Soon after it opened last year, on downtown Toronto’s King Street West, Lavelle became the It Spot, and its rooftop restaurant and swimming pool/deck were jammed day and night with a trendy and beautiful crowd. During the film festival, the venue hosted parties for a number of high-profile movies.
Located on the 16th floor of the 629 Residences building, the stunning space comprises a sizeable bar area and a tastefully outfitted dining room. Flanking both spaces are enormous picture windows providing spectacular views of Toronto’s downtown. It is bright and airy and on a sunny day, is a supremely inviting place to enjoy Sunday brunch.
And the food is equal to the surroundings. For example, smoked salmon benedict brings finely textured English muffin topped with delicately smoked salmon and perfectly poached eggs.
Duck hash.
Even better is the duck hash. Loads of wonderfully moist shreds of duck rest on tender, onion-studded potatoes topped with bracing tomato jam and two perfectly poached eggs.
For dessert, we can’t resist French toast made from thick-cut bread, caramelized bananas, coconut and crushed peanuts. But best-in-show goes to rich, buttery sticky bun laden with bourbon caramel and pecans and perfumed with cinnamon.
Lavelle is the first venture from Trademark Hospitality, and the company is reportedly planning additional hospitality venues in Toronto. I, for one, cannot wait to see what they do next.
In addition to weekend brunch, Lavelle serves lunch every weekday beginning at 11am.
The entire restaurant is available for buyout and accommodates 400 people, reception-style (approximately 250 inside and 150 outside) and can host 100 to 120 for seated events in the main dining room. A private room hosts 14 for seated meals. The Lounge Bar accommodates 80 to 100 people and features banquette and sofa-style seating.
— Don Douloff has been a restaurant critic for over 25 years and, during that time, has critiqued more than 1,300 eateries. In 1988, he studied the fundamentals of French cuisine at Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris, France. During his time in France, he furthered his gastronomic education by visiting the country’s bistros, brasseries and Michelin-starred temples of haute cuisine. He relishes exploring the edible universe in his native Toronto and on his travels throughout Canada and abroad.
