10065 100 Street NW, Edmonton

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to try the Sunday Brunch at the Fairmont. It’s hosted in their Empire Ballroom. It is on Sunday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm with seatings at 10:00 am, 10:30 am, 12:00 pm, and 12:30pm and the dress code is smart casual. In terms of parking, it’s pretty scarce around the area, but street parking is free on Sundays so I would recommend trying to find a spot and walking. They do have valet parking, but it can be expensive. On top of that, the brunch in and of itself is 59$ per person for adults and 29.50$ for kids. Fortunately, I went with my friend, Alyssa, who works at the Fairmont, and two of my friends, Neha and Jamie, so we all got the staff rate.

The Ballroom is a nice and large room that used to be the hotel’s main dining room. The ceiling is really high and the table setting is very nice. There was a fresh flower placed on each table. We were promptly seated and offered coffee, tea, and mimosas, each bottomless.

There is an overwhelming amount of options here, and they do change a little bit every week. They do have some classic things though, like bacon, sausages, a pasta, etc.

They usually do one carving item, which rotates between beef and lamb. They also have an omelette station and a crepe station. They usually have one pasta dish which can be gnocchi, tortellini, ravioli. On this occasion, we had a tortellini. They also have eggs florentine, eggs benedict, waffles/pancakes with a compote. For meat, they usually have a glazed chicken, braised beef short ribs, and a sea food dish.

In the middle island, they have assorted cold salads, pastries, charcuterrie, and some seafood such as smoked salmon and crab legs. There is a lot of variety here, but I mostly opted to get the assorted charcutterie and smoked salmon.

At their dessert tables, they have a large assortment of cakes, pastries and fresh fruit. There’s honestly so much variety and so many options. I opted to get their bread pudding, carrot cake, and Nanaimo bars.

Lastly, they have a kids station that has chicken fingers, curly fries, and cheese pizza. These are kept under a heat lamp. They don’t look super appetizing, and definitely would rather eat anything else there, but kids can be picky. But it’d kind of suck to have to pay 29.50$ for kids, especially if this is all they are eating.

I probably had three plates of food. My first plate had eggs benedict, bacon, sausage, smoked salmon, and some potatoes. I would have to say that this was the best breakfast sausages that I have ever had. I’m told they are not house-made, but where ever they are from, they are amazing. The bacon was also very good and the smoked salmon was very fresh. The eggs benedict were just okay, but overall, everything was good. My other plates had some waffles, and their braised beef short ribs, pasta, and other dishes.

For dessert, I had some of the bread pudding, carrot cake, and nanaimo bars. The bread pudding is pretty good, so I’d recommend trying that at least. I was pretty stuffed, otherwise I would have tried some of their others things like cheesecake! Next time…

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at the Fairmont brunch. After our meal we went back into their courtyard area to take a look at their view. It was really nice and it overlooks the city from an angle that I don’t always get to see. I think it’s worth it to try it at least once. It is a bit expensive, but it’s a pretty good experience. I could see myself going here at least once a year, just to kind of treat myself, even if I couldn’t get the staff rate. Also, be aware that they do holiday and festive brunches too near Christmas and the winter where the prices are increased to like 69 and 79 dollars. They change the menu and add another carving item like turkey. I’d recommend going during the summer anyway so you can enjoy the view!