Pearl Diver

I am so behind in my blog posts that I am only now getting around to blogging about Mother's Day brunch! My husband and my sister wanted to treat my mom, my aunts, and myself to a nice Mother's Day brunch, and seafood seemed like a good bet because my family loves seafood. We opted to go downtown because we heard something about a lobster benny that sounded pretty exciting!

Restaurant: Pearl Diver
Location: Corktown
Meal: Brunch
Day: Sunday
Son's Age: 13 months

As with any Sunday brunch, it was super important for us that this restaurant took reservations, since waiting in line with a baby is never an ideal situation. They actually have a back area with two larger tables so we didn't have to sit in the middle of a crowded restaurant, which is nice.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐
This restaurant is not stroller friendly. To get to the back table, the path is quite narrow, and there is a step. Once we were there, we were given the option to park the stroller beside us or leave it at the front, and we quickly realized that leaving it next to the table would make the area very crowded. They also did not have proper high chairs, but instead had booster seats that strapped to their chairs.

This doesn't seem like an issue, except the back of the chair is curved so the strap doesn't actually go around very tightly, and the seat ended up being slightly crooked. There is an option to attach a tray table directly to the seat, but space made it very inconvenient to use. (And yes, that is my husband's wallet that my son is playing with - blah blah hygiene germs blah blah - his grandmother was present so trust me I already heard the lecture.) The washroom also does not have a change table.

The saving grace is that the toilet seat has a lid so you could still change a diaper if you needed to.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐

Service was fine, but not memorable. When we were struggling with tightening the booster seat onto the chair, no one offered to help, which is fine, but it means you can't rely on the service to make your experience of taking your baby to a restaurant easier. 

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I am so torn about how to rate the food. We started with a dozen oysters for the table.

The special was supposed to be 6 east coast and 6 west coast oysters, but given the news about contaminated west coast oysters, we asked for all 12 to be east coast, and they obliged. The oysters were delicious, as expected, served with the traditional condiments of horseradish, lemon, cocktail sauce, hot sauce, and mignonette. For my main, I went with this famous lobster benny.

Let me tell you, these home fries were mind blowing. I could have just eaten a giant portion of home fries. Seriously, these might be the best home fries I've ever had. That sounds lovely, but I found the star of the dish was just okay and not memorable. There wasn't that much lobster, and it was so light that it got lost amongst the flavours of the egg, hollandaise, and bun. My husband ordered the PD classic breakfast.

This is a typical classic with eggs, bacon, toast, home fries, and salad. Again, amazing home fries, but also surprisingly the best toast I've ever had! I don't know what it is, but it was perfectly toasted and perfectly buttered, so it was just such a standout on the plate. So, overall I'm not sure how to judge the food, because if you like toast and home fries, you seriously need to come here. The rest of the food is fine but not great, so I've decided to net this out at four stars.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐
This place is fine to bring your baby, and the food is pretty good. If you want the best toast ever, it's worth the effort, and being able to make reservations is definitely a plus, but I think there might be other places that are more worthwhile. 

Dirty Food Eatery

My son was getting ready to start daycare and I was about to start work, so I was treasuring my last days of maternity leave. I decided to meet my sister for brunch and try a new restaurant in the generally baby-friendly Junction.

Restaurant: Dirty Food Eatery
Location: The Junction
Meal: Brunch
Day: Monday
Son's Age: 12 months

Dirty Food is a relatively new restaurant that apparently is affiliated with Junked Food - I didn't actually know this at the time but my husband informed me afterward when he found out that I came here without him. I was just excited to have a new brunch place nearby.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The restaurant itself is quite small, and I didn't bring a stroller because I was able to find parking nearby. I saw that someone else had left a folded stroller at the front, though. They not only had a high chair for my son, but they also had a kids' menu and plastic cutlery for him!

I'll talk about the food itself later, but my so loves trying to use the knife and fork by himself. He wasn't particularly successful but it was cute watching him try to imitate my sister and me. The washrooms are in the basement, so not stroller friendly, but the larger stall has a change table.

It's more like a shelf (think of the change tables on airplanes if they were padded), but it gets the job done, and it's a good use of such a small space.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The servers are clearly prepared to deal with young children. Our server was extremely friendly and interacted with my son, and he was happy to answer all the questions I had about the menu also (specifically about the kids' menu). He checked in on us frequently to make sure we had everything we needed, which really helped to make the experience pleasant.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I really did not know what to expect, given that all I knew was that a new brunch place had opened up nearby. I couldn't decide what to order, so the server recommended I try the chicken 'n' waffle 'wich.

This is buttermilk fried chicken in a waffle sandwich with mayonnaise, candies jalapeños, and lettuce, served with jalapeño syrup, slaw, and fries. This is so delicious, and if you like chicken and waffles you will want to try this. The slaw was actually really good too. There's a fried drumstick separated from the sandwich so you can eat that with your hands without worrying about biting into bone. For my son, we got the kid size Jonny cakes.

These are cornmeal pancakes, served with some pineapple and maple syrup on the side. As you can see, my son was really eager to eat this that I couldn't even get a photo without his hand in the shot. I like that the syrup was on the side because I try not to give him too much processed sugar, but even without syrup he was a huge fan. The kids meals all come with a small drink, but I drank his juice because I haven't given him juice yet and he really likes drinking water.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
This is a really great baby-friendly restaurant with delicious brunch food. If you are particularly reliant on your stroller, you may run into some difficulties, but otherwise I highly recommend you bring your baby here. 

Emma's Country Kitchen

I finally had a chance to visit one of my favourite brunch spots at the new location! I was doing a trial boot camp class nearby, and of course, what better way is there to treat yourself after bootcamp than with brunch!

Restaurant: Emma's Country Kitchen
Location: Corso Italia
Meal: Brunch
Day: Monday
Son's Age: 10 months

I've been obsessed with Emma's buttermilk biscuits pretty much ever since I moved into the neighbourhood, so I was really excited to see what the new space looked like. The place is definitely bigger, so it can accommodate more traffic, and I believe they now have a liquor license. How was the experience, though?

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Heads up - this is another restaurant that has an IKEA high chair!

I always prefer these high chairs because they just feel more secure than the typical wooden restaurant high chairs. The downside is that if your baby is too small to sit up, you can't just flip it over to set your car seat down, but I've probably only done that once ever so the lack of that feature doesn't bother me. The other good news is that the washroom has a proper change table!

It's in a spot that I suspect could have been another stall instead, but I applaud the accommodation. The one downside is that the washroom is now located downstairs. That's right - the new location is no longer stroller friendly. 

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Service here has always been excellent, and the new location did not impact that. I asked for some hot water to heat up my son's food, and they brought me a coffee mug. 

It was actually the perfect size for my baby cube! Overall the servers were always extremely friendly, and either they all really love their jobs or they're really great actors. I always feel welcome whenever I come. 

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Did I mention the buttermilk biscuits? I ordered Emma's benny, which is my favourite thing here. 

Poached eggs are served over peameal bacon on the infamous buttermilk biscuits, covered in mousseline sauce. Usually they are served with red skin potatoes, which I highly recommend. I chose to substitute them with fruit salad. I like to pretend it's because I'm healthy, but who am I kidding? My son really loves fruit, and he actually ate almost that whole bowl! Don't worry, I cut all the grapes in half before I gave them to him (sidebar: moms really love to judge other moms, don't they?). There was a great mix of fruit, so if you do prefer to be healthy, this is a great alternative to the potatoes. 

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

This is one of my favourite brunch places in the city and you really have to come here and give it a try. The restaurant is very baby friendly, albeit not stroller friendly, and everyone on the staff is so helpful. One important thing to note: I don't know what the weekends look like at this new location, but in the past there was always a significant line up and they don't take reservations. The weekdays seem pretty safe, though, if you prefer to avoid the wait. Don't forget to try a donut if you have the chance!

Maha's

My sister had the day off and asked me to meet her for brunch. I had wanted to try Maha's for a while but it's out of my way and they don't take reservations. My sister agreed to get there early so I wouldn't have to line up with my baby, so I jumped at the chance.

Restaurant: Maha's
Location: Leslieville
Meal: Brunch
Day: Tuesday
Son's Age: 9 months

The space is quite small so I can see why there is usually a line. The restaurant serves Egyptian food, and my appetite was sufficiently whetted after watching the Egypt episode of A Cook Abroad on Netflix the night before.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐
This is a really small space, so strollers are pretty much out of the question. The entire restaurant also has only one high chair, which was already in use when I arrived. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long for it to become available.

