Osborne Village Cafe - Spunky Brunch

The main benefits of spring and summer for me is the awakening of the summer restaurant scene. Like a bear arising from a long hibernation, the energy and excitement surrounding new and established restaurants around town is palpable. And for me it builds up a renewed vigor to try newer places I might have overlooked on my first perusal. Such was the story of the Osborne Village Cafe, a contemporary spunky diner located minutes from my home. Thus when a fellow resident asked for a bite (and a pleasant meet and greet), how could I say no?

The Osborne Village Cafe is the preemptive dining experience of the Osborne Village Inn, a local motel/hotel in the heart of Osborne Street.  In truth, the exteriors are downright drab and do little to uncover the exciting local secret underneath. Thankfully the interiors are less of an eyesore with a spunky diner feel to the brick lain interior. The wait staff are of an eclectic flair each with a quirky but fun personality that makes one feel instantly comfortable.

The menu is appropriately fun and quirky. While the basis of the menu surrounds standard diner breakfast, lunch and brunch fare, the chefs do a nice job of adding their own flare and uniqueness in each dish. Case in point are their omelettes featuring fun quirky names like The Hipster or the Pegger and combining peculiar ingredients like wild rice and mushrooms or curried chickpeas and eggs.

Dining in a larger group affords you the opportunity to try a multitude of dishes. The Hipster is a two egg omelette chock full of cheddar, avocado, mushrooms and curried chickpeas. The star here are the chickpeas with a nice earthy aroma and strong curry flavour contrasting well with the soft delicate egg exterior

My main for the day was the Duck Burger. A ground patty of duck breast is topped with a tangy orange marmalade all housed in a large brioche bun. Since the chefs decided to ground up the duck meat, it was missing the usual fattiness found with a whole duck breast, but instead had a slightly slimey greasy consistency. With that said, it was incredibly tender and went well with the sweet and slightly bitter marmalade. The accompanying side of Curry Lentil Soup had a nice fiery kick to the typical proteinacous lentil soup.

Overall the Osborne Village Cafe delivered solid brunch fare at affordable prices and while some of their experimentation did not work, they have to be applauded for even attempting to innovate classic brunch fare. Definitely worth a visit for anyone in the Osborne area hankering for brunch.