As you might know if you read my blog, I went to Planta when it opened in September to try their dinner menu (review here), and when I heard they were starting brunch, I had to return to try it. Their brunch menu does overlap with their dinner menu, items like the chickpea fries and the kimchi dumplings are deserving of being on both, but there are many dishes that are unique to brunch, and, like almost anywhere I go, I would be happiest ordering one of each! After all, it’s the best and only way to share thorough details with you!
My mom and I started off by making the hard choice of which appetizer to order. We selected the Cauliflower Tots with truffled almond parmesan and fresh lemon. These warm bite-sized snacks were delicious! Like with many of their dishes, they are quite small. For our mains, my mom ordered the Land Lox bagel platter with big pieces of carrot lox, capers, pickled onions, and their housemade cashew cream cheese. It was ok. I ordered the Planta Burger, which was a beet burger topped with their queso sauce, tomato, pickled onion, and mushroom bacon. It came with a side of crispy BBQ potatoes, which were delectable.
Since Planta’s portions aren’t the biggest or the most filling, I opted to get a third dish: their nachos. When the cast-iron pan came, the tortilla chips were covered in a steaming hot layer of beans, followed by queso sauce, cashew crema, and guacamole, and was garnished by some fresh cilantro. It was awesmazing, as the crisp chips really brought out the flavour in the queso – and these ingredients are one of my favourite combinations.
I did return to brunch for a second time, taking my little brother to try it. He loved the caesar salad, but it wasn’t big enough for him (not much is!) and for a kid who doesn’t like mushrooms, he loved the shiitake bacon. He ordered a pizza and although the flavours were great, the crust was a bit wet, so when you order, ask for a crispy crust. Although it is white flour, it’s all organic, which is great to see!
Planta’s space is bright and super comfortable whether you are a party of 1 or in a large group. The servers are very kind. There are many merits to eating plant-based, and it’s great that Planta is making such great efforts to serve meat-free meals. I do think they need to get better at creating dishes that are satisfying with more protein so people (like me) can be satiated. Besides the few dishes that contain beans, there isn’t much found on Planta’s menu, and the meals not made with big buns or breads are quite small. But, the restaurant is new to creating vegan dishes, so I assume they will get much better as we all frequent the place and ask for more of what we want! I would love to go back more often! Of course, the light dishes make it easier for me to get one step closer to finally ordering one of everything on the menu!