The washroom is also very small and in the back of the restaurant.

The good news is that the toilet has a lid so you can change a baby there (yes, I realize my standards for accessibility have decreased with time).

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Despite the lack of high chairs in the restaurant, our server was very attentive and brought over the high chair as soon as possible. We were also given a table for four so that in the meantime I could put my car seat on the chair next to me. We were quickly able to get hot water for my son's food too.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm not sure where else in the city you can get Egyptian brunch - it is a pretty specific niche. I started with the signature honey cardamom latte. 

This is a perfect level of sweetness and if you like cardamom I definitely encourage you to try this! It's a great way to start the morning. For my meal, I ordered the Cairo classic. 

The standout here is the foole, which is fava beans mixed with tomatoes and onions. It is also served with a sliced boiled egg, falafel, creamy feta, and balady bread. I would order this again for sure. Egyptian falafels aren't quite the same as the typical falafel that I'm used to, but it is delicious. Everything works well together and they recommend that you use the balady as a vessel to eat a little bit of everything at once. If you are looking to try something different for brunch, you have to come here!

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
While the accessibility is less than ideal for bringing a baby, the food and the service really make this trip worthwhile. Just make sure you send someone ahead to wait for a table, because even on weekdays there is a bit of a wait!

Farmhouse Tavern

Finally made it into the new year! My mom and sister wanted to have brunch together for New Year's, and since I had a good experience at Farmhouse Tavern, we decided to return.

Restaurant: Farmhouse Tavern
Location: The Junction
Meal: Brunch
Day: Sunday
Son's Age: 9 months

Similar to my last experience, it seems that lots of families bring their babies here for brunch, so we felt very comfortable bringing my son.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐
Obviously, the accessibility of the restaurant wasn't going to change, although this time I actually put my baby in the high chair.

Washrooms are still not great and even though people bring their strollers in here, it's not exactly stroller friendly.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The service was very consistent with our last visit - still prepared to deal with the baby and still very friendly, but I could still have used some more coffee refills.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This time I took a photo of my food, which is why I decided to write another blog post despite my last visit being so recent. I ordered the eggs in a nest, which are poached eggs nested in a butternut squash, served with a side of salad.

I also added bacon, which lined the holes in the squash and surrounded the eggs. Conceptually, I love the idea of the bacon nestled in there, as the bacon flavour melts into the squash, which would otherwise be very light for brunch. While overall it was delicious, my only qualm was the distribution of the bacon - the majority of the bacon was under one of the eggs, with only a few pieces under the other. I started eating the egg with less bacon and thought I had been ripped off before realizing halfway through that the rest of the bacon was under the next egg. That aside, the combination makes for a very satisfying brunch, and the salad is very light and fresh and makes the perfect complement.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐½
While the restaurant itself isn't as baby friendly as other locations, the service and the food balance it out, and it's clearly good enough for me to come back within the month!

The Good Fork

After a successful morning of Boxing Day shopping (yes I know, I'm still in December), my sister and I met up with my husband and son for brunch at the Good Fork.

Restaurant: The Good Fork
Location: Bloor West Village
Meal: Brunch
Day: Monday
Son's Age: 8 months

Yes, this is another repeat visit. I love coming here but I hate that they don't take reservations for brunch. Luckily, we didn't have to wait long, and there is a Timothy's down the street whose customer base I'm pretty sure includes a lot of people waiting for their table at the Good Fork.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Obviously the accessibility still hasn't changed - the entrance is wheelchair (and stroller!) accessible and there is an accessible washroom with a change table. This time, I didn't bring the stroller, so we were seated upstairs and given a high chair.

They provided my son with a kids' menu which I think he decided was a new toy. 

