You may have heard about Hof Kelsten. In a short time, the legend has grown about the bread guy, Jeffrey Finkelstein. He is Montreal’s prodigal son, who has worked at some of the top restaurants around world. His list includes Toque, French Laundry, Per Se, and even El Bulli. Now back in Montreal he has been making bread over at Hof Kelsten and also has some other items that are a little more than just bread. Simply put Hof Kelsten does brunch. So one Saturday morning, the Montreal Food Divas were miraculously awake and not hungover so it seemed logical to do brunch. Now finding a spot that will impress the Divas is not always an easy task but we knew that Hof Kelsten would not disappoint.

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Top Montreal brUNCH (the lunchy kind)

Brunch is a word made up breakfast and lunch, we all know the breakfasty dishes like pancake stacks, waffles, and eggs Benedict but what about rolling out some gravlax, some sweetbreads, or some black codd in the morning? Maybe re-invent brunch and push the boundaries a little more towards the lunch side of brunch. The following restaurants are those that are definitely not your average bacon and eggs spots.

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With a big emphasis on local and organic this year, I felt it was time to give some attention to some spots that have managed to combine brunch with ingredients that are local and organic.

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Top Montreal BRunch (the breakfasty kind)

In the final segment of our top montreal brunches we have covered the best new brunch of 2014, best ethnic brunch, best local / organic brunch, best lunchy kind of brunches and now best breakfasty brunches. When we say “breakfasty” we mean brunches that are classic in the sense that their menu will give you pancakes, french toast, waffles, eggs… you know those classic dishes you grew up on. Nowadays the trend is to go for dishes that are more lunch than breakfast. Smoked salmon on a bagel will no longer cut it, people want gravlax, halloumi cheese and gluten free bread. This section is in recognition of the classic places that stay true to the the classic brunch dishes and make them stand out.

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In keeping with our best of Montreal Brunch segment this is our first part focusing on Best new Montreal brunch. These are the places we have reviewed this year and in many cases are not established yet as compared to older places that we all know and love.

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What is the best Montreal Brunch of 2014? This is a question we get asked every year, but one that is difficult to answer. We have eaten and reviewed close to 300 brunches – many in Montreal and a couple abroad. We have to go over a laundry list of new spots, old spots, places that move, places where management and menu changed, places that got better, and sadly, places that got worse. Consistency is a tricky thing for most restaurants to pull off. You need to make dishes people like, be financially successful, be innovative and evolve with the times. So you can understand why we only do our “best of” round-up once a year.

Over the next few posts we will be showcasing our selection of our favourites and the various sections they cover. Initially, this was supposed to be a single post but it evolved as we got into more detail and felt that we should break it down into multiple sections. Please note that in each category and in our choice we give positive and negative criticism since there is no perfect brunch and all places can improve on something. Also note that we could have simply made a top 10 list and given 2 lines of text and a pretty picture but much like a proper brunch we want to give you something on your plate that gets your appetite going and makes you come back for more. Or in this case, go visit them. Our categories includes best new brunch, best classic brunch, best alternative brunch, best ethnic brunch and best local/organic brunch.

A few months after its opening, we fell upon Sel Gras. Having read about it and its rather impressive crew working the kitchen, we have had this on our short list for some time. So with a friend coming in from out of town and a need to try something totally different it felt like the logical choice to give Sel Gras over in the Mile End a shot.

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Jean Talon market in the summer is one of our favourite weekend destinations. You can get lost in the countless fruit stands, meat and cheese shops, all the while, discovering a variety of new foods that will make you smile and fill your stomach. Sitting in Little Italy, you can explore the surrounding areas finding various cafes and shops all walking distance from the Jean Talon Market.
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The 411 One morning we decided to try out Micro Resto La Famille. What is a micro resto you may ask? Well, walk in and you will see it’s an incredibly tiny restaurant with space for 10 people maximum (and that’s being creative). Now, at Montreal Breakfast Review, we have a policy that no matter how large or small or far, we will eat there. (more…)

So, 2013 is well behind us and it has been an interesting ride. We saw some places close down, some new ones open up and the big question still remains: where is the best place to have brunch? Brunch for many people is different; some people like the classic eggs and pancakes while others like funky creations that reinvent the wheel when it comes to brunch. Over the years, we have done 280 posts and well over 250 brunch spots in Montreal (we like to travel so we do some outside of Montreal, also) So here we go and keep in mind that if you think we missed a spot let us know by contacting us.