Top Five: the best brunch destinations in Toronto
The very best of the Sunday bunch
1 At Bar Buca, pictured above, chef Rob Gentile mixes fresh pig’s blood into the batter for his crêpes, then slathers them with dark chocolate, cream and a spiced liquor. It’s wacky and ridiculously indulgent. 75 Portland St., 416-599-2822.
2 Swiss-born chef Léonie Lilla offers five splendid brunch items each weekend at Farmer’s Daughter, including buckwheat waffles topped with crispy frog legs and drizzled with a sweet-tart maple syrup and red wine reduction. 1588 Dupont St., 416-546-0626.
3 Susur Lee’s Luckee serves posh dim sum all day on pedestal plates, prettified with edible flowers. He coats rings of squid in “golden sand”—a seasoning that hits the ideal balance of salty and spicy. 328 Wellington St. W., 416-935-0400.
4 Takht-e Tavoos, the sunny Iranian brunch restaurant, is loaded with murals, pottery and chandeliers. We love the noon chai shireen, a classic breakfast dish of warm flatbread with halvah, feta, tahini and orange blossom jam. 1120 College St., 647-352-7322.
5 At County General Riverside, the new east-end spinoff of the comfort food destination at Queen and Shaw, brunch offerings include syrup-drizzled French toast topped with crackling southern fried chicken. 798 Queen St. E., 416-781-4743.
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[caption id="attachment_303030" align="aligncenter" width="656"] Bar Buca (Image: Dave Gillespie)[/caption]
1 At Bar Buca, pictured above, chef Rob Gentile mixes fresh pig’s blood into the batter for his crêpes, then slathers them with dark chocolate, cream and a spiced liquor. It’s wacky and ridiculously indulgent. 75 Portland St., 416-599-2822.
2 Swiss-born chef Léonie Lilla offers five splendid brunch items each weekend at Farmer’s Daughter, including buckwheat waffles topped with crispy frog legs and drizzled with a sweet-tart maple syrup and red wine reduction. 1588 Dupont St., 416-546-0626.
3 Susur Lee’s Luckee serves posh dim sum all day on pedestal plates, prettified with edible flowers. He coats rings of squid in “golden sand”—a seasoning that hits the ideal balance of salty and spicy. 328 Wellington St. W., 416-935-0400.
4 Takht-e Tavoos, the sunny Iranian brunch restaurant, is loaded with murals, pottery and chandeliers. We love the noon chai shireen, a classic breakfast dish of warm flatbread with halvah, feta, tahini and orange blossom jam. 1120 College St., 647-352-7322.
5 At County General Riverside, the new east-end spinoff of the comfort food destination at Queen and Shaw, brunch offerings include syrup-drizzled French toast topped with crackling southern fried chicken. 798 Queen St. E., 416-781-4743.){kind=link}
West: 4 East: 1
your selections make no sense. You seem to place emphasis and choice on frivolity rather than good taste. It is unclear to me how you came to this rating…maybe you were dastardly hungry at the time of this writing.
WTF. None of these “picks” has a classic, simple yet delicious brunch. Never mind that most of them are likely ridiculously overpriced, or probably have lineups around the block. I’d rather not wait 45 minutes for a $50 pig’s blood brunch. Sunrise on Roncy is still a favourite,. You can get light options, service is friendly and efficient and the prices are what they should be for BRUNCH.
AND even though it’s busy, you rarely have to wait, and there is zero snobbery. Nothing worse than brunch with a side of pretension…oh, but I forgot what I was reading for a second…it IS Toronto Life, otherwise known as Toronto Rich Life.
In Parkdale, Mata is kilking it right now for brunch! They have the right combination of traditional brunch fare (bennys, bacon, brioche toast), amazing new ingredients like cassava frites (way better and healthier than potato), Poutine of cassava with eggs and caramel banana brioche french toast. And to finish off the perfect set up, they’re cheap and have great, unpretentious service with a very casual atmosphere and intelligenct, funny conversations with the staff (who all happen to be the owners). I would check them out as I feel they should be on this list by being as good as a Farmer’s Sister yet approachable as Sunrise or Easy!
Thanks for this tip. Will def try it.
Sunrise is the Tim Horten’s of the middle class. If I wanted basic eggs and bacon I could make it at home myself. How vulgar!
— Choppork (AKA owner of Mata).
Correction: Partner. Glad your keeping track.