Le Hobbit is a longtime French bistro in Québec City’s Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighbourhood. It is listed in the MICHELIN Guide, where it is described as something of a local institution. The guide gives their brunch a mention too.
Brunch here can be as traditional as eggs, roasted potatoes and breakfast meats, but the menu gets much more interesting than that. There are dishes like salmon gravlax, scrambled eggs with Rimouski sea urchin, croque madame and chicken and Parmesan waffles. I noticed foie gras doughnuts among the smaller sides, along with truffled potatoes and country-style toast. Carrot cake French toast and the changing babka of the day cover the sweeter end of the menu.
I took a quick look inside, where there were exposed stone walls, wood partitions, brown leather chairs and oversized playing-card artwork. I ended up sitting on the patio, which was where I wanted to be on such a warm day.
For brunch, I ordered the Zucchini, Potato and Leek Tatin. There were so many herbs and small flowers over the top that I had to move some aside before I could properly get into the tart. Underneath, the vegetables were soft, with a bit of sweetness from the leeks and enough potato to make it quite filling. I kept going back to the cool strained yogurt as I ate, adding some to nearly every forkful. The green oil was worked around the plate rather than poured over everything.
The Rhubarb Babka was the babka of the day. It came as three small rounds with plenty of rhubarb spooned over them. The bread was soft and only lightly sweet, then the rhubarb brought in some tartness. I liked that it did not eat like a sugary brunch dessert.
I had an Iced Tea with everything, a good choice for sitting outside that afternoon.
Le Hobbit
700 Rue Saint-Jean, Québec City, QC
