School is a bakery, cafe, bar and restaurant that consistently serves one of the best brunches in the city.

This includes their legendary and over-the-top takes on French toast, pancakes, and even breakfast poutine.

The interior is homey yet industrial with lots of brick and black. Apples on every table and Saved by the Bell on the TV are in keeping with the “school” theme.

Seeing as it’s a bakery there are fresh selections on offer you can ask your server about. They usually feature some kind of cookie like peanut butter, and scone flavours like berry white chocolate or cheddar change up pretty much every other day.

Black n’ Blue Flapjacks ($17) are a standby here, a stack of four dripping with blackberry and blueberry sauce and accompanied by whipped cream.

Eggs whites are whipped separately and incorporated into the pancake batter which give the flapjacks their fluffiness, but despite this fans of very doughy, cakey, thick pancakes will be satisfied here.

So much so, I actually found the bottom layer of the pancakes somewhat difficult to hack through, though the brown sugar butter that accompanies these bad boys could be eaten with a spoon.

For Apple Crumble pancakes ($17), they actually bake an apple crumble separately and take scoops out of the tray to top the flapjacks with. The effect is super sweet with a nostalgic apple flavour, finished off with crushed pecans and a cinnamon sugar dust.

Krispy Krunchy French Toast ($16.75) is super thick, fluffier and softer than the pancakes. I was kind of expecting more of a coating of cereal, but what’s there adds great texture, and the rhubarb strawberry compote is delicious.

Super Cheesy Bacon French Toast ($19) is loaded with melty cheddar-jack cheese, topped with perfectly crispy bacon and served with delectable Ontario No. 2 maple syrup on the side.

This dish could have perhaps been on a slightly larger plate, though overflowing cheese and syrup is never a problem.

The Golden Hashbrown Poutine ($18) is only available on weekends. I was expecting it to be more indulgent, but it actually felt quite vegetal and sophisticated with lots of braised leek, a rosemary mushroom gravy, and a nice tomato chutney.

The Juicy Lunch Lady ($35 for a large beaker) is a mimosa made with D.O.C. prosecco and your choice of vibrant juice: to get this Insta-worthy hue, go blood orange. The taste is as gorgeous as the colour.

Long lineups form at this trendy brunch spot every single weekend, so if you don’t have a reservation be prepared to wait.