Berkeley North Brunch - Hamilton Small Fries

Berkeley North

31 King William St, Hamilton, ON

Words couldn’t explain how excited I was to hear that Berkeley North was launching brunch. Brunch is one of my favourite meals of the day plus I love the people at Berkeley North, so a meal incorporating both of those things is a serious winner for me. Everyone I send to Berkeley for lunch or dinner come back with only rave reviews of the restaurant, so I can’t wait to suggest them for brunch now!

Expect: Bigger portions than their regular menu and fresh, light flavours.

Jen from TasteHamont and I pretty much ordered everything. We tried:

Lemon Poppyseed Scone – $3 – I normally don’t like eating a full scone – I find them on the dry side unless they are served with English Cream, but I could have eaten 20 of these. If you like lemon, you’ll love this. It was buttery inside with a semi-crispy outside and a stronger lemon flavour. I love these. If they served boxes of the Lemon Scones to go, they would probably see me everyday 😉

Eggs Benedict (Fresh English Muffin, Creamed Greens, Cheddar + Breakfast Salad + Tater Tots) – $13 – This was a tasty, classic Eggs Benedict. If that’s your brunch thing, you won’t be disappointed. The side salad was a nice surprise from the usual “greens” salad – it was full of oranges and avocado, which I thought went really well together. It was topped with a Carrot Ginger dressing. Nom.

Veg Taco (Tumeric & Coconut Taco, Pickled Veg + Micro Greens + Peanut Sauce) – $12 – According to TasteHamont, this was like their take on Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Crepe), but it came with a lettuce wrap on the outside, so you eat it like a taco! I loved the peanut sauce with the flavours of cilantro and mint on this. If you want to feel on the healthy side after eating brunch – order this. It’s a bit hard to eat, but seriously what lettuce wrap isn’t?

Shaq-Shouka Skillet (Tomato Romesco Sauce, Poached Eggs + Olive Flatbread) – $12 – This was my favourite dish of the whole brunch. When I come back, I’ll get this plus a side tater tots to share with someone (or one of their breakfast salads if I feel like eating my veg that day). It’s pretty hearty, because you get the skillet filled with tomato sauce and poached eggs and two BIG pieces of Olive Flatbread. The olive flatbread was similar to Naan, but with spices and oil on top. I would like my shakshuka more on the spicy side, so next time I’ll ask for some hot sauce, but I have no complaints about this dish.

Side Tater Tots (w/ Hot Ketchup) – $4 – This was the best price ever for the amount of tater tots you get. It was a huge mountain’s worth of in-house made taters, and they were delicious. I’d recommend getting this if you love potaters!

Side Fruit Salad (Compressed Melon) – $3 – TBH I don’t really like melon, but if you do, this was a nice addition for only $3.

Berkeley Spritz Cocktail (Orange, Cointreau, Angostura, Soda, Sparkling Wine) – Strong but tasty.

Pluck Tea (Cream Earl Grey) – There is a serious lack of good tea in the city at local restaurants. There, I said it. I’m a pretty big tea snob, so I hate when restaurants that go all out making this homemade, go with cheap bagged tea. I was so pleased to see that Berkeley North did not do this! They serve up Pluck loose leaf teas. When you ask for a tea they’ll bring over a full box of options with explanations, and you are able to smell each one and pick your fave. When it arrives, it comes with a vintage china tea cup to drink out of. Very nice, Berkeley North!