The ice wine I ordered was splendid. The molten chocolate lava cake, however, was mediocre. It should have been warmer and more moist. The service was a tad slow and the place was teeming with customers (which made peaceful conversation seem like a luxury).
Truly a gem of Toronto, over three quarters of a centuries experience poured into every little detail. Service is more than exemplrally, even considering massive volume of customers. A must visit for guests of the Fairmont and tourists of Toronto.
Enjoy the high tea here and the classic atmosphere. Really like the oolong watermelon !
Have been here several times for drinks and on this occasion for high tea. The service has always been exceptional. The high tea offers an amazing selection of pastries and teas. Highly recommended for a great Toronto weekend. Be advised it isn't cheap.
I loved this place, but only giving it 3 stars because I felt the prices for some things were ridiculous. $16 for a glass of wine?! $15 for a tiny lemon tart that had a hard crust and was buried in meringue? Yikes! I nonetheless enjoyed my NY strip loin steak. It was done exactly as I like it and came with perfectly done asparagus, carrots that were a tad crunchy, a wonderful portobello mushroom and a yummy beef juice on the plate. I mopped that up with the delicious sweet potato fries that I ordered for a side. Will go again, as the atmosphere and service were topnotch. Prices dictate this is for very special occasions only.
The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The waitress recommended to me the onion soup and the triple bacon chicken sandwich. My friend and I had both and they were delicious! Also, they had brought the wrong dish (chicken instead of the sandwich) to me at the beginning but brought me the right one in less than 10 minutes. They had gave me an extra salad during the wait, so that was nice. Afterward, they waitress told me that the sandwich was on the house and that I didn't have to pay! I was so shocked and pleasantly surprised that I tipped even more! They had also packed our leftovers into a box and a nice little Fairmont fabric baggie. It looked really nice. From the food to the atmosphere to the people, this place was amazing. My friend and I left, exclaiming, "let's come back here next time". Yes, we liked it this much. (I also love library settings so this place has no become one of my favourite restaurants!)
We had been looking forward to the experience based on a friend's recommendation: relaxing, quiet, "library" atmosphere It was anything but. The decor is superb, but the noise was deafening. The prices made my stomach turn. It was extremely crowded (5:30 p.m. - Wednesday evening!) and our small table was very dark impossible to read the menu. It had taken 20 minutes to get a table! We had planned on dinner there as well, but the noise and price and pushy waiter got us out of there as soon as we finished our cocktails.
Food was not great. Crab cakes were flavourless. Lobster knuckle sandwiches were gross, they tasted as if they were made straight from the can, and the bread was very, very dry. The bacon in each of the sandwiches wasn't crispy but hard as cardboard. The sweet potato fries were cold. My husband had the shrimp cocktail which was good, but that's pretty hard to mess up.
The ambience was lovely.
My expectations coming here weren't that high, and this place really shot below my expectations. For instance, for $27 for a lobster 3 mini sandwichs, choose soft, fresh bread for starters. Then do your guests a favour and put in real, chunks of lobster in a light sauce and crispy bacon. Don't cheap out with that canned shredded lobster. Fries should be warm, period.
For $22 for two Crab cakes, they should be lightly breaded with crab (not mush).
Overall we paid $93.00 + tip for this place. Not worth the money. You can get better food for cheaper elsewhere.
Our waitress and hostess were a bit snobby for no real reason. But the nice lady who served our food made the experience great.
The food was amazing I had the prime rib sandwich and my wife had a curry dish with a cucumber dib that she claimed was the best she has ever had.
Didn't try the food, but the drink menu is sufficiently diverse and the service is top notch. Probably one of the better atmospheres in the city too as far as bars go. Cozy and warm.