Restaurant Review: A&W at Dawn
Duncan BC's only A&W is a popular breakfast stop for the older set—but how does it fare for a town newbie?
Note: Every morning at 5am, I head to the swimming pool for my daily routine. Right next door sits the A&W, where old-timers gather for $1 coffee and town gossip. That’s where my day really begins.
The regulars at A&W—savvy about contemporary epicurean etiquette—know that most cutting-edge bistros refuse reservations.
So, approximately 20 minutes before Allen & Wright opens its Duncan doors, loyal patrons wait in their idling trucks listening to classic rock, while others line up outside the entrance, shuffling from foot to foot, until a young staff member unlatches the deadbolt.
Cigarettes are extinguished and the regulars pour in.
And this is what makes the Duncan A&W special:
Lined up on the counter are 20 pre-poured cups of coffee in a perfect row; an innovative, scout’s honour assembly line. Tills be damned! Loonies hit the countertop in a metallic musical refrain, and the coffees are snatched up in seconds by the regulars.
With mugs held hot in wrinkled hands, each clique finds its own space, unquestioned and unchallenged. There’s Vic’s table near the back window that sits six; Daisy and the gals perch near the pop dispenser; Harold holds court with three tables dragged together.
Every regular catches up on what transpired in Duncan over the last 20 hours. So many experts. So many thumbs in suspenders. So many stories. Empty creamers and brown stir sticks litter the tabletops.
I think I’ve found it.
Long before the roosters crow and the Chubby Chickens are breaded….this is The Early Morning Townhall for the entire Cowichan Valley.
And the coffee we all come for? The A&W roast possesses a unique, earthy flavour with notes of caramel and slight hints of citrus. During February, a cup (of any size) cost $1.00. But this reviewer would gladly pay $1.50 or even $1.75 for its complexity.
Bonus points that each cup is bottomless with free refills. (I once had 8 large cups of black coffee for one dollar, and forgot how to get home).
So a big huzzah for Allen & Wright’s morning brew that the farmers, the insomniacs, and the ladies (dressed in their Sunday best) wait for, its warmth and comfort beating the rising sun.
The menu that Allen & Wright carefully curated dovetails nicely with its retro-family-style decor (brilliantly executed, by the way; the orange and brown motif nods to both 1970s chic and charming shades of vomit).
The egg yolks are perfectly prepared to order, and arrive in a pale yellow hue, much like the colour of an old motel curtain. The hashbrowns have an inner profiterole of silken grease that coats your palate with each decadent bite.
Allen & Wright’s sausages balance that puzzling porky creaminess with tiny balls of gristle, giving each bite a textural surprise. Sometimes you just have to swallow them whole if the package is too much to culinarily comprehend.
Each breakfast plate comes garnished with a beautifully bright red tomato that makes the entire dish pop with freshness. In all my visits, however, I have yet to see one consumed.
In the cock-a-doodle-doo crack of dawn, the A&W old timers are full of piss and vinegar and cream and sugar. The place booms with infectious laughter, teasing, lively debates, and local scuttlebutt. Recurring topics include: auto parts, grandchildren, inflation, and more auto parts.
Since the demise of enforced formality in restaurants decades ago, Allen & Wright embraces a very casual dress code—one that pays homage to an unintentional hipster pastiche. Work boots are the current fad, and safety vests accented in stunning neon orange stripes seem to be the fashion of the spring season.
And like the old-school steak houses that once provided underdressed patrons with ‘sport coats’ for the evening, I’m told A&W will be happy to loan you a camouflage ball cap to fit with its clientele. It’s only a rumour, but one I hope materializes.
After a month of drinking dollar(!) coffee at dawn, this critic feels qualified to paint an accurate picture of Allen & Wright’s atmosphere for you, readers.
Yes, the java beans are not artisan quality. The food is fast. Too fast. The customers dominate seats needed for other families. The bathrooms should be avoided at certain times of the morning. Especially after six cups of coffee.
Doesn’t matter. Because I’ll often skip the swimming pool and my health regime to absorb the sense of a passionate small town gathered in a small space. I’ll gladly trade a swimsuit for a saturated study of A&W at dawn.
I never walk out of that place without a lift. Without some nugget of absurd knowledge. Without cheap caffeine coursing through my brain.
At Duncan’s A&W, I’ve met town counselors, a Quw’utsun man making me a necklace, paramedics, a guy in hospital PJs and bare feet, town historians, a wonderful staff, bullshitters, booksellers, mechanics, musicians, a pastor, a 90-year-old vaudevillian, a guy to fix our plumbing, and a nice woman who spotted me coins for a coffee when my change was left in the car.
I found Duncan’s early morning heartbeat. And free coffee refills.
For that, I give it 10/10.
Happy to say, my husband is one of the "oldtimers" in this article. He NEVER misses his "Wednesday coffee". I do not participate as this is his 'group". They have been meeting there for at least 10 years.
Thanks for nearly making me spit out my coffee with “ The egg yolks are perfectly prepared to order, and arrive in a pale yellow hue, much like the colour of an old motel curtain.” Being relatively new to the area after returning home to BC following nearly 30 years out of the country I can’t tell you how much I love that little town. Reminds me of the way Kelowna used to be when I grew up there waaaaaayyy before it became the hollow mallscape it is now. Thanks for capturing a piece of what makes it so perfect 🙏 But stop telling folks. It should stay a secret!