Saturday
Keriwa Café
1690 Queen W, at Roncesvalles, 416-533-2552, keriwacafe.ca. It might not be the flashiest room on the strip, but owner/chef Aaron Joseph Bear Robe’s 44-seat Parkdale bistro sends out some of the most dazzling plates in town. Too bad the storefront’s challenging acoustics render his informed staff’s description of the carte nigh on impossible to hear, the wood-burning grill that cooks them fills the joint with smoke and the lighting’s so dim you can barely see what you’re eating. Fabulous spot otherwise. Best: to begin, house-baked Red Fife bread spread with unsalted butter, whipped pork fat and smoked gray sea salt shareable starters like unusually lean confit of pork belly with apple butter and sautéed savoy cabbage jerky-like bison pemmican with fry bread and pickled veggie salad in barely there vinaigrette mains like free-range and grass-fed braised bison short ribs over pommes purée laced with Thunder Oak gouda and garnished with celeriac salsa verde and pickled Ontario peaches for vegetarians, wild mushroom tarts dressed with wilted sorrel, sliced pine mushrooms and nutmeg specials like roasted pheasant two ways sided with turnip, parsnips and roasted Concord grapes to finish, pastry chef Nis’ku Closs’s pumpkin pie dolloped with whipped cream and crumbled brittle. Complete meals for $65 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $25. Open for dinner Saturday 5:30 to 11 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN
L’Ouvrier
791 Dundas W, at Palmerston, 416-901-9581, louvrier.ca. Does the super-hip Dundas West strip really need another cutting-edge cantina? It does when the results are this delish: a spacious white-on-white gallery-like space, attitude-free service and a card that flirts with Southeast Asia (hello, Susur!) and classic French country comfort. Best: to start, chicken liver pâté à la campagne dressed with pickled celery and paired with smoked ham hock croquettes and house-made piccalilli ribbons of English cucumber and fennel tossed with pomegranate seeds and crumbled Greek feta mains like King Cole Farms duck confit with baked gnocchi and wilted spinach in roasted garlic cream braised lamb shank ravioli finished with buttery puréed cauliflower at brunch, crisp rosti dressed with peppery arugula, sided with smoked salmon, capers and crème fraîche to finish, flourless chocolate fudge cake. Complete dinners for $55 (brunches $25), including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $21/$12. Open for dinner Saturday 6 pm till close. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNN
Sunday
Frank @ the AGO
317 Dundas W, at McCaul, 416-979-6688, ago.net/frank. There’s no question that Toronto-born superstar architect Frank Gehry can create an impressive facade. But his work in the gallery’s sadly anodyne dining room, even with its recent renovation, suggests he has no idea how a restaurant space should operate. Luckily, executive chef Anne Yarymowich and crew’s elegantly plated carte takes up the slack. Best: baskets of croissants, pain aux raisins, pain au chocolat and black currant scones spread with crème fraîche and house-made preserves chèvre soufflés with caramelized shallots, Riesling-poached quince and shaved fennel slaw smoked Ontario trout with scrambled eggs on house-baked brioche. Open for brunch Sunday 11 am to 3 pm. Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNN
Lady Marmalade
898 Queen E, at Logan, 647-351-7645, ladymarmalade.ca. Forget the weekend! Hard to believe, but regulars patiently stand in line Tuesdays for a table at this hectic BC-based breakfast franchise no matter the hour. Warning: the shabby-chic room can be extremely noisy, particularly at peak feeding periods, so be prepared to shout. Best: savoury waffles stuffed with spinach and aged white cheddar in lemony Italian-style tomato sauce dressed with rashers of bacon open-faced BLT-style Bennys with free-run poached eggs, bacon, roasted tomato, red onion, chipotle mayo, home fries and house organic greens to finish, apple crumble with vanilla ice cream. Avoid: baked health-conscious poutine with chicken bacon and miso gravy. Complete meals for $20 per person, including tax, tip and a coffee. Average main $12. Open for brunch Sunday 8 am to 3 pm. No reservations. Unlicensed. Cash only. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
Live Bluegrass Brunch @ The Dakota Tavern
249 Ossington, at Dundas W, 416-850-4579, thedakotatavern.com. This west-side basement saloon may be better known as a rootsy live music venue, but every Sunday morning it’s home to one of the rockin’-est brunches in town. For $14 (kids in Ramones T-shirts $7), the happening honky-tonk dishes up substantial all-you-can-eat platters at communal tables against a backdrop of live bluegrass. Best: to start, orange and grapefruit juices good coffee-shop joe obligatory fruit salad perfectly fluffy scrambled eggs unusually meaty sausages crisply griddled home fries unlimited stacks o’ flapjacks with maple syrup. Open for brunch Sunday 11 am to 3 pm. No reservations. Licensed. Access: 15 steps at door, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNN
La Societe
131 Bloor W, at Avenue Rd, 416-551-9929, lasociete.ca. Yorkville’s primo patio come summer, Charles Khabouth and partner Danny Soberano’s unusually polished brasserie in the Colonnade is one of the coziest rooms in town when the temperature dips, even if it is a complete rip on New York City’s famed Balthazar, right down to the Munge Leung-designed art nouveau stained glass ceiling. Better yet, grab a corner table in the less-sceney wood-lined bar and feel like you’re in Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris. Best: avoid les oeufs and go for the best moules frites in town, a great steaming bowl of meaty PEI mussels in white wine, saffron-scented cream, caramelized shallots and fresh tarragon sided with chic skinny sea-salted frites with lemony garlic aioli and Thuet’s chewy baguette avec whipped butter the house burger, a substantial 8-ounce patty topped with aged white cheddar and pickle aioli sided with house greens in a lemon vinaigrette and more fab frites to finish, profiteroles stuffed with house-made vanilla ice cream in chocolate sauce. Complete brunches for $65 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of Veuve Cliquot champagne. Average main $19. Open for brunch Sunday 11 am to 3 pm. Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNN
