{Review} Brunch at Farmhouse Tavern in the Junction

Website: http://farmhousehospitality.tumblr.com/
Twitter Handle: https://twitter.com/FARMHOUSEtavern
Address:  1627 Dupont St., Toronto ON
When I visited: April 2015, 6 people
Rating: 3, $$

The restaurant houses both the Farmhouse Tavern and The Daughter, two restaurants in one as they have separate menus and rooms.

Two things that captured me about this restaurant is that they took reservations for brunch and had an awesome decor. My friends and I were luckily seated in a beautiful private room with a large window and a high wooden table.

As as I stepped in the restaurant, I enjoyed the old-school country decor with a warm and welcoming atmosphere. I noticed many of the unique antique pieces of furniture and accents throughout the restaurant, even the high chair that my daughter sat in looked like it came from the pioneer days.

The restaurant did not have a paper menu with the brunch menu written on the blackboard. Thankfully, our waitress explained each dish in detail.

I started out with an extra spicy smoked caesar with a smoked oyster. It was a really good, and nice way to start the morning. My husband and I ordered the Barnyard Burger ($19), the Eggs in a Nest ($12), and the Eggs Benny with Gravlax ($14). 

On the positive note, the presentation of each dish was beautiful, and my husband’s  barnyard burger was amazing! It was juicy and the duck egg was cooked perfectly. Without the addition of the foie gras, it was rich and satisfying.

My daughter had the eggs in the nest which is a poached egg over a roasted squash with a side of greens. My daughter is allergic to eggs so the restaurant substituted with more salad. The squash had a smokey flavour and delicious, but I was a little underwhelmed with the salad. The shaved vegetables had a nice crunch but the dressing was bland. I should have added bacon to replace the egg to give the dish more flavour.

As for my eggs benny with gravlax, I enjoyed the eggs and gravlax but the biscuit was way too hard that I couldn’t cut through sections with my knife.

Overall:

The decor is adorable and the service was amazing, however, I wish the restaurant offered a greater variety for brunch. I would come back for the barnyard burger and see what else the restaurant has to offer for dinner.