MARCUS | Baller Brunch at Four Seasons Hotel Montreal
On my birthday weekend, I was invited to review the MARCUS brunch at the Four Seasons Hotel. I had been wanting to return to the MARCUS resto lounge, after an incredible business meeting led to me having the most enjoyable Burrata-of-my-life with the freshest bread-on-earth. The experience marked me for weeks, as I told everyone under the sun how wonderful the MARCUS Burrata appetizer is… I returned a few weeks later for dinner and tried a little of everything. Their menu is boldly ecclectic. Instead of a culinary theme, the menu reads like the chef’s favorite foods PERIOD. When Patrick, one of the managers and I hit it off, he invited me for brunch. It just so happened that the ideal brunch time for both me and photographer Dan Peres, was on my birthday Sunday.
But First, Coffee…
We started with some nice cappuccinos. I was sleepy from a night of party fun and I actually resisted having coffee at home, so that I could truly enjoy my coffee buzz! The coffee itself is good brunch standard coffee. It’s def not an Italian bistro pull from a Marzocco, but it’s perfectly fine. Infact, the MARCUS coffee cups are so gorgeous, I didn’t notice the coffee itself! I was too busy playing with the gold branding and the light’s reflection as we kept lining up our coffees for the first of our photos. Sometimes the 1st shot is the best shot, and this theory proves right!
Not All Avocado Toasts Were Created Equal
After a night of fries and cosos, I wanted to enjoy brunch AND be good to my body. There’s nothing boring about an avocado toast! I love when people say “Those are easy to make at home”, but then they make you one and it’s a crushed avocado and a few stale pieces of arugula on last week’s bread… For me, the avocado toast is a good test of both the on-trendiness of the resto but also the chef’s skills at stacking difficult food shapes into both visual perfection as well as easy to cut, eat… I have had avocado toast where there is basically a giant salad soaking the bread, tomatoes rolling off or not filling enough. An egg should come as an option, to give that protein kick. Even if you skip the egg, a generous olive oil dressing popping with feta crumbs and hemp seeds dress up the dish with heartiness. MARCUS impressed me here right away with this beautiful healthy and easy to share dish. I cut a piece off in exchage for Dan’s egg on brisket. While we both enjoyed his dish “Steak & Eggs” the avocado toast was actually our so far fave..
Passion Fruit Martinis are EVERYTHING
With our main dish, we enjoyed espresso and passionfruit martinis. We tried both and agreed that the passionfruit martini was something else.. passionfruit is a tricky fruit to perfect in a drink. The actual fruit itself has many seeds and is a little tart as it is sweet. You do need to cheat a little and sweeten the puree up (often with mango, simple syrop, passionfruit extract..) I am unsure of the bartending magic that resulted in the best passionfruit martini of my life (including tropical countries). If you get a martini here, try this one. The expresso martini was great as well. I had enjoyed this Mtl influencer staple, at the lounge a few months prior. In my circle we call it “The elevetor up and down martini”!
A Mysterious & Exotic Dessert That Will Make You Feel Special!
After trying many things from their perfectly buttery and light scrambled eggs on fresh country bread, (Did I mention the MARCUS bread is to die for?)…. to little sclupted mashed potato sides, we were getting pretty full and everything was really yummy. If you like the standard sort of campagnard brunch, take the MARCUS scramble, it has everything.
After a little digestive pause and some of their signature cocktails (It was my birthday weekend so we justified a second alcoholic day beverage!) Dan got WHO RHUM THE WORLD and I got something on their newer menu with an aged tequilla! Not long after, to the sobering-up-rescue came the most mysterious and exciting dessert in the world! Hidden under half a coconut and lined with what tasted like Ferrero Rocher chocolate, came a coconut and tropical fruit meddley of fun and delicious amazement. Lime rind? I believe topped the coconut sorbet, and dancing around the middle were pieces of fruit and real chunks of fresh coconut. Now, you have to love coconut to love this dessert (which I do!) The dessert also came with an endearing turbo charged sparkler and HBD writing on the plate. Aww… It was the perfect ending to a perfect brunch!
What am I doing when not Epic brunching? Checking out Cirque Du Soleil’s ECHO!
