Scores, Ottawa Trainyards: Just a Swiss Chalet look-alike?

Although we primarily dine out on a Friday evening, every now and again, we break down and treat ourselves mid-week, especially if we have been running errands and supper-time sneaks up on us. In such cases, we will often use the opportunity to frequent a locale where we would not usually take the three girls either because wait times are too long or the restaurant is not kid-friendly for one reason or another.  
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Where we went: So here we were on a Wednesday evening in the area of Ottawa Trainyards. Although the Scores location just off Industrial Avenue has been open now for almost six months, I had not yet managed to get further than the front entrance due to its apparent popularity. Twice we had checked out the wait times on a Friday evening and found them unacceptably long. We figured we should be safe on a Wednesday. The fact that we were able to find a parking space right in front of the entrance was certainly an encouraging sign.

What we ordered: Whether or not you are a fan of the Swiss Chalet restaurant chain, it is hard not to use this as a yardstick when evaluating Scores. The fruit and salad bar that is front and centre as you are shown to your table is a cogent reminder that you are at the latter rather than the former. Score 1 for Scores.  😉  However, in our experience at least, the comparison went downhill from there. The menu covers an almost identical array of items as Swiss Chalet. If you stick with the signature quarter chicken where the soup  and/or fruit and salad bar is included, Scores might appear to come out on top. On the other hand, any other selection will cost you more even before the soup and/or salad is added. On this occasion, we stuck with the quarter chicken. One surprise is that there was no up-charge for white meat. 

What we got: One advantage to the soup and salad bar is that you can take the edge off your hunger and make the wait for your main course more pleasant. Typically, at Swiss Chalet, this is not a problem because their service is pretty quick as a rule. Nevertheless, the soup and salad bar was probably the highpoint of the meal for us. Of the three of us, only one received fries that were more than lukewarm. In a move that is unusual for me, I actually returned mine to the kitchen while Dorothy toughed it out preferring not to wait. The fresh fries were an improvement but still not to the standard of Swiss Chalet. Similarly, neither the chicken itself or the bun and sauce measured up. It seems that Swiss Chalet is not in danger of losing our business.

Worthy of note: The soup, salad and fruit bar is only included with the quarter chicken meal. For all others it is extra.

Summary

• Positives: Inexpensive if you stick to the basic quarter chicken.
• Negatives: Not inexpensive if you stray from the quarter chicken!
• Recommendation: Although it was not terrible, we were expecting more and better!

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