HOLTS CAFE

The posh little cafe inside (you guessed it) Holt Renfrew. Despite the expensive prices of it's high-baller parent establishment, this cafe is extremely reasonably priced and the perfect place for a brunch!

HOLTS CAFE
Where: Mezzanine level, Holt Renfrew
50 Bloor Street West (Bloor and Bay)
Toronto, ON
416 922 2333
Price: $$ (~$25/pp, tax/tip included)



Came here for an early dinner (they close at 8, check their times - they're a little odd!) with my two best friends, on a week day so it was extremely quiet and not at all busy.

Interior was nothing short of what you would expect of Holts

Himalayan Pink Salt, Herb de Provence, Pepper

Holt's is known for the tartines - a Parisian open-faced sandwich with a variety of fresh toppings on a sourdough-like bread. The winner here is really the bread (Poilâne bread) which is flown in three times a week from Paris. My friend ordered the Brunch Tartine which included THREE poached eggs. 

Brunch Tartine
poached eggs, smoked salmon,
mushrooms, tomatoes and basil
on top of Poliane bread ($18)

My other friend settled with Holt's daily pizzette special. Pizzette is basically (as the name suggests..) a fancy name for a small personal pizza.

Pizzette
on naan bread with caramelized apples,
chicken breast, smoked mozzarella
and radicchio ($16)

My beautiful friend as a reference to the
size of the pizzette - it's pretty large and can easily fill you

My friend said that while the pizzette was very good (sweet and savoury!), she didn't really understand the radicchio on top which made it unnecessarily bitter and would have liked a spicy kick or some acidity rather than bitterness.

Holt's Burger
smoked bacon, Gouda, onion marmalade
and garlic aoili/ with choice of green salad or fries ($17)

Absolutely delicious and worth every penny - the burger was enormous and much bigger than I'd expect from a seemingly-pretentious place such as this. The fries were seasoned and served with two little dishes of garlic aioli and ketchup. My friend found them underwhelming but I thought they were just right. 

Pretty large burger! Had to eat it deconstructed :(

Holts has a way of making even the
most mundane condiments look somewhat classy
(l'Ancienne mustard, ketchup, garlic aoili)

Very Berry Cocktail
Prosecco, blueberry juice,
raspberry and cranberry ($14)

While the Very Berry Cocktail was delicious, it definitely was NOT worth $14 in my books. Especially when a bottle of Prosecco is only $12... This drink was pretty much the same price as my meal!


We also ordered a Chocolate Torte and an Iced Lemonade, that we (sadly) devoured before we had the chance to take a picture. The torte was amazingly rich, but definitely something that should be shared because it is very filling.

It did although, go perfectly with the Iced Lemonade which was tart and even had some pulp in it - and oh-so refreshing after the richness of the torte. I enjoyed it completely!


Great place for a brunch, especially with girlfriends. Most definitely recommend it - and hey, you can even spend some time browsing the seemingly endless walls of Blahniks and Lanvins while waiting for a table :)


Happy eatings!
C