Toronto's new brunch spot is convincing carnivores to go vegan
The hottest new all-day brunch destination to arrive in Toronto is not only totally vegan, it's run by a totally vegan family.
Revelstoke Cafe touched down in Toronto in mid-November 2022 after opening an original location in Peterborough four years ago.
If you're familiar with the geography of British Columbia, you might have already picked up on the fact that that the name of the restaurant is an homage to all things BC and the wonderful vegan food found there.
It's co-owned by father and son team Jeff and Conner Clarkin, who are both vegan.
"My son and his wife drove across Canada. When they stopped into Revelstoke they came across a cafe that had the vibe and ambience that they both loved," Jeff Clarkin tells blogTO.
"When they came back we didn't want to take the name of the cafe so we decided to go with the name of the city. Both my son and his wife are vegan and they wanted to keep the cafe vegan as well."
That means Bennies made with black salt tofu and seitan peameal to replicate ham and eggs, all doused in their house hollandaise.
The menu is very BC-inspired with options like a West Coast Breakfast tofu scramble with seitan bacon, mushroom hash with kale and tofu egg, and avocado toast.
Less brunch-y options keep the BC theme going strong with items with names like the Base Camp Burger, Stoked Lentil Burger, The Stoker (a sandwich with rice paper bacon and house bread) and an Apres-Ski Burrito.
One of the items they've become most known for is their "salt and pepper oysters," which are essentially oyster mushrooms that imitate chicken wings by being battered, fried and tossed in salt and pepper.
"We have lots of innovations and we are always trying new ones as well," says Clarkin.
"But the two most exciting ones recently are the oyster mushroom wings and of course our Benny, which is mostly because of our bacon that we make in house."
Their innovation extends to their drink menu as well, offering classic hot and cold drinks as well as some more creative options like a range of lemonades: matcha, blue matcha and elderberry hibiscus.
Back in Peterborough, the family actually runs a vegan bakery as well called Revelstoke Bake House, where they apply their innovative mindset to items like blueberry focaccia, brownie-topped donuts and Biscoff-stuffed vanilla cupcakes.
"Our bakery in Peterborough has great cinnamon buns and scones, but we currently have no plans of opening one in Toronto," says Clarkin.
For now, they're just happy with their new restaurant location which Clarkin says was "exactly what we were looking for."
"We've been looking for a place in the east end of the city for a while but when the spot in Cabbagetown came up it was perfect," says Clarkin.
"As for the future, we hope that we can open more restaurants in other markets, but for now we are focusing on making Toronto a successful venture."
Fareen Karim
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