Mildred's Temple Kitchen

Pancakes Since Before the Condos

3.5 of 5

Donna Dooher opened her first restaurant on Queen Street West in 1989, when Toronto still thought brunch meant a hotel buffet and a sad omelette station. In 2008 she moved the operation to Liberty Village, back when the neighbourhood was more warehouse than condo. The towers came later. The pancakes were already waiting for them.

Those pancakes are the reason the room is busy every weekend morning. Buttermilk batter, blueberry compote, Ontario maple syrup. A single one is a serious meal, and the smart move is to order one and leave room for the savoury side. Wally's cheese tart has been on the menu since the doors first opened, which in restaurant years makes it a senior citizen with excellent posture. The chix and waffles carry a little heat that most people overlook. The pulled pork pancakes are for anyone who thinks breakfast and barbecue should stop pretending they are strangers.

Here is the detail I care about most. A cook named Vera has been making the biscuits, scones and tarts for more than thirty five years. Thirty five years at one station is not a job. It is a vocation. Dooher calls her a staple of who they are, and she is right. Go around two in the afternoon when the line thins, and buy something from the pantry on the way out so the good habits follow you home.

Order this: One buttermilk pancake with blueberry compote and maple syrup, Wally's savoury cheese tart, Chix and waffles, Pulled pork pancakes
The damage: $$
Go: Mid afternoon, around two, when the morning rush has gone home; book through Tock if you can
Find it: 85 Hanna Ave, Unit 104, Toronto, ON