9th Avenue Grill

Fresh ingredients cooked to perfection and the best coffee any breakfast place will serve (in big mugs, too!)
Cozy atmosphere… basically everything I want in a breakfast spot.

Bare bones breakfast place for a small budget. Don’t expect anything fancy. The only coffee choice consists of (slightly thin) drip coffee. I asked for normal milk got 1%, asked again and got almond milk. Only after asking again were we informed that there is only 1% or cream available. Just serving almond milk in place of milk without comment strikes me as a weird choice. My seasonal fruit platter for ~8 $ consisted of yoghurt with pear slices, banana and one strawberry cut in half (it’s peach and berry season as I write this), so pretty much the cheapest combination if fruits you can get. My partner’s benny was good but the side of hashbrowns was cold. Bottom line: There are better places in Vancouver to have breakfast.

The low ratings here seem entirely undeserved. I love this place. The staff is friendly and courteous, and the food is great! I live nearby, so i go pretty often, and it has been consistent! They arent trying to be iron chefs, so don’t come in expecting caviar in your benny. Expect a good meal at a fair price.

What’ up in the valley of high prices and low service? Well, try the 9^th Avenue Grill @ Burrard & Broadway! Value! Value! Value! Hey, a tasty BLT & soup for only $ 9.70! Not bistro sized at all, Home cooking for sure, Smiles everywhere! Good food never tasted better.

This was bistro that looked as homey as they get. Worn in, well used, as thoroughly loved. Overall it left like the kitchen of a suburban soccer mom. There were several very kitschy pieces that appeared to have made it on to the walls, solely because it held a deep sentimental value. Keeps sakes from trips. And photos of animals with construction paper frames. The lights were yellow and green balls that hung from suspended claw-​like fixtures. An old school television the width of refrigerator, rested at a slant on top of the drinks cooler. Several oils canvas paintings hung on the eggshell coloured walls. I assumed they were the work of local artists. And a black board highlighting today’s specials was strung up with Christmas tree lights and cut outs of flowers. Here, surround by all this mish mash, I oddly felt as comfortable as I would in my own mother’s kitchen.
Their all day breakfasts are a major lure in; but they also do a decent lunch, with an equally substantial selection. Majority of menu items are on the $ 10 – 15 range. With options for add ons to any, at a cost. Breakfast was all the staples; hash, omelets, pancakes, eggs, and oatmeal. Everything came in the original versions, and choices for a different feel. Like the Mediterranean omelet with sun dried tomatoes and feta. And the «Salmon Neptune» a Benny with wild smoke salmon lox and Hollandaise sauce. Lunch was the always common sight of soups and salads, sandwiches, and burgers and fries.
Would I come back? — No. Not often will you find me dining at a restaurant that serves such home spun dishes. Not that there is anything wrong with the cooking. I just feel my consumer dollars can be better spent on that which I cannot make myself or that which is too complicated to make myself. Mind you I don’t own a panini press, so I would consider revising just for that, as it was delicious.
Would I recommend it? — Afraid not. There are so many other breakfast all day places. «9^th Avenue Grill» brought nothing new to the table. However if they invested more in the «your mother’s kitchen» angle, in turns of décor; I could see a greater pull for a return visit and a recommendation. But then again you don’t come for the décor. You come to enjoy and support the hard work of your neighboring stores. Don’t deny your cravings.

I like it here. I spend much of my time working from coffee shops, and it’s great to have a restaurant with great coffee and good food to keep me going.
The staff is super friendly and let me sit in the corner with my laptop for hours — never making me feel rushed.
High five for gluten free bread for the bennys too!

