Saving Grace

Saving Grace, located at Bathurst and Dundas in the Trinity-Bellwoods area has become one of my favourite brunch spots.
Since the place is quite small and the food is so delicious, the wait time is generally between 1 – 1.5 hours throughout the day. The lady I spoke with on the phone suggested to arrive 15mins before opening at 9:45am as we would likely get a table. J and I showed up on Sunday at 11:15am, placed our names on the clipboard located inside by the door, and stood outside to wait our turn. We patiently waited about 45 minutes for a table.Their everyday menu includes yogurt, French toast, oatmeal, porridge, polenta, a variety of sandwiches, eggs, and their popular french toast with caramelized banana and maple syrup ($10, $5.50 half order) and of course tea and coffee.On the chalkboard are the specialty dishes available for the day. This menu is constantly changing and never boring.We ordered three dishes which all came with a side of seasoned roasted potatoes and arugula salad. I personally don’t like arugula, but besides that I loved everything we ordered and they seriously tasted as great as it looks! This is the poached eggs on cornbread waffle, with brie, bacon, blueberry preserves ($13.25). I’ve never heard of cornbread waffles until I came here. Its plain on its own but quite delicious with the hearty toppings!Scrambled eggs with dill, and smoked salmon, avocado, pickled red onion tartare ($13.25) is the dish that J ordered. The tartare is a tasty and unique brunch item. The scrambled eggs were fluffy and the dill paired well with it. I kept stealing bits of his dish – yum!We also shared the warm brie pear walnut honey on open baguette ($9). The bosc pear makes this a sweet and refreshing way to end our meal. I’d like to try making this at home one day.The food was absolutely delicious and we thought it was worth the wait. We were so stuffed from ordering so much food but I’m really glad we did! We had to take some of the potato and toast to go but that’s okay.The plating is so colourful which makes it very appetizing. I do want to try their french toast with caramelized banana and maple syrup next time which I regret not ordering.
This place is homey and perfect for a date (if you can avoid the lines), or just a weekend brunch with some girls. Like most good brunch spots downtown, they don’t take reservations. Be careful if you take a walk and come back, because you will lose your spot on the wait list if you’re late!