On a night out to enjoy one of the traditions that Ottawa has developed, lighting the Christmas lights on Parliamanet Hill, my wife asked if we could visit the new Premier Moisson (120 Universite Private, Ottawa) at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Social Sciences building. We ventured over but not before warning my wife this would be an adventure considering I have never set foot in this brand new building so I have no idea where this restaurant would be.
We arrived shortly after 5 P.M. to find Premiere Moisson easily on the bustling ground floor of the new building. The set up is similar to a one aisle convenience store with a bakery added on. You start one side and work your way around looking at the various baked goods and other wares for purchase.
The main issue with this store is it really does not fit in with the University student culture. I challenge anyone to find a meal at this place for less than $10.00. The footlong sandwiches alone that I spied were about $9.00 before taxes which is a significant challenge considering Subway on nearby Laurier Avenue East is offering a footlong Cold Cut Combo Sandwich for $5.50. Sure the bread at Premier Moisson may be artisian and baked that day, but when your a student every cent counts.
The Croissants were also a little challenging price wise as well. $1.50 for a Croissant when the local Loblaws supermarket are selling them for $0.85 to $1.00? Again, not really price competitive.
There was artisian pasta sauce selling for $7.00 as well which may have given a few students a dream to treat themselves to a night of gourmet dining without having to leave residence.
We approached the checkout and reviewed what we would like to order.
The Order: Nothing!
My wife and I looked at each other and decided there was nothing special about this place except the to look for the Stone Soup Foodworks Truck which happened to be residing at the University of Ottawa for the school year.
Overall, Premiere Moisson is a high priced gourmet food store sandwiched into the Faculty of Social Sciences building at the University of Ottawa. This location is the company's first location in Ontario and at a university campus. Perhaps someone at Premiere Moisson missed the fact that Ottawa's Glebe area would be more suitable considering that customers looking for and affording gourmet foods would more than likely head there as opposed to the University of Ottawa campus. This is mainly because people looking for this type of food are more likely to drive than ride the bus. With the University of Ottawa campus not being the friendliest to drive on, a huge target market would be missed. Thus, it is sad that the University of Ottawa students are stuck with overpriced gourmet food taking up space in a new building as opposed to affordable eating establishment.
I find it hard to read a review that is biased by cost alone, especially in the comparisons to other food outlets on campus. Yes, the price point is significantly high, but the quality of the food is also high. If you don't taste the food, you can't make the judgement of whether there is any bang for the buck. Having had Premiere Moisson food in Montreal for several years and having tasted the products offered at the UofOttawa location, I personally found it worth the money. The food should be compared to Moulin de Provence or the French Baker in the Market, not food trucks or the Upper Crust (also expensive but not as good).
ReplyDeleteHi N Dinh,
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by.
I normally don't comment on a restaurant or food location without eating.
This was only the 2nd time this has happenned on this blog. The first one the restaurant had closed for renovations.
As for Premiere Moisson, I thought about not reviewing it. But I did visit and found the food wasn't right for me due to price. I had also looked at Anne DeBrisay who wrote Ottawa Magazine's review on it and she even noted the price. I reviewed it based on my observations price wise and on who the main clientele would be (i.e. the students).
The food truck I visited afterward, Stone Soup Foodworks, was my back-up plan in case the first one doesn't work out. I've learned as a foodie that you should always have a back up plan in case your choice doesn't work out.
Choices don't work out for several reasons including:
1. Restaurant no longer exists (i.e. closed down) or has closed for a short time for renovations.
2. The restaurant has too long a wait. Why wait 30+ minutes for a meal if your back up restaurant nearby has a shorter wait?
3. Kitchen closed - happened once to me on a New Years Eve where the kitchen closed early but the pub across the street was still open and serving food.
Thus, I did think about not posting, but thought the feedback on the pricing issue being the main reason I did not purchase food needed to be let known.
Thank you again for visiting my blog,
Michael
I'm a student at the university, and I go there usually once every two weeks when the rest of the food on campus just wont suffice. Its really hard to find quality food on campus, and for the same price at the cafeteria, you get much worse food, and not much quantity wise either. I agree that it's expensive, but no more than the rest of the food options at the university.
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