Nestle Chocolate Cookie Accompanied by M&Ms on a Saturday

Last Saturday I found myself downtown to do some shopping along Ottawa's Rideau Street.  Knowing I would be down there I grabbed a coupon with the idea of stopping off for a warm drink and a cookie at the Nestle Toll House Cafe (140 Rideau Street, Ottawa).

Nestle, the kid famous chocolate maker, looks to have started their own chain of chocolate based cafes featuring chocolate inspired baked goods coupled with specialty coffees and teas.

I arrived shortly after 10 am to find the location at Rideau & Nicholas empty except for one employee behind the counter.  This employee kindly continued about her business after looking up and noticing I was perusing the menu and the large display cases at the front of the store.

Once I figured out what cookie I wanted and what was my best hot drink of choice, I merely let the employee know and I ordered.

The Order:  1 16 Oz Regular Hot Chocolate and 1 M&M Rainbow Chocolate Chip cookies.

Nestle Toll House Cafe's 16 Oz Regular Hot Chocolate & Rainbow M&M Chocolate Chip Cookie

The odd part came after ordering.  I had handed over the coupon before and the employee looked at it, read it, and read it again.  She tried at least three times the order with the coupon discount.  Each time she failed and ultimately worked out just charging me on a calculator for the hot chocolate and gave me the total.  From there I handed over payment and received my change.  Still can't figure out how the coupon process had not been implemented considering the coupon I was using I had held onto for more than three weeks before using.

The Hot Chocolate was average store hot chocolate with nothing overly chocolaty or special about it. At $3.95 it was a o.k. but nothing to drive out of the way for.

Rainbow M&M Chocolate Chip Cookie

The Rainbow M&M Chocolate Chip Cookie was pretty good. The mixture of the traditional gooey chocolate chip cookie that Cookie Monster would give a fury thumbs up too, coupled with the addition of the crunch of M&Ms makes it an interesting snack.  ]

Oddly though Nestle decided to concoct the delectable cookies creation using Mars' M&Ms instead of Nestle's very own Smarties.    Perhaps this is done to ensure conformity in the manufacturing process of the cookie as Smarties in the chocolate version are not widely found in the United States.

Overall, Nestle Toll House Cafe is an interesting addition to the coffee / cafe scene in Ottawa and beyond. With a bright modern interior and friendly service this cafe is a great addition to Rideau Street.  However, most concerning was the emptiness of the cafe on a Saturday morning.  But perhaps it fills up later in the afternoon as more shops and services open for a busy afternoon. One can only hope as without customers this beacon hope on an otherwise sketchy Rideau Street may be snuffed out.