The breakfast selection was pretty good, complemented well by the strong and flavourful coffee. I enjoyed the typical runny eggs Benedict though the vegetarians at the table regretted there wasn’t a Florentine option. The waffles were great with real maple syrup, and the hashbrowns were grilled with peppers and onions which were delicious. I was not impressed with the standard breakfast link sausages, but the bacon was ingenious. Instead of being tossed into the warming tray willy-nilly, there were pieces of toast lining the bottom to keep the bacon from going soggy. Wonderful!

There were other options like the vegetarian lasagna and the impressive omelette station (with shrimp, salsa, bacon, ham, veggies and cheese as filling options), but I didn’t have room for any of them. The salad table was similarly bypassed, but it looked fairly plain.

It was the dessert table that drew the most attention. Artfully laid out on marble slabs, a huge selection of pasties, squares and cakes enticed us. That, and the chocolate fountain. We were in good hands here. The lemon tarts were the best, but not much beats a plump strawberry in runny chocolate.

The Gates in Roblin is definitely one of the top brunch buffets in town, even though it’s a bit out of town. It was a good place to celebrate Andrew and Leif’s birthdays.

(Leif thought The Gates was an 8 out of 10 stars. Good but not great. The place wanted to be fancy, but somehow ended up just like the stretch Hummer proudly parked in front, lacking in style.  The type of food and the presentation of it was totally in need of some curating in the way that a wanna be fancy gallery would hang an exquisite Van Gogh next to a Velvet Elvis painting. )

May 16 2010

The Gates on Roblin

6945 Roblin Boulevard

Sunday Brunch 10:30 to 2pm

Sunday Brunch Buffet - $36 after tax & gratuity (added automatically for parties over eight)

The Gates used to be Green Gates, a frou-frou dining experience. The Gates is not too different, but it seems to appeal to more of a younger audience, whereas Green Gates clientele comprised of the q-tips of the city (white hair, white shoes). They still have the horse pen, populated with a few ponies which you can feed carrots, available inside. The décor inside is fancy, and they ask for a business casual dress code, but we counted more than a few sandals and shorts for us to believe it’s enforced. I wonder how you have to dress to get into their stretch Hummer?

The buffet was amazing. It didn’t compare to the one at the Fort Garry, but really, what does? On it’s own, The Gates pleases on almost every level. The one thing missing was a bread selection. We were limited to croissants and buns (the horror!). Other buffets like The Current may have enticing smoothie machines, but as it was, the Gates’ unlimited pulpy orange juice was more than enough to satisfy our liquefied-fruit desires.

There was a large selection of good meats and fish dishes to choose from, along with the standard breakfast fare. I particularly enjoyed the roasted pork in red wine gravy. I didn’t try the veal (I don’t eat meat that’s been basted in its own tears), but it looked like it was cooked well. The BBQ ribs were an interesting addition, and aside from their ridiculous stature in comparison to everything else on my plate, they were great. The fried chicken wings were another delicious surprise, explaining the Gates’ appeal to the club-hopper type. On the seafood side, many of our party enjoyed the chilled mussels and large shrimp selection. A large Atlantic salmon was available, in thyme ginger sauce that was enjoyed, though towards the middle of the fish it looked more sashimi than cooked.