HALIFAX: Breakfast at the Ardmore

The Ardmore Tea Room is a busy place on weekends, packed with hungover bleary-eyed twenty-somethings as I once used to be. Insert sigh here. But on a weekday, it’s kinda peaceful, sipping my coffee and watching the sun stream in the front window.

The paper placemats outline the history of the Ardmore, which first opened in 1958 and is now run by the original owners’ son. A shelf on one wall is filled with teapots.

The sign outside advertising “chicken and spaghetti” is a bit misleading, because there’s a lot more diner comfort food than just those two items.

But I must confess I’ve only ever come here for breakfast. And I think I’ve only ever ordered the homemade corned beef hash patties with two eggs ($6.50).

This spiced corned beef mixed with potatoes, lovingly shaped into patties, and grilled just so is a fabulous start to the morning. It’s nothing like the crap that comes out of a can.

Jason’s lumberjack combo ($6.75) was ridiculous: two eggs, two sausages, country-style ham, three pieces of bacon, hash browns and toast. I guess he needed the protein for all the lumberjack work he had planned.

Everyone comes here – students, truck drivers, families, the down-and-out, the rich and famous. It’s a welcoming place no matter what you look like. Even lumberjacks.

Ardmore Tea Room, 6499 Quinpool Rd., Halifax, Nova Scotia, (902) 423-7523.
Open Mon-Fri 5 a.m.-8 p.m., weekends 4 a.m.-8 p.m.