The weird thing is that I bought the Groupon after reading the horrible reviews on the customer service ’cause well, I love early morning breakfast. With that said, I was expecting the worst, however, there isn’t anyone I would rather expect the worst with food wise than my best friend. It is easy for us to fill in the time with «shop talk» about music. I did warn him before hand that service was slow, therefore, prepared our discussion agenda in accordance.
I was also expecting bad service like the others since we were Groupon peeps, therefore, budgeting accordingly with no upgrades or tips since I was prepared for it to be crappy.
Contrary with the warning and bleak expectations before leaving the door, we were actually surprised. There were some hick ups that I was not pleased with, however, overall, it went better than I had expected (but not by much).
I know how to read Groupons and I understood that you had to make a reservation, which I did over the phone and left a message, however, aware that they do not take reservations on the phone, I said, «I know that you do not take reservations over the phone, therefore, can you please give me a call back so that we can set something up.» Their hours of operation and my break time at work did not coordinate efficiently in trying to make a reservation hence the need for a call back.
I didn’t hear from them, therefore, my best friend and I just went down there anyway. I explained the situation which I understood their policy and terms given the small place. Seeing as how we came from a far distance they compromised and did take out for us which was them bending the rules for the Groupon which was for dine in only.
Customer service wise I appreciated the gesture which is why they’re given a 3 (more than they really do deserve). It wasn’t until I went to the til in which I was told not once, however, 3 times that «I should’ve called to make a reservation.» Which I did. I just didn’t want to argue with her and cause a fight in a small restaurant. Instead I decided to have light cheery conversation to change the mood, however, she was having non of it and was convinced that it was better to give me a hate on. I am not a little child that you have to tell me every 5 seconds of what I supposedly should or shouldn’t have done.
To make it simpler I ordered identical breakfasts to go so that for their sake, everyone was happier. At that point, anything I did just went under with bad attitude.
The breakfast itself was good. It was standard breakfast.
My best friend and I went to the nearby elementary school to eat on the lunch benches outside only to be chased by bees (I am allergic to bees and more times than we could properly sit and enjoy our post concert talk, we were chasing bees away). At one point, a crow stole the pack of butter and another the container of ketchup and flew away. A few minutes later, one crow went into my bag and tried stealing my cupcakes.
Not the ideal condition for breakfast, however, we made the best of the situation ’cause that is all that one can do.

This little breakfast café is okay — not the best, for sure. But not the worst either.
Their menu is pretty standard, but could also maybe be considered a little boring?
I also have certain dietary needs, and find that there is not a lot of options for people like me. The price is super affordable in some areas, but then a little too much for what it is you’re getting in a lot of other areas.

I love local diners/​breakfast spots– and this one is one of my favourites!
The menu has a great food selection with lots of options for those with dietary restrictions.
With a small and quaint location it creates a local cozy vibe but still remains busy and always has great service.
A tad pricey but the quality of food is always high and consistent– Great place for breakfast and brunch!
My personal favourite is the create your own omelette — onions, spinach, light cheese and bacon — yum!

Surprised there aren’t more reviews on these breakfast places, don’t we wake up hungry as foodies? :) It’s in a great busy location, maybe ppl just don’t notice it.
Nice that they serve breakfast all day; ordered the crispy bacon hash, other than the potatoes being a bit too big for bite-​sized, and a few more veggies would make it better.
Also use free-​range eggs.
Take advantage of their $ 5 Breakfast to go if you’re in a rush.

Place was great… very different types of food, loved the different types of egg dishes… probably will be back and recommend

I’m surprised that 9^th Avenue Grill has such low ratings.
I ordered the 9^th Ave Eggs Benedict Special. This was 2 eggs bene on English muffins with avocados, sausage, mushrooms and hollandaise sauce drizzled all over. It didn’t come with any hashbrowns, but with their homestyle fries, which is basically potaoes. It wasn’t crispy or fried for a long time, which is fine since I just need some sort of carbs. Delicious and super well priced!
This place is not very big and it tends to get packed, so I can see how food orders can be too slow. Luckily, the husband and I had a good experience and we will likely be coming back.

I was running errands in the West End when hunger pangs convinced me to stop for a bite.
I live in Burnaby so immediately I thought «hmm, I’m west of Burrard so it’ll be pretty tough to find a good cheap food!»
I feel like a found a gem with the 9^th Avenue Grill.
Friendly service, ample variety of comfort food and prices were characteristic of East Van, even though I’m a stone’s throw away from the Ferrrari dealership.
Everything was well made and tasted great.
«So why didn’t you give this 5 stars?»
— I’m glad you asked, this place would really benefit from a nice air conditioner unit for these hot summer days.

