Picture Credits: My photo
For this week’s blog, I must admit I was struggling quite hard. After a long night on the town, I awoke feeling oh so icky. My body needed something, it needed to be healed. So how did I go about this process? By buying an overpriced breakfast burrito, of course! Thus, for this week’s blog, I stopped in for a meal at Sunnyside Cafe to heal my broken self. Located along Esquimalt road, beside the memorial park and across from the Esquimalt library, sunnyside cafe is a locally owned breakfast/lunch restaurant serving a variety of delicious meals! Can Sunnyside cafe dethrone its direct competitor, Rise and Grind? Let’s find out.
My Order: Breaky Burrito
Photo Credits: My photo
Appearance: 9/10
Holy moly, this looks simply exquisite. Although the picture may not fully do it justice, the looks of this meal are next level. Coming in a classic white takeout box, at first, I was apprehensive to see what was inside. In many of my experiences with takeout food, when it comes in a box like this, the meal is often just thrown in, with no regard for appearance. To my surprise, as I opened the box, I was greeted with the most perfect sight of a massive burrito carefully cut and placed into two pieces with hashbrowns lining the side. Steam rose from the box to my face as I took a look in as well, making for a truly magical experience. I felt like I was at Disneyland, 9/10.
Taste: 6/10
In all honesty, this may have been my toughest score to decide to date. Why you ask? Well honestly, this burrito was very tasty, but it was also kind of gross at the time. Let me explain. The flavours were all there, but the texture was so very off. I’m not sure exactly what caused it, but sadly after a few bites, the burrito became very soggy. This was quite disappointing because those first few bites were so delicious. Had it not gotten soggy halfway through, we’d be looking at an 8+ score. All the ingredients perfectly complemented each other and were evidently fresh. I just can’t deal with no soggy food. Sorry Sunnyside, you were so close to being delicious, but a wet burrito is not the move, 6/10.
Customer Service: 9/10
Although struggling with the effects of a long Saturday night, I must say, I very much enjoyed my time at Sunnyside Cafe! All the workers were personable and more than happy to take my order. This made for a very welcoming experience and all around, the vibe of the little cafe was great. I really have no qualms with this place. Within 10 minutes of ordering my meal was ready to go. It really doesn’t get much better than that, 9/10.
Bang for your Buck: 3/10
Now here’s where my problems with Sunnyside Cafe really begin. THIS PLACE IS EXPENSIVE. In total, my meal was roughly 19 dollars after taxes and with a two-dollar tip. Now, Yes, the burrito was massive and came with a side of hashbrowns, but 19 dollars is simply too much for a takeout meal. If I wanted to pay that much for breakfast, I would have gone to a nice sit-down spot, not a speedy takeout spot. Its only redeeming factor is that it could be split into two meals due to its size, but nonetheless, I’m very disappointed, 3/10.
Final Score Breakdown
Appearance: 9/10
Taste: 6/10
Customer Service: 9/10
Bang for your buck: 3/10
Final score: 27/40
Final Thoughts
Sunnyside Cafe had so much going for it. It had the potential to grace one of the top spots of this list. The service was amazing, the presentation was exquisite and the flavours were all there and oh boy were they good. Sadly, the expensive cost of the slightly above-average food coupled with the burrito becoming soaked halfway through the meal diminished my experience too much. It’s sad it had to end this way, but I had no choice. You did this to yourself, Sunnyside Cafe.
Jaxon’s Top Takeout in Victoria List
- Rise and Grind, Downtown – 35/40
- Italian Food Imports, Downtown – 33/40
- RedFish BlueFish, Inner Harbour – 29/40
- Sunnyside Cafe, Esquimalt – 27/40
- Big Wheel Burger, Numerous locations – 26/40
- Foo Asian Street Food, Downtown -25/40
- Lee’s Chicken, Esquimalt – 20/40
- Mary Brown’s Chicken, Esquimalt – 12/40
