Café Landwer
Israeli fast-casual achieves what most restaurants cannot—consistency.
The Adelaide & University location
Café Landwer has roots back to 1919 when founder Moshe Landwer opened a small café in Berlin. That original café was apparently a type of salon that attracted socialites and intelligentsia. Despite the Adelaide & University location being a relatively straightforward diner restaurant, you can feel a bit of this as soon as you walk in. There is the distinct feeling of old-world and the intriguing mix of European and Middle Eastern. I suspect that like many long-running businesses, it is the family structure itself that has preserved this character and been able to translate it into a meaningful experience throughout time and geography.
And, don’t think this a one-off feat. In Israel there are over 80 Café Landwer locations yet you would think this a standalone mom and pop shop in Toronto. It has an wonderful homey-ness and sense of humanity with none of the automated veneer of most North American chains.
In fact there are now 4 locations in the Toronto area alone. Clearly the formula is working.
I’ll first mention that this particular Landwer location (I have not visited the others yet) gets extremely busy on weekends and because of the convoluted Yelp reservation system you need to reserve at least a couple hours ahead and then be prepared for a ~30 minute wait outside. It’s much better to go on a weekday, and by my most recent experience the chef on Wednesdays seems either in a good mood or better than the weekend chef. It may be a meaningless observation but nevertheless, it was today’s meal that caused me to write this review after many years of coming to the café.
Having come about 15 times so far, the slight specialness of today’s meal made me realize the converse about Landwer - it’s always good, so much so that I never even really noticed. I was spoiled. As a reviewer you tend to look at things that stand out, but that is a disservice to what they have accomplished.
The food is light, healthy, simply prepared and of distinct and high quality ingredients. I especially like the variety within every meal. Whereas most Western food has a main item and perhaps a side or two, you can count on multiple small dishes of disparate style at Landwer. Hummus alongside tuna salad, Shakshuka alongside sausage, cucumber-tomato salad along side omelette. In the “Famous Breakfast” you can get pretty much all of that at once!
For a “sampler” type person such as myself I really appreciate the ability to satisfy so many curiosities and desires in one meal. I think like the Chinese, it means we can eat less and our bodies feel more fulfilled, although in the case of Landwer, the portions are certainly not small!
The “Famous Breakfast”
I previously mentioned the exceptionalism of today’s meal, and I can’t quite put my finger on why exactly it was better. Landwer meals always look approximately the same. However, it seemed simply that there was more love in each little dish this time. If you look closely at the artichokes for example (how luxurious is it to get artichokes for breakfast!) they are in a nice triangle, not on top of each other. Each heart is the same size. There are no errant, tough leaves. The feta-like cheese is equally distributed and sized. The herb garnish is not too thick, not too thin, not too concentrated. It takes attention to make such a small dish so nicely proportioned. In other restaurants would they care about something so incidental to the main attraction? I suppose it helps to remember that every dish is a side here so they all matter.
Other highlights include pita bread that is fresh and warm and a little dish of Nutella-style spread to satisfy your sweet tooth. It’s not thick or chemically like the mass-market brand and you can equally dip your pita in it as the creamed cheese, or pair it with the eggs. This is a fun meal that takes you on a little adventure of your own choosing.
Finally, I must mention the coffee. Most coffee in Toronto is simply not good. There’s a lot of third wave ego going around and I’ve repeatedly said I don’t get it. Almost none of it seems to hit any gastronomically-proven pleasure spot to me. Landwer is one of the good ones. I suppose it makes sense because the original 1919 café specialized in coffee and Landwer was the first roaster in Israel. They should know their stuff.
The latte I had today was superb. You can imagine how it tastes almost by looking at the appearance. Precise, yet light and beautiful, with no harshness or burnt taste. It tasted like easy happiness. It was so good that a light eater could totally be satisfied with just this cup as their breakfast. It left me wanting nothing. I will almost always refrain from ordering the basic drip or black coffee in a Toronto restaurant. At Landwer I enjoy it.
While I almost always go at brunch, Landwer has an extensive menu to suit any taste throughout the day. I think it makes it a perfect spot for families or oddball group meetings and it perfectly fits the role of universal diner that many of us love, but are usually disappointed by. Whether you’re going on a brunch date or taking 5 people out from the office, this is a great choice, especially in the relative wasteland of the Financial district.
CONCLUSION
Landwer has over 100 years of history. The Toronto downtown incarnation does a superb job of providing quality and variety with excellent service and entirely approachable comfort. Landwer has heart, it’s affordable and it’s healthy. From middle-eastern brunch to Western staples like burgers, you can get it all at Landwer and it’s likely to be good. To have this level of year-over-year consistency amid such a wide menu and in a vacuum of food geography, Landwer deserves major praise.
PRICE
$25 USD per person
AVAILABILITY
Café Landwer
165 University Ave, Toronto, ON M5H 3B8, Canada
THE RATING
8/10 Absolute
9/10 Relative
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