I’ve been searching for a new breakfast/brunch type of restaurant for quite some time now as I’ve been getting sick of eating at breakfast chains all the time, so I was very excited to try out Mildred’s Temple Kitchen which seemed very promising. I first learned about this place through my Instagram community and just seeing some pictures of its dishes that some other people posted had me sold. As I’ve said before, I eat with my eyes first and if you’re able to present a visually pleasing dish to me I’ll be the first person at the door.
Mildred’s Temple Kitchen is located within Liberty Village in downtown Toronto. Lots of new condos, high end shops and restaurants are starting to be built here so I’m sure in around 5 to 10 years this area will be one of the hottest spots in the city.
I visited them for their brunch menu on the weekend which runs from 10am to 3pm. They do not accept reservations on the weekend for brunch which is probably their most busiest time of the week so it is a first come first serve basis. My friend and I arrived just before 1:30 at the restaurant and by the time we got there we were told it was going to be about an hour wait. I was determined to eat here since I didn’t drive all the way from Scarborough for nothing so I still provided them with my name and waited.
A tip for anyone who comes here by car is to get dropped off at the entrance to leave your name with the hostess before parking in the plaza. I say this because parking will cost you $2 for two hours at their parking lot. Not knowing that the wait time would be so long, I already paid the $2 for parking and because of the wait time for our table, 1 hour was already killed off before we even got the chance to sit down. I ended up paying for more time at the parking lot to compensate for the lost time we had waiting to get seated.
We finally got our table after about 75 minutes of waiting, shortly before the brunch service ended all together at 3pm. Unlike most new restaurants I go to where it takes a while for me to choose a dish, I came prepared and knew exactly what to order. I started off with a coffee and then ordered two of their most famous dishes.
The first brunch item off of their menu we got was the Veda’s Choice. It is their classic poached eggs on a flaky croissant with a choice of smoked salmon or rosemary bacon. It is then topped off with bearnaise sauce and served with a side of mixed greens. I chose the smoked salmon version to try. The mixed greens it came with was nothing out of the ordinary and more of an after thought compared to the main star of the dish. The croissant was extremely light and flaky which adds a nice texture to the two poached eggs sandwiched in between. The runny yolk came flowing through once you got your knife to cut it open and the already layered bearnaise sauce mixed together came drenching over the salmon and croissant. With all the pieces coming together the outcome was remarkable and it tasted heavenly. This is a beautifully crafted dish.
Poached Eggs, Salmon, Croissant, Mixed Greens, Bearnaise Sauce - Cost $14.50
The second dish and must have in my opinion at Mildred’s Temple Kitchen is probably their most famous dish of all which is called Mrs. Biederhof’s Legendary Light & Fluffy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes. It is called legendary for a reason because it truly is. The term “It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die” made popular by the movie Despicable Me has been re-created in the form of a pancake. Fresh blueberries are topped off on the oh so fluffy i’m gonna die pancakes served with Lanark County maple syrup and whipped cream. A funny story to this was a little boy who looked like he was about 5 stopped literally at our table out of nowhere and just stared at this pancake with his eyes and mouth wide open for about 5 seconds before his mom and a waitress came over to grab him. We all started laughing and it was the highlight of my day. I can’t say I could blame that little boy though. I mean just look at the pancakes, I think anyone could understand.
Blueberries, Pancakes, Maple Syrup, Whip Cream - Cost $14.00
The restaurant itself was very spacious inside and because of the large windows that outlines the back of this restaurant there is lots of natural sunlight that seeps in which I love. Although I didn’t sit close to the kitchen this time, this is also another restaurant that has an open concept kitchen for everyone to see. Service was top notch and our waitress was never shy from having a conversation with us. Out of the two dishesI got to try here, those pancakes would have to be my favourite. Was this restaurant worth the over one hour wait? Yes, it definitely was. My recommendation though, come to this place for brunch on the weekend only when you are not in a rush to go anywhere else after. If you like good food and you don’t mind a high chance of waiting for a table than you will not be disappointed here.
85 Hanna Avenue, Suite 104 Toronto, ON, M6K 3S3
(416) 588 5695
Hours:
Brunch: Monday - Friday: 11 am to 3 pm; Saturday & Sunday: 10 am to 3 pm
Bar (Snack Menu Available): Monday – Saturday 3 pm –to 5:30 pm
Dinner: Monday – Saturday: 5:30 pm to 10 pm
The Everyday Foodie Report Card
Atmosphere: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Food: 9.5/10
Presentation: 9/10
Value: 8.5/10
Overall: 94% Everyday Foodie Satisfaction