Adventures in travelling to eat, with a dash of culinary history.
Afternoon Tea has so much going for it. Where else do you get to indulge in copious amounts of tea, sweets, scones and Prosecco for hours on end? And who doesn’t love miniature sandwiches? No one, that’s who. The first afternoon tea was held by Anna, the …
I’m so freaking happy the first restaurant in the “up-and-coming” Canary District is finally open. Souk Tabule — the little sister of Toronto’s Middle Eastern restaurant mogul Tabule — is a fast-casual spot I fell in love with in a hurry. If you read my …
On the weekend Adam and I eloped, we decided to do all the things we always talk about doing in Toronto and never do. Venturing east on the Danforth to visit a restaurant that specializes in my favourite breakfast food was one thing we just had to check off the list.
Hollandaise Diner opened late 2015 and has been on my brunch radar for months. This isn’t any old brunch spot: this diner specializes one of my all time favourite dishes — eggs Benedict. I won’t bore you chattering about my love for hollandaise, take one look at my Instagram and you’ll see the plethora of over-table brunch shots oozing with hollandaise.
This place is a local spot through and through. Even though I travelled from the far depths of the Distillery District, I felt at home right away. It’s bright and cheery with white walls and colourful local art, full of families and regulars. It made I lived close by although this would probably make me very fat: They are open every day, even holidays, 7am-3pm.
Our server was beyond kind, and just the right amount of chatty, and got us coffee right away. The all-day breakfast menu has a variety of options, although I don’t know why anyone would order anything but eggs benny. There’s the classic breakfast, frittatas and pancakes for those not hollandaise-inclined.
I went with the build-a-benny option ($11.95). Baked polenta with bacon and classic hollandaise sauce — there are five different types to choose from: classic, coconut, HP infused, cajun and zesty. Served with a pile of homefries, I was happy with my build. The flavour of the hollandaise had the perfect amount of lemon and just creamy enough to coat my medium-poached eggs.
Adam selected from the unique benny concoctions on the menu. He went with the Meatloaf benny ($11.95) with the two slices of meatloaf, mushrooms and topped with HP-infused hollandaise. I wasn’t really on board for the HP-infusedness of this dish, but Adam loved it. To each hollandaise his own.
The Croque Madame eggs benedict ($11.95) boasting grilled cheese as the base, topped with fried ham and classic hollandaise.
The coffee? Pretty good, hot and bottomless at a buck-ninety-nine, which is always a major plus for brunch, especially at that price! If you love eggs benedict even as half as much as I do, head to Hollandaise Diner. Super reasonably priced for brunch in Toronto, a variety of hollandaise, and neighbourly service.
Go forth hollandaise addicts!
2231 Danforth Avenue (nearest subway is Woodbine) | Toronto, ON | (647) 344-7466