L'Abattoir

To be frank, I've never been much of a brunch person.  Something about it just doesn't interest me.  Possibly it could be the lack of imagination with the menu options.  Even before setting foot into many of the restaurants that serve brunch, I could probably name off the available options.  Let's see, there will be an eggs benny, a 2-egg breaky with choice of protein, a veggie omelet of some sort and let's not forget about a good ol' hash.  But when I got an invite to try out L'Abattoir's brunch service, I was intrigued.  Seeing how their dinner service is generally on point, I was interested in what they offered on a weekend morning.

Even before we got down to ordering, we were offered a choice of pastry.  I went for the Pain au Chocolat while Viv had the Raspberry Jelly Donut.  Both were made in-house and the freshness was quite evident.  I found the pain au chocolate crispy on the outside whereas the inside was a little dense.  There was just enough chocolate to taste without making the whole thing too sweet.  As for Viv's donut, it was fantastic. Fluffy and light, the donut was filled with a raspberry compote that was devoid of seeds while full of natural flavour.  It was mildly sweet which was fine by us. My choice of drink was their featured cocktail, the Honey Basil Dubonnet with lemon.  This was refreshing and light which was the right compliment for a Summer morning and brunch.

To get a sense of the menu, we went for 4 dishes including the Poached Eggs with Smoked Pork Belly.  This featured a homemade English muffin which was toasted until it was crunchy.  As evidenced in the picture, the poached free-range egg was perfectly runny while sporting completely cooked egg whites.  On top, the cheddar sabayon was fluffy and light while mild in taste.  As for the pork belly, it was thick-cut and meaty.  Since it was aggressively seared, the exterior was crispy and aromatic.  As a result, the meat was a little dry.  Our next dish was also the best of the meal being the Shrimp Frittata.  On top of a thin and silky egg base, there was buttery shrimp, lightly crisp potatoes, hollandaise, smoked pepper puree and arugula salad.  Often a frittata can be heavy, but this one was so easy to eat.  I would gladly eat this dish again.

Moving on, we dug into the massive Full Breakfast consisting of 2 eggs, duck sausage, pork & beans, sauteed mushrooms, boudin noir, rösti and buttered toast.  The best part of the plate was the boudin as it was rich, yet not heavy.  The little nuggets of pork blood were light and buttery.  Finished with an aggressive sear, there was a nice caramelization which was accented by fresh cracked pepper and salt.  We thought the duck sausage was meaty and appealingly gamy.  It was moist and meaty.  Although not prominent on the dish, nicely firm beans were fantastic with bursts of acidity and sweetness. If that wasn't enough food, we saved the Breakfast Burger for last.  It was constructed of a quarter pound patty, hashbrown, aged white cheddar and fried egg.  Thick and juicy, the patty was full of flavour with bits of red onion complimenting the abundance of natural meatiness.  This was complimented by the sharp cheddar and mayo (with bits of onion and pickle).  At the conclusion of our meal, we were pretty stuffed (mostly because we ate 4 dishes) and satisfied.  L'Abattoir did brunch justice with their expected carefully crafted eats which were tasty and interesting.

*All food and beverages excluding gratuities were complimentary*

The Good:
- Well-prepared eats
- Familiar dishes done differently
- Balanced cocktails

The Bad:
- On the pricier side
- Generally not a light meal (but good for those who want it rich)