Butty Rocks at O&B Canteen

Eating at Olive & Bonacini’s latest venture, O&B Canteen (330 King Street W.) can be a truly blissful experience. Just check out the facial expression of my pal Jason, who’s clearly lost himself in the perfectly scrambled eggs. But there’s much more than traditional breakfast offerings here at the Canteen, including a butty or two.

O&B Canteen is located at King and John Street, inside the brand spanking new TIFF Bell Lightbox. Set to open on Sept 12, the headquarters for the Toronto Film Festival hopes to become the world’s premiere centre for film.

The Canteen’s interior is incredibly spacious, airy and casual. It’s an ideal spot for a breakfast meet-up to catch up with a good friend before your day starts. And why not kick-off the morning with a Butty. A what? Just take a look at that section of the menu.

Neither Jason or I had ever heard of a Butty, but it reminded us of the West Indian word “dutty” (hence the headline). We deduced that it meant a sandwich, and guessed it had something to do with those Brits. A quick wiki search yielded our hunch correct, since butty is a British word for a bacon sandwich.

I went for the Canteen Butty ($5) which is a fried egg, shredded cheddar, smoked ham and Canteen Catsup squeezed between a fresh bun. The egg was still quite runny and the yolk oozed onto my plate with the first bite. A quick swipe with the bun cleaned up the bright yellow mess. The one thing missing from my butty was seasoning. While the housemade catsup that’s spiced with cinnamon, coriander and celery seed helps, a sprinkle of salt and pepper would have really made the flavours pop.

There are other non-butty offerings on the breakfast menu including Steak & Eggs, an Omelette, Eggs Benedict and Brioche French Toast. At 11:30am, they switch to an all-day menu.

Jason went with the Breakfast Lite ($10) containing two eggs (any way), fresh garden tomatoes with chives, parsley and olive oil, and whole grain toast. Jason’s thoughts on food are what I like to call Plato Putas Quotables, so here’s what he had to say: “Without a shadow of a doubt, I ordered a two-egg platter prepared in the scrambled manner, which came with a delectable side of tomato salad, so juicy and sweet to the tastebuds of my tongue! Regrettably, I cannot be as complementary where the whole grain toast is concerned. Unbuttered, with no butter or jam offered on the side, ‘twould be better suited to a prison cafeteria. Breakfast? More like ‘Prison Break-fast.’ Indeed.”

Considering the O&B Canteen is open 7 days a week, and breakfast starts at 7am, it’s one of the best bets for a great morning meal. And if you’re rushing to get to work before your boss does, head straight to the Grab+Go counter and get your butty (or whatever else you’d like) to go.

O&B Canteen / 330 King St. West, Toronto
647 288 4710