where jess ate

Brunch used to be part of our regular Sunday routine but between home renovations and wedding planning, it became a distant memory. With all of that now behind us, I’m hoping it’ll make its way back into our regular weekend schedule. On a recent lazy Sunday morning, we decided to forgo our usual breakfast of bagels and decided to check out the popular Saturday Dinette for brunch.

After a couple other attempts to dine here, we finally made it! Saturday Dinette’s hours are a little unpredictable so I recommend checking their website or Facebook page before dropping by.

Located on the southwest corner of the Gerrard and Logan intersection, the small restaurant has a low-key and homey feel to it with a layout that resembles a diner. There are a number of two-tops along the windows, stools along the counter and several larger tables at the back. The tiny open kitchen is located in the centre of the restaurant and as you’d expect from a small kitchen, the food doesn’t come out lightning fast. Don’t come here if you’re in a rush as the food can take a little while longer with a full house.

Owned by Chef Suzanne Barr, Saturday Dinette also serves as the home of “The Dinettes” programme. According to their website, “The Dinettes programme is to employ women from varied backgrounds looking to get a ‘kickstart’ into the world of cooking and the restaurant business. A tailored designed program with a unique fusion of business disciplines, work experience and complex social support to provide a pathway for young women aged 16-25.” Such a great cause!

Brunch dishes include comfort foods like biscuits & gravy and the ‘SD Brekkie Burger’ as well as lighter options like the scrambled trout hash and the steel-cut oats bowl. Prices range from $12 for herbed poached eggs or pancakes to $17 for “The Jayne Mansfield” which consists of a double stack of pancakes and fried chicken. They also offer an all-day kids menu which includes a single pancake, hamburger or grilled cheese for $6 each.

Normally, I would have gone for the burger or pancakes with fried chicken but we had a pretty heavy dinner the evening before so I opted for the ‘Shrooms on Toast – SD mushroom stout ragu, wilted greens, fried egg, orange pine ricotta ($13) instead.

I really enjoyed the variety of mushrooms in the dish, particularly the king oyster mushrooms which have a meaty quality to them. The ricotta in the dish melted into the mushrooms and while I could see it, it wasn’t as evident taste-wise. The mushrooms were topped with a perfectly fried egg with a runny yolk and the thick slice of toast at the bottom of the dish held up surprisingly well against the juicy mushrooms, ricotta and runny yolk. While I thought the mushrooms were a touch over-salted, I thought it was still a really great dish (especially for a meatless one!). It was also more filling than I expected it to be.

Mike went with the Shakshuka – tomato date ragu, spicy pork kofta, poached egg, markouk flatbread ($15). A vegan/vegetarian option is also available for those who want to go meatless. We both loved the ragu. It was incredibly rich and comforting with a bit of sweetness. The pork kofta was also excellent although we didn’t really find it ‘spicy’ as described on the menu. The only part of the dish I didn’t care for was the flatbread underneath which I found a little dry and crumbly.

We also ordered a side of Hash Browns ($3). They were pan-fried as opposed to deep-fried as they don’t have an industrial-sized deep fryer in the kitchen – just a small one which seemed to be reserved for fried chicken only. There are three small hash browns per order and while they were decent, they weren’t particularly memorable. We probably could’ve done without them.

Overall, we had an enjoyable brunch experience at Saturday Dinette. We’ll definitely be back to try their dinner menu!

At a glance:

• Located on the southwest corner of Gerrard and Logan
• Homey, diner-feel; friendly servers
• Check their website/Facebook page for hours as they can be a little unpredictable
• Reservations accepted for dinner for groups of 4 or more; walk-ins only for brunch
• Brunch entrees range from $12 to $17; all-day kids menu available with dishes for $6 each
• Brunch highlight: shakshuka

Ratings (out of 5):

• Food: 3.5 stars
• Service: 4 stars
• Atmosphere: 3 stars