If waffles and pancakes scream brunch, then Eggs Benedicts royally declare it.
Perhaps the technicality required in making a perfect hollandaise sauce and a pristinely poached egg earns the Eggs Benny a throne among brunch foods.
Vancouverites love their brunch and their Bennies, and rightly so!
The crunch of an english muffin with the creamy of the hollandaise and the oozing egg yolk are hard to hate – not to mention deliciously popular variations of the original Eggs Benedict, usually including crab cake, avocados, or smoked salmon.
We searched the Benny scene in Vancouver for more of these variations that had singularity, and it did not disappoint! The creativity behind some of the Benny variations local chefs have conjured up, incorporating “non-brunch foods” such as Peking Duck or Buffalo Sauce, was astounding and we did not want you to miss out on the fun!
Below, we introduce seven Bennies that are as unique as they are delicious – which you must try for brunch in Vancouver:
1.) Buffalo Blue Fried Chicken Benny (Jam Cafe)
If you need a pick me up in the morning or are craving a packed flavor punch and a little kick in your benny, Jam’s is the one for you.
This Buffao Blue Fried Chicken Benny spices up the classic Benny by swapping out ham for buttermilk fried chicken tossed in buffalo sauce. Jam Cafe tops this up with blue cheese and pickled cabbage and cilantro, making for a powerhouse dish – both in colour and flavour.
Blue cheese and buffalo sauce are two very intense flavours, but Jam Cafe makes it work! The buffalo sauce is less salty than the average, allowing for the strength of the blue cheese to shine without being overpowering. The acidity of the pickled cabbage provides refreshment from the sharpness of the cheese and the heat from the sauce. They offer options for the poached eggs (soft, medium, or hard) and serve the Benny with shredded hash browns.
Note: Jam Cafe (downtown location) does not accept reservations. So prepared to wait
Locations:
-556 Beatty St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2L3
-2153 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6K 1N7
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2.) Waterfowl Benny (OEB)
If eggs bennies are the royals of brunch foods (which I declared earlier), the Waterfowl Benny is the royal of royals.
OEB Breakfast Co. is home to the unconventional when it comes to Bennies. From a Rabbit Benny to a Smoked Boar one, there are plenty unique Bennies to try here. One of these that stands out is the Waterfowl Benny, which uses Smoked Peking duck breast as its meat and swaps out the classic Hollandaise for a porcini mushroom-truffle ragû.
Hollandaise sauce is a key component of the Eggs Benedict, as the creaminess and acidity tie the whole thing together. However, the ragû was creamy like a cream of mushroom soup. Though it was lighter in flavour than hollandaise, the smokiness and salt from the Peking duck made this dish work. It is served with deliciously crispy potato wedges.
Location: 1137 Marinaside Crescent, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2Y3
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3.) Grilled Asparagus and Double Cream Brie Benny (Yolk’s)
If hollandaise and gloriously runny egg yolk is not creamy enough for you, this Benny is your fix!
Yolk’s is known for its, well, yolks. Their Grilled Asparagus and Double Cream Brie Benny is unique because of its extreme cream factor.
Yolk’s offers a choice of hollandaise or white cheddar bechamel sauce to top the Benny. I chose Hollandaise at the recommendation of the waitress. The asparagus, layered above the brie slices and below the poached egg, was delightfully crunchy, giving texture to the Benny. The double toasted English muffins were also salted to cut through the cream.
Yolk’s offers a side of fresh fruit salad, house green salad, or truffle lemon potatoes on the side!
Locations:
-546 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1E9
-1598 E Hastings St, Vancouver, BC V5L 1S5
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4.) Benedict Pizza (The Parlour)
Just your regular benny – poached eggs, hollandaise, so on – but on a PIZZA! The creative concoction of a benedict on pizza is surprisingly delightful and can be found at The Parlour in Yaletown. As a restaurant famous for pizza, it is only fitting that the pizza benedict was born here. If you’re a pizza lover and are looking for an excuse to eat pizza in the morning, you just found the perfect one.
