Frieda's Place - 210 Pinebush Rd, Cambridge

3.5	71%	3.6	4	3.5

Frieda’s Place is an old-school diner, and has been a fixture in Hespeler for over 20 years. Based on their professional and informative website I was excited to visit, and tried out their breakfast on Hallowe’en with my aunt and grandmother, both Cambridge residents.  At Frieda’s you order at the counter and pay immediately (tip in the tip cup at cash); condiments, coffee, and water were all self-serve. The tables and decor were what I expected at this kind of place - sparse and utilitarian - but the place was clean and accessible.

Frieda’s prices were all very reasonable, and they offer all the standard breakfast things, with the addition of “bologna steak” as a meat option. The employee working the counter was slightly curt with us when we ordered, and while I understand that the self-serve nature of the diner can be a perk, having to jump up and down for everything including water, jam, and creamer got to be a serious hassle, and my food ended up colder than it might otherwise have been.

My grandmother and aunt ordered identical breakfast specials ($3.99) - eggs over-easy, rye toast (choice of white/brown/rye), bacon, and hashbrowns. Frieda’s provides generous servings, and this is particularly noticeable in the huge piles of potatoes! They both thoroughly enjoyed their breakfasts, (but also: criticism is not a strong point for either).

I ordered the breakfast slam, which included pancakes (or french toast), hash browns, toast (rye for me), eggs (scrambled), and meat (which I substituted for tomatoes, but was offered an additional egg as a substitute as well). It was okay, although I found it kind of bland - the scrambled eggs were weirdly light-coloured, the pancakes were fluffy but firm, the hashbrowns were the cubed-frozen-deep-fried kind, and the 3 tomato slices that were my sausage-substitute were verrrry thin cut.

At the end of the day, I kind of doubt Frieda’s “best breakfast in town” claims, but it was a perfectly adequate meal, and great for those who value quantity and price over quality.

SCORECARD

Atmosphere	Price	Variety	Taste	Flexibility	Service
3.5	4.5	3.5	3.75	4	3
Cleanliness	Special		Flavour		Courtesy
4	$3.99		3.5		3
Ambience	Coffee		Cook		Speed
3	$1.50		4		3
	Pancakes		Coffee
	$5.50		4
	Omelette		Potatoes
	$6.95 (several items)		3.5

Total Score: 3.75