Hotel brunch in Toronto might conjure up visions of lacklustre continential breakfasts or rubbery scrambled eggs in warming trays - but such is not the case in a world class city like ours. Toronto hotels have seriously stepped up their game in recent years, attracting international culinary talent and big-money restaurants ready to pull out all the stops and brunch menus are no exception. No need to book a room!
Here are my picks for the top hotels for brunch in Toronto.
Shangri-La Hotel
Bosk, the other restaurant at this University Ave. hotel, offers a prix fixe brunch menu on weekends from 11am to 2pm. Two courses priced at $39 per person offer selections of freshly baked viennoiserie, cheese and charcuterie or beef tartare to start, plus hearty morning fare like cornflake-crusted brioche french toast or smoked salmon benedicts. Coffee, tea or juice is included.
Four Seasons
Cafe Boulud at this Yorkville hotel offers a two-course brunch menu on Sundays for $42. Start with a berry parfait or mushroom tarte flambee before moving on to duck confit hash topped with a poached egg, or boudin blanc, a truffled pork sausage served with fried eggs.
SoHo Hotel Metropolitan
Start with a cup of tea at Susur Lee's Luckee restaurant, which does a dim sum brunch on weekends from 11am to 2:30pm. Order steamed dumplings, fried spring rolls, pot stickers and bao a la carte off the menu, or sample by pointing to whatever looks good as rolling service carts pass by.
Trump International Hotel
Sunday brunch at Stock Restaurant is a weekly celebration held from 11am to 3pm. Priced at $49 per guest, the brunch buffet offers traditional breakfast favourites like eggs and waffles made to order, as well as an oyster and raw bar, seafood display and carving station featuring succulent Tomahawk roast. Chocolates and desserts from the hotel pastry chefs and master chocolatiers sweeten the deal. Did we mention there's bottle service?
Ritz-Carlton
Brunch at TOCA at the Ritz-Carlton hotel is a lavish, all-inclusive affair where even the mimosas and bellinis are bottomless. For the set price of $79, the market-style buffet is worth the splurge, featuring stations for eggs any way, fresh baked goods, hand-carved meats, chilled and raw seafood, and a creperie or showpiece chocolate fountain.
The Beverley Hotel
Brunch, served from 10am on weekends at this Queen West hotel, lists all the requisite morning standards like eggs, bennies and pancakes - surely a comfort to travellers looking for something familiar. For locals, this is a place to be pampered, sipping cocktails while brunching on luxe dishes like lobster and grits ($18), lobster banh mi ($18) or breakfast bone marrow canoe ($15).
The Drake Hotel
Brunch at this boutique hotel is served on weekends from 9am to 4pm and features morning standards like breakfast burritos ($13), pancakes ($13) and smoked salmon-stacked bagels ($12), as well as some more unusual offerings. Their kitchen always keeps things interesting - you'll find sweet and savoury united on one plate with chicken and waffles ($16), while the "rubenesque benny" ($17) with a poached egg over corned beef and sauerkraut is a mash-up of two classics.
Thompson Hotel
There are soon to be two brunching options at this boutique hotel on Bathurst. The 24-hour Diner is as always, a reliable source for breakfast; brunch is served weekends from 11am to 4pm, with a menu featuring fluffy buttermilk pancakes ($17), benedicts ($16.50) and crepes ($17). Also at the Thompson Hotel, the newly opened Colette Grand Cafe is set to launch a Parisian bistro-style brunch after Labour Day.
The Gladstone
Served Saturdays and Sundays from 8am to 4pm, the brunch menu at this West Queen West boutique hotel offers a satisfying selection that includes everything from granola and Greek yogurt bowls ($8) to hearty lumberjack breakfasts ($15) complete with eggs, bacon, red-skinned potato hash and a short stack of buttermilk pancakes. From 11am on, brunch bevvies include mimosas ($9), caesars ($6.50) and bellinis ($8).
King Edward Hotel
Brunch at this landmark Toronto hotel is held Sundays from 11:30am to 2pm in the Sovereign ballroom. Priced at $53 per person, the weekly buffet is plentifully stocked with fresh baked goods, eggs cooked to order, charcuterie, chilled and smoked seafoods, salads, carving stations, a juice and smoothie bar and an array of sweets.
Did I miss any? Leave your favourite hotel brunch in the comments. Photo from the Drake Hotel on Flickr.
by Liora Ipsum via blogTO
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