3 different tables that sat down 10 minutes after us, got their food first and the servers reasoning was that they were single bills??? Finally got our food 45 min later and it was made wrong with the yolk and white part of the egg so runny it was like snot! Definitely will NOT be back. Oh and their chocolate milk is made from powder… And it’s not good!
The server however was friendly and empathized with us, and supposedly they had a new cook. They have great innovation but not good execution .
I won’t be coming back.

i picked up a burger and a side of greek salad… I was told to pick it up in 15 minutes.
Once I arrived, the only person working was the lady that took my order, there were 3 employees in the back, 2 were gossiping about another coworker and the 3 was aimlessly with no motivation walking back and forth, once for the tomato, then again for the green pepper, then again for the cucumber… omg soo slow. I knew he was making mine because I was still waiting.
I never got my food for another 15 minutes so my lunch was over.
I took it back to the office the burger was soggy from the dressing on the salad. However the burger was really good, the make homemade patties, so that was a plus… the salad was a little bland the ‘zing’ was missing.
It cost about 12.00 not bad I guess, but I’ve had better.

I used to eat at the Broadway location fairly often. It was a good menu and a casual setting. I had one incident however that completely soured my sauce. A friend and I went for breakfast and I ordered the Eggs Benny. The food came out and I immediately realized that the poached eggs were nearly raw. I don’t mind a runny yolk but these egg whites were clear. I asked the waitress if I could have them cooked a bit more. She understood and kindly took my eggs to the back. I heard the beep beep of the microwave (bad form but not fatal). When I got my eggs back, the cook had severely overcooked the eggs in the microwave. The eggs were pucks and the hollandaise was seared into the plate. I told the waitress that I wasn’t going to eat eggs like that and she apologetically took them back. The cook waddled out and started berating me saying that the Eggs Benny comes with soft-​poached eggs. I wanted to explain that a soft-​poached egg doesn’t have clear egg whites but she stormed back into the kitchen. It was a surreal experience: people were sitting there with astonished looks on their faces. The waitress was very polite and she obviously wanted nothing to do with the cook.
Anyway, I tried to contact the owner but after playing phone tag a couple times, I gave up. Now, every employer can have a bad employee (and every employee can have a bad day) but for me, it was so over the top. That was approximately 3 years ago and I’ve not been back since.

Went during the week for a bite at about 9:30am. Despite being only one of two tables at the place I felt downright ignored. I told our server there would be two of us and it took her 20 minutes to bring a second menu. We had little time left to order at this point so I asked what was quick. The answer was mash. It was nothing exciting and served without even an attempt at smiling. The fun energy of the place that I’d felt on a previous visit had disappeared, in fact I felt drained when I left. They still have make your own eggs benny, but are changing their menu and note many items that are no longer available.

Fantastic!
I’m a huge fan of breakfast food and this place serves it well into the afternoon! Although the service is kind of slow, the food quality definitely makes up for it (not to mention the inexpensiveness of the dishes!).
And sure the décor isn’t that great, but it’s family-​run and they are just so darn nice!

I’ve passed by this place so many times and never ventured in. Maybe it’s because it just doesn’t look as funky as Joe’s Grill, or Sophie’s and such, so never thought much of it, but I finally tried it and loved it.
It was very busy and so service was a might slow, but still charming and pleasant. They made a mistake with my order, but were very accommodating about addressing it. The quality of the food was very good. Maybe not the best fries, but decent enough. Home fries were pretty good. My Benny was very good and my wife and daughter had the chicken Caesar wrap and club, which was very good. Coffee is excellent too. Bit on the dark roast side for me, but very good quality.
So i have found a new diner near home, which is great!

Some points of interest:
1) ALL DAY BREAKFAST. ahhhhhhhh yaaaa, boyyyyyyy!
2) It’s «9^th Avenue Grill» not «Nineth Avenue Grill»
3) This family-​run hole-​in-​the-​wall provides quick service, not-​so-​greasy greasy spoon fare and fairly-​priced fare (yikes…that was an awkward sentence… almost as awkward as that salty dark chocolate I tried last night).
4) This place beats the crap out of corporate Denny’s, which is just up the street along Broadway.
5) I had one of the best omelettes of my life here. The ingredients, preparation and presentation of this Greek omelette weren’t out of the ordinary, but the ratio betwixt the feta, spinich, tomato and egg was perfect. The chef (or produce supplier) also removed those pesky spinich stems too, which I dislike chewing.