L' Avenue Toronto
L'Avenue Toronto is animated and loud with a menu of voluptuous, calorie-laden eats vying to sate your brunchtime cravings.
A Montreal import, the 100-seater opened in early September, joining the throng of restaurants already calling The Well home.
Like its forebears, the restaurant is showy and chaotic, graffiti blanketing its walls, and disco balls, motorcycles and mannequins bringing the street-meets-pop-art décor scheme to life.
Are the bathrooms as arresting as the main space? You'll have to visit each one to see for yourself.
"It's quite a huge menu," says corporate chef Mitch Haikalis, of the catalog of dishes waiting for you to try at L'Avenue.
"The goal is to be ahead of the curve, think outside of the box," he adds. "We want to show people stuff that they won't see everywhere. It keeps us in the game and ahead of it."
As at the chain's five other locations, the prime focus here is brunch. "We try our best to give people the same experience, whether you're here or in Montreal or Brossard or Saudi Arabia," affirms Haikalis.
Unique to Toronto, though, is a dinner menu that jumps from Beet Carpaccio and Ahi Tuna Burgers to Chicken Schnitzel Caesar bowls.
Part of L'Avenue's original strategy, dinner lost its lustre in Quebec when brunch's popularity surged. "Now we're trying to revive dinner here," explains Haikalis. "In Quebec, it's purely breakfast and brunch."
Still, with that reputation preceding it, most Toronto diners will initially be drawn to L'Avenue for its lavish brunch menu. On it, affirms Haikalis, they'll find all of their favourites, with a few new additions. "We have the breakfast sandwich here that we don't have in Montreal. It's 99 per cent the same, though," he explains.
Packed with a cornucopia of fresh things, smoothies are the size of fishbowls, and aren't overly sweet. Açai berries and blueberries give the Antioxydant ($11) its deep hue, with strawberries, banana, yogurt and honey adding heft and an enjoyable mix of sweet and tart flavours.
A list of warm bevvies includes the basics, from matcha to booze-spiked to a Pistachio Latte ($7) blended with creamy, nutty pistachio paste.
Whether you lean sweet or savoury come brunch time, you'll find an abundance of dishes to try at L'Avenue.
Even those who like to dabble on both sides of the flavour spectrum will find satisfaction, thanks to a menu category dubbed The Indecisive.
"You choose your eggs the way you prefer them — poached, sunny-side up, over easy, even scrambled or just egg whites," says Haikalis. They're then served with a choice of savoury side and sweet breakfast go-to. It's a best-of-both-worlds scenario that many diners happily dive into.
Bobby Does Dallas ($29.50) is a colossal cassolette of cheddar-laced scrambled eggs, AAA ribeye, mushrooms and a glug of barbecue sauce served over L'Avenue's signature seasoned breakfast potatoes. You can complete the excess with your choice of naan, baguette, multigrain bread or bagel.
True to its roots, L'Avenue's bagels are "not just bread donuts," assures Haikalis. They're Montreal-style bagels made locally by an ex-employee of St. Viateur (IYKYK) who now works at The Bagel House.
Heaped onto said bagel, herbed cream cheese and smoked salmon, avocado, marinated onions and poached eggs are prettified with beet-tinged hollandaise.
As photogenic as it is filling, the Pink Salmon Benny ($29) is a solid option for people who like their yolks runny, their salmon fresh and their brunch to leave them sated until the sun sets.
From an assortment of dessert-inspired options, Carrot Cake Pancakes ($19) and a slice of Pistachio French Toast ($10), doused with white chocolate ganache and raspberry coulis, both pack the cloying punch sweet teeth crave.
Still not satisfied? Reach for the restaurant's signature, amber-grade maple syrup for an added jolt of quintessentially Canadian sugar. "We deal with the best maple syrup we can get our hands on," says Haikalis. The best part? "You can use as much as you want. There's no limit," he adds, grinning.
"We always want to expand, we want to grow," says Haikalis of L'Avenue. "It just makes sense that this new hot spot, this nice new complex in downtown Toronto have the best breakfast." Plus, he adds, not incorrectly, "and Toronto loves brunch."
L'Avenue is located at 433 Wellington Street West.
Fareen Karim