The Pizza Benedict comes in three options: Classic, Smoked Benjamin (smoked salmon), and Huevos Benedictos (salsa, chorizo, avocado). All of these benedicts are available gluten-free as well – just ask your server! The pizza bread, which is substituted for the english muffin, adds a chewy element to the benedict. The poached eggs and hollandaise add a creaminess you never knew you needed on your pizza! Lots of restaurants play around with benny toppings, but we were excited to find a benny with a unique base.
The Parlour offers this breakfast creation between 11am to 3pm on weekends.
Location: 1011 Hamilton St, Vancouver, BC V6B 5T4
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5.) Cauliflower Benny (Catch 122 Bistro & Cafe)
Sweet, creamy, fresh, spicy, crunchy – if you can’t decide and want it all, somehow this Benny manages to weave these flavours together in a natural way!
The vegetarian Cauliflower Benny boasts complexity, with cauliflower and cheese croquettes, carrot purée, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, smoked tomato jam, and puffed rice, among the classic poached egg and hollandaise.
The cauliflower and cheese croquette are extremely crispy on the outside while the inside has a mashed potato consistency, adding more texture than the typical toasted English muffin. To perfectly complement the fried nature of the croquette, the dish has a roasted broccoli, cauliflower, kale salad with acidic dressing.
Switching from the egg and croquette to the salad makes this Benny consistently flavourful. The puffed rice sprinkled across the top adds a kick, while the sweetness of the carrot and the smokiness of the tomato jam are brought together by the cauliflower and cheddar inside the croquette!
Location: 122 W Hastings St, Vancouver, BC V6B 1G8
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6.) Scallion Bread Bennies (The Rise Eatery)
Asian cuisine and eggs benedicts, two unlikely friends, are fused together masterfully at the Rise Eatery. Well-known for its creative fusion dishes such as their uni pasta and their creamy miso fries, The Rise showcases their expertise by swapping out the English Muffin of the classic Benedict with scallion bread. Wanting some Asian for breakfast without sacrificing creaminess? Rise Eatery’s scallion bread bennies were made for you.
The Scallion Bread base for these bennies come under three different poached egg + topping combinations: Upstream Maple (house-cured maple cream cheese candied salmon – Yum!), The Fitter (house-cured smoked beef or tofu bacon as a vegetarian option), or Renaissance (sauteed mixed mushroom and spinach). These bennies come with roasted country potatoes and the option to upgrade to truffled parmesan potatoes if you’re feeling a little fancy!
Location: 3121 Granville St, Vancouver, BC V6H 3K1
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7.) Crab and Avocado Botanist Benny (Botanist)
Classy and trendy are two words that describe both Botanist the restaurant, and the Botanist Benny. Known for its elegant and aesthetic environment marked by picture-perfect pastel colours, the Botanist will be sure to satisfy any Instagram need. If you’re brunching for a special event, or just feel like treating yourself, this is the place to go!
The Botanist Benny offers a few options (traditional peameal bacon, crab and avocado, or vegetarian slow-roasted onion), but we zeroed in on the crab and avocado Benny.
It is not difficult to find crabcake bennies or avocado bennies, but the Botanist is the first place we’ve found both in one! At a $28 price point, the benedict is generous in portion with both avocado and crabmeat, yet careful in ratio so both flavours are apparent. They offer the option of soft, medium, or hard poached eggs, to top two perfectly toasted English muffins. The benny comes with a skinned tomato, adding tartness to balance the creaminess of the avocado and hollandaise. It is also served with pan-fried potatoes, kept warm on a hot plate.
Location: 1038 Canada Pl, Vancouver, BC V6C 0B9
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The Eggs Benedict was born in New York City in the late 19th century when Wall Street broker Lemeul Benedict ordered “buttered toast, crisp bacon, two poached eggs, and a hooker of hollandaise,” looking for a hangover cure. The head waiter was so impressed by the dish that he put it on the menu, subbing toast for English muffins and bacon for ham – and we are so glad he did!
Though a New Yorker in origin, the Eggs Benedict has made itself at home in Vancouver, livening the city with delicious, culture-infused variations of the original.
These seven Bennies stood out to us with their uniqueness and originality in flavour profile, but they are definitely not the only creative Bennies in Vancouver. Keep an eye out for these visionary-type Bennies on your brunch journeys; Vancouver is stocked with these hidden gems! And if you’re simply craving a twist on your regular brunch, these seven Bennies are the perfect place to start.