Brunch
Bestellen
972 College, at Rusholme, 647-341-6769, bestellen.ca. Top Chef Canada season-one runner-up and ex-Mercatto toque Rob Rossi parlays his TV game show near-win into one of the most meatcentric restaurants in town. His dinner menu features the likes of $98 house-aged steaks and whole suckling pig platters, and the brunch carte is only slightly more veggie-friendly. Best: to start, complimentary banana bread straight from the oven dolloped with crème fraîche and crushed walnuts bags of cinnamon-dusted doughnuts classic croque madame with house-cured ham, mornay sauce and a pair of runny fried eggs old-school southern-fried chicken doused in maple syrup sided with jalapeño cornbread muffins, both with organic greens in lemony vinaigrette massive 8-ounce breakfast burgers on house-baked English muffins dressed with crispy fried onions and bacon jam. Complete brunches for $30 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $13. Open for brunch Sunday 11 am to 3 pm, dinner nightly from 6 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNN
Contemporary
Museum Tavern
208 Bloor W, at Avenue Rd, 416-920-0110, museumtavern.ca. With a lineage that goes back to such celebrated boîtes as Bemelmans, Bistro 990 and the Bellair Café, this bustling brasserie has a much more inventive and cosmopolitan carte than most Yorkville hot spots tend to serve. For best results, make a meal of L’Unita chef Stephen Gouzopoulos’s multi-culti starters. Best: boneless Buffalo-style chicken wings stuffed with double-smoked bacon and blue cheese whitefish tostadas with pickled cabbage, adobo mayo and crema fresca steamed Chinese buns with shredded duck confit and pickled veggies from the mains, the house double cheeseburger, 7 cooked-to-order ounces of prime beef on a house-baked egg bun dressed with local aged cheddar, lettuce, and onion (hold the sauce), perfectly skinny fries and Asian slaw on the side. Complete dinners for $65 per person (lunches $40), including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $28/$18. Open daily 11:30 am to 11 pm. Bar till close. Closed some holidays. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNN
Pan-Asian
Bent
777 Dundas W, at Markham, 647-352-0092, bentrestaurant.com. Don’t come to superstar Susur Lee’s latest resto-lounge expecting salad followed by meat ‘n’ with two veg and dessert. If, however, your tastes run to inventive tapas-style dishes with a preponderance of seafood meant to be shared over exotic cocktails, have we got the boîte for you! Best: sake-cured salmon gravlax over blocks of tamago over horseradish crème fraîche showered with a julienne of toasted nori, a stack of buckwheat blinis on the side watermelon and tuna ceviche dressed with slivered chilies and lime a spin on Lee’s signature Singapore slaw, duck salad with crackling, kohlrabi and crispy taro ribbons finished with exotic sprouts and edible flowers buttery foie gras and chicken pâté with tapenade-spread brioche, ice-wine syrup and onion marmalade. Complete tapas-style dinners for $60 per person, including tax, tip and a cocktail. Average tapas $16. Open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday 5:30 to 10:30 pm. Bar till close. Closed Sunday, Monday, some holidays. Licensed. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNNN
