Exploring the best of Toronto and Southern Ontario.

Happy Sunday, all! I hope you’re having a great weekend.

Last week, I posted about seeing the Barbie movie at Oakville’s 5 Drive-In, and I mentioned how a few local restaurants are offering Barbie-themed specials. While I’ve seen many places serving a specific food or drink feature (such as these delightful-looking Barbie cocktails from Elora’s The Friendly Society) the restaurant I’m going to write about today has taken it to a whole other level with a full Barbie-themed menu! For a limited time, Café Landwer‘s Yorkdale location is serving up pink cocktails, lattes, waffles, pancakes and more! The special menu launched on July 22, and while the restaurant hasn’t announced an end date yet, I knew this was something I didn’t want to miss out on. So last weekend, Tania and I headed to Yorkdale Mall for a Barbie-fied brunch date!

Café Landwer has six locations in Ontario (five in Toronto) but I’d only ever been to the one at University and Adelaide. The Yorkdale location has a similar vibe in terms of atmosphere and décor: it feels like a sleek, contemporary take on a retro diner. The wood-paneled walls are adorned with vintage advertisements and neon art, and there are several references to the café’s long, storied history. Café Landwer’s first location in Berlin was opened by Moshe Landwer and his family in 1919. When the Landwers fled to Tel Aviv after the Nazis rose to power in Germany, the family opened Israel’s first coffee roastery. Clearly they were successful, because today, Café Landwer has several locations around the world, including 60 in Israel, four in the U.S. and six in Canada (the first of which opened in 2017).

While Café Landwer describes their food as Mediterranean-inspired, their menu is really a mash-up of cuisines from various cultures. From Middle Eastern dishes (they’re famous for their shakshuka) to German schnitzel to North American classics like burgers and pancakes, there’s truly something to please every palate here. But on this visit, I was focused less on the cultural origins of the dishes, and more on their colour: I wanted everything as pink as possible! Café Landwer’s “Pink Menu” includes five different drink options: two boozy (the martini and rosé), one caffeinated (the latte), one healthy (the power shake) and one indulgent (the milkshake – or “Dream Shake”).

I ordered the Blush Bomb Martini, which is strawberry and pomegranate flavoured, and comes served in a coupe glass with a pink sugar rim and an edible flower. It was so good! It’s definitely on the sweeter side, but I love sweet cocktails so I thought it was perfect. Tania ordered the Glitz & Glitter Rosé, which is just regular rosé wine… but sparkly! I have to say, I’m so fascinated by the edible glitter trend. I think I spent as much time swirling the wine around in the glass and staring at it as Tania did drinking it (sorry Tania!) And if you’re concerned about grittiness, don’t be – you can’t taste or detect any texture at all.

The Pink Menu has three (technically four) food options: French toast, pink hummus, or your choice of waffles or pancakes. I got the Berry Bliss French Toast, while Tania ordered off the regular menu (how dare she… just kidding!) and got the breakfast sandwich with a side salad. The French toast is made with the yummiest thick challah bread, comes topped with berry coulis and granola, and is served with a side of sliced banana, maple syrup, pink whipped cream and an edible flower. If you’re a details person like me, you’ll appreciate the fact that the Pink Menu items are served on vintage-inspired floral plates instead of Café Landwer’s usual branded dinnerware. The French toast is honestly some of the best I’ve ever had. The berry coulis wasn’t what I was expecting, but I was so pleasantly surprised by it! I’m used to overly sweet and syrupy berry toppings on waffles, pancakes and French toast. This wasn’t that: it had some natural sweetness, but you could also really taste the tartness of the berries, which I loved. The granola topping provided a great crunch, making this a very hearty breakfast! And the pink whipped cream was the icing on the cake (…toast?)

I’m so glad we had the chance to visit Café Landwer while their Pink Menu is still available. As I mentioned earlier, they haven’t announced an end date for the special yet, but it won’t be offered forever… so go check it out while you can! And remember, this menu is only being served at their Yorkdale location. They only accept reservations during the week and on Sunday evenings, but if you plan to visit on a Saturday or Sunday during the day, you can add your name to the waitlist 15-30 mintues ahead of your arrival. We did this and got seated right away when we arrived.

Are you planning on trying any Barbie-themed menus or specials before the summer ends? If you know of any other restaurants offering them in Toronto or Ontario, please let me know – I’d love to add them to my list!