Reliable Tim Hortons while on the Go

On the first Saturday of October, we dropped my Mother-in-Law at the airport for a 7 A.M. flight. Of course she had to be at the gate for 6:30 A.M. ready for boarding.  Great, up at 4 A.M. and ready to leave by 4:45 A.M.

There is only one thing someone needs after arriving at the airport with bags in hand at the ungodly hour at 5:15 A.M., a cup of coffee.  We checked in, got the baggage tag and before heading to security, stopped off at the 3rd floor Food Court of the Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International Airport that has Booster Juice, Harvey's, Rideau Bar & Grill, and of course, a Tim Hortons (1000 Airport Parkway Private, Ottawa).

This Tim Hortons is a full service store front with shared seating to the side.  If you arrive early enough for your flight in the morning be sure the check in first before proceeding to the food court area.  Some airlines hand out free newspapers (example: Westjet offers complimentary copies of the Globe & Mail and the Ottawa Citizen) as well the food court area is at the top of the escalators from the third floor down to the second floor and security.

I lined up at the counter watching the operation overall.  There were two American customers over at the bakery waiting for their breakfasts being put together. They were dumbfounded that they do no receive their orders for their breakfast sandwiches at the cash register where they ordered like at McDonald's but over at the bakery area.  They were talking with the lady making their sandwiches about what Tim Hortons offered.  It was quickly noticeable these two gentlemen were not Canadian, any Canadian would know how the average Tim Hortons operated. The lady took her sweet time putting together the two Americans' sandwiches.  I took note of this and decided to skip anything that would have to be prepared in the bakery area.

I moved forward in line and placed my order.

The Order: 1 Medium Black coffee and 1 Boston Cream Donut

The coffee was poured in seconds and my donut retrieved without any complaint. The pricing was consistent with all Tim Horton's pricing I had experienced in the Ottawa area.  Sometimes other chains allow the prices of their food to fluctuate depending on the market.  This results in chains like Burger King and McDonald's having exorbitant pricing at counters in movie theatres and airports.  Thus, to Tim Hortons' credit, they kept the pricing exactly the same as any other location in Ottawa.

I ventured over to the common eating area for all of the airport's food court restaurant counters and had a seat.  The coffee was exactly as I would find it elsewhere.   The donut, the same.

Overall, the Tim Horton's on the third floor food court of the Ottawa International Airport before security is matches up service and taste wise to other Tim Hortons found elsewhere in Ottawa.  This is noticeable as sometimes institutions and movie theaters like to jack up prices of the food available at their locations as they have captive customers.  The only downfall I noticed of this location is the slow bakery preparation on the back end.  But this could happen, and has happened, at other Tim Hortons locations and comes down to experience and training of the employees.  For a quick bite to eat before heading through security to your flight, this location should be a stop for you before saying "Bon Voyage!"