Cheeky Neighbour Diner

Daily Brunching on Quinpool Road

BY LAURA OAKLEY
PHOTOS MICHELLE DOUCETTE

I can’t believe my ears when I ask Drew Voegeli to remind me how long Cheeky Neighbour Diner has been open. It’s my second time interviewing him and writing about the diner since he shut down Relish Gourmet Burgers at the corner of Quinpool Road and Robie Street and went instead in the direction of a fun, quirky all-day breakfast and brunch joint with Cheeky. “We opened in December 2019. We're three and a half years right now. We got a couple of months in, and then covid popped up,” says Voegeli. I quickly tell him that Cheeky is a place that already feels like it’s been there forever. “That was always the goal, was to create a neighbourhood diner,” says Voegeli. “Because we wanted to create that whole concept and vibe and become a part of the city.”

With lineups outside its door most days, Cheeky has certainly become enough Haligonians’ go-to breakfast, brunch and lunch destination to consider the concept a success. “We feel we’ve achieved that—every day we’re pinching ourselves and have a lot of gratitude for how many people are coming in.” As we chat, at the end of a weekday shift, Voegeli is rolling up cutlery for the next day’s service and cashing out the last couple of tables. The simple space hasn’t changed much since it opened—still rocking retro diner tables, eclectic artwork, its signature cat with a monocle logo on the wall, and a merch display on a high shelf behind the bar. Light streams into the space from the wall of windows overlooking the adjacent parking lot. So what keeps customers coming back to Cheeky Neighbour Diner?

“One hundred percent it’s the team. I’ve been so fortunate with my crew,” says Voegeli. His chef Mike Bradley and general manager, Shayne Curran, have been with him since day one. “Number one is the team, and number two—biased opinion—I think the food is very good. We’re making pretty much everything we can here, so it's not a freezer-to-fryer thing going on.” While a few items have come and gone, the menu has generally stayed consistent since Cheeky opened its doors. “We’re doing probably three to four menu changes a year. And basically just kicking off the bottom sellers, adjusting a few items,” says Voegeli. Sometimes, they make changes to popular dishes based on customer feedback. For seasonal influence, Bradley has features to play with. And new menu ideas? They’ve already got those in the bank. “It’s kind of a collaborative effort. A lot of the different ideas come from staff,” says Voegeli. “There’s a board in the back, and it’s already got more ideas on it than we’ll ever actualize.”

The current menu has three sections: fork and knife, handhelds, and “eggs benji.” The benji dishes are Cheeky’s version of eggs benedict, served on East Coast Bakery sourdough bread instead of biscuits. The menu is big, and there is something for everyone, including a couple of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. There are brunch cocktails, wine, three rotating beer taps, and local beer and cider in cans. The coffee is by local roaster Anchored Coffee and served in a very classic diner mug. In a previous issue, I got to taste and write about my still-favourite dish at Cheeky, the epic smoked salmon on a potato waffle, but today I’m here to try a couple of the more internationally-inspired dishes: huevos rancheros and bibim-not.

Most people are familiar with the famous Mexican brunch dish huevos rancheros and Korean staple bibimbap, so I’m naturally curious about where this riff on the latter came from. “I was pushing [Bradley] and bugging him to do noodles. I wanted him to do brunch noodles,” says Voegeli. But the kitchen at Cheeky is small, and Bradley had a better idea to keep things streamlined during a busy service. “To get the Asian-inspired dish on there, he was like, why don’t we do a crispy rice patty?” Says Voegeli.

The bibim-not is a fun play on the classic rice dish incorporating a few other elements. It starts with a crispy rice patty topped with two sunny-side-up eggs covered in a not-too-spicy chilli crisp, sweet char sui style BBQ sauce and thinly sliced green onion. Placed on one side is a generous portion of crispy pork belly and, on the other,
a lovely salad of pickled carrot and daikon, cucumbers and shoots. It has the culinary holy grail of salt, fat, acid, heat, and some sweetness. The texture of the crispy rice patty is perfect for carrying each bite, smothered in runny egg yolk, of course. I thoroughly enjoy this dish.

Huevos rancheros are in the standings for my favourite brunch dishes, and this one is no exception. The base is two layers of crispy tostada and refried black beans, topped with two sunnyside eggs, lavishly drizzled with crema, then fresh cilantro. That’s hugged on each side by sliced, fanned avocado, fresh pico de gallo and pickled red onion. The bright acidity and flavours of the pico de gallo are extremely on point, and there’s hot sauce on the table for those who want it picante. Bradley has nailed this one. Huevos rancheros is supposed to be a marriage of all the textures and flavours, and this one certainly is. A winner, for sure.

Cheeky has the luxury of creating out-there dishes that can still be considered on-brand. The possibilities are endless when your brand is fun, and you never take yourselves too seriously. “We have greasy American to international. We did some absolutely nonsensical dishes that were just silly, for jokes,” says Voegeli of their series of hilarious French toasts (I once tried one here that came with a Ferrero Rocher on top). “We did one with cereal on top. We did a Dunkaroos French toast. Sometimes we make something silly for Instagram. Just having fun in the kitchen, basically.”

That energy comes through for customers, who continue to line up for their favourite diner food at Cheeky. Lucky for all of us, Voegeli says he has no plans to make any significant changes soon. “I like the vibe of hanging out with my crew. Keep it simple,” says Voegeli, who continues to be super hands-on at the diner. Check them out at 6024 Quinpool Road, where they are open daily.

Cheeky Neighbour Diner