu from eggs any which way to a killer bowl of oatmeal. Service is quick-​to-​serve and always friendly.
Price point is descent; two can dine under $ 30 with coffees included.
Make sure the Mayflower is your brunch spot/​stop in Ottawa!

We came for lunch and the food was just okay.
Our order: bacon cheese burger, veggie panini, 2 shakes and coffee. Pretty basic stuff but it was just okay, nothing special at all.
Luckily, our server Dave was very good — funny and friendly to us tourists.

The Mayflower is my kind of mom and pop diner with a country home feel. Great service and the portions are healthy (in size: P) Beautiful patio in the summer and service is quick and very helpful even when the place is packed. It’s not fancy or top of the line food, but like I said, it’s my kind of country home feel :)

I really really want to like this place but I honestly can’t. I’ve come for breakfast, dinner and late night coffees and I’ve never had a good meal here. I mean they’re ok at best but more times than not it’s mediocre, something is wrong with my meal and it’s overpriced for what you get.
I’ve had the greasy breakfast on a few occasions and it’s not that great. it’s pretty much like any greasy diner breakfast. I’ve tried some of the other breakfasts and I haven’t had luck with their hollandaise sauce. It is either broken or sour.
I’ve had a burger for dinner and it’s a terrible quality burger with a premium. There are other gems to check out in town but this place is close to the hotels. There better places to check out in town for any of those meals.

I was staying at a hotel down the street with some friends and we wanted to grab a couple beers before heading out. The Mayflower was right on the corner and it was a pretty nice day out, so we sat outside on the patio. We ordered a couple pitchers and only stayed for a little while.
The drinks were pretty cheap and came pretty quickly, though we only saw our server maybe once and the place was pretty empty at the time. The building and décor are fairly old and outdated, but it seems to be popular is usually filled with people in the morning. I haven’t had their breakfast, but I’d be willing to give it a try to see what the crowds are about.

Elgin Street has become a crowded hub of brunch and breakfast spots and this place is another one of those hopping places.
However, I’d suggest avoiding the Mayflower during breakfast and enjoy lunch or dinner there instead. I’ve never had fast breakfast service as the kitchen is small and the place is usually packed.
Their dinner and lunch prices may seem high but the portions and quality is decent.
It’s not an ideal place if there are more than 4 people in your party though.
The long and narrow restaurant takes it name from the historic boat and like every good nautical story there’s usually hidden treasures — check out the inconspicuous bar located at the back of this place. It’s tucked behind the kitchen and well off the main street.
It’s often hopping with older locals, even on weeknights.

Das Restaurant ist ganz in Ordnung. Sicher keine große Küche, aber ein ordentliches Steak und gute halbe Hähnchen. Hat mehr den Character eines Diners.
Aber die Bar. Die hat es in sich. Noch eine typische alte Bar, nur einen Fernseher (super!) und jede Menge ‘Patrons’ aus der Nachbarschaft. Urgemütlich, nicht zu teuer und das schönste: Kaum sitzt Du alleine da, wirst Du in eine Unterhaltung einbezigen (wenn Du wenigstens ein bisschen offen daherkommst).
Hervorragende Barfrau — aufmerksam, gut gelaunt und witzig.
Einiger kleiner Wehrmutstropfenl — ich war jetzt schon 3 Mal in 3 Jahren da und sie hat sich nicht an mich erinnnert :(