Glass Kitchen located at 505 Hwy 7, unit 98 and 99 in Thornhill

I didn’t know about this new brunch spot called “Glass Kitchen” at the Commerce Gate plaza in Richmond Hill/Thornhill until my friends suggested it for our brunch location.  This restaurant is headed by an award-winning Canadian chef named Keith Pears and which has a very sophisticated menu of “Asian flavours with contemporary techniques”.  I made a reservation for our brunch easily online right on Google Maps.  It was the first time I made a booking like this and it was so easy and seamless.  (It texted me with the confirmation and also sent me a text the day before the reservation asking me to confirm it.)

Parking at Commerce Gate is never easy never mealtime hours, but thankfully there was plenty of parking when we arrived for our 11:30 a.m. Saturday brunch slot.  There were a lot of people dining in as well as several people waiting in line when I arrived.  You definitely should make a reservation for this popular restaurant.

The din was a bit loud and it was difficult to hear our server.  The menu was packed with lots of choices, some of which are unique to the traditional brunch selections.  I chose something from the “Crazy Wavy Gravy” inspired by Hawaiian loco moco section, the seafood option.  Hawaiian food is new to me and I’ve definitely never tried any loco moco dish before.

Here’s the brunch menu in full.  There were so many dishes to try and share with friends or family:

Glass Kitchen brunch menu

The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time and were so beautifully presented.  The server also explained each dish to us upon setting it down on the table.

Crazy Wavy Gravy – Seafood $34 – onsen egg, lobster, scallop, prawn, pickled jalapenos, ginger garlic sauce, aromatic steamed rice

The Crazy Wavy Gravy – Seafood had an onsen egg, lobster, scallop, prawn, pickled jalapenos, and ginger garlic sauce served with aromatic steamed rice.  There were 3 small tomatoes that popped in my mouth when I bit into it.  It was a nice touch (although I usually wouldn’t have eaten tomatoes because I try to stay away from nightshade vegetables).  The ginger garlic sauce was so tasty and umami; it didn’t taste like the name at all.  The seafood was really fresh and had a good bite to it since each one was a reasonable size.  There was a hint of spice from the pickled jalapenos on top of the prawns.  This was a splurge kind of brunch for me as this dish was $34 alone.

Crazy Wavy Gravy – The OG $25 – chuck, hanger, brisket patty, sunny side egg, mushroom gravy, yuzu cucumber, aromatic steamed rice

My friend M ordered the Crazy Wavy Gravy – The OG ($25) and it looked amazingly beautiful.  It had a chuck, hanger, and brisket patty with a sunny side egg with mushroom gravy and yuzu cucumber and also served with the same kind of rice.  The server recommended mixing it up before eating.  I tried a bite and I feel it would really satisfy me on a day when I’m craving something like a hamburger patty with rice; comfort food essentially.

Seafood Scramble $25 – soft scrambled eggs, scallop, prawns, baby vegetables, grilled baguette

A ordered the Seafood Scramble ($25) from the Specialties section.  It had soft scrambled eggs, scallop, prawns, and baby vegetables served with some grilled baguette.  The soft scrambled eggs looked really good and soft runny (the best type).

We were told we had the table until 1 p.m. (so 1.5 hours seating time in total) which is reasonable for brunch considering they have a line-up of customers.

Upon paying the bill, we received an almond cookie each to finish off the meal.  This was a nice touch.

Complimentary almond cookies

The restaurant is more on the “fancy” side and is a great place for date night or a celebration meal too.  Maybe I’ll come back for dinner one day so we can try more of their items and share everything.  (And a kid-free meal at that so I can enjoy every bite without interruption.)

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