Mildred's Temple Kitchen

On Monday morning, Canadian Thanksgiving, we had to travel back to London from having visited my parents. Of course, that means we could stop for brunch in Toronto! I had seen Mildred's Temple Kitchen on Instagram many times, so I was pretty pleased to see it was open on the holiday. I ordered the Big Brunch Skillet, and as you can see, we shared a side of chorizo sausage. First, I must say that the coffee was the absolute best coffee I've had in a restaurant, so shout out to Reunion Island Coffee. The skillet was very satisfying, but not mind blowing. Lots of spicy, tasty bites that went well with the eggs. I think I would have preferred poached eggs, since I really just don't like the jelly uncooked top of sunny-side up eggs, something I should have remembered. A nice rye toast would have been welcome too, it felt like it needed a toast.

Big Brunch Skillet - spicy pulled pork, roasted onions, black bean and potato hash with sunny eggs and piri piri salsa

Scott went his usual route - pancakes! These pancakes should be winning all the awards, they were so thick, light and fluffy. The Buttermilk was really doing good work, and that blueberry compote was delicious. I am a little jealous I didn't have a plate for myself. In the menu, it mentions that they are cooked low and slow, so I imagine the batter must be crazy thick to get them as high as they are.

Mrs. Biederhof's Legendary Light & Fluffy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes - served with Lanark County maple syrup & whipped cream.

Many things about this place were absolute wins. Like everywhere else in Toronto for brunch, it was really busy, and they don't take reservations. They do take your phone number, and text you when your table is ready, which is genius. There are so many little shops and things around Liberty Village to look at to entertain yourselves for 45 minutes, that the wait really didn't seem like an inconvenience at all. We actually bought a nice cast iron lasagna pan at a store nearby that we hope to use this week (this one). The dining area is so spacious and light, with enough charm to make it cozy. The kitchen line is completely exposed, so I could see every skillet and stack of pancakes prepared before ours. The music was great, kitchen staff clearly agreed - one chef stirred both a pot of something and his hips to Salt-N-Pepa's Push It. Unfortunately, our actual service wasn't impressive. Our server seemed completely exhausted. We quickly ran out of water and coffee, and were left for way too long with nothing to drink. All of our interactions with him felt really awkward, I didn't like it.

Likes: The atmosphere and pancakes were great!
Dislikes: I loved the coffee, and would have loved more of it - service was not ideal.
Food: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Would I go again?: Maybe. I do want those pancakes, but there's plenty more to try in the area. After such a long wait, I want to be more impressed.