Toulouse: Where to find the Best Brunches

Circa 2010, brunch became an international phenomenon. Nowadays we can’t make weekend plans without it. Any excuse will do – catch ups, hen parties, baby showers, you’ve broken up with your boyfriend (in this case, brunch plus mimosas!). It has become an integral structure of society – a plate of poached eggs, avocado on toast, and a matcha latte.

My jobs cooking brunch were far more preferable to the double-whammy of late nights and early mornings. Sure, there are a lot of poached eggs involved and less room for creativity, but I could leave work at 5pm (!). Plus, by this time, I had enough responsibility to hold the reins on the menu and limited choice is often the best remit for imagination. Don’t let anyone ever tell you there are only certain ways to serve French toast. I can beg to differ.

My main issue with brunch though is that it’s basically the same everywhere you go. This is the only meal throughout the day that doesn’t fit into a cuisine, rather it is a cuisine in itself.

Its international menu is much the same here in Toulouse – pancakes with fruit and maple syrup, scrambled eggs, juice and coffee. I suppose the word universal word ‘brunch’ – (here it’s pronounced ‘bronch’) – pre-empts the similarities.

However. While the dishes themselves may match those served in London or New York (with a couple of exceptions which I will get to shortly), it is the system that is decidedly unusual in France. Here, if you want brunch you need to accept the frightful formule.

To Get the Best Brunch in Toulouse AVOID the Formule

Une formule is a set menu. Often it will include both savoury and sweet options, as well as a hot and cold drink. Hearty it certainly is, and often tasty too. Yet, this spread comes with the price to match – usually 25 euros per person.

For most people, 25 euros is just too much to spend on breakfast of all things. When faced with this situation, our automatic response is to look for cheaper options on the menu – maybe a bowl of granola or just a plate of eggs on toast. Alas, many brunch cafes in France require you to order the formule.

Some places give two formule options – the small or the large. In some cases, the small brunch is half the size of the large and still sets you back 20 euros.

Rules take the pleasure out of eating. Brunch, much like afternoon tea, is in the treat meal category – unlike the structured three a day, this is one you’ll rarely eat alone so it becomes an occasion. While diets can also become pleasure-suckers, they are personal and we can treat them like puzzle pieces structuring our chosen dishes. Formules, on the other hand, are restrictive for the sake of the restaurant, not the customer, so choosing between the two formule savoury options when you want neither, instead of filling us with tingles of pleasure for this rare indulgence, emphasise it as a waste of time and money.

So, in protest of these extortionate formule restrictions, I have hunted out four brunch spots in Toulouse that don’t force the formule down our throats along with the requisite menu and basic coffee options (because of course you can’t get any coffee other than black without paying three euros extra).

If you’re visiting Toulouse, here are some of my favourite brunch spots:

Four Best Toulouse Brunch Spots That DON’T Formule

1. Belle Brune

My first visit to Belle Brune was a wonderful surprise – there was not a formule in sight. I relished this by ordering those finicky dishes that formules were invented to avoid serving – granola, a babka and a flat white – and I was so delighted that I returned twice more with Gaylord and then Tony, so I’d like to call myself a regular. My favourite dish of theirs is the simple scrambled eggs with smoked salt, za’atar and creamy camembert and chutney on the side. That and a flat white of course.

Belle Brune’s website is here.

2. La Fiancée – Toulouse

Against the formidable backdrop of Toulouse’s ancient basilica Saint Sernin, La Fiancée stands in the shade, away from the busy streets of the city centre. Gaylord and I sat outside to admire the scenery as well as the cafe’s picture-perfect menu: pancakes, bacon and eggs galore. Here a full English breakfast is available – one of the first I’ve found in Toulouse – however, it does set you back nearly 20 euros (a far cry from the greasy spoons across the Channel).

While it’s not the cheapest brunch spot in the city, service was quick and our portions plentiful – my vow to forever avoid avocado on toast (thanks to around 100 too many orders in my cheffing career) has been broken, especially as this one came with ricotta and a perfectly poached egg.

La Fiancée’s website is here.

3. Baba Canteen

When I think “canteen”, I think high school or hospitals. Instead, Baba Canteen’s exposed brick walls and the artfully strung tufts of hay jolt it from trestle table territory and into a hipster haunt, or a place for cottage-core enthusiasts.

The menu, sans formule, comes in a gilt photo frame and all the dishes bar one are vegetarian, a rarity in Toulouse where vegetarians are usually expected to eat fish. My friend Suzie and I ordered flat breads with labneh, pickled onions, eggs, and in my case, a beautiful grilled aubergine. Not quite the brunch cuisine we’re used to, but put a poached egg on top and call it breakfast.

Baba Canteen’s website is here.

4. Zaza Cafe – Toulouse

Maybe one of my subconscious criteria for a good brunch spot is a flat white. With that ticked off the list, I can relax and enjoy whatever formule-free menu they throw at me – in this case, a duck burger with roasted vegetables. Bacon and eggs sunny-side up are still available at Zaza Cafe, a place that looks like a time portal to the retro yesteryears of the 1970s. But this shredded duck which is piled into a pert potato bun, and served alongside sweet roasted carrots and yoghurt sauce, is an unusual yet extraordinary brunch I never realised I needed.

Zaza Cafe’s website is here.

Surprisingly, years working on the brunch conveyor belt didn’t reduce my love of the meal, and although it has become a cookie-cutter cuisine worldwide, there is something so comforting about a plate of eggs and bacon. And yet, Toulouse injects a little personality into their brunches – should you be craving a duck burger at least.

So, when you’re next looking for a great Toulouse Brunch, know that at least you can find a taste of something familiar, with a little room for flair and imagination. This makes the brunch chef inside me very happy.