Brunch at Cafe N’ One in Markham

Cafe N’ One located at 8366 Woodbine Ave in Markham

This was the second time I dined at Cafe N’ One in Markham, but the first time I’m blogging about them. Last time, the husband and I snuck out for an hour during his lunch break to celebrate his birthday here without the kids (for the first time!). It was such a nice lunch and I thoroughly enjoyed the food, atmosphere, reasonable prices, and how close it was to our house (only a 6-minute drive). Thus, when I was thinking about where to dine in this weekend for our whole family and my friend suggested this place, I was reminded of how great it was and decided to come back. I also love how much variety they have on their menu (Japanese pasta, breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, souflle pancakes, desserts, coffees, teas, and more).

Homemade goodies at the front of the store

The interior of their store

We walked in at 11 a.m. on a Sunday and luckily nabbed the last large table for our 5-person party. Like last time, you can use their free wifi, scan the barcode on the table, and place your order from your cellphone. The order gets sent to the kitchen and within 10 minutes or so, the servers will bring you your food. It’s very efficient. Upon sitting down, the server also gave us some room temperature water (and then hot water) and utensils. I like their friendly no-fuss service here.

Full menu

Here’s what we got this time:

Egg Melt Sando (cut in half) $8

Egg Melt Sando (cut in half) $8. This was so simple but looked amazing with the cheese melted on the egg. Their toasts are perfectly toasted — not too hard and still warm and soft in the middle of the bread. So delicious that both the toddler and the baby liked it too.

Wafu Carbonara $20.50 – thick cut smoked bacon, garlic, onion, ponzu, parmigiano reggiano, onsen egg, Japanese nori seasoning, spaghetti, garlic bread

The Wafu Carbonara ($20.50) had pieces of thick cut smoked bacon, garlic, onion, ponzu, parmigiano reggiano, topped with an onsen egg and Japanese nori seasoning on top of spaghetti with garlic bread on the side.

This was really good. The portion was great. The spaghetti was al dente with just enough bacon scattered throughout it. The garlic bread was the same nice quality toast as the sando. I wish I could have eaten this hot right when they placed it on our table because by the time I got to this after managing the kids and the other dishes, this was not as hot to the bite as it could have been. I’m sure it would have tasted even more delicious. The onsen egg was perfect too. I poked it and mixed it into the spaghetti and it was so nice.

Karaage Moffle with Arugula Salad $18.50 – homemade mochi waffle, Japanese fried chicken, spicy mayo, su-miso syrup

Karaage Moffle with Arugula Salad ($18.50). This was their homemade mochi waffle with Japanese fried chicken and spicy mayo and su-miso syrup on the side. Mmm, this was really good! Three great parts to this dish: The karaage was big and had a good crunchy bite to it, the mochi waffle was subtle but good (I thought that the mochi would be bursting out but it was not; it was chewy and not too sweet. I think I could have eaten a lot of these alone), and the arugula salad was so simple but very fresh and tasty. Such a great plate!

Pork Belly Croissant $16.50 – yakiniku BBQ pulled pork, cucumber, onion, red cabbage, tomato, roasted garlic mayo

The Pork Belly Croissant ($16.50) had yakiniku BBQ pulled pork, cucumber, onion, red cabbage, tomato, and roasted garlic mayo in it. We got this as a combo so it also came with roasted baby potatoes, the house salad, and a brewed coffee. This croissant sandwich was all right. It wasn’t particularly amazing but the croissant was definitely fresh.

Finally, we tried one of their desserts (and they have so many that we will have to come back to try the others) which was the Matcha Red Bean Souffle Pancake ($15.50). The matcha sauce was on the side in a cute little pitcher, the red bean in a scoop, two souffle pancakes with whipped cream, matcha powder, and gold foil on it, as well as a dollop of whipped cream with assorted fresh berries and a mint leaf on it. Their souffle pancake was so soft and so eggy! Again, I wish I could have tried this when it was fresh and hot on their table but it’s hard to eat food piping hot when you have two young kids to attend to. Anyway, this was really great.

Matcha Red Bean Souffle Pancake $15.50

The place was really busy right after we sat down and all the tables were taken. I’m so glad that we arrived at the right time to get a table.

And as a bonus, here’s what we ordered last time on our two-person date in November 2023:

The Beef Saikoro Sirloin and Salad ($20.50) had spaghetti topped with saikoro sirloin, onion, sukiyaki sauce and garlic bread on the side. I had to Google what “saikoro sirloin” meant. It is tender cubes of beef steak or diced steak. I liked it.

Beef Saikoro Sirloin and Salad $20.50 – spaghetti, saikoro sirloin, onion, sukiyaki sauce, garlic bread

Smoked Salmon Croissant Combo ($17.50) This had smoked salmon, arugula, yuzu salsa, wasabi dill, and cream cheese. This was so delicious!! Their combos include baby roasted potatoes, house salad, and a brewed coffee.

Smoked Salmon Croissant Combo $17.50 – smoked salmon, arugula, yuzu salsa, wasabi dill, cream cheese

Pulled Pork Sando with Salad $13 – yakiniku BBQ pulled pork, cucumber, onion, red cabbage, tomato, roasted garlic mayo

Pulled Pork Sando with Salad ($13). This had yakiniku BBQ pulled pork, cucumber, onion, red cabbage, tomato, and roasted garlic mayo. We actually ordered the wrong item. We originally intended to order the chicken katsu, but somehow I chose the pulled pork sando instead. Sigh. This was not bad, but we think that the chicken katsu sando would have tasted better.

The service during the first visit was very nice and friendly especially.

Delicious lunch spread

They only accept cash or debit. If you pay with cash, they give you a 10% off. The parking lot is not very big. When we arrived, we saw a table with a “reserved” sign on it, so it means you can likely call ahead to reserve a table.