Cyrano's Serves Up Sweet, Sophisticated Brunch

Everyone knows in Webster Groves has incredible desserts, such as its flambéed desserts for two, chocolate sundaes, pastries and sorbets, but there’s more to life than just dessert, right? Maybe not, but who can live on sweets alone?

Luckily, Cyrano's also delivers an outstanding brunch, a perfect marriage of breakfast, lunch and dessert.  

Brunch is available 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday. The menu is a bountiful mix of appetizers, breakfast dishes, soups, salads and sandwiches. The breakfast trio is a special that changes weekly.

On my first visit, the trio was a scrambled egg, avocado, cheddar cheese and bacon sandwich on a croissant with a fresh fruit mix and a salad with vinaigrette dressing. The sandwich was terrific, with the egg clearly scrambled to order, not pre-scrambled and sitting in some heating tray waiting to be used. The trio was just the right amount of food to satisfy and leave room for dessert. 

A traditional breakfast selection, French toast, was done with Cyrano’s flair. Thick slices of brioche bread served with butter, syrup and powdered sugar were almost dessert-like. Sampled twice, the dish was inconsistent. The first sample was perfectly cooked, while on the second try the toast was overly saturated in the egg making it soggy. 

If more in the mood for lunch, try starting with a brunch cocktail, like a blood Mary or prosecco with pomegranate juice. Lovely to look at and even better to drink, both cocktails were worth a few extra bucks for an extra special brunch. 

Cyrano’s soups are excellent starters. The French onion soup was rich in onions and flavor with an untraditional twist, served with small, thin slices of crostini. The soup of the day, potato leek, was a pureed, thick soup with a hearty flavor of root vegetables. 

A variety of salads and sandwiches are also available. The Greek salad is an overflowing bowl of roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, feta cheese and chick peas over a lettuce mix with oregano vinaigrette dressing. The curried chicken salad sandwich is actually two sandwiches served on Cyrano’s almost biscuit-like rolls.

Both of these dishes were satisfying brunch options, but the best marriage of breakfast and lunch is by far the California BLT sandwich. Overflowing with bacon, this sandwich also has romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado and chipotle mayo on a croissant. The mayo gives the sandwich a slight kick while the avocado adds a nice addition to the traditional BLT. 

Then there’s dessert. Who needs to hear about dessert after all this delicious brunch food? Everyone! My favorite Cyrano’s dessert is the chocolate sundae. This decadent treat is no run of the mill sundae. An extra large portion of rich French vanilla ice cream is served with gold brick, a chocolate sauce that hardens to a chocolate shell, and fresh whipped cream. The vanilla bean is visible in the ice cream, the gold brick is flavorful chocolate and the whipped cream is frothy and fresh.

Cyrano's eclectic décor of brightly colored walls, open ceiling works, and loft-like furnishings gives the restaurant a hip feeling but also a noise issue. On one visit the restaurant was so noisy that we had to rearrange our table so we could hear each other over the chatter and even our waitress commented how noisy it seemed that afternoon. A less noisy alternative is the outdoor patio, weather permitting.

Overall, however, Cyrano's serves up a flavorful and unique brunch experience that's not to be missed.