Restaurant Review: Maple Leaf Restaurant and Tavern, Ottawa, ON

I had high hopes for this downtown establishment as I strolled in for lunch today. The ambience is very inviting because of its lack of pretense. What you're looking at is an authentic 70s-style diner with waitresses wearing your simple white shirt and black pants and the menus tucked in behind each table's sugar dispenser.

The menu has everything you'd expect from chicken fingers and fries to club sandwiches and burgers. I went for one of the daily specials which was a gyros platter, and I have to say that things were pretty bland, unfortunately. The other thing was that the food was just too damn hot. I have to give one thumb up to the fries, though, because even though they were flavourless, their smell reminded me of the Kentucky Fried Chicken in the town I lived in as a child and adolescent. Strange how smell can whisk you right back to a certain place and time.

I'm going to give this place another go because I have the feeling they can do better. It was pretty packed and I got the impression that there are a number of regulars so it must do something right.

On the north side of Laurier between O'Connor and Metcalfe.

Overall rating: 5.5/10