Restaurants
Lady Marmalade
Lady Marmalade, in the former Pulp Kitchen space, ups the ante on standard brunch by offering locally sourced organic food (when possible), and plenty of options for our non-meat eating friends. Mexican inspired ingredients also add an extra twist to simple items. Unlike other Mexican fusion brunch options across the city, all dishes are health- centered. No greasy offerings here as there is thankfully no deep fryer on the premises.
After a tempestuous thunderstorm, we walk into the casual Leslieville eatery late in the afternoon. Perhaps it's partially the weather, but there is an undeniable West Coast feel to the place. Little has changed from the menu, which seems to be a direct copy from the original Victoria location.
At the helm of operations in Toronto is Head Chef Clara's brother, David Cherry. Along with his partner, Natalia Simachkevitch, these Toronto natives have been trying to keep up with the unstoppable crowds since opening in July. 
The interior is very retro chic, with most items salvaged or second hand. The eclectic mélange of mismatched furniture gives the place a great vintage vibe. I particularly like the different sets of salt and peppershakers; the grandmas on rocking chairs set being my favourite of the lot. There is even a chalkboard and mini play nook to occupy rambunctious kids. 
I get the Club Sandwich ($9.95), which comes stacked and speared beside a ginger- sesame side salad. Overall, the crispy bacon, avocado, chipotle mayo, tomato and spinach pressed between slices of quality bread are good. The freshness of the ingredients is evident with each bite, but I find the chicken breast rather bland. 
Yoghurt Parfait ($9.50) is beautifully presented with interchanging layers of fresh fruits, creamy yoghurt and house-made granola. The half cinnamon bagel hanging from the side of the glass is a stylish touch.
They serve Fernwood organic fair trade coffee, a small West Coast company making an intro on the Toronto market, thanks to Lady Marmalade. My mug-full ($2.50) is good, strong and advertised as bottomless, though our server never once came to offer a refill. 
Open just over a month ago, Lady Marmalade is still ironing out some minor kinks, but seems to have a good thing going on. It's the kind of place where I could have easily spent the rest of my rainy afternoon, admiring the local art adorning the walls or simply with a book and a cup of coffee. 
Photos by Casey Cunningham
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I went for breakfast here with 3 friends earlier this week. We all enjoyed the food (french toast, eggs benny, oatmeal, mushrooms) and the portions were good-sized. But if the kitchen is reading this please give more consideration to those with wheat free diets. Consider sticking some rice or spelt bread in the freezer. You can get the latter from the same place as the rest of the bread (St. John's Bakery) or Brick Street around the corner and offer it (even for a surcharge is fine) as a replacement to the regular stuff since almost all your meals have bread as an essential ingredient. You might also want to consider switching to corn tortillas for all your tortilla based dishes as (a) that's more authentic than flour and (b) they're wheat free. There's no excuse for not serving huevos rancheros with corn tortillas. Easy Breakfast manages to do both these things well so there's proof it can be done.
I don't understand why restaurants import coffee from BC when Toronto has a great roaster around the corner. ROASTED coffee goes stale in only 5 days so there's no way they're getting it in from Victoria and serving it fresh. Other than that, the place looks great. Worth checking out.
I work close to here and haven't tried them yet. Looks good though.
Went for breakfast there on Sunday. Busy! You might want to avoid it on a hot day as there were no fans about to keep some air moving. Eating hot food in the humid heat without a breeze can make one a little... uneasy.
They don't do eggs.. well actually they only do poached or scrambled. Their excuse wasn't really good if you've ever been a short-order cook before... but understandable. Getting a lot of orders moving in frying pans must be hard during a breakfast rush. However, the meal was great and presented well.
The decor was trendy and cute. Mismatched furniture and "vintage" feel are all the rage. This place has it in spades and can be rather charming. They even have those old white mugs with the green print... reminds me of a long time ago.
Overall it's rather fancy. I prefer the classic open-kitchen diner-style breakfast myself and if that's your taste as well, you will want to skip this place. It's more of a fine bistro. This review is quite good and for a change of pace for this greasy-diner-connoisseur, Lady Marmalade is a definitely pleasant experience.
Totally agree with Tim - a lot of people nowadays have wheat allergies, or just prefer avoiding it. I would gladly pay more for alternatives. I wouldn't mind trying out Fernwood when I'm out west but like nutellapr said, Merchants of Green Coffee are, maybe, a 10 minute bike ride away. That being said.. still looking forward to going here for brunch.
The vibe here is pretty cool, the menu has a lot of great options and the food is delicious. However, I've been here twice and both times the services was absolutely terrible.
great food but service was just average. didn't have some of the food available, like poutine or the daily soup (which is supposed to be the special of the day?!)
I live around the corner and have eaten here 3 times and have loved every meal. Last saturday i had the Strawberry and Chocolate french toast...it was amazing.
Great breakfast joint. Definitely going back again. Toast and Bonjour Brioche have competition.
Just went for brunch today. I found the service super friendly and the food incredible. Ordered the Benny with the brie, avocado and bacon and it was out of this world. Will definitely go back even though it's a good half hour drive from my house.
I went for the first time too today. I had the Huevos Migas, which was pretty delicious. It's a little pricey I'd say, but it's worth each penny.
Food quality was exceptional but you pay for it and get smaller portions. The place had a charm to it. Where they failed on me was I ordered a cup of coffee and you really had to chase the waitresses for the refills.
Yummiest! The tofu scramble is the best thing I've ever had. I don't love breakfast foods (eggs are bleck!), so it's great to have an option out there.
100% Delicious!