Cafes
Hibiscus Cafe
Why Hibiscus Cafe doesn't charge more for its delicious treats is one of Toronto's greatest mysteries. It seems to me that healthy food is like bikini material: the less there is, the more you pay. But for some reason Hibiscus Café has decided to buck the trend of overcharging for animal-optional, gluten-free delights, opting instead for reasonable prices, good service and a pleasant atmosphere. Masochistic fans of hipster pretense and unfriendly service are advised to quit eating and head to American Apparel instead, because while Hibiscus Café is bang-on the trend meter with its super healthy fare, the service is anything but snotty.
Excited by the full page of crepe selections on Hibiscus' small but varied menu, my lunch companion and I both ordered buckwheat-flour crepes: hers filled with mushroom, spinach and mozzarella cheese, and mine with basil, tomato and goat cheese. At $5.50 each, we had a little room in our budgets for more, requesting beet soup and a strawberry soymilk smoothie respectively.
My cup of soup arrived first, accompanied by a homemade cracker of apple, zucchini, and sunflower seeds. I was expecting a lot less for $2.75, but gladly accepted the generous steaming mug of sweet beets and roasted roots. I'm still finding it hard to believe that this incredibly smooth, immensely flavourful dish was completely dairy free, but my server confirmed it twice. At least I think he did. He was talking, saying something like "Blah blah blah dairy free" while I was intoning, "But it's sooooooo creamy".
My cracker was equally inspiring, unique for being plant-based, grain-free, house-made and delicious. Sweet apple, earthy zucchini and rich sunflower seeds have been joined in holy dehydration to create a union that is strong enough to withstand a good soup-dunking, but delicate enough to delight all on its own. The strawberry soymilk smoothie ($3.50) was just as yummy, providing an evenly blended mix of fresh strawberries and sweet soymilk.
Barely had my love affair with the beet soup begun when Hibiscus Cafe's signature buckwheat crepes arrived, delivering a kiss to my taste buds and a blow to my culinary ego. Many times have I tried to master the gluten-free pancake, but somehow the buckwheat flour always leads me to produce thick, heavy hockey pucks. Not so these crepes, which are flavourful enough to add pizzazz to the dish, but light enough to let the fillings take center stage.
And, oh the fillings! Basil is treated with the cavalier panache of lettuce, shredded and tossed liberally throughout the crepe. No mere accoutrement, the basil competes for stage time with a creamy goat cheese and luscious tomato slices. Roasted eggplant pesto spread thinly across the crepe's surface ensures that each bite delivers a savoury blend of fresh deliciousness.
The mushroom, spinach and mozzarella crepe is excellent, too. Despite being totally raw, mushroom slices are thin enough to add earthy tones to verdant spinach without overpowering. Mozzarella is light and soft, and the roasted eggplant pesto repeats its flavourful dance across crepe and tongue.
Although I was initially put off by Hibiscus Cafe's lack of green salad and their dark, pokey bathroom, they won me over in the end. For food this good, I will gladly abstain from my beloved mesclun mix and suffer the indignities of walking through the kitchen to get to the loo. Hell, for these flavours, I'd probably be willing to suffer poor treatment, slow service and dirty looks, but I'm grateful I don't have to.
For their fresh, innovative fare, excellent service and ability to be both super-cool and super-delicious, Hibiscus Cafe has earned my undying affection, and taught me that sometimes love can be spelled C-R-E-P-E.
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they have buckwheat crepes, which you can order of the suggested menu or make up you own, and they're all amazing. your savory ones come with a nice pesto and with the sweet ones you can get dolce de leche [none of that sprinkled sugar bs]. they have nice little salads with lots of real veggies and their soups are usually really special [vegan and GF], you can get them on a mug [my favourite!] and it comes with a delicious little gluten-free cracker (its all made there!)
oh i could go on forever on how much i love that place. its really cozy and the staff is adorable!! too bad they're closed on sundays
so good.
eat here at least once a week.
salad & soup combo = best value on the menu...
their smoothies are off the charts too
impeccable staff who obviously put a lot of tlc into their meal preparation.
worth every penny.
boom!
BTW- anyone interested in FREE VEGAN CUPCAKES should come on down to my show right across from HIBISCUS on Augusta Ave. this Friday July 17th, 2009. We will be there with a slew of homemade vegan treats...for vegans and non vegans alike, it's your chance to taste how treat like animal product free goodies can be!
xo jenny
THE VICIOUS GUNS
I can't wait to try this out!
Thanks!
Their soup & salad combo is my favorite; the squash-based soups are always served piping hot and have a perfect blend of flavors. The salad has a mix of a lot of my favorites - quinoa, chilled sweet potato, broccoli, avocado, lentils & kidney beans, okara... yum. :)
The crepes there are yummy too - we've tried the blue cheese and pear combo. Nice thin crepes that are never greasy.
Service here is always so warm and friendly - the staff is polite and greets us with a smile every time we visit. We've become regulars at this place because of the atmosphere and great food. The place is small with a couple of tables and a bench, but the wait is never long and always worth it.
Highly recommended!!! <3
ps - my only complaint is that I am occasionaly (deeply) upset that they are not open on Sundays.... I want my delicious food available to me at all times!! :)
Nicest people..best food..
I feel like a million bucks everytime i leave there
:)
I ordered mango smoothie at separate occasion and it was rich and creamy.
check this place out
And the service is great! Very friendly and unpretentious.
And, top it all off, the buckwheat crepes that we ordered and the side salad were amazingly delicious. Thanks for the recommendation BlogTO!
Service was inattentive or discriminating, can't tell which. I came with a friend and we were told to sit at the entrance to wait for a seat, but when two middle aged ladies dressed in hipster clothing came in after us, they were immediately squished into a table beside other patrons who were eating. I almost piped in, "We've been waiting to be seated at a table for 15 min" but I decided not to make a scene since I was with a friend.