L’Ouvrier Toronto

Posted By Jennifer Ho Nov 11 2012 · 0 comments · Dining Out

Just around the corner from where I was staying in Toronto over my visiting weekend, L’Ouvrier seemed like a good bet for brunch time food. A friend had been for a party after a TIFF event and had great things to say about the space and the aesthetic of the place. Open to whatever, I was down to check it out – we ended up going for a nice brunch with a couple people. The minute you walk in, you take note of the nice thick tables, the bright pops of neon pink from the art on the walls and the pleasant buzz Sunday morning conversations almost always seem to create. I appreciated the minimalistic design of the place as a means to enable whatever installations showing to completely take over the space and make it their own. It seems to be working well for L’Ouvrier as far as I can tell!

I’m into it.

English Breakfast Tea

We were seated at the bar for around ten minutes to wait for an available table. In the meantime, we ordered a pot of black tea and another of coffee. A note about the coffee: refills are not free! Each round is going to cost you about $3. Keep this in mind because we ordered three pots and didn’t realize that we would be charged every time.

Fried Egg Sandwich, Aged Cheddar, House Smoke Bacon, Fries

The fried egg sandwich was a little salty for my taste but for those of you who can get down with that, this pretty good. This probably came from the house smoked bacon in conjunction with the egg itself. The first couple bites allow the yolk to ooze out nicely and serve as a good sauce for any leftover bread or fries.

Grilled Cheese, Aged Cheddar, Raisin-Walnut Bread

The grilled cheese was super buttery on the outside – you could tell that it was pressed with a lot of the stuff as it was oily and crispy to the taste and touch. The dish came with a side of salad – I know two of the people that I was with who ordered this were expecting fries and were sorely disappointed. Also because neither was specified on the menu, I think they assumed it would be fries. In any case, there could have been a bit more cheese packed in there. The arugula salad was simple but pretty on point.

BLT: House Smoked Bacon, Arugula, Aioli, Fries

With the BLT, I got exactly what I was expecting. Nothing more, nothing less. Straight up bacon, lettuce and tomato on grilled bread. A mix of crispy and firm, well salted fries came along with my dish. Those were pretty tasty. Sharing them with my fry-less companions, they all disappeared by the end of our brunch.

The food here isn’t extraordinary or exceptional. It’s definitely passable and you eat it and it’s fine. But you go mostly for the atmosphere and the vibe the place provides. There’s no question about it – this is a superb breakfast/brunch type place; they’ve definitely got that part nailed down. The space is beautiful and the art installations that were up while we were there were great. It’s interesting to see art concepts like the ones shown at L’Ouvrier merged with the production of (edible) food – I’d love to see more of that and similar concepts in Montreal.