BEAST restaurant

12.30.12 

I’ve been to Beast (@BeastRestaurant) restaurant a few times now and have never been disappointed. A few years ago, they took over the quaint house off of King st west that used to be Amuse Bouche (Chef Bertrand Alépée) a few years ago, owners and Chefs Scott and Rachelle Vivian have a really great thing going on. (psst! Both Scott and Bertrand recently partnered up to host "The Tempered Beast" which was delicious!) They’re huge on local and sustainable ingredients and even have a link for their suppliers! From the artwork (by Rachelle) on the walls, this place is definitely for meat-lovers.

BEAST

King west

96 Tecumseth st.

Toronto, ON

Reservations: 647 352 6000 (no reservations for brunch)

Transit: 504 King streetcar west  OR  511 Bathurst streetcar south

Hours: Wed-Thur 5-9pm, Fri-Sat 5-10pm, Sat (brunch) 11am-3pm, Sun (brunch) 10am-3pm

It’s taken me a long time but my friend and I finally made it over to Beast for brunch. The menu features some seemingly traditional fare such as challah French toast and peameal bacon. And then they pull out duck confit, blood sausage, pork belly and kimchi! :D

Here’s their housemade ketchup and hot sauce!

My friend and I were expecting average joe coffee. Not here! They’ve got coffees from different regions around the world along with descriptions of each. I don’t remember what we got, but armed with timers for our French presses, it was perfect. A bit pricey but if you know your coffee, you’d appreciate it!

 

Blood Sausage (13) – potato rosti, apple butter, gruyère cheese and a micro green salad

Perfect blood sausage. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the apple butter and the potato rosti was crispy through and through. But the blood sausage, you couldn’t top that! Maybe this ain’t your cup o’ tea but one day, you’ll be curious enough to try it and you’ll love it. ;)

The Breakfast Sandwich (12) – grilled pork belly, pickled onions, kozlik’s sweet and smokey mustard, arugula and a fried egg on an apple fritter served w/ house potatoes

Using an apple fritter as the bun?! That immediately caught my eye and was ultimately the deciding factor for me choosing to order it.

Mmm delicious! I did expect the pork belly to be fattier though…but maybe that’s for the best. Leaves room for more gluttony later! 

Rachelle’s (@doughtoronto) maple-bacon donuts ($5/2)

My friend and I were debating to get these or not as soon as we sat down. Near the end of our meal we decided to go for it and it was a lucky call because these two were the last ones of the day!! :D Rachelle sells doughnuts from her pop-up shop out of the back door of Beast restaurant. And she sells out fast so you better get there early. (Check twitter for available flavours.)

If you know me, you know my absolute favourite doughnut shop is Doughnut Plant in NYC. I haven't had donuts elsewhere in awhile and am so glad I had these. I don't care what you say, yeast doughnuts are the best!!!

Beastwich is an awesome lunchtime feature. For $10, you get a “beastwich”, a little snack and dessert! Every Fridays from noon til they sell out. How cool is that?! (I’ve had it when they featured Chef Rossy Earle, solid).

Verdict: Brunch was solid. I’d come back for the blood sausage any day! If only they offered brunch everyday… And I love French toast so that’d be another good reason to come back. A restaurant doesn’t need to be big or super fancy with white linens and silverware to be good. Chef Scott Vivian is a great chef who’s got a skilled pastry chef at his side (in his wife, Rachelle!), a dedicated staff and a long list of local suppliers. That makes Beast a place to go for me!

Check ‘em out!  http://thebeastrestaurant.com/

5 out of 5 NOMs

nomnomnomnomnom