Osborne Village Café—Your urban diner.

Well, it’s week one and I have already found my new Sunday morning brunch spot.

On Sunday, with the wonderful company of my boyfriend Cort and our friend Ari, I went to visit Ozzy’s to eat at Osborne Village Café. To be frank, I was kind of terrified to go see what it looked like with fresh/sober eyes in the daytime. I have spent countless nights partying in the hotel’s basement with friends, Dj’s, musicians, and whoever else likes to come down and spend hours on the VLT’s. Regardless of its dirt and grunge, Ozzy’s has drawn large crowds year after year and hosted popular Winnipeg events like Grippin' Grain, Rdy-mix, Big Dancing, just to name a few.

To me, the zoo was strictly an after dark type place and I wanted to keep it that way.

That being said, for the past few months I’d been hearing great things about the little restaurant hidden behind the hotel reception desk. I needed to try it out.

It was 2:00, none of us had eaten, and none of us had bothered to change out of sweat pants. (It was quite liberating actually). Sluggish in our attire and movement, we walked in and sat ourselves.

The place looks like it hasn’t been touched since 1978, there is a waft of blues music every time a server opened the swinging door to the kitchen, the floor is lime green laminate with octagon patterns, the seat cushions are ripped and stained, and there are 10-15 hanging flower pots around the small dining area.

We squished into the small booth and were seen right away by a soft-spoken gentleman who made us feel like we came over to his house for a bite to eat.

The café is similarly priced with locally loved Stella’s Café but offers a non-traditional and humorous approach to its menu.It is clear the café knows its clientèle—conforming to typical “hip” ingredients, the menu featured quinoa pancakes, avocado infused omelettes, chick pea dishes and very creative names.

I ordered “The Hipster” which was an omelet made up of egg whites, cheddar cheese, avocado, tomato, red wine mushrooms, curried chickpeas, and red peppers.

For 10$, it was more than I could've eaten in two settings. It came with toast, fresh fruit, and hashbrowns—which I substituted (free of charge) for quinoa pancakes to feel better about my excessively large calorie intake. Not that it made ANY difference to how full I felt when leaving.

The food tasted fresh and it came out hot within 10-15 minutes.

Cort and Ari both got an omelet named “The Blue Collar”—it included all meats (ham, sausage, pulled pork), onions, and cheddar cheese with extra potatoes.

The atmosphere was exciting and the place was filled with young teens, old men, families, couples, and one awkward first date.

The food was affordable, the atmosphere was very casual and low maintenance, and all-in-all it was a great experience. I can't wait to go back!

Check out more about Osborne Village Café here on their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/theosbornevillagecafe

Next week I will visit NARU SUSHI on Osborne.