Review: Yolks Restaurant & Commisary

Hello imaginary readers! Today's post will be a review on Yolk's Restaurant & Commissary.

I originally heard about this place from my manager, who posted a picture on Instagram of her Chicken & Waffles. DUDE CHICKEN & WAFFLES?! I've never had it before, so of course I had to come and try it for myself. Here's my take on this restaurant:

Located on the corner of Clark Dr and East Hastings St, this is definitely not the prettiest neighbourhood to chill in. But hey, at least this restaurant attracted a lot of traffic (as you can see from the line up at the door). But don't let the line ups fool you! Because it's definitely not worth the wait. Or at least we didn't think it was, here's why:

I was told by my manager to get here early because there will be a long line up guaranteed. We arrived just after 10AM and spent a bit of time trying to find parking. There is street parking just around the corner, but most of the spaces only allow you to park for 1 hour, which means by the time you line up and finally get your table, you have to go and move your car again. 

So we went inside, put down our name, and stood back outside and waited like everyone else. A quick tip if you want to beat the line up, is to go with only two people. The hostess told us that tables of twos go way faster. So Eric and I waited outside for about half an hour before getting called in. Most of the people who got there before us or at the same time as us were still waiting outside, because they were in bigger groups.

First impressions: When we first went inside, we were greeted by the friendly staff who notified us about their daily special. The inside was a small, cozy old fashioned diner.

We took a look at the drink menu and decided to order a jug of "Iced Callebaut Chocolate Milk" to share because the waitress explained how rich and creamy it is. It was a one litre jug which costed us $6.25. Eric and I both agreed the chocolate milk wasn't that great because there were a lot of powdery bits floating around, and it was nothing like described. At this point I was already starting to get disappointed, but I kept a positive attitude anyway because I was excited for the food.

Also worth noting is that you can add a shot of booze (such as Bailey's) to your drinks for an extra $4. Overalll, I think the drinks were a little overpriced and not that yummy. I'd stick to water next time. On the menu, you are given many options. You can also add more sides to your dish, or switch them out for other alternatives which will cost you an extra couple bucks.

Eric decided to order the Belgian Waffles with Maple Ham ($9.75), and I ordered Chicken & Waffles ($11.75). We also tried their "Poached Free-Ranged Egg" with double smoked bacon, aged white cheddar, served over their Truffle-Lemon Hashbrowns ($7.50 for one egg, $10.75 for two eggs).

The food took about 20 minutes to get served to our table. In my opinion that's not the fastest speed, but a reasonable time considering how busy the place was. Although it was busy, service remained friendly and prompt. Unfortunately the food looked a lot better than it actually tastes.

Above is our poached egg. It was hands down our favourite dish out of all! This dish is not for the faint of heart, because the first thing I noticed when I bit into the potatoes was how pungent the Truffle-lemon flavour was. It wasn't bad - it was just.. different, like something I've never tasted before! The aged white cheddar went really well with the potatoes, I wish they added more of it. Egg was cooked and seasoned perfectly with the yolk running out, and bacon is bacon, so it will always be good.

Next up is Eric's Belgian Waffle served with Maple ham, house-made dijon mustard, and maple syrup. Unfortunately, we both agreed that the waffles weren't so great. It was EXTREMELY hard and dense which made it difficult to chew and swallow. The best thing on the plate was probably the few slices of maple ham + their mustard. Sadly, we were NOT impressed by this dish :(

 Lastly is my Chicken & Waffles. This was the main reason why I kept nagging Eric to bring me here and it was the dish I looked forward to trying the most. It is "Organic fried chicken sandwiched in Belgian waffles, served with chicken gravy and Canadian maple syrup". Sounds good right?
I really wanted to love this dish, but unfortunately I was VERY disappointed. Like I said before, the Belgian waffles were hard and dense, chicken was SO rough and dry it makes me wonder if it's even organic, and I couldn't really taste the gravy or syrup much. Everything on this plate got soggy real fast and just didn't go well together at all. The entire time I was eating this plate, there was this weird, spoiled smell coming it and I couldn't tell whether it was from the chicken, waffle, or the gravy. Either way, it just wasn't very appetizing.

Verdict:

I had high hopes for this restaurant, and in the end got really disappointed. Our bill for 2 people came up to just over $50 after tips, which is a little expensive for breakfast in an East Hastings neighbourhood. I wouldn't mind spending $50 for breakfast if the flavours blew me away, but this was just plain disappointing. Definitely not worth the money and lining up for. I'm not even sure why there is so much hype in the first place. Service was friendly but that's about it. For the price, they could at least improve the flavour and texture of their food and beverages. This restaurant seems to be a hit & miss with many people; and in my case, it was a miss. Would not come back here again.
I will not settle until I find the best Chicken & Waffles in town >:(

Customer service: 5/5
Flavour and taste: 2/5
Cleanliness of restaurant: 3.5/5

Recommend: No.