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The new incarnation of Save on Meats offers healthy, affordable diner classics for breakfast, lunch & dinner. Along with serving good food and meat in the butcher shop, Save on Meats is working with community leaders in the DTES to create jobs, implement sustainable business practices such as a rooftop self-powered organic rooftop green house, in house composting and bike delivery.
On Tuesday April 10th I took my daughter Julia for the second time to Save On Meats Diner for a quick Lunch.
I had the Chicken Club Sandwich with salad, which I enjoyed every bite of.
Julia had the open faced Chicken Sandwich with fries - which she enjoyed as well!
To celebrate her 27th birthday we shared the "Chocolate Chocolate Awful Awful" sundae which didn't let us down a bit....yummmmy!
At first when we saw the new menu we knew that meant new prices! eeek! - BUT... to be honest the prices are still great! - a few minor changes but nothing outrageous!
The staff at Save On Meats Diner are fabulous! - It wouldn't matter how great the food was or the prices for that matter, if the service sucked, I wouldn't go back. But that's not the case at ALL the service is super Friendly!
We look forward to our next Mother daughter meal at Save On Meats!
Stopped for a weekend lunch at the re-opened Save On Meats diner.
I ordered the burger with fries and a cup of vegetarian chili, my companion ordered the club sandwich (see the attached images).
The service was friendly, but a little slower than I liked.
The burger was very good, using fresh ground beef, the fries were crisp, but seemed to be from frozen.
The vegetable chili was decent, but I would have preferred a little more spiciness.
The value is excellent though.
I love the retro look of the place, the only thing missing is servers on roller skates :p
We went with high hopes for this place, but we were exceedingly let down. It's nice they try to clean up the neighbourhood and provide something for the residents. The place is generally clean, very open and well, looks like a diner. No surprise there.
The wait staff was pretty friendly and helpful, wow, they even have a kids menu. Very accommodating, That was certainly one thing I can't complain about. They came about to help us quite quickly, but the kitchen might have been a bit on the slow side for a diner
Here's the problem though: Is this diner for the long-time residents? If so, it's priced well out of their range. It was $6 for the basic burger, about the cheapest dish that can be had. It only comes with 1 side (slaw, salad or fries). it was not big. Really? I could get a burger for that anywhere. The other mains come in higher, like around the $8-9 range, though very few top $10 that I could recall. You may not think it's much, but that's rich for these residents (or it ought to be!)
So is this diner for the new, "hip" residents? If so, well, the food sucked. The burger patty was okay. The bun tasted like it was a couple of days old. I would've been happier with a generic Safeway burger bun. The fries were nothing to write home about. At least the slaw was good. The pork sandwich on apple fritter was basically a super-tough, dried out pork chop in between a donut. Not that hot. A pot pie? Very, very small and not amazing. The roast chicken? Oh my gosh, that was super-dry. You would've done better walking up to Nester's market to pick up some munchies.
Would I return? I highly doubt it. This is the rare one of those places where the food quality (I don't mean it is rotten, but just poorly cooked) doesn't even meet the minimum standard where I think "Oh, if it were a bit cheaper, I would be happy". Nuh oh. Not even close. I'd stay away. You'd do better getting some gnosh over at T&T or Nester's. A pointless waste of my tummy space and a pointless addition to the neighbourhood.
Unless the new starving artists that are moving in don't know how to manage their finances, or cook and have no standards whatsoever.
Popped in for lunch on a recent sunny Sunday with a couple of friends. The place was full and had to wait a few minutes to be seated. Took the opportunity to admire the considerable reno that's occurred in this historic building. Heritage enthusiasts will appreciate the exposed brick and timber. Kitch lovers will like the large, hand-painted signs that hang above the long counter. The lines are clean and tasteful and the room has a fun, energetic vibe. Once seated I looked over the smallish menu that, as expected, covers the basic diner touchstones. Nothing imaginative here. Its a coffee shop not a trendy cafe. The first thing I noticed were the downright CHEAP prices. I'm talking circa 1990 or something. A burger and fries for $6?? Its true I tell you. My two friends each ordered a burger wondering aloud how good can a $6 burger be? Not being very hungry and feeling vitamin deprived, I opted for a roast chicken salad ($7). Good diner coffee (Seattle's Best) was plonked down and refilled often. Smiles were genuine. The food arrived in short order. Portions are reasonable and the food looked appetizing enough. The burgers turned out to be quite acceptable if not scrumptious. No complaints for that price mind you. Fries dont appear to be house made but they were hot and tasty nonetheless. My salad was rather drab. Underdressed and uninspired really. But again, fresh and acceptable. A nice sear on the chicken would improve the texture and taste. A tweak of their house dressing wouldnt hurt either. This place will do fine.... Its cool and its needed in this fascinating block of Hastings street
A departure from the owners of Boneta with a homely 60's style diner. Tasty burger for $6 makes it a cheap and quick lunch spot. According to the staff the meat is locally sourced. Salads a bit boring and a better drink list would be in order. Friendly staff and wonderful chocolate bacon cookies.
This is a great story. Hats off to those involved in revitalizing this "joint" akin to it's former glory. This is a great addition to this neighborhood.
The food that I've had so far was (1st visit) The best breaky that I didn't make myself (2nd visit) pretty damn good. The first time I dined here I had the hash browns with the poached egg on top and it was awesome. I recommend getting another egg as one is not enough. My second visit, I had a bacon cheese burger which was quite good - the only thing was that the bun was a tad too much. The servers are friendly and they get things done... eventually. But really who cares about that, you're not coming here to experience fine dining. Lastly, as a new parent the menu for kids looks like it's the best in town and when they eventually get teeth (my kids that is) this will be a staple. People, get out of your little shells and come down and eat with some East Enders - they've got funny stories to tell. Overall, this place should be supported in a huge way.
| 1. | Acme Cafe (29 m) |  |
| 2. | Save On Coffee (42 m) | |
| 3. | Bitter (70 m) |  |
| 4. | Potluck Cafe & Catering (71 m) |  |
| 5. | Army & Navy Snack Bar (76 m) |  |
| 6. | Metropole Community Pub, The (83 m) | |
| 7. | Bourbon, The (86 m) | |
| 8. | Nelson the Seagull (118 m) | |
| 9. | Pint Public House, The (121 m) | |
| 10. | Catch 122 (124 m) |
