Having brunch in Kensington Market on an early Saturday afternoon means having to choose between a dozen different restaurants and cafes, each with their own unique pitch. Especially going with a group of friends, you’re stuck between deciding on a place that all can enjoy. Walking down though Kensington Market, we were hit with many different signs advertising brunch, but once we came upon the corner of Nassau, we noticed a small stand up chalk board sign which read “Brunch at KOS” with an arrow pointing towards the right of the sign. Zam, Sara, Antony, and myself decided we would go check it out.
Walk a block to the west of the sign and you’re at the corner of Bellevue and Nassau streets, slightly outside from the heart of Kensington, which is where this greasy spoon sits. KOS used to be at College and Bathurst, but they recently relocated here.
The outdoor patio at KOS
Even though it was an overcast day, we decided to sit outside on the patio, which was bustling with patrons enjoying their afternoon brunch. Antony and I ordered the Brunch Special, which for $12 came with a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, home fries, fruit, toast, 3 eggs, and a selection of brunch meat: italian sausage, breakfast sausage, peameal bacon, and strip bacon. Antony chose bacon, adding an “extra crispy, please” to his choice, while I went with the italian sausage over the usual breakfast sausage. Zam went with the pancake special which came with the same choices as our meals did, but without the fruit and orange juice, but with an option between pancakes or french toast. Zam went with the former.
If you’ve read the about page, you’ll see that Zam doesn’t eat pork because of his religion. Unfortunately, there were no substitutes for pork. No turkey bacon, no veggie sausage, nothing. They did allow him to substitute it for baked beans though, but this was hardly the option Zam was hoping for.
Sara went with the egg special with peameal bacon, which was like our brunch special, but a few dollars cheaper, and without orange juice as she was already having a coffee.
Fresh Squeezed O.J.
Speaking of the orange juice, this one was definitely freshly squeezed. It came with the pulp and the seeds all included. Being used to getting a glass comparable to a thimble in size at most places, it was a welcomed surprise that the tall glass of fresh squeezed orange juice did indeed come in a tall glass. It was just after Antony and I received our orange juice that a few of us finished our glasses of water, and asked the waitress for a refill. I’ll let you know when we get our water.
Brunch special with Italian Sausage
Our meal came about 15 minutes after our order was placed, while our request for water still didn’t make it yet. The eggs were great, with Antony, Zam, and my own being the toughest to make (over-easy), all of ours came with the yolks intact, ready to be punctured. Sara’s came scrambled, as asked, but they did not come with any special spices or seasoning on them. Antony’s extra crispy bacon came extra soft. We’re unsure if the cooks just forgot to make it crispy, or if our waitress did not pass the request on to the cooks. My italian sausage seemed a bit dry in the middle, and kinda hard and chewy on the outside. I wouldn’t recommend that as a choice here if you’re deciding between italian sausage and the breakfast ones. I didn’t hear any complains from Sara about her peameal bacon so I can say that she must have enjoyed it. The home fries were excellent, nice and fluffy but fried with butter which gave it some crispy edges. They were also fried with onion which gave it a nice taste, and added flavor to the potatoes.
The brunch special with not-so-cripsy bacon
The fruit sides came with a few grapes, a slice of watermelon, a strawberry, and a slice of orange. The fruit was fresh, cool, and added a nice side to our brunch. All of our meals came with two pieces of toast, which had a light layer of butter on them. The toast was the standard texas toast, nice and thick, great for egg yolk dunking.
We still did not get our water.
The pancake brunch, with beans substituted for meat as there was no non-pork option
It was finally after our 6th or 7th request for water that the waitress finally returned with a jug. Unfortunately, during the filling of my glass, she spilled most of the jug on to our table. It didn’t get any of us wet, and most of the water spilled off onto the ground, but we weren’t told “sorry” or ever given napkins to wipe up. Before I continue on with the rant about our waitress, I’d like to point out that our table outside, and a few tables behind us, were the only ones who had this particular waitress serving them. The other waitresses at the establishment seemed spot on. Ours just didn’t seem to really care either way. We don’t think she was a new hire either because she gave us the impression that she really didn’t enjoy her job. As Sara said, “a crappy waitress gets crappy tips, then they usually end up hating their job and never get get better tips, believing it’s the job that’s crappy.” So if you go to this restaurant, you get about a 1 in 6 chance of getting a bad server.
Overall, Zam and Sara both liked the place, but Antony and I were a bit dissatisfied. We felt the poor service topped with Antony’s not so crispy bacon was a bit of a let down. That’s not to say the food was bad, because it was pretty good and filling. One thing I have to mention though is the brunch special Antony and I got for $10.95, is only $6 through the week. I can’t remember if it comes with the orange juice or not, but at nearly half the price, that makes this place a much better place to go to through the week.
[note: the urbanspoon address is their old address, but I have sent in to have this corrected]
Average Price: under $10 per most entrees, cheaper on weekdays
TTC Directions: Coming from the Bloor subway line – Get off at Spadina Station, take the Spadina streetcar south and get off at College street. Walk west three blocks to Bellevue (optional: or take the College streetcar west and get off at Bellevue) Walk south two blocks to Nassau. If you are coming from the Yonge subway line, it would be best to get off at College or Queens Park station and take the College streetcar west to Bellevue, and walk south two blocks to Nassau.