TOCA SATURDAY BRUNCH

After a wonderful dinner experience at Toca, I was very excited to be invited to the launch of their new Italian Saturday Brunch buffet. Even more so after seeing the menu, which included Canadian lobster tails, oysters, crab legs, cheeses from their cheese cave and smoked salmon. Also, bottomless mimosas and bellinis. Yes yes and so much yes.

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

Priced at $64 per adult Saturday brunch was served from 12pm-2pm at Toca, the main restaurant inside the Ritz-Carlton Toronto hotel. Buffet stations were set up in the centre of the dining area and around the entrance. There were tables of charcuterie, cheese and crackers, desserts, a salad bar, cooked breakfast fare (i.e. eggs benedict and ricotta pancakes) and pasta but the main attraction was definitely the East Coast Seafood Bar.

Sitting on a bed of crushed ice were freshly shucked east coast oysters, lobster tail halves, plump shrimp, crab legs and an assortment of accoutrements. Needless to say, Stephen knew where to find me for the rest of the morning. Oysters were the first to disappear and the kitchen had a hard time keeping them stocked. There was no short supply of lobster tails or crab legs, which were fresh, tender and flavourful.

Of the cooked offerings, my favourites were the pasta and ricotta pancakes. The eggs benedict had a perfect poached egg but the english muffin was a touch hardened, difficult to keep warm in a buffet situation. Both the charcuterie and cheese platters had nice opposing selections (a soft cheese, a hard cheese) and I finished my meal with a decadent creme brulee.

Overall, the Saturday Brunch buffet at Toca was an indulgent treat. The seafood bar was one of the best I’ve seen in the city in terms of quality and selection and there was a wide assortment of other stations to make the entire meal a worthwhile outing.