When I cook or go out for brunch, I can almost always guarantee that I’ll be eating at least a hefty stack of waffles, a few slices of buttery toast, a mound of scrambled eggs and a truly disgusting amount of bacon. It’s no secret that brunch isn’t exactly the healthiest way to start off your day, but at Nosh Eatery & Tap — one of Saskatoon’s few vegetarian, celiac and vegan friendly restaurants — nutrition is made the highest priority.

Nosh, located at 820 Broadway Avenue, prides itself on offering locally sourced meats and nutritional, non-processed meals that their customers can feel good about — but this doesn’t mean that their food is any less tasty than their competitors’. In fact, their innovative twists on conventional dishes and creative use of vegetables make for an interesting and refreshing eating experience that is hard to find anywhere else.

The newest addition to Nosh’s nutritious and delicious menu is their Sunday brunch. From 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., brunch-goers have their choice of deluxe scrambled eggs on a baguette, fruit and yogurt, french toast, eggs benedict, chocolate pancakes, the feature frittata or the three egg omelette, all of which are served with toast, roasted hash browns, fresh fruit, soup or a salad on the side. To wash down your delicious meal, Nosh offers mimosas, caesars, specialty and regular coffees, coconut water, sodas and a wide selection of teas.

Since I’ve never met an eggs benedict I didn’t like, the Nosh benny was my first choice. Made with a bit of a Spanish flair, the two perfectly poached eggs were topped with a creamy cumin hollandaise sauce and served with avocado, corn, sprouts and black beans.

The thing that really knocked this dish out of the park though was the substitution of a portabello mushroom in place of the traditional English muffin. This savoury take on an old favorite manages to both be mouth-wateringly tasty and a clever nod to the gluten-free crowd. Taken with a side of crispy hash browns — doused with Nosh’s unique house-made ketchup and hot sauce — this meal was truly a thing of beauty.

Have a mimosa with your brunch! It’s five o’clock somewhere, right?

My brunch date, also a fan of savoury breakfast food, chose the omelette. Stuffed with spinach, portobello mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and cheddar cheese and drizzled with a cranberry wine sauce, it’s exactly as delicious as it sounds — especially when paired with a cup of mulligatawny soup, a curried Indian dish.

For those who favour the sweeter side of brunch, Nosh offers a French toast that changes flavour weekly — last week it was piña colada — and chocolate pancakes that are topped with a generous helping of berries. In terms of lighter fare, the fruit and yogurt option is served with fresh mint and house made granola.

To bring the whole lovely experience full circle, Nosh’s atmosphere and decor also make for a unique dining experience. Decorated with local artwork and housed in a trendy and modern venue, Nosh is a treat for both the tastebuds and the eyes. After cleaning my plate it seemed only natural to linger, chat over coffee and watch the bustle of Broadway Avenue through the window.

I was surprised to feel pleasantly full rather than stuffed to the brim, as is often the case for most restaurants. Nosh’s reasonably sized portions are also accompanied by reasonable prices, which is really all you can hope for when dining out.

But above all, it is truly an amazing thing to walk out of a restaurant feeling healthier than you did when you walked in. This alone is why Nosh is a welcome new addition to Saskatoon’s culinary roster.