Address: 1574 Queen Street West
Website: http://kittenandthebear.com/
Type of Meal: Brunch
When you
hear “Kitten and the Bear”, you wouldn’t think of an artisanal preserves shop
that serves great scones. However, that’s what you’ll find. Situated in
Parkdale is a quaint shop and café in one. Their sitting area is small – there are
two tables (one for two and the other for three) – but eating there is such a
treat. Aside from the cute teapots and cups, the smell of baking scones is
intoxicating, making me salivate as soon as I walked in.
My friend
and I settled over the tea for two ($28). Firstly, a pot of loose leaf tea
courtesy of Sloane Fine Tea Merchants. There was a large selection and we opted
for the “Heavenly Cream”. I suggest skipping the sugar and milk as there’s a
beautiful fragrance to the tea that ends up getting drowned out. Plus, the tea
contains a vanilla and honey property to it that already makes it feel sweet.
If you
and your companion can’t settle on the same choice, you can also each get
something different – it’ll just be served in single cups rather than an entire
pot.
At Kitten
and the Bear there’s only one type of scone – buttery plain scones. There’s not
a single current, shred of cheese or zest of lemon added to them. Trust me, you’re
not missing anything as they are great the way they are. A slightly crunchy
crust that encapsulates a dense but fluffy centre.
The preserves
is of course what the shop highlights. We’re able to choose three from the four
available that day:
- Black Plum and Sloane’s Earl Grey Tea: delicious, juicy and sweet. I really couldn’t get the essence from the Earl Grey but the plums were great. I ended up picking up a jar to take home.
- Spiced Fuyu persimmon: it was described as similar to pumpkin pie. Indeed, the cinnamon and nutmeg spices were evident but the persimmon very subtle.
- Blackberry and balsamic: we didn’t choose this as were told it is generally paired better with savoury elements (such as roasted pork) or with a cheese board.
- Winter spiced banana: the fruit was very evident but a tad sweet for me.
The
co-owner, Sophie, threw in a fourth one for good measure – pear with mulled
wine. I’m certainly glad she did as it ended up being my favourite of the
selection. There was a similarity to the black plum, but less sweet and
the addition of mulled wine such a wonderful combination. I couldn’t help but
also purchase a jar of this as well.
That’s
the beauty of the tea tasting. You’re able to try out the preserves in their
full glory before purchasing. We sampled each one, mixed them into the thick
clotted cream and combined to our hearts content. After deciding on our
favourites, we could purchase a jar to take home for $10.
Not
included in the tasting, but offered for sale, were premium preserves ($14) made
from unique ingredients such as red currant with fresh elderflower and mango
nectarine with Linden honey.
As we didn’t want to waste any of the jams, we ended up getting another scone to share ($3). If you want to skip the tea, you can also purchase the scones to go ($4 and includes one jam. Additional jams or clotted cream for $1). But, trust me, try to get a table. That heavenly smell of baking scones and simmering preserves is part of the experience. If you get a chance, check out Kitten and the Bear – a great place for brunch.
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