If you’re pining for a new spot for casual dining, there is one in Guelph for you to enjoy a meal and more.
Queen’s Café opened in September on Victoria Road South. Owned by Ron Hill and his partner Tammy Hsieh, the sharp-looking spot has been doing well since opening, says Hill.
“So far so good, we’ve been getting busier and busier every week, just from word of mouth (and talk on line),” he says.
The place is huge on casual dining, say Hsieh and Hill.
“We’re casual dining. We use fresh and local whenever we can. We wanted to come up with a place that was casual, that is reasonably priced where people can come and get a good meal,” says Hill.
“It’s reasonably priced, and everything is made in house,” says Hsieh.
Among menu options throughout various parts of the day are pan-roasted chicken supreme, beef short ribs, coconut shrimp, antojitos, soup, salads, a buttermilk chicken sandwich, pastrami on rye, avocado toast, steak and eggs, buttermilk pancakes and more.
The restaurant is open at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday to Friday and opens at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday for breakfast.
This coming weekend, they expect to have their liquor license and beer and wine will be served when they get it.
The restaurant is a hometown love for the partners as they both live in Guelph. Hill was born here while Hsieh was born in Taiwan and came to Canada about a decade ago.
The name Queen’s Café is quite a fitting one, given its location.
“Tammy came up with it,” says Hill. “We were jotting down names and she came up with Queen’s Café and I liked it, it sounded good and then I thought — why Queen’s Café?”
“Well, we’re on the corner of Victoria and Elizabeth,” says Hsieh. “I asked Ron, I said: ’Elizabeth and Victoria, both queens?’”
Hsieh says she’s had some fun with some customers about the name.
“I would ask: ‘I’m going to give you a quiz. I will be back and you see if you can give me an answer as to why it’s called Queen’s Café,” she says.
“And they said: ‘Oh is it because you’re a queen?’ I said: ‘no, no, no, no,’” she laughs.
“And then they say: ‘Oh is it because Guelph is the Royal City?’ and I’ll say: ‘You’re getting close!”
The pair makes a good team at the restaurant; Hill is the chef.
“And Tammy, she’s irreplaceable, she does it all,” says Hill.
Queen’s Café is located at 48 Victoria Rd. S.
