DENNY’S

Living in Toronto, my family used to visit Niagara Falls a lot. Whenever we hosted out of town guests, a drive to see the falls was guaranteed. My favourite part of the trip was always a stop at one of the 24/7 American diners that had made their way across the border. Today, I can get my all day breakfast fix right in the heart of Toronto at the Denny’s near Yonge and Dundas.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

I was surprised to learn that Denny’s had 73 locations across Canada, including 3 in the GTA. The Hubby and I stopped by the downtown location a few weeks ago for dinner after some window shopping in the area. We were seated and handed menus by our server, who was cheerful and friendly. At 6pm on a weekday, most of our fellow diners were students lamenting over their recent exams. Our booth was clean and comfortable, but the restaurant decor did feel dated with muted neutral colours and warm yellow lighting. Our server was attentive, checking in on us throughout the night.

I was also surprised at the plethora of menu options Denny’s had to offer, way more than just omelettes and toast. From burgers, to pasta, to fish and chips. The menu also featured lighter dishes like the Fit Fare grilled salmon that had less than 15g of fat and was under 550 calories.

Even with all the choices, The Hubby couldn’t resist all day breakfast and ordered the Lumberjack Slam, which included two fluffy buttermilk pancakes, a slice of ham, two bacon strips, two breakfast sausages, hash browns, toast and two eggs cooked any way. All of that food was served on two hefty plates arrived. He ordered his eggs sunny side up and they were cooked perfectly with golden, runny yolks. Personally, I would have liked the hash browns to be crispier. The stack of pancakes, topped with a ball of butter, was soft and soaked up syrup like a sponge. Delicious. Portions were very generous and this was a lot of food for one person.

Sticking to the breakfast section of the menu, I chose the less traditional Steak Skewer Skillet. Served on a sizzling pan, my dish had a bed of seasoned red-skin potatoes, roasted bell peppers, onions and mushrooms, topped with a skewer of bite-size steak pieces and two perfect sunny-side up eggs. The skewer was brushed with a sweet bourbon sauce that really flavoured the meat. I enjoyed the plentiful amount of vegetables and found the red-skin potatoes very sweet (almost mistaking them for yam).

Alongside dinner, I sipped on a thick, creamy strawberry milkshake that was more dessert than drink. This was an indulgence worth an extra hour at the gym.