The Best New Brunch Restaurants in Toronto, 2011

The best new brunch restaurants in Toronto carry on the glorious tradition of finding bigger and better things to do with hollandaise. With so many brunch options in the city already, the best of the new offerings have to get more creative than the typical bacon and eggs. For some restaurants that means adding a little pumpkin spice to their waffles or frying up a duck hash, and for more than a few it translates to whipping up their own ketchup and preserves.

The stars of the Toronto brunch scene â that is, the Mitzi's, the Lady Marmalades, the Edward Levesque's â have built loyal followings based on their unique twists on classics, balance of sweet and savoury options, and solid reputations for plain good food, and the best of the newbies all seem to place priority on these same qualities. That and great hollandaise, but that goes without saying. Here is the list of the best brunch restaurants that opened in 2011.

The Ace

The Ace on Roncesvalles finally got its revival late 2011, and hungry patrons celebrated with cheddar biscuits and Huevos Rancheros. A long way (but not too far) from its original diner glory, the revamped restaurant went with a classic, comfort food brunch of steel-cut oats, eggs, French toast, and homefries.

Barque Smokehouse

I’m fairly sure Barque Smokehouse became so popular so quickly in large part because of its Bacon Caesar cocktail. So simple, so genius, and so perfect for a leisurely midday Sunday meal. Unfortunately, Barque Smokehouse, like others on this list, has been thoroughly discovered, but its Barque Benedict with smoked brisket and BBQ hollandaise make it worth the inevitable wait.

Chadwick's

An ethical brunch, and tasty at that. Fanny Chadwick’s hasn’t been shy about letting people know about its local sourcing and hormone-free meats, though most customers seem more taken with its build-your-own-benny brunch option. Almost everything at Fanny Chadwick’s is natural and homemade, right down to the ketchup for the hash and the marshmallow for the hot chocolate.