[Review] Brunch at Smash Kitchen and Bar

Website: http://www.smashkitchen.com/
Twitter/Instagram: @SmashKitchen
Address: 4261 Hwy 7 East, Unionville, ON
When I visited: March 2016, 4 people, lunch
Rating: $$, 3

Smash Kitchen and Bar is located in the plaza with Silver Leaf Day Spa and Yang’s Kitchen on Hwy 7 in Unionville. The large restaurant has a upscale pub decor, with several TV screens. The restaurant has 2 private dining rooms perfect for large parties of 30+.  My friend, 2 kids and I were seated in one of the smaller rooms located near the entrance.

Right off the bat, I felt that the service could have been more attentive. After being seated for about 10 minutes, our server did not provide a children’s menu (they are printed on the colouring placemat) or ask if we wanted a high chair.

On their website, the regular menu is categorized by starters and shareable dishes, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas and mains such as fried chicken, steak, and ribs. I ordered off their brunch menu which is available on Saturday and Sunday’s from 9:00 a.m- 2:00 p.m.

The brunch menu offered several breakfast items as well as salad and burger options. There was a a pre-fix option for $20 which includes coffee or tea, a brunch dish, and a dessert.

I ordered the Eggs Florentine with 2 poached eggs, smoked salmon, hollandaise,  capers, English muffin and sm’hash browns ($13). The poached eggs were nicely done with the well seasoned potatoes the highlight of the dish, although I was expecting traditional hash browns.

My friend ordered the Crab Cakes Benedict with 2 poached eggs, crab cakes, hollandaise, pico de gallo and sm’hash browns ($15). We swapped one of our eggs, so we can sample each other’s dishes. The crab cakes were delicious as they were flavourful, packed with crab and the portions were big. This brunch dish was considerably better than mine.

My daughter had the chicken fingers and fries with plum sauce. The was a great deal for $9.

Overall:

The brunch was good but not spectacular. Having had brunch at Milestones and Bier Market (read my review here), I much prefer the brunch at both these restaurants over Smash Kitchen and Bar based on the menu offerings, service and the food. However, it is nice to support local restaurants and it is a great alternative to the chained restaurants in the Unionville/Markham area.

The decor is welcoming with lots of space for large groups. As this was my first visit, I would like to return for dinner and try out their regular menu. Based on the pictures on their Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/smashkitchen/), the food looks pretty good, so I have high expectations for my next visit.

I will write another post at that time to report on the service and the quality of their dishes.

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