Service: ⭐⭐⭐
Our server was extremely friendly and very approachable, and she seemed to find my son adorable, which is always a plus for me. That said, she also seemed very forgetful. I asked her for milk with my coffee several times before finally getting it when I asked a different server - each time she would apologize profusely, then say she's going to get it right now...and then forget again. She was also very forgetful at bringing coffee refills (did I mention I spent the morning Boxing Day shopping? Mommy needs her coffee!), which also required me to flag down another server. I asked how big a portion was in the menu and she kept emphasizing that I shouldn't worry because my baby definitely wouldn't be hungry. He's a baby - he doesn't need a lot of food, but my questions were more about whether the food was baby appropriate and if it might be too much, which she didn't understand. The kids' meals also come with a cup of juice, which she kept saying was so great, and then forgot to bring it until I asked (not that I give my baby juice, but if it comes with juice my husband will drink that!). I do want to point out that this kind of service is not typically what I encounter here, but it does seem like this server in particular could use a notepad.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm starting to think I need to hire a food photographer because clearly I am not getting this job done. I ordered the Nova Scotia benny with smoked salmon and fresh dill with a side of salad, and my photo did not turn out but it was delicious. The eggs were perfectly runny and the hollaindaise was rich, while the salad was a refreshing complement (if you hate salad for brunch, there's an option of home fries, too). Of course, I had to get a side of my favourite red velvet pancakes!

For my son, we decided to order a grilled cheese on multigrain toast with a side of fruit.

This is definitely a kid portion and not a baby portion, in case you are wondering. My son loves to chew on proper food (he's totally over puréed food now), and he is obsessed with fruit, cheese, and bread, so I knew we couldn't go wrong. No, he did not eat the whole thing, although he did polish off the fruit. I wouldn't generally recommend ordering off the menu for a baby, but if you are so inclined, the fruit is fresh and the grilled cheese is very simple, so this probably isn't a bad meal to get for your child.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Even with the questionable service, this restaurant is a fantastic place to take your baby for brunch. The food is excellent and bringing your baby is so convenient. Plus, the atmosphere is casual enough that people won't really blink an eye if your baby decides to be fussy. 

Farmhouse Tavern

Full disclosure: I'm super behind on my blog posts for a really stupid reason. I thought I had a food photo that I had taken on my husband's phone and was waiting for him to send it back to me. Turns out, I had only taken a blurry photo of the side of the table, which is why he didn't know what I was talking about when I asked him for it. Apologies for the delay, but now, let's get to it!

Restaurant: Farmhouse Tavern
Location: The Junction
Meal: Brunch
Day: Saturday
Son's Age: 8 months

I was meeting a friend for brunch, and with a baby in tow, that means finding a good brunch place that takes reservations. We decided to stay in the neighbourhood and go to Farmhouse Tavern. This restaurant is a great local spot with an ever changing menu. The place has a bit of a rustic feel to it, including mismatched coffee mugs.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐
I came here a lot before I had a baby, and I swear I don't remember seeing so many high chairs here before. I actually brought my son in his car seat thinking that I would need to have it perched on a chair. Luckily, high chairs actually flip over to accommodate car seats.

There are steps to get in, so while people did bring in their stroller, it isn't an easy feat. Additionally, there are no change tables in the washroom.

The good news is that the toilet seat has a lid, so you can lower it and change your baby there. And yes, if you have been reading all my posts, I have been getting less picky about my definition of "accessible washrooms" when it comes to change tables, but it's one of the things I'm learning about as a first time mom.

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The server was definitely prepared to have a baby at the restaurant, which is always helpful. They also brought a bowl of hot water for me to heat up my son's lunch.

I could have used some more frequent coffee refills, but otherwise, the server was happy to explain the menu to us and for the most part left us alone to enjoy good food and conversation.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I always rate the food based on the specific experience I have here, so based on this particular visit, I'd give the food four stars. As I explained earlier, I do not have a photo, but I ordered the mother and child reunion for brunch, which in this case, was a breaded duck egg over a duck rillette and a potato hash. Now, I have to emphasize that they are constantly changing their menu, and I hadn't been here in quite some time, so I knocked off a star partially because of expectation - the last time I had come for brunch, the mother and child reunion was two duck eggs and duck prosciutto served with salad. To be fair, this new creation was significantly more filling, and it was still tasty, but I was slightly disappointed because I had expected something different. The server did explain it properly, so I was aware that the description had changed when I ordered, but I suppose I was really hoping to be blown away. That being said, the duck egg is perfect - the yolk is nice and runny, and I think it has been poached first and then fried, which is just lovely and does pair quite nicely with the hash.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐½
The accessibility of this restaurant makes it slightly inconvenient to bring your baby, but the food and service are good, and the ability to make a reservation for brunch in Toronto is a big bonus. I'd recommend coming here if you want some good local food for brunch but want to avoid the crazy wait times.

The Good Fork

So I've been trying to get to the Good Fork for a while and finally managed to meet up with my bestie there! I used to come here all the time when I didn't care about waiting 45 minutes for a table (aka before I had a baby), but luckily my friend was able to meet me for brunch on a weekday.

Restaurant: The Good Fork
Location: Bloor West Village
Meal: Brunch
Day: Monday
Son's Age: 6 months

I had made a reservation, but once we arrived the hostess asked to wait a few more minutes because they had originally reserved a table upstairs, but upon seeing my baby in a stroller, they thought it would be better for me to wait for a table on the main floor. The hostess also noted that the second floor was a bit colder.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
High chairs are available but since my son isn't great at sitting still they let me park the stroller next to the table.

There is also an accessible washroom on the main floor with a change table provided so it's easy to just wheel the stroller in. 

There's not really anything more you can ask for to be baby friendly, so as far as accessibility goes, the Good Fork gets five stars. 

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I appreciated being seated on the main floor and everything went smoothly - food arrived promptly and there were no issues splitting the bill. My small quibble is that I had to ask for a coffee refill a couple times, but overall service was great. 

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is one of my favourite brunch places in the city. A lot of times, I find one restaurant and one good dish and I order the same thing every time I go. Not here. There are genuinely multiple dishes that I would recommend, and it's great for larger groups or pickier eaters because there's a large variety of brunch and lunch items, with a good mix of meat versus vegetarian and healthy versus indulgent. On this occasion, I had to order the fork scramble.

This is a puff pastry topped with scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, whipped chive crème fraiche, and dill, served with a side of salad. The puff pastry is light and fluffy and all the components just go so well together. It's filling without being heavy, which is just lovely. Lest you think that I'm on a diet all of a sudden, I should explain that I wanted something light to offset my order of a side of red velvet pancakes.

Yes, you read that right. Red. Velvet. Pancakes. Seriously. If you don't order this, you are insane. It's served with a vanilla cream cheese frosting, powdered sugar, and maple syrup. These are without a doubt my favourite pancakes in the city. You can actually get a full sized order of this, but I opted to get the side and split with my friend so that I could ultimately get a combination of sweet and savoury without stuffing myself.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
This is such a great place to brunch with baby. The restaurant itself is so baby friendly and accessible, and the food is delicious. If you come on a weekday, you can actually make reservations too. I highly recommend trying this place out if you haven't already. 

Shangri-la

To celebrate my father-in-law's birthday, my husband and I decided to treat him for dim sum. The best dim sum tends to be in the northeast part of the GTA, so we found ourselves at Shangri-la in Markham.

Restaurant: Shangri-la
Location: Markham
Meal: Brunch
Day: Saturday
Son's Age: 25 weeks

This restaurant is particularly nice because it is also a banquet hall and convention centre. This means that the venue is spacious, well decorated, and clean, and to be honest, it's pretty rare to find a good dim sum restaurant with all these qualities, so that's already a big plus. It's also set up as if for an event (probably to entice people to book their weddings here), which means the tables have clearly marked numbers, so when my in-laws were seated, they let us know which table they were sitting at, which made it much easier to find them once we arrived.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Since there is a large parking lot, we opted to just bring the car seat in and place it on a chair.

It turns out that if we had decided to bring the stroller inside, there was plenty of room for us to navigate to our table, so that's nice to know for the future. I believe I saw high chairs also but I can't be sure. The washrooms are both large and clean, which is amazing and again could easily accommodate a stroller, but more importantly, there was a change table available.

It's nice because it is not inside the larger stall, nor does it block anyone else using the facilities. From an accessibility perspective, this restaurant is perfect for bringing baby. The noise level in the dim sum restaurant also means that if you have a fussy baby, you don't need to worry about disturbing other patrons, but you can still hear each other and carry a conversation, so again, perfect for bringing a baby.

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Service was unremarkable - in fact, they served our dessert dish first. It's pretty much what you would expect at dim sum restaurants - you mark your order on a paper, your server takes the paper from you, then brings your dishes out as they are ready. Very little interaction, but they get the job done. 

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I've mentioned this in previous posts, but I always have difficulty rating Chinese food simply because I've had so much that I usually greatly enjoy the food, but can't tell if something is particularly outstanding or just average. I can recognize when the food is bad, though, and the food is not bad at all here. Because dishes are served whenever they're ready, I couldn't capture everything in one photo, so I will just post a bunch and comment intermittently. As I said earlier, we somehow started with dessert, which was a sweetened pancake with peanuts. 

It was sweet but not too sweet, so it wasn't that big an issue that it came first. Next was deep fried taro dumplings and turnip cake with preserved meat. 

Turnip cakes are one of the dishes I almost always order at dim sum, and this place did not disappoint. I don't typically have taro dumplings though, and these were really good - crunchy on the outside but smooth on the inside. Then we had siu mai with fish roe and beef balls. 

Both these dishes were tasty, as expected. We also had beef tripe with ginger and green onion as well as spare ribs.

These dishes were both fine albeit unmemorable. We ordered some congee for the table.

Again, fine but not memorable. This was followed by bean curd rolls.

This was nice and juicy - they did not skimp on the sauce here. Finally, the last dish was char siu bao, or buns with BBQ pork.

This was a good finish to the meal, and pretty much what you'd expect for a char siu bao. Overall, I was very satisfied with the food, and there is a decent amount of variety that you can order from, which is great when you are eating with a large group of people.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is probably one of the better dim sum restaurants to take your baby. The food is great and the place is clean and spacious. Not to mention, the presentation of the food is slightly nicer than most Chinese restaurants. I would definitely come here again. 

Mildred's Temple Kitchen

A good friend of mine was visiting from Hong Kong and his wife had heard about the infamous pancakes at Mildred's Temple Kitchen. I previously had not dared to go because they don't take reservations for brunch, and I don't want to wait for a table when I have a baby in tow. Luckily, my friend agreed to go first and let me know how long the expected wait would be, so I just had to arrive later!

Restaurant: Mildred's Temple Kitchen
Location: Liberty Village
Meal: Brunch
Day: Saturday
Son's Age: 24 weeks

If you live in Toronto and love brunch (and frankly I feel like more often than not, the two go hand in hand), you know how ridiculous brunch lineups are. I informed my friend of the brunch scene here, and emphasized that Sunday at 11 is pretty much suicidal. He decided to be on the safe side and go on Saturday at 10:30. In my experience, Saturday at 10:30 at most places means you can waltz right in. Not at Mildred's. The wait time given was 45 minutes - but we ended up seated around noon (this actually worked in my favour because I was running late, so our table was ready just when I arrived.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
For the record, Mildred's is legitimately wheelchair accessible. There are automatic doors and ramps, with plenty of space between tables to maneuver a stroller - and, I imagine, a wheelchair. Since my son could not sit unassisted yet, I kept him in his stroller by the table.

And then my husband promptly took him out of the stroller so my friend could get a good look at him. I swear he was there! Anyway, worth noting - the high chairs they provide are the IKEA high chairs, so not the typical wooden high chairs that most restaurants have, which to me is a huge plus. Unfortunately, the washroom does not have a change table.

There is, however, plenty of counter space, so if your baby isn't at that wriggly stage yet, this should be sufficient. There is also a larger accessible washroom, so if you were here alone with your baby, there is no problem bringing the stroller with you while you do your business.

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Service was great - our server was very pleasant, and most importantly, he kept my coffee cup full. I also appreciated that we were not rushed at all, since I needed the time to catch up with my friend (although I admit the leisurely pace is probably what contributed to the long wait time upfront). Other than the initial wait, I'd say the overall experience was very pleasant.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My husband decided to order two things and share. He got a brunch special, and I have to be honest I forget exactly what it was but here's the photo:

I do remember that it was delicious and extremely filling. It was also a good savoury complement to my order, which of course had to be the infamous blueberry pancakes.

So I must tell you, the description of "pancakes" is a bit misleading and frankly it's the only reason I don't give the food a full five stars. These pretty much tasted like large, delicious, fluffy scones. Don't get me wrong, I love scones, and if you love scones then trust me you will love these pancakes. My issue is that people describe these to me as fluffy pancakes, so I expect them to taste like pancakes. You know on Top Chef when contestants make something delicious but mislabel it and then Tom Colicchio gives them a hard time (unless you're Richard Blais and called your pilaf a paella but it was so good that no one cared)? This is one of those situations.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I give Mildred's a solid four stars. If you have someone willing to wait in line for you, or if you have one of those magically patient children that I sometimes hear about, this is a great place to go on all counts.

Cool Hand of a Girl

My husband and I decided to go out for lunch. On a Sunday. With a baby. With no reservations. Since we were not in a position to endure long wait times, we decided to head to the Junction where at least there are enough options that surely someone could seat us immediately. Full disclosure: we thought we were going to end up at Honest Weight, and this was the second time that I've gone where they were closed unexpectedly. Hey guys - get it together! I'm craving some okonomiyaki over here! ANYWAYS.

Restaurant: Cool Hand of a Girl
Location: The Junction
Meal: Brunch
Day: Sunday
Son's Age: 19 weeks

I'm not sure how to classify Cool Hand of a Girl. I suppose it's a brunch place but I read somewhere that it's considered Mexican? Anyway, they serve organic healthy food and the menu typically consists of sandwiches, but on weekends they have brunch specials.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️
Props where it's due: this place is legitimately wheelchair accessible. There is a ramp to get to the entrance and the washroom is on the main floor. Our timing was excellent because a table for four near the door opened up just as we arrived, so we were able to bring our son in without blocking anyone.

That being said, it's a small restaurant, so we still opted to fold the stroller and place the car seat on a chair. I should probably warn you that the location does not have air conditioning so my son didn't stay in the seat for long since he was getting quite sweaty. They do have fans though, so once he was sitting on daddy's lap he was quite happy. The washrooms are located in the back, but alas there was no change table.

As you can see, there wasn't even counter space, so luckily my son did not require changing but if he did, I would not have been able to change him here (although I suppose at least the toilet has a lid so
that would probably have been my best bet).

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Our server was pleasant and explained the menu items to us. I have an allergy to tree nuts, and he was particularly helpful in accommodating my request for the French toast of the day, which typically has
walnuts in the bread but he recommended the gluten-free bread so that I could still enjoy the rest of the dish (more on that later).

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As I mentioned, I ordered the French toast special with peaches, cream, and vanilla ricotta stuffing, served with a side of slaw.

As I mentioned, this was made with gluten free bread. I found all the accompaniments made up for the bread so it was nice and sweet, and the bread itself was light albeit rather tasteless. The slaw was so refreshing and the portion was much bigger than I expected. I split this with my husband, however, and while he liked the peaches and cream, he did not like the bread and insisted he could taste that it was gluten free (I should mention that we have had a very bad experience with gluten free bread in the past so we tend to avoid it in general). To contrast, my husband ordered the chilaquiles.

This was fried egg and cheese over corn chips, served with roasted potatoes and coleslaw. I've never thought to do breakfast on corn chips, but this was actually really interesting and delicious. The roasted potatoes were simple but has a nice crisp to it - my husband didn't even add ketchup, which is uncommon for him. Between the two dishes, I'd say the meal was highly enjoyable.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
The food is great but the accessibility leaves something to be desired. Still, if you time your visit right to get a good seat, the experience is pretty good.

Emperor Fine Chinese Cuisine

My cousin was visiting from San Francisco with her husband and two sons (spoiler alert - I'm planning on visiting her soon too!), so of course the family got together for dim sum!

Restaurant: Emperor Fine Chinese Cuisine
Location: Richmond Hill
Meal: Brunch
Day: Friday
Son's Age: 17 weeks

This was a pretty exciting reunion because I haven't seen my cousin in four years, and I still think of my nephews as little boys even though the older one is technically a teenager now and is about ten feet tall (I might be exaggerating a little bit but you get the idea). In all the hubbub, I did not end up taking photos of the food, which seems to be an unfortunate pattern for me with family gatherings. On to the review!

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Being located in Richmond Hill outside Toronto gives this restaurant the advantage of a large parking lot, which is nice, since I could just bring the car seat in without the stroller.

I had no problem getting his car seat on a chair. The washroom, unfortunately, lacks a change table, but does have counter space if you're in a pinch.

As far as Chinese restaurants go, I'd say from an accessibility standpoint this was not bad. 

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
One of the staff (I think he might have been the manager?) clearly liked babies. He was so excited to see my son there and kept coming by to check if everything was okay, constantly commenting on how cute he is. My mother half-jokingly asked if he was cute enough to warrant a discount, and to our surprise, he said yes! Food service was quite quick as well, with dishes regularly coming out so there was always fresh food on the table. I also had no issues breastfeeding my son during the meal, so I can confidently say this place is breastfeeding friendly.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Like I said, I forgot to take photos of the food. We ordered a lot of standard fare, including siu mai, BBQ pork buns, and sticky rice, as well as chow mein and stir fried ho fun. We actually ordered way too much food and had to take a lot of it home. That being said, I don't really remember the food. It wasn't good or bad enough to leave any sort of impression on me, so I guess I can say this is an okay place to go to for dim sum.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
If you're in the mood for dim sum and you have a baby with you, this is not a bad place to go at all. Accessibility is okay and the service is fantastic, so I would have no qualms about coming back here. 

Emma's Country Kitchen

I'm not sure how relevant this post is because the beloved (by me) Emma's Country Kitchen has officially closed. Not all sad news! It is relocating to a larger location just down the street. At the time of announcement, though, they didn't have an official reopening date and I couldn't bear to go so long without their buttermilk biscuits, so I decided to come in for brunch with my little one. 

Restaurant: Emma's Country Kitchen

Location: Corso Italia

Meal: Brunch

Day: Wednesday

Son's Age: 13 weeks

Weekdays here are vastly different from weekends in that I had my choice of table (in theory), whereas on weekends there is typically a line going out the door. The restaurant itself is very charming and somehow distinctly feels like a live action version of Diner Dash - while waiting in line, there are newspapers on the counter to read and you can order something to drink while you're waiting. Also, on weekends they have the most fantastic donuts with unusual flavours like maple bacon or cookies 'n' cream. I digress, of course, because as I am describing their weekends, this particular visit was firmly in the middle of the week.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I said earlier that I had my pick of table in theory. This is because I still came with my baby in a stroller so the fine print is that I needed to sit at a table where my stroller wouldn't block the aisle. Luckily, this was not a problem. 

I had no issues navigating the stroller to my table. The washroom also had a change table available. 

Unfortunately, I removed a star because the single washrooms are quite small (hopefully this will be corrected at the new location), so I could not fit the stroller into the washroom and also use the change table. Luckily, the staff is very friendly (more on that later) so I felt comfortable leaving my stroller outside while I brought my son's car seat into the washroom. 

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Whenever I come to Emma's, I always see the same two ladies working here, and the last time I was here I was visibly pregnant and was told that I absolutely must bring my baby in once I'd given birth. When I walked in the door, I was a bit disappointed to see that neither of them were working, and a gentleman I had never seen was my server. Luckily, it appears that they are quite consistent in hiring pleasant servers, because he was extremely friendly and helpful. At one point, I had to breastfeed my son, but I was still hungry, so I fed him under a cover cradling him with one arm and continued to eat my brunch with my other. The couple at the next table were visibly uncomfortable and quickly scarfed down their food and bolted. This has nothing to do with the restaurant, of course, but I mention it because I started feeling ashamed about it for a split second, even thoigh breastfeeding is natural and no one should be embarrassed to feed their baby in public. My shame quickly subsided when my server pleasantly came by to refill my coffee as if everything was normal, also asking if I needed anything else, and noted that I was still working on my plate. It seems like such a small thing but it made me feel infinitely better. Once I had finished eating, he followed me to the door and held it open so I could push the stroller out. The experience was a perfect example of excellent service. 

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you didn't figure it out from my intro, I love the food here. As soon as they reopen, you need to come here immediately. I ordered the break-wich sandwich and a side of watermelon salad. 

The photo does not do it justice. This place has the best buttermilk biscuits ever; it's as if they melt in your mouth. The sandwich is customizable, and I had mine with an over easy eggs, bacon, and cheddar cheese. The watermelon salad had mint, cucumber, feta cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette, and it perfectly hit the spot on such a hot summer day. Bonus points: the coffee is bottomless. 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Obviously, I love this place. I'm sad that they are closed, even if only temporarily. This restaurant has amazing food and amazing service, which I'm sure will carry over to the new location. The only thing that needs improvement is the size of the washroom, so hopefully this will be fixed after the move, but if not, it wasn't a particularly large hindrance on my overall experience. Keep an eye out - they should be reopening in August.