Loved it. Their french toast is one of the best i ever had. BBQ chicken, omlet bar, cheese, deserts, lasagna are few that i liked most. The roasted beef was bit dry and place can be bit crowded. Have to wait in long line up and wait for the french toast to be refilled. Overall yummy food. read more

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Enjoyed a lovely meal here over the weekend with some friends. I enjoyed the decor as it was simple but modern. I was hoping to enjoy the beautiful patio, but everyone felt it was too hot of a day. I loved the size of the menu which had just enough options in a variety of price points. Our group of 4 orders: jambalaya, bolognese pasta, lamb chops and a pizza. So, we experienced a good cross section of the menu. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food, so no complaints. It did seem a bit pricey for what it was, but standard, and even less than some of the prices you encounter in downtown Toronto. read more

The food was delicious and the service was amazing. It was a busy night and we were celebrating my boyfriend's birthday. They were really professional and made his night special. We ordered calamari, steak and pesto pasta. My boyfriend claims it was the best steak of his life. The pasta was great as well, the portions were huge! It was affordable too. Covid precautions were taken place and overall it was a lovely experience. Will come back in the future. read more

I came here for a friend's birthday. We had a party of 7 people for brunch on Saturday and all had a very enjoyable experience! The restaurant was mostly empty, so we didn't have to wait at all, unlike 99% of brunch places in Toronto. The wait staff were also extremely friendly and attentive! We're a pretty rowdy bunch and our waiter humoured us and laughed at our jokes. The food was okay. Very standard brunch fair. Amongst our table, we tried almost every item on their menu and I would say that the ham and cheese omelette was the most impressive dish (unfortunately, I was not able to snap a picture). The French toast was a close second. The St Lawrence Classic and Egg Benedict were nothing too special. If you are undecided between the choice of sausage or bacon for a side, definitely go with the bacon. They serve real peameal bacon with generous portions! Our favourite part of the meal were the mimosas! They have a special where you can have two mimosas for $9! The tropical mimosas is a must try! There are other cocktails on the menu, but two for $9 really can't be beat! I will definitely come back again for the service and atmosphere, probably on a Sunday for their brunch buffet! read more

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I had lunch there with my parents yesterday. The service was great, the quality of the food was great - we ordered from the Winterlicious menu. Portions were a bit small, but not enough to diminish the experience. I personally had the Cesar Salad which was excellent. The Chicken Penne pasta which was really good too. Then for dessert it was a lemon cake which was probably the best I've had. Would definitely go again! read more

I've been here a couple of times for work lunches and celebrations. I love the service and the ambience. My favourite dish from them so far has got to be the Sicilian gnocchi. It's one of the best I've had to date. It was so satisfying and the perfect balance between chewy and soft. I also got the jambalaya and I substituted the sausage for extra shrimps. Loved it. I'd come back just for these two dishes!! read more

The restaurant patio is quite lovely on the outside. Aesthetically pleasing to be in, and to look at. That's kind of the reason we chose to go here - especially during covid-19. We were promptly greeted by our server and ordered our foods. Within 15 minutes, our food came and it was made to perfection. The only problems I had, was (I presume) a drunk man wandered into the patio and he fell on a fellow diner. I was surprised that the hostess, wait staff or managers didn't do anything in prompt time. There was a waitress who saw everything and she ignored the whole incident while serving her clients, and didn't bother to grab the manager. You can tell he was disturbing everyone. The patrons were literally looking at him, and looking at where the staff were. For the dessert, I ordered the vegan chocolate cake and I hated it. It was dry, and tasteless. I was expecting or I guess, hoping for something that would be more flavourful. But maybe not for this item next time I do recommend this restaurant, but they need to be alittle bit more attentive to potential problems that may occur while being a patio-based service. read more

I was passing in front of this place, it was time to eat and felt the smell of good food. I came inside with my husband and happily we gave it a try. The food is good, you an all you can eat option (I think this option is only once a week). The place is very cool. There were some tables celebrating and it created a happy atmosphere. The service was very good, the waiter really treated us as very welcome. I really like it. read more

This is such a local gem! Huge patio section which is wonderful during Covid. Staff is always friendly & so accommodating. A friend & I went there a few evening ago & we wanted to try a few different mains & share them all. They plated everything for us separately, without even asking. Such an amazing surprise & so much easier! Nice touch HotHouse! Food was all so delicious! Highly recommend! If you haven't checked them out, you're missing out! The manager came by towards the end to thank us for our business & ask how everything was. Delicious food, great staff, cannot wait to go again! read more

