Hoof Cafe

Torontonians seem to love brunch and the number of brunch-centric places continues to grow and grow around town.

In the last decade, some of the best dedicated brunch places in Toronto have shut (including Mimi’s on Bathurst Street and The Stem Open Kitchen on Queen West) but many others stuck it out through the economic hardships (Aunties and Uncles, Morning Glory, Petite Dejuner, Grapefruit Moon etc), and this endurance seems to have inspired a whole new generation of brunch-focused places.

The latest additions already featuring line ups out the door each weekend are The Hoof Cafe and Lady Marmalade. The Hoof Cafe on Dundas St West is an expansion of (and across the street from) the hugely popular chacuterie restaurant, Black Hoof. The new place is part-bar for the overflow evening crowd hitting up Black Hoof, and part-brunch hangout with a menu celebrating the pig from snout to tail, albeit with a brunchy twist (think grilled cheese with tongue and suckling pig benny).

On the other side of town, on Queen Street East in Leslieville, Lady Marmalade  is going gangbusters with non-stop line ups for its all day breakfast/brunch and lunch menu that leans heavily toward the former. Evidence that even in this food-forward city any place that can do one thing well – especially brunch- will always be popular.