Beautiful New Restaurant With Brunch Power Brings Casual Fun to CITYCENTRE — Your First Look at Daily Gather

Two days before Daily Gather is set to officially open in CITYCENTRE, we were among the mirthful throng that poured in midday Sunday for a friends and family brunch that set the stage for another successful run for the team behind Dish Society.

The serene, sophisticated interiors erupted with scampering children, lively families and a flurry of  congenial wait staff. Steaming plates of brunch fare soared from the kitchen to tables spread across the 6,000 square foot restaurant. As the afternoon wore on and the sun peeked out, guests began sitting at patio tables overlooking the CITYCENTRE green.

It was a lively scene which is just what Five 12 Restaurant Concepts founder and owner Aaron Lyons, along with owner Trent Patterson and culinary director chef Brandi Key, plan for the Memorial haunt. Foodies will recognize Key from her extensive background leading kitchens and launching new restaurants with Clark Cooper Concepts and most recently alongside Claire Smith at Alice Blue.

On this day, we were looking for the chef’s famed fried chicken on the weekend brunch menu. But the chicken was limited to chicken fingers (delicious) that topped my biscuits with sausage gravy order. The scratch kitchen does lunch, dinner and social hour menus of all-American favorites, some with a clever twist, in addition to the weekend brunch.

While my husband worked on his garden omelette and I sampled the yummy deviled eggs, we watched as Daily Gather’s mind-boggling Ultimate Brunch Board arriving at neighboring tables. It’s a big-eater or group combo that includes scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, country sausage, breakfast potatoes, crispy chicken tenders, French 48 toast bites, and seasonal fruit with maple butter and chipotle honey. The menu lists it as sharable with four to six diners.

In the hands of Gin Design Group, the former Straits Restaurant has been beautifully transformed into a sophisticated restaurant with a design that belies the family nature of the place. We can see ourselves perched at one of the banquettes in the beautiful bar area of the restaurant, the design of which is said to have been inspired by the dawn-to-dusk Soho House and The Hoxton.

Yet, fancy threads are not desired. This is a come-as-you-are restaurant to be applauded on many levels not the least of which is the well-trained, congenial staff, no easy achievement in this era of help wanted everywhere.

Daily Gather opens this Tuesday. January 11th.