Review: Breakfast Table Shows Potential on South Granville

This farm-to-table spot brings relief to a brunch-starved neighbourhood  

The crowd bumping elbows at the tightly packed Breakfast Table is a loud and clear cry for help on South Granville. In any other part of the city, the farm-to-table spot would be a forgettable blip on the hollandaise-splattered brunch landscape, but with little competition in restaurant-starved SoGra (we’re calling it that now, right?), it’s been instantly elevated to 30-minute-lineup status…perhaps a little hastily.The owners, Mike Lee and chef George Koay, have some decent experience under their belts (with stints at Boulevard and Lift, respectively), so it’s a little surprising that BT feels like an amateur project. The menu is definitely intriguing on first glance, peppered with inventive twists on the brunch essentials (think coffee-crusted pork belly hash, hot smoked trout benedict and challah French toast) and showing a dedication to locally sourced ingredients. But in practice, dishes come out slightly bland—the seasonal veggies are fresh but underseasoned, and the beef bulgogi hash relies on a too-small splash of kimchi to do the heavy lifting.And without a slam-dunk menu, it’s a little hard to forgive the awkward design of the space: the ceiling is unfortunately decked out with office-style tiles and too-bright track lighting (though a friendly coat of teal paint and a collage of vegetable crates have been added to the wall in an attempt to distract the eye).But there are moments here that hint at potential, like the creamy, cauliflower-based hollandaise. A few more weekends feeding the South Granville hordes, and BT might just polish its game and prove itself worthy of the attention. Fingers crossed they upgrade their light fixtures while they’re at it.

Breakfast Table

1481 W. Broadway604-805-1900breakfasttable.ca