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Went today for Sunday Brunch! They've upped their prices to $26.95 per person. We made reservations easily a few days before hand so we didn't have to wait, but there were quite a few groups in front waiting so make sure you reserve a table! Even though we reserved for 5 people, they gave us a square table meant for 4, so it was a bit squished. The restaurant feels very classic Canadian: Nothing fancy but feels home-y/cozy. The seating area is huge but the buffet area is on the other side of the restaurant and isn't huge. The food is pretty yummy but a lot of is carbs to fill you up faster I guess. The more expensive stuff like smoked salmon & salami ran out really quickly and they stopped serving it. If we came 30 minutes later, we wouldn't have gotten any at all. I think we were most impressed with their mussels and veal. They also have an impressive dessert area with many varieties of cake! Perfect if you have a sweet tooth. Drinks other than water are not included. Mimosas are $9 for 2 which isn't bad. The food was pretty good but at that price, I doubt I would make this a regular stop. read more

And another poor review for Hothouse - single people don't deserve a table at lunch, nice. Very different treatment here in Toronto than on recent travels where all customers treated well in other countries # loseacustomer read more

Just when my girlfriend and I were about to give up on finding a place that was still open to have dinner in the area we were wandering, we walked past Hot House. This place seemed like a chain to me, but it's actually just this location, and we were glad that we walked in here. We started with Capriccio Bread, and as an entree I went with the Makhani Curry Chicken. I enjoyed both dishes, and our server was very friendly and got us our food in good time. The restaurant itself, and I think it was because we came in so late, was empty except for another couple stopping by after the Blue Jays game. That was a bit worrying when we first walked in considering the size of the space, but then we realized what time it was. Overall, great food and great service paired with a nice atmosphere will have us coming back if we're in the area. read more

The Hot House is known for its award-winning weekday buffet and it did deliver - to a certain extent. I went on a Wednesday night with a large crew of food adventurers. Although we were a large group, the service was always prompt and the servers were very hospitable. This is a quality that I think is lacking at many other buffet restaurants, so it is a definite plus in my book. As for the food, the selection is Italian themed, so you will find several pastas and pizza dishes. The highlight of the selection was the mussels, as many of my colleagues relished platefuls of nothing but these sea creatures. Personally, however, the mussels were not spectacular; they were well-cooked but lacked any strong flavour to be memorable. Additionally, the foods were replenished quicker than what you would normally see at other buffets, which suggested that the dishes are generally fresher here. However, the caveat was that the selection was small. For example, there was only one type of pizza, two types of meat (roasted beef and chicken), one type of soup, three types of pastas, one type of rice, and two types of hot vegetable dishes besides what was available at the salad bar. Even ice cream/sorbet, a drink bar, and vegetarian hot foods - all of which are general features of a buffet - were non-existent! To give some visual-spacial perspective, the salad bar, hot foods, and dessert bar are tucked into a corner of the restaurant, matching up to about a third of the size of the food areas at larger buffet chains. Of course, Hot House doesn't exclusively serve buffet fare, so a smaller selection is to be expected. However, I would have appreciated at least a second soup and some frozen dessert options with which to end my meal. Please don't get me wrong though; I did enjoy some of the food. The dessert bar was made up of six or more varieties of cakes, many of which were cheesecakes. The two or three that were sponge cakes were not dry and hard like what you would normally get elsewhere, so I easily filled myself up with strawberry shortcake and raspberry cake. If you're not a cake person, they also have apple crumble, though without any ice cream on-site to pair with it, it may be underwhelming. Overall, my experience here was decent. The service was phenomenal and the price was fair. It's a great place to eat at with family and friends as well. However, because the selection of foods is so limited, I do not believe I will dine here anytime soon. read more

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First of all, we should call this a warm house because anything you get is nothing close to hot. The pasta's chicken was tasted like 3 days refrigerated, the vegetables wasn't cooked. which real Italian place buys supermarket pasta ?. This is the worst thing I ever eaten in a while. My girlfriend bought a salad which they served in a dessert plate, also it was looking like chefs inside we're architectures cuz they were trying make the salad look like a volcano , but before even we tasted half of the plate fell cuz guess why? it's F dessert plate. Pizza was less tastier than a cardboard but they both have a common point, because this pizza was looking like a cardboard or you can take it home to play frisbee. The decoration is your grandma's favourite for sure, because its from her times. Server was nice but we waited at the door for 10 mins. To be honest don't go here waste your money, they sell the same pasta in the stores for 1$, don't get scammed. read more

Soooo I was downtown looking for food and came across this place.. A few things to highlight: Food was average... I ordered the hot house penne... It was spicier than I thought it would be... But perhaps I'm just a Lil panzy... There was a robust amount of sausage in my pasta which was good but there was so much more meat than pasta... If rather have more than less but there needs to be a nice balance... Was still a decent dish.. My gf got the sicilian gnocci which she said the pasta was a little too mooshy... Her pasta was pretty heavy... The nachos were good.... Portions here were pretty good especially since we had to pack up all 3 dishes lol... Our server James was pretty friendly Imo.... Service in general was a little slow but not as bad as some other yelpers have received... But we went at like 6 pm... Ohhh one thing that can be improved is to provide complimentary bread... That should be standard at a place like this... Overall I wouldn't mind going back and perhaps try something else... So congrats Hot House Cafe you are TooTuff approved!!!! read more

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My daughter's partner is seriously ill and they are not able to visit us for the Christmas holidays. I contacted Aris, manager at the Hothouse Cafe, to see if I could get a gift card to them for Christmas dinner. My daughter was too busy, between work and running to the hospital, to pick it up, so I wanted to arrange some way of having it delivered to her residence. Aris very kindly offered to have a staff member deliver it to her concierge, which he did. His dedication to excellent service is very much appreciated. That Christmas dinner will brighten up their holiday and we are very grateful for his willingness to go above and beyond to provide service to his customers. read more

We were seated at a table that had bird crap right in the middle. I had to ask them to clean it. Water wasn't offered and had to ask for it. The wait for two thin crust pizza was 18 minutes. Pizza tasted good. However, later during the day we had stomach problems. read more

Despite not being able to run their buffet, Hothouse is still open for brunch! We got to enjoy their 2 for $10 mimosas, and have a delicious breakfast. The food was great, the tables are spaced fairly well, the staff all very friendly and the experience lovely. I had the bistro omelet which was very tasty. The home fries are a mix of fried potatoes and veggies which was a pleasant surprise as I was envisioning the typical deep fried potato squares. The toast is delicious too. Great meal, nice chance to get out of our space which we're often stuck in with COVID. read more

We stumbled upon this place and glad we did! The food and service was amazing. Cajun calamari was excellent. Drinks were also great. There is nothing bad to say about this place. Our waiter was friendly and cared for us. We visited on vacation from the US and he provided great recommendations. read more

We sat out on the patio and were seated immediately which was great. Had drinks and the jerk cauliflower as well as salads. I'd say the jerk cauliflower was not great and the tune poke was also quite basic. Tuna wasn't fresh but I can't expect it to be. Don't have high expectations from the kitchen. There was also a small fruit fly in my drink which I don't blame anyone for. Service was prompt and good. read more

Great location and atmosphere to come to during covid. The patio was fully booked, so we got seated indoors. The Vegan Burger was great and the Iced Tea was alright. Overall, I would come back for the Vegan Burger and to try the various pastas on menu. read more

Hothouse - Quinoa and Chickpea Vegan Burger West Coast Iced Tea - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Wife loved this place, I thought it was only ok. Went for dinner on the patio. Staff was a little slow but friendly. Food was only ok for the price we paid. Nothing too special. read more

My recent visit to Hot House was disappointing. I was there for their Wednesday night dinner buffet and had made reservations in advance. We were seated at an odd foldable table covered in multiple black table cloths in the center of the restaurant where the a la carte cakes are displayed; we knew it was off as multiple servers were tripping on our chairs because this table should not have existed. The buffet menu is almost always the same and yet the quality seems to deteriorate with each visit. Nothing stood out in a positive way. The desserts all looked great, but they were all mediocre (I remember they were amazing in the past). If they weren't too dry, it was too moist, or too sweet. The reason I've even writing this review is because the service I received from the hostess was awful. When I went in and advised them that I had reservations, she just pointed to a direction as to where to find my table. Luckily for me, I saw my friend standing there, so I knew that was actually my table. Surprisingly, my friend had the exact same experience except he was the first one there and didn't know where the hostess was pointing so he had to go back and ask but no one was around, and then someone asked him if he was lost... I mean... are you serious? I highly doubt I'll be returning any time soon. read more

I absolutely love hot house. Well priced, lots of seating, great food, very friendly and accomodating staff. I have been coming here frequently for brunch since summer of 2019. One of the only brunch spots in Toronto that take reservations and is not "first come first serve" and there is seating available for large groups as i host my bookclub meetings here. They do have a somewhat smaller selection of items for a buffet but it is all delicious and fresh and hot. I have brought friends and family here for their birthdays and they get the Live Band that plays here on Sundays to play happy Birthday for them. read more

The Sunday lunch buffet had deteriorated in quality in their hot food items and salad bar compared to pre Covid times. Chicken was over cooked and dry, pasta was sub par, several salads were untouched and lacking appeