where jess ate

With a focus on Eastern European food, Schnitzel Hub (@Schnitzel_HUB) recently opened its second location at Yonge and St. Clair. Think perogies, herring, blintzes and an extensive selection of schnitzel. You definitely won’t be leaving hungry!

Schnitzel Hub is brought to us by the husband-and-wife team Yan and Rita Khalfon, who opened the restaurant’s first location in Vaughan. The couple spent a decade cooking and traveling before settling down in Toronto.

Yan, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu and worked in kitchens around Europe, is in charge of the kitchen at the restaurant. Inspired by the couple’s love of Eastern European food, Schnitzel Hub’s menu features classic dishes (all made from scratch) with a Canadian twist.

As far as beverages go, they feature wines from all over Europe and an extensive beer selection from Germany, Belgium and Australia. But what’s particularly noteworthy is their artisan, house-infused vodkas – they offer over 40 different kinds!

The infusing process can take up to 3 months per flavour. They’ve perfected the process, using triple distilled vodka and organic, natural ingredients. I was impressed by their range of flavours, from sweet to savoury, to medicinal and downright creative!

Last week, I attended the media preview of their new location and had the pleasure of trying out some of their delicious offerings:

Perogies

Beet & Butternut Squash Salad

Goulash

Oktoberfest Sausage Board

Jaeger Schnitzel – mushroom, bacon & red wine sauce 

German Salad Trio

Sour Cherry Perogies

The meal was off to a great start with their incredible house-made perogies, stuffed with fillings including potato cheddar and sauerkraut mushroom. I was also a big fan of the beet & butternut squash salad – the roasted root vegetables make for a great winter salad.

Of course, the schnitzel was also a highlight of the meal. As you’d expect from a restaurant with “schnitzel” in its name, they offer quite the variety of schnitzel including the holstein (with a sunny-side up egg and smoked sprat), the Canadian (wild mushrooms, caramelized onions and cheese) and veal cordon blue (veal schnitzel stuffed with ham and emmental cheese) to name a few.

Most of the schnitzels are available in either veal or chicken cutlets. We tried both types in the Jaeger variation which had a nice crisp exterior and were wonderfully moist on the inside – I was particularly surprised by how much I enjoyed the chicken breast cutlet (I’m a dark meat kinda girl).

I was also really impressed with their house-infused vodkas. I loved that they had unconventional flavour combinations like pineapple vanilla persimmon and cucumber dill cilantro. Oh, and my absolute favourite was the horseradish. You’ll definitely feel the burn and it won’t be coming from the vodka!

Needless to say, we left in a happy food coma. With a warm and inviting atmosphere, delicious Eastern European fare and incredible selection of house-infused vodkas, Schnitzel Hub has got the recipe for a night to remember…or forget 😉

*This was a complimentary meal. The opinions in the post, as always, are my own.*