Orléans Food Spot Review - BBCR Café

For a long time, probably right up until the pandemic, many of us work-from-home types would often treat our local coffee shop as a comfortable, cozy, and convenient place to change up the scenery from the sometimes tedious drudgery of our home-offices. And for others, various coffee shops became a great ‘third place’ that would offer a social atmosphere, a place to do some work, or simply do some people watching while sipping on some coffee.

Of-course, when the pandemic hit, much of that changed. But nearly six years removed now, it would seem like the ‘third place’ of coffee shops is really starting to make a comeback. And more than ever, people are flocking to independent and locally-owned shops while larger chains like Starbucks are showing signs of struggle.

And perhaps that’s a good thing, because frankly, much of the time, the independent shops offer a better, friendlier, and satisfying coffee shop experience. And nowhere is that more present than in this week’s subject of this Orléans food spot review, BBCR Café.

While BBCR prides itself on its own roasted blends of coffee it serves as a terrific place to drop in for breakfast, or lunch.

While BBCR has three locations in the Ottawa and Gatineau area, the Orléans location is around a commercial / industrial area at 511 Lacolle Way. This location is inside a spacious brick facade building and is rather square in shape. Inside you’ll find a fairly large space with a series of large tables, a small bar seating area along with a couple of smaller more intimate tables as well.

What grabbed my attention about this location was simply how clean and warm all the decor was alongside the fact that there’s plenty of merchandise and coffee to be purchased along the shop’s shelving. Arriving on a Tuesday right before lunch hour, nearly every seat in the place was taken with a lot of remote workers clacking away at their laptops and tablets.

The menu is more or less divided into breakfast and lunch options with a variety of All-Day-Breakfast options, mashed potato options, sandwiches, and nachos. Of-course, there’s also a variety of baked goods on offer as well, a few alcoholic drinks and smoothies to boot!

But since BBCR is a coffee roaster, they of-course also sell a variety of coffee beverages (espressos, lattes, drip coffee, cold brews, and more) as well as tea from a brand I’d not had heard of before (Genuine Tea) which turned out to be rather delicious - I had the Earl Grey of-course.

I also like when a company doesn’t take itself too seriously and tries to inject some fun into their offering, in this case, a menu item named “Mashd I’m Broke” which is a dish of signature mashed potatoes, house-made brown gravy, topped with green onions, and priced at a relatively affordable $10?! (I don’t even know what’s affordable anymore when it comes to food amidst the damage that inflation has done to our collective wallets over the last few years).

As I mentioned earlier, you can purchase BBCR’s specialty grade coffees to make at home and I believe they even have a same-day delivery service you can take advantage of if, you know, you’re in dire need of some of their coffee.

While the classic breakfast was delicious, the scrambled eggs were a bit overcooked, but that’s probably just because I’m quite the snob when it comes to the preparation of scrambled eggs. (There’s a reason they make chefs cook these as a test! - Or is that just a myth I’ve heard?) … nevertheless, the rest of the classic breakfast was excellent, in particular I’d suggest getting the sausage option and sourdough for your grain. And oh my goodness, the potatoes absolutely perfect!

Michelle said she also really enjoyed the Double Egger Breakfast sandwich and said it’s one of the better ones she’s had in a long time.

⭐️ 4.6 stars out of 5

Look, the reality is that Orléans is sorely lacking in coffee shops that deliver on the same level that BBCR does. I kind of wish they would open up another location somewhere along Innes Rd. … but while that’s likely to remain a desire that’s solely locked away in my brain, I’ll be gladly visiting BBCR more often now that I know how awesome it is.

If you’re looking for your ‘third place’ in Orléans, your search has just come to a satisfying end.