We were working from home this Monday and decided to pop out for a quick brunch at Le Petit Dejeuner. The diner is a local hotspot on King East that normally has huge lines on the weekends, which has prevented us from being able to experience the little lunch. Lucky for us, on this cold, slushy weekday afternoon, there was no waiting required!
We were immediately hit with the sweet smell of french toast and waffles when we entered. Filled with red hues, dark green booths, and old timey music playing off the record player, the restaurant was a petite, cozy and warm change of setting.
Sweet & Savoury Daily Special ($15.00)
N ordered one of the two daily specials the server read out: The Sweet & Savoury Special. It came with french toast, scrambled eggs, apple slaw and homemade sausage terrine.
The french toast was fantastic- crunchy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. It seemed like the crunch came from a delightful combination of butter and sugar crust, which made this one of the best french toasts we’ve had in the city.
The scrambled eggs were good: they were mildly fluffy and salted well. The sausage terrine was something different; it was basically a ground meat patty. N is generally a fan of ground beef kabobs- which it tasted like, so she didn’t mind it at all. The spices in there were also just right. H on the other hand wasn’t a big fan and would have preferred a more classic breakfast sausage.
Finally, the apple slaw was a great addition to the meal. It was a medley of thinly sliced apples and pickles with a tangy sauce (kind of like thousand islands dressing).
H ordered the Eggs Benjamin: eggs benedict over smoked Atlantic salmon with a side of potatoes rosti and apple slaw.
The eggs benny was delicious. The english muffin was liberally buttered and well toasted, which paired well with the smoked salmon and rich, creamy and light-on-lemon hollandaise sauce. The smoked salmon, in particular, had a great texture and was mild in flavour- not fishy at all. It didn’t detract from the symphony of flavours from the rest of the dish. Having the tangy bites of apple slaw in between was an unexpectedly refreshing palette-cleanser.
Unfortunately, the potatoes rosti was the weakest link in the meal. They were charred and had a burnt flavour. H usually loves shredded, fried potatoes but in this case due to the over-frying, we the taste of potatoes was buried under the burned mess.
Finally, we had a coffee ($2.50) and cappuccino ($3.50) with our meals. The cappuccino was on the bitter end, which might not be everyone’s cup of ‘cino but we loved it. The coffee was fair trade, which is something we really value.
As a quick aside, hot sauces are alway an important part of any brunch for us. Le Petit Dejeuner had the Supernova hot sauce, a flavourful, local, sauce that was on the more mild side.
Overall, Le Petit Dejeuner is an excellent brunch spot and lives up to its hype. Perhaps it’s worth braving the long line on a Sunday afternoon for a taste of that warm french toast on a cold January day.
Taste: 4/5
Presentation: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Value: 4/5
Final Score:
