Continuing with my resolution of “self-care Sunday” by treating myself to delicious brunches on a weekly basis in 2023, I stumbled upon Brightside Cafe and decide to give them a try. Walking into this cafe is like walking into someone’s happy thoughts. There are bright, sunny yellow tabletops, plants and the most stunning pink sun umbrellas. They are open bright and early for brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, and switch over to a happy hour menu at 3 pm. Check out my full review of Brightside Cafe below.
Brightside Cafe – Brunch Menu
For our main brunch dishes we decided to go with:
- Breakfast Sando ($12.00)
- Shakshuka ($14.00)
The Breakfast Sando features a parmesan aioli, fontina omelette and a side of smashed potatoes. There’s also a healthy smattering of greens in the sando and plenty of pickled onions. The bread for the sando was so pillowy soft and the omelette was a silky, fluffy dream. This was a very well balanced sando, and well priced at just $12. The potatoes were of the smashed and crispy variety and flavoured with dill – delicious!
The Shakshuka features smokey labneh, poached egg and chili oil. I was very intrigued by the smokey labneh (a soft Middle Eastern cheese made from strained yogurt) and was disappointed to see very little incorporated into this dish. Nonetheless, this was still a very tasty dish, and the side of fresh focaccia made this a delight to eat. The focaccia was so flavourful with just the right amount of salt on the crust.
Brightside Cafe – Pastry and Coffee Menu
From their pastry case, they have an excellent selection of cookies, cakes, loaves, biscuits and pastry. There is such a wide variety of items to choose from including more unique offerings like Ginger Rye Cookie, Guava and Goat Cheese Turn Over and Brown Butter Quince Cake. They have a ‘Pastries for the Table’ which is your choice of 4 pastries for $15. An absolute steal in my opinion. However, if you’re not early enough you won’t have nearly as much options to choose from. We came at around 11 am and they were already sold out of a few of their pastries.
For our four pastries we went with – Brown Butter Quince Cake ($5.50), Portuguese Custard Tart ($3.50), Blueberry Galette and Guava and Cheese Turnover ($5.50). All of these were very solid and delicious, and I wouldn’t hesitate to get them again. I definitely will try and come back earlier next time so I can get my hands on their Cheddar Scallion Biscuit!
No complaints on their coffee selection as well. I got an Iced Latte, and it wasn’t too acidic with the appropriate amount of milk – I love the layering.
Worth a Try?
Absolutely! This is such a little gem of a coffee spot in the West Side. It was absolutely popping on a Saturday morning. Everything we tried was so delicious and I highly recommend you add this cafe to your next spot to try!
Brightside Cafe
Address: 3040 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6K 2H1
Website: http://www.drinkbrightside.ca/
