Relish - Weekend Brunch Happiness

Relish is a lovely little cafe located on Pandora Avenue, just east of Quadra Street. Bookended on the corners by McD's and a Provincial Government office, a few older, one-storey buildings house a large amount of food-goodness. Relish is one of them (the Blair-Mart and Hot and Cold Cafe are worth standalone future blog write-ups). Relish is open Monday-Friday for breakfast & lunch and on Saturdays for brunch. A weekend brunch was our meal destination – so we slid into the last available table at the time.

Relish's sunny tables on Pandora Ave.

The menu is not long but it is diverse – including granola, french toast, bennies, sandwiches and a burger. Some of the menu items have very interesting Korean & Chinese influences, as well. They also have a beautiful espresso machine - so you can start your meal off...


…with a beautiful latte.

Latte Art & Brunch Menu

Our table of four narrowed down our choices to two of the bennies, a kimchi scramble and a roasted chickpea tagine. The bennies: one was with thick slices of smoked pork, sitting on English muffins and topped with hollandaise and served with roasted tomatoes and pan-fried potatoes – excellent benny with soft poached eggs and flavourful pork in every bite (it’s actually the standard order for this diner when they come here). The second benny was smoked mackerel - a large piece sitting on potato rosti, topped with salsa verde and nestled up to a small tossed salad with shaved pickled fennel plus the roasted tom’s. This was my order and I loved it – the smokey/salty mackerel was excellent and went incredible well with the runny eggs, salsa verde & rosti – I would be hard pressed to pick something else off the menu next time I’m in.

Smoked Pork Benny

Smoked Mackerel Benny

Next breakfast was the kimchee scramble – what a delicious, different egg dish – made in-house kimchi (pickled, spicy cabbage) scrambled together with bacon, eggs, aged cheddar and green onions - served with potatoes, salad and toast. Excellent dish - the kimchi adds a great flavour without over-powering the dish.

Kimchi & Bacon Scramble

Final dish up was the chickpea tagine. Another incredibly flavourful dish - with cumin and saffron - the chickpeas, eggplant & tomatoes stew together very well. Served with toast (as well, you can add on a couple of eggs for an extra charge).

Red Pepper & Chickpea Tagine

Relish really is a fabulous little Saturday brunch spot - the menu is diverse (without being lengthy), the food is fresh & innovative (regular breakfasts with a twist) and the setting is lively (cozy individual tables, a communal one & outside seating as well).

And there's free parking on the street - what more could you ask for?


Relish Food & Coffee
920 Pandora Avenue
Saturday Brunch 9am-1:30pm
(weekday lighter breakfasts, muffins, scones & lunches available: Tue-Fri, 7am-3:30pm)