My Blog = My Life: Robinson Street

Word has it that Cafe Orange, home of very good coffee, has shut down for renos for an undetermined amount of time.

In place of the cafe, it seems that a combination sushi/coffee bar will open in Cafe Orange's spot.

Combining anything with sushi is always a bit of a gamble, especially considering that Regina's sushi scene is (quite possibly) nearing saturation. A few years ago we had only three or four places doing sushi around town. Now there are as many as ten, including the new Sake Japanese and Korean restaurant just a few blocks away from Cafe Orange's Robinson Street location off 13th Avenue.

Let's hope this business venture pays off for Cafe Orange's owners. Details on the reopening date will be posted as soon as they're known.

On Wednesday, I expressed some disappointment that the former Cafe Orange (now going by the name Orange Izakaya) reopened a month ago but hadn't served any food yet.

Lucky me, Orange rolled out its lunch menu today. It looks like a mix of fairly traditional Japanese and Korean dishes (mainly Korean). This is somewhat interesting because izakaya means "pub" in Japanese. Typically an izakaya serves small plates of Japanese food. Some compare it to Spanish tapas (in terms of size, not flavour).

That being said, I look forward to tasting what the new Orange has to offer.

Word has it that a full dinner menu will be up and running next week.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the fantastic makeover given to Cafe Orange on Robinson Street, near the 13th Avenue Safeway.

The place has been all dolled up and looks like it's ready to roll. The problem? They're only serving coffee and some rather lackluster desserts at the moment.

When I stopped in on June 25 to order a coffee (which was very good, I might add), the woman working the till told me that food service would be a reality by Canada Day, or perhaps a day or so later.

I went by Cafe Orange again earlier today (July 7, for the record) just to see what the situation was. Once more, I was told that food service is coming soon. Hopefully by Friday... maybe Monday.

This strikes me as more than a little strange. Customers have been looking forward to the new Cafe Orange for months. A little suspense can be a good thing. But keep people waiting for too long and they'll eventually lose interest.

Cafe Orange, it's time to fire up the ovens, take off the training wheels, and become a full-fledged restaurant. You reopened a month ago. You have the potential to be one of the city's best restaurants.

Now please serve us some food so that we can judge for ourselves.