Don’t be chicken to eat at Swiss Chalet!

Where we went: A good friend of ours recently invited Dorothy and myself to join him for supper at Swiss Chalet on Innes at Cyrville in Gloucester. At this point, I think that, over the years, we have eaten at just about every Swiss Chalet in the Ottawa area and quite a few in Toronto and beyond. Whilst they may not offer fine dining, the food is always consistent and reasonably priced. They are very kid-friendly, which is a definite plus for families and large groups.

What we ordered: Well, it should come as no surprise that we all ordered chicken! In fact, we all ordered the standard chicken dinner except that I opted for the current special which added a side salad (garden or caesar) as a starter and blueberry pie for dessert.

What we got: As I mentioned above, the food is consistent at Swiss Chalet. Their French fries are, in my humble opinion, amongst the best in the Ottawa area. I don’t often order fries but about 50% of the time, do take them as a side here. Like Jack Spratt and his wife, I take dark meat while Dorothy prefers white. Additionally, I typically forego the dipping sauce, not being partial to the cinnamon flavour, where Dorothy really likes it (and often takes mine as well as her own). The side salad while nothing spectacular was fresh and crunchy and not overdosed with dressing as is too often the case. Sometimes, the chicken can be too well cooked for my tastes but today that was not the case. The finishing touch of the blueberry pie was also quite impressive for what is obviously a mass-produced item (and possibly previously frozen). 

Worthy of note: We have eaten many times at this particular restaurant and the only time we had an unpleasant experience (ridiculously long wait for our meals), the manager put things right (and makes a point of greeting us on subsequent visits). One of the few places left in town where you can get a standard entree for under $10. If you wish a drink (alcoholic) with your meal, they keep prices reasonable where many others go over the top!

Summary

• Positives: Never any real surprises here. Consistently good food, service and surroundings.
• Negatives: If you don’t want or like chicken and/or ribs, you’ll be S.O.L. This is not a locale for gourmet tastes.
• Reccomendation: For an inexpensive family dining experience, you’ll be hard-pressed to find better.

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