Mat’s Diner

Since my whole family was together for Christmas, we decided to go out for breakfast and try out a new place (new for us) down in Kensington called Mat’s Diner. Mat’s Diner has been around for about 2 years now. We had recently seen their story on the news and seen that they offered a few more Vegan options than other restaurants that we were looking at. Our son is vegan and we do have some troubles finding a good restaurant that serves more than one vegan option. Mat’s Diner fits the bill.

 

The Interior

This restaurant is located right below Higher Ground and it doesn’t feel like it is in the basement as there is so much natural light coming through the large windows. We decided to sit down by the fireplace (that was fake) and from where we were sitting we could see the bar. There is plenty of seating in this diner.

It was very quiet when we arrived, there was only us and another family. But as we got our food there was more people coming in and sitting down.

 

The Drinks

Both my daughter and I ordered a Latte for $5.00 and it was not as good as what we expected. The coffee lacked flavour. We later found out that it was made by pushing water through a puck of compressed espresso. It was not very good.

My son had the black coffee for $3.75 and he said that it was good, pretty basic but still had good flavour.

My wife had the Earl Grey Tea by Bigilow for $3.50 and it was good, but nothing special. She often wonders why business don’t serve better tea as there are so many quality teas out there.

If you are going serve good food, serve high quality drinks to match your food.

 

The Food

I ordered the Fried Chicken Griddle for $17.95. This is Mat’s Diners version of chicken and waffles. The pancakes were really heavy but you expect that for buttermilk whole wheat pancakes. The chicken was delicious and seasoned really nicely, also it was nice because it was all white meat. I would have it again.

My wife ordered the Farmer’s Produce Scramble for $15.95 and it was delicious. It was very filling and full of a bunch of different vegetables. My wife said that the herb potatoes were her favorite and I just had to try them and sure enough they were delicious.

My daughter ordered the Traditional Benny for $16.55 and it was really good. She said she only wished that the egg was softer, but this is maybe how they make it here or she forgot to ask for her eggs to be made soft. The herb potatoes were delicious and the addition of the sweet ham made the perfect bite.

My son ordered the Vegan Griddle Cake for $15.95 and it was very tasty and delicious. The pancakes were really good and very filling.

My son said that he would prefer that they had other Vegan breakfast options like a Tofu Scramble or a Tofu Benny added to the menu.

 

The Service

The service was great, everyone was friendly and accommodating. The server had a ton of energy that we could not match at the time we were there but it was nice to see that she was enthusiastic to everyone she talked to. So kudos to our server.

 

The Hours

Monday to Sunday – 7:00AM – 9:30PM

 

Parking

Since you are in Kensington there is only street parking which you have to pay for most of the time. There is also a couple lots that you can park in, but unfortunately you have to pay for that parking as well.

 

Last Words

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience here. If I had one small suggestion, get better coffee and tea.

We will definitely be checking this place out again in the future since there are other menu items that we would like to try.