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Daybreak Diner
Category: Restaurants Diners Diners [Edit]
399 Church StToronto, ON M5B 2J6
Neighbourhoods: Church-Wellesley Village, Downtown Core
(416) 598-0004
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 7:30 am - 9 pm
Sat-Sun 7:30 am - 4 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Breakfast, Brunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
25 reviews for Daybreak Diner
Review Highlights
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"Two words: FREE PANCAKES." In 4 reviews -
"Daybreak does the standard breakfast well - Eggs, bacon..." In 3 reviews -
"Also noteworthy is that their eggs benny includes 3 eggs on..." In 3 reviews
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25 reviews in English
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Review from Luis H.
Toronto, ON
5/9/2012
Popular diner located at the intersection of Church and Carlton Streets, the Daybreak Diner is a great place to get large omelet platters (large servings) at reasonable prices. Prior to moving to Toronto, I would frequent this place with my friends on Saturday, which is always thriving with the brunch crowd. While competition on Church Street had stolen some of the spotlight from it (most competitors have folded and left the area since 2011), it still remains an great restaurant for a small group wanting to catch up. Recommended!
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Review from Brianna R.
Toronto, ON
4/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
Three words. TOO MUCH FOOD.
Went here with my boyfriends family (1st time for all of us on). It was on Easter Sunday and we were practically the only people in the diner which is fine by me!
My boyfriends mother and I both ordered the pancakes... We asked how big they were because both of us weren't extremely hungry. She said she'll tell them to short stack it... The plates came back and she said "I guess this is the short stack." I wish she had told us more information so we could have just shared the dish because both of us left half of our pancakes on the plate.
Also -- THREE EGGS for eggs benny? (My boyfriend got it.) That's a heart attack on a plate. The Hollandaise sauce is already rich but THREE EGGS complete with english muffins? That's a lot of food... Not to mention the pancakes that were also on the plate... which would have made a much better portion for me than the full stacked plate.
Anyway, I left feeling full and gross. Great way to start an Easter Sunday. -
Review from Melanie W.
Toronto, ON
4/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
*groan* I was really disappointed. I've eaten here before, enjoyed myself and was looking forward to the free pancakes that come with most of their breakfast dishes. The pancakes were the best part of this experience.
I ordered the Eggs Anastasia (eggs benny but with salmon). My dining companion and I had just come from an invigorating yoga class down the street and I wanted a proper brunch but nothing too, too heavy. The amount of Hollandaise sauce was epically overdone. I scraped it away trying to find my eggs and salmon. I mentioned to our server that the boys in the back and really gone to town with it and he relied "yeah, they do that a lot".... I should have sent it back, but I didn't and I ended up with a good half cup of sauce on the side of my plate by the time I was done eating. They're just lucky their Hollandaise is good!
Pancakes were delish, although I was a little dismayed to find upon inquiry that the contents of the authentic maple syrup bottle was just standard syrup. I felt bad for our server, he seemed pretty apologetic the whole way through our visit.
Ended the visit by freshening up in the ladies room and if I hadn't known better I would have sworn I was at a public pool. Bleach much?
I might go back, but I'll likely stick to the pancakes, or get Hollandaise on the side. I suggest you do the same. -
Review from Mauricio A.
Toronto, ON
11/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
I took a Vegetarian friend of mine to this place simply because they have a somewhat large menu with some veggie-friendly choices.
This place always seems packed and had to wait for our table for about 10min. Okay, no problem with that, most brunch places are like that. However there is something low-rent about Daybreak. The place looks old, and lacks that breakfast vibe you get in some places like Cora's or *some* sunset grills.
Now, I am pretty indifferent about whether I like Cora or Sunset Grill better, however I wanted to expose my friend to a new place and we were not going to go to the Golden Griddle on Carlton as that place is just depressing looking.
Now I have not been here for a few years, and my three eggs came without much fanfare and although the shredded potatoes were decent, I was not too keen on the free pancakes, as *I did not order pancakes* for a reason. As such both my friend's and my pancakes went wasted and back to the kitchen, which to me, seemed like a waste of food. I mean, I understand what they were trying to do but they should ask customers if they would want then added at the time of ordering. I mean, what do they do with them if they go back? Give them their freedom? Shuck them in the bin or recycle them?
Sadly, the quality of the food was not bad, their coffee was not bad but everything was just "Meh."
If I am in the area, and there is absolutely no other option to go to for brunch, then I will come here, otherwise, I will go elsewhere. -
Review from Jeff K.
Toronto, ON
4/22/2012
Been here a few times has always been good. Today waiter was surly and treated us like we were bothering him. Inner door was open and a big wind came in every time somebody opened the door. Asked waiter if it could be closed. He acted like he did not hear me. Had to ask twice for water, my brunch companion only drinks decaf, water refilled both our cups with regular did not even ask.
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Review from Emily H.
11/17/2011
One big reason I do not intend to move for a while: I have four large breakfast/brunch joints within pyjama-walking distance from me. How would I survive lazy weekends or killer hangover/post-drinking hunger without them?? My muse of late is Daybreak.
Daybreak has a nice corner location which gets a decent amount of natural light on a sunny day. It's also nice to zone out people watching when you feel like a zombie. Their biggest (and it is really big) downfall is their service. SO UBER SLOW. The first time I was here, I dismissed it as the odd inexperienced server, but I've been here a few more times since then and it's always slow. They are still very friendly though.
Must try item: JUNKYARD FRITTATA. It's pretty much like an omelette/breakfast pizza minus crust. It has a crapload of egg, mushroom, cheese, etc. I managed to finish the entire thing the first time I had it, but that's not recommendable on your arteries and thighs. They have a few menu items that have a mexican flare - not my thing for breakfast. Their regular breakfast is standard, possibly too greasy - but I like that they come with pancakes AND toast! I am always that person that wants the best of sweet and savoury for breakfast.
A point of cuteness that people may not notice otherwise: all their plates are large and white... and in the shape of an egg! :D
Atmosphere - 3/5
Service - 2/5
Food - 3/5
Price - 3.5/5Listed in: 30 Day November Challenge!
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Review from Payam Z.
Let me begin by saying I'm not the biggest fan of Cora's or Fran's! Many a nights spent at various residences on College/Carlton St. has made me realize little excites my taste buds on this street east of Spadina.
This makes Daybreak a teeny tiny little gem by comparison; there isn't much of a wait time, the service is good, and the prices are reasonable.
First thing to mention is that you should go here hungry!! Daybreak serves possibly the largest brunch portions of any diner I have been to in Toronto! The standard Benedict will come with 3 large poached eggs, toast as well as English muffins, hash browns, and surprise pancakes! Yes, the famous surprise pancakes are real and you do seem to get 2 large fluffy pancakes with some of the meals (this is a big bonus as I'm always stuck between choosing sweet or savoury items at brunch!)
Overall, The most impressive part of Daybreak for me are the freshly shredded potato, non deep fried hash browns! Beyond the sides, I would recommend the eggs Benny and Chorizo omelette from what I've tried so far, and advise looking elsewhere if you are interested in salads.
Check it out if you're in the area, not necessarily worth traveling across town. -
Review from Jack W.
Toronto, ON
5/15/2011
Rainy Saturday, and we came across this gem.
Junkyard frittata - excellent, huge.
Some variety of omelette - also excellent and huge.
LITTLE PANCAKES! We were not expecting those. =) With real maple syrup. What a sweet treat!
The staff here are stunning, the food is filling and well prepared (the veggies in my frittata weren't mushy, and you could tell the difference between all the different bits in it). The quantity of eggs is amazing, and I don't recommend eating here more than once a week unless you are totally unafraid of cholesterol. =D
The food does not have cute names (yay!) and the staff are really friendly but also really businesslike. Getting the job done is their primary directive on weekends, it seems. =)
Good tea, good coffee, good everything! We are going to be coming back here a LOT. It was 30 dollars for both of us and we were full all day, didn't need to eat another thing. Can't go wrong with that.
Oh, and in reference to someone saying the Bear Waiter was unfriendly and only helped his friends - he was a doll to us, and we'd never been there before. Excellent service and great eye candy no matter what your type is. =) -
Review from Liora I.
Toronto, ON
12/15/2010
Two words: FREE PANCAKES
Seriously, I think they come with everything. Also noteworthy is that their eggs benny includes 3 eggs on 3 muffins.
Oh and another bonus: it's conveniently located on the cusp of The Village so if you go early you don't have to sit with screaming toddlers - I call this the early shift, because pre-noon / pre-the hangover crowd brunch places are filled with sticky toddlers with syrup all over their faces. Anyway the point of that story is to avoid the early shift at all costs... or if you're up at 8am on the weekend go to this place.Listed in: Best Brunch
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Review from Mike C.
Toronto, ON
10/2/2010 1 Check-in Here
Not amazing, but this is oldschool big breakfast territory. With real hashbrowns, not the homefries BS that must be endured at most places these days. It's not "retro" a la Fran's, but it's still breakfasty good times.
This is where you go when you're hungover and/or starving. -
Review from Lisa S.
9/30/2010 1 Check-in Here
Sooooooo gooooooooood.
I'm not sure who wrote their menu, but they left out some pretty key details. For example, the "three eggs" breakfast is actually 3 eggs, two pancakes, hashbrowns AND toast. Huuuge meal for super cheap, and the service is fantastic. They were very accommodating when we had to move to a bigger table, and kept the coffee refills coming, which is key on a bright sunshiney possibly hungover Sunday mornin'. -
Review from Ander R.
Toronto, ON
11/9/2011
Poor cleanliness.
Of the three breakfast places on this block, this one is my least favourite for both value and food.
Restaurant is poorly designed, and the service does the best they can despite a number of tables out of proportion to the capacity of the kitchen. Except to have to wait for your order.The platters are huge, so if your definition of a good restaurant is huge portions then you'll like this restaurant, but I thought the food unexceptional. -
Review from Vivek S.
1/27/2010
I paused here during Pride to escape the rain, my hunger, and loud gay noises. Inside I met the worst omelette I've ever had. I suppose it was comeuppance for ordering something called "Meat Lovers."
Picture: an omelette wrapped like a taco around a kilo of shredded bacon, ham, and bashed up whole logs of sausage. I'm scarcely exaggerating. Does one not add these things to the omelette as it's cooking? Should not the meat be embedded in the fabric of my omelette -- not merely covering it up like a tea cozy? I don't think these are existential questions.
I had my yearly intake of sodium (and homosexuality) that day. I'll get something a little less meaty next time, and I'm hoping there isn't a 'next time.'
Obligatory Title Pun: Slam on the BREAKS.
Menu Readability: Can't remember. I was soaked and it was very gay outside.
Need to mention: My friends swear by this place, so YMMV.
What this place teaches me about myself: I never order the Meat Lovers' anything. What was I thinking that day?Listed in: Uno Dos
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Review from Tre D.
Toronto, ON
5/29/2010
This place is awesome.
They seat you fast, serv you fast, bottomless coffee.
If you're hungover and you want an enormous quantity of food for relatively cheap, this is the place to be.
Eggs Benedict are awesome... they give you 3, and it's filling. -
Review from Tiffany S.
Toronto, ON
1/9/2010
Daybreak does the standard breakfast well - Eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, toast & pancakes garnished with some fresh orange slices. Prices are reasonable and service is quick. The casual atmosphere is welcoming to all and perfect for those weekends when you roll out of bed late and just want to throw on a hoodie and jeans.
Conveniently on the 506 streetcar line and a block or so north of the Ryerson campus Daybreak was a favourite place to eat on weekends during my student years and is a good central location to meet up with friends for brunch in more recent days. -
Review from Lindsey S.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 7/4/2010 13 Check-ins Here
This is place up again - as always on Saturday - if you're looking for me on a Saturday between 10-noon, there is a good chance I'm here.
What a busy day - but it was Pride weekend and it's really the only good breakfast place in the area - so the volume of ppl was expected. even with the extra people, and the noise level the staff was all over it.
Didn't need to wait, and we were placed in one of our fave servers sections! Ms. T was all over it that morning! The second we sat down she had my coffee in front of me and a glass of water for Vivian V.
As always a kick ass breakfast and an amazing staff :)1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/10/2009 ROTD 1/1/2010
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day...and even more so when you're hung over and have… Read more »
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Review from Melissa F.
Toronto, ON
6/29/2009
Love this place.
Great local place where the gays and village brunchers come to have a standardly yummy brunch with impeccable service.
The servers are oh so friendly and every single plate comes with pancakes, yo! totaly bonus.
I heart the servers and I love the running into the regulars at this place.
food = a-ok, but + awesome servers + free pancakes + fun run-ins and playing catchup with friends bumps it up to 4/5
(ok...well service isn't excellent- my friend had to go behind the bar to get me hot sauce and ketchup- but they are sooo nice, even if disorganized)
Busy on the weekends but it's a great locals diner that is worth the wait- you'll probably be too busy talking to people you recognize to notice the wait. -
Review from michael t.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 6/27/2011
God I wish there was some consistency with this place. Took a year or so break from this place to see if they could change for the better. Drum roll.......new decor, some new waitstaff, but still the not overly friendly French-Canadian "bear" still works there and it took an hour to get our food when they were not really busy on Saturday! And took him 45 minutes to notice drinks were empty. Too busy chatting up the twinks and his manager to care much about the rest of his tables:( Sadly, this is my last attempt to eat here.....shows you how one person can ruin a dining experience for anyone.
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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3/3/2009
Ok...I have been back here twice since my December 2008 fiasco of a visit. And now I begrudgingly… Read more »
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Review from Melissa J.
Toronto, ON
12/23/2008
There was a time in my life when I was obsessed with Daybreak. Absolutely obsessed. I would go every weekend, sometimes twice a week.
And now that I look back at it, I really don't know why. Yeah, you get a CRAZY amount of food for super cheap, yeah, you can have pancakes and eggs and bacon and toast and hash browns all in the same meal, yeah, their hash browns are pretty delicious. ...OK, I guess those are all good reasons.
Basically Daybreak is for those days when you feel like having bacon and eggs but don't want to have to sacrifice the pancakes. Maybe you want a bit of everything. Maybe you're ravenous. This is the place to go. The food isn't phenomenal, but it does the job, and it's adequately cheap. Service is decent.
Also try and get a window seat in the summer -- GREAT people watching location. The fact that it's on Hooker Corner and in the middle of the gay village makes for some really interesting entertainment while you munch on breakfast. -
Review from Alejandro A.
Toronto, ON
12/15/2008
Day Break is a breakfast/lunch/mostly breakfast spot. Your standard breakfast includes so much food that you're likely to overdose. For around $12, you get bacon, eggs, potatoes, pancakes, toast and maybe something else? I can't remember if something like fruit is included. Either way, the pancakes themselves are a meal on their own.
The service here is great, and they're very capable when it comes to handling groups. I remember coming here after class with groups of 7 or 8 people and everything rolling right along like it was a party of 2. -
Review from Sarah B.
Toronto, ON
2/6/2011
Service can be slow, but the fact that everything comes with free pancakes makes up for it.
Their eggs benedict (and a free side of pancakes), although I've found egg shells in it on several occasion, are still delicious. Their standard breakfast with eggs, bacon and toast (and a free side of pancakes) are always perfectly cooked, not too terribly greasy and are served up fast. The place holds a fair number of people and is almost always packed so the servers get a bit busy at times, but they're always pretty friendly.
The more mature young adult scene seems to frequent this place for brunch, which is refreshing because you don't hear screams from fussy children.
PLEASE NOTE: ASK FOR SEPARATE BILLS WHEN YOU SIT DOWN.. they don't like when you try to get them to split the bill after the fact. -
Review from Julian G.
Toronto, ON
3/6/2011
Wow! Great breakfast and brunch!
Love the atmosphere and the food is quick and hot!
Definite recommendation! -
Review from Eugene M.
Toronto, ON
12/23/2010
This is a great breakfast place. You get more than you expect and the food is fantastic. Great options include the Huevos and Parilla Mexicana. It would be nice if the coffee was refilled more frequently, but its more than likely that you'll enjoy your meal here.
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Review from josh w.
1/9/2010
Are you hung over? Are you hungry? Are you part of the family? If all of these apply then you can't go wrong with the Daybreak. I am sure to visit this place every time I come to Toronto. There are rarely waits here, the service is OK if the waiter takes a liking to you (luckily I have big guns so I tend to get good service). The best thing about this place however is the size of the portions. THEY ARE HUGE!! The quality of the food is nothing special (typical diner fare), ditto menu selection, but for the price you are sure to be full up. Daybreak is an institution on Church, well worth a visit.
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Review from Aaron S.
12/31/2009
my favorite breakfast place in toronto. great eggs florentine, huge portions (3 english muffin/poached eggs on florentine).
