Coast @ 1 TwentySix

I love weekend brunches. Never mind if you have to get up earlier than usual on a weekend, and never mind that you normally feel lazy thereafter. Weekends are really meant to pamper yourself after a tiring week, and who would sincerely (without the slightest bit of reluctance) say no to the smell of scrambled eggs, baked sausages, french toasts and maple syrup? I know it would be a big yes for me :)


Just a couple of steps into Coast @ 1 TwentySix is enough for you to realise how quintessentially "1 Rochester" this is, and true enough it belongs to the same group of restaurants and has a sister in 1 Caramel as well. Service here, contrary to the negative reviews on the Hungrygowhere forum, is excellent - the wait staff were friendly, polite and professional throughout our brunch. I'm guessing they have worked very hard to clean up their act, which is commendable.


You can say I was pretty enthralled by the ambience of 1 TwentySix, where you can choose to sit at the patio facing the sea or else take sanctuary in their tastefully designed private garden. For the pampered city children, there's indoor, air-conditioned seating too, not to mention air-conditioned washrooms. The latter is a much welcomed space if you want to take a cool respite from the warm and humid weather.

Buttermilk Pancakes
With grilled bananas, strawberries and maple syrup


Like Spruce, Riders Cafe and Epicurious, 1 TwentySix serves a signature burger as well and I would definitely have ordered it if not for the fact that it was not available for the morning! I settled with the pancakes, which were good because they were fluffy and buttery and had the sweet company of banana slices and strawberries. The only problem is that the serving is not filling enough, and for $5.50 less you could get the same portion from Riders Cafe.

Breakfast Platter


My delightful company for the day had the breakfast platter, which consists of an array of "eggs with sausage, honey baked ham, bacon, hash browns, baked beans, baked tomato and toast". Lest you would think that is a lot, do note the singular tense for most of the items. We both felt it just wasn't hearty enough, and somehow or another I'm left daydreaming about my favourite brunch at Spruce.


Still, the ambience here is great and I hear it's also a good place for drinks, snacks and live music at night. Thus, while 1 TwentySix may not score impressively well for the food served at brunch, I'm still positive that it's main courses for lunch and dinner are worth a try, beginning with that signature burger. That will be another story for next time, so stay tuned! :)

Service
Excellent.

Price
$15.50 for the buttermilk pancakes
$17.50 for the breakfast platter

* Prices subject to the usual 7% GST and 10% service charge.

Place
902 East Coast Parkway, Playground @ Big Splash #01-26.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.