where jess ate

After seeing some drool-worthy photos of the Whippoorwill’s (@WhippoorwillTO) brunch on Twitter and Instagram, I had to make it my next brunch destination. The power of social media, eh?

The restaurant, brought to us by Shawn Creamer (who also owns the Dakota Tavern) and Tyler Cunningham (previously from Mildred’s Temple Kitchen) is located in Bloordale (Bloor and Lansdowne) and was previously the home of the Bloordale Pantry. The space has a retro flair with kitschy décor like many brunch restaurants around the city. It occupies a long and narrow space which I imagine fills up quickly during prime time brunch hours.

Coffee is a must in the morning so Mike and I each ordered a cup of Drip Coffee ($1.50) to start off our meal. Free refills is definitely a plus!

Even though it was before 11am, I couldn’t resist ordering the Whippoorwill Burger – ground prime beef, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and Russian dressing on a buttered bun ($14). They were voted the “Best Burger over $10” (NOW Magazine), after all. It’s never too early for a burger, right?

You have the option of adding house smoked maple bacon to your burger for an extra $2.50 but I passed on the bacon. One bite into the burger and I was sold. It was a damn good burger. The juicy patty was cooked to a nice medium rare, the cheese was perfectly melted and the Russian dressing definitely packed a nice punch.

I also have to mention the ridiculously good fries. They aren’t uniform in shape or size but each one was fried wonderfully – extra crispy which is my preference.

Mike decided to order the Poached Eggs – on a buttermilk biscuit with fried Brussels sprouts, house smoked maple bacon and chive & brown butter hollandaise ($14). The runny poached eggs were sandwiched between these delicious moist and fluffy biscuits. The house smoked bacon was a home run and the flavourful hollandaise was spot on. As for the Brussels sprouts, we don’t often see them on brunch menus but this worked incredibly well. Another fantastic dish!

I like ending my meal with something sweet so we also ordered the Apple Pancakes – with maple syrup, glazed apples, walnut crumble and cinnamon cream ($13). You can add bacon to this for an extra $2.50 but since we had already ordered two other dishes, we decided to order the pancakes as is.

Let me tell you, the pancakes tasted as delicious as they looked. While the pancakes were slightly denser than what I usually prefer, I loved the classic combination of the apples, cinnamon and maple. They were the perfect dish to round out a great brunch.

Mike and I were incredibly impressed with what the Whippoorwill had to offer for brunch.  They’re definitely worth checking out but get there early to avoid the brunch rush!

At a glance:
• Located in Bloordale (Bloor and Lansdowne)
• Serves up an amazing brunch on weekends
• Open for dinner everyday except Monday
• The Whippoorwill Burger was voted “Best Burger over $10” (NOW Magazine)

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 4.5 stars
• Service: 4 stars
• Atmosphere: 3 stars