The Baked Eggs (top), Full Irish (bottom right) and Scones (bottom left)
I’ve been hearing quite a bit about EVOO since it has been open. The most recent article on this resto was the inclusion in a New York Times write up on St-Henri. Not bad. Reading up on their webpage, the team behind the restaurant is pretty impressive with all three doing time at the late DNA and other restaurants such as Sinclair, and Burgundy Lion. Peter Saunders is Irish which explained a couple of the Irish menu items. With the pedigree behind the team in charge, I was looking forward to what my meal would offer.
So, we headed there for brunch with the mucklet (aka my one year old son) as usual. When we walked into the restaurant, my husband just looked at me. The place is a bit… purple. I would describe the decor as modern, and refined. It perhaps just lacked any sort of personal touches. The server produced a high chair for the little one, and we were seated.
I took The Full Irish ($17) with Gaspor sausage, fried egg, back bacon, black pudding, marinated piglet liver, colcannon, grilled tomato and soda bread. I asked for the marinated piglet liver to be held back, as I am not a liver person (even foie gras – gasp!) My husband had the Baked Eggs ($15) with minced veal in little meatballs, bacon, tomato sauce and cheddar. For the little one we got the scones, and also asked for a side bowl of fruit.
My dish was very good. The back bacon wasn’t your typical fatty crisp bacon, but it was fairly crisp and very good nonetheless. The sausage was great, and I especially liked the colcannon – a traditional Irish dish of potatoes and cabbage. I tasted my husbands dish of Baked Eggs which came in a hot skillet, and I really enjoyed it although he seemed less enamoured with. The kiddo’s scones were great. The dish ended up being three mini scones with a cream filling – lemon (I believe?), chocolate, and strawberry. The side of fruit for the baby was very pretty – edible flowers, oranges segmented, and apples thinly sliced. It was much more than we expected when we asked for some fruit for the baby.
The service was very good, although I have to say, only a few of the tables were filled. Our server was professional explaining the menu and answering all questions.
So, what did I think overall? Well, they charged us for the fruit, which so far is a first. From the description above this was much more than some berries thrown in a bowl and someone took the time to do it right. And, should we really expect this to be thrown in for free just because it’s for a toddler? I don’t know. Besides that issue, I really liked my meal, and the service was extremely professional. Plus, they took care to use local items (like the Gaspor pork) and there were several nice and professional touches to the meals. For example, the soda bread that came with my Full Irish is made in house, the pork products were much better than average and even the black pudding (which I originally asked to be held back along with the liver) was good. As well, the options offered are different from your usual bacon and eggs which is a nice change.
Have you guys been? What did you think?
Decor: Modern, refined and bright.
Service: Very professional and knowledgeable.
Price: As far as brunches go, it’s slightly more expensive but it’s in line with the quality of ingredients.
Good For: Brunch with friends, parents, etc.
Baby Friendly: Yes in so far as they have a high chair, and there is room in between the tables for a stroller. I did not check the bathrooms.
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Michelle Little
Writer & Photographer
