where jess ate

When my mom came to visit from Vancouver one weekend, I had to take her out for brunch – my favourite meal of the day! Given that there are so many great brunch options in the Toronto, I had a hard time narrowing it down. Since I’ve been hearing great things about the brunch at L’Ouvrier lately, I decided to take her there.

L’Ouvrier opens for brunch on weekends at 11am, a little later than most brunch spots. My mom and I arrived ten minutes early but since it was pouring rain, one of the servers let us in early.

The space has a modern and minimalist feel to it and looks as if the old space was completely stripped down. I liked that the tables were spread out as opposed to many other brunch spots that have you sitting inches from the table next to you.

The restaurant has a cute feel to it, with its mismatched teacups, flowers in an old Buckley’s medicine bottle and an old whiskey bottle filled with water for the table.

I have a weak spot for fresh scones and donuts so whenever I see them on the menu, it’s almost a guarantee I’ll get them.  My brunch at L’Ouvrier was no different and we started with the Daily Homemade Scones – with preserves and crème fraiche ($6).

The order came with two large, hot scones. While they were moist and tasted delicious with the preserves and crème fraiche, they were on the dense side. Since the scones were so large and heavy, the two of us shared one scone and packed the second to go. I have to say, it held up quite nicely until the next day.

My mom decided to go with the Grilled Cheese – with aged cheddar and raisin-walnut bread ($10). I don’t think I’d ever order this on my own since the raisin-walnut bread didn’t sound too appealing to me. But boy was I wrong. The grilled cheese sandwich was delicious and the stand-out was really the bread! The grilled cheese came with a side salad consisting of fresh arugula. A nice refreshing side to offset the rich sandwich.

For my main, I also went with a sandwich, the Fried Egg Sandwich – aged cheddar, house smoked bacon and fries ($13). When my mom ordered the grilled cheese, the server told her it was a great choice and that the bread it’s served on is amazing. When the server informed me the sandwich I ordered was just on regular white bread, I should have realized it was a tip for me to change my order.

The sandwich was served on plain, white, buttery bread. The egg was nicely fried with a runny yolk that coated the sandwich. Although the sandwich was tasty, I wouldn’t say it was anything special. However, I will say one thing. The sandwich was served with their house smoked bacon which blew my mind. I couldn’t finish the sandwich, but I made sure I got my hands on every last bit of bacon in it.

My fried egg sandwich came with a mountain of fries, so you won’t leave hungry! I’m not sure if this was an off day but sadly they weren’t as crispy as I would have liked.

Overall, my mom and I had a nice mother-daughter brunch at L’Ouvrier. I enjoyed the atmosphere and since the tables were spaced out, we were able to catch up without extra ears listening in on our conversation. Food-wise, there were some high points in the meal however I don’t think anything was special enough to bring me back… for brunch, that is. Dinner at L’Ouvrier is still on my list!
 

At a glance:
• Open for brunch on weekends at 11am
• Delicious house-smoked bacon
• Modern/minimalist decor
• Located on Dundas, near Bathurst

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 3 stars
• Service: 4 stars
• Atmosphere: 4 stars