To most of the world she's known as Julia Roberts, Hollywood movie star, but to Falafel Place owner Ami Hassan, the woman in the big sunglasses and hat was just another customer looking for a table for her family during the Father's Day brunch rush.

The Oscar-winner and star of many mega-hit films, including Pretty Woman and Erin Brockovich, happened to arrive at Hassan's restaurant on Corydon Avenue on Sunday at 10:30 a.m., along with her husband and three children.

"I opened the door. I said, 'Good morning everybody,'" Hassan said.

"I said, 'We are quite full right now, but if you guys want to go for a walk for half an hour I promise you that when you will be back … I'll get you a table.'"

Roberts's husband, cinematographer Daniel Moder, is currently working on the Sean Penn-directed film Flag Day, which is shooting in Winnipeg, according to the entertainment website IMDb.

The family thanked Hassan and turned around, at which point one of Hassan's servers spoke up and told him not to send them away.

"I said, 'What are you talking about? She's just a regular person,'" Hassan said.

"He said, 'No, she's a famous lady from Hollywood.' Meantime, she walks out, comes back a half an hour later, I sit them down, I still don't know who they are."

Julia Roberts and her family visited Falafel Place on Corydon Avenue on Sunday. (Submitted by Ami Hassan)

'People were quiet'

Roberts ordered a muffin, then a falafel. After the family ordered their meals, one of Hassan's other customers asked him whether he knew who he had sitting in his restaurant.

"People were quiet. There was silence in the restaurant for about 20 minutes," Hassan recalled.

He confesses he hasn't seen any of Roberts's movies. But when she took her hat off and he looked at her, he recognized her face.

"Very nice person, and her husband. They were very quiet, the children never said anything. I think they were shocked," Hassan said.

They seemed to enjoy their meal, finishing everything, he says. Then they got up from the table and left.

"They're just like regular people," he said.

"After that people said to me, 'Wow. I mean, she came here from all the restaurants in Winnipeg, on Father's Day. You should be very proud.' I said, 'I am.'"

Roberts visited La Carnita twice

Falafel Place isn't the only Winnipeg dining establishment Roberts visited while she was in town. The general manager of La Carnita says she ate at the Main Street taqueria two days in a row last week.

She came in on Wednesday with a group of people for dinner, then came back the next day for lunch with her kids, said Quynn Skrumeda.

"I am under the impression that she likes our food," he said with a laugh. "If she came back two days in a row it must be, unless everywhere else in the area is full — but probably not."

The restaurant has served other celebrities in the past, including Drake and members of the Winnipeg Jets, said Skrumeda, and staff follow a policy of not getting overtly excited about their famous guests.

Although they played it cool on the outside, the excitement was clear in conversations among the staff, he said.

"Our staff had been messaging our work chat saying, 'Hey, Julia Roberts was just here,'" said Skrumeda.

"And a bunch of the staff were upset that they didn't get to be here for it, because they always miss when celebrities come in. And so we actually had some of that staff on for lunch the next day when she was here and they were all super blown away."

Skrumeda was working on Thursday, when the restaurant was hosting a party, and said none of the other patrons appeared to notice Roberts.

"She got to eat her meal in peace and pay and leave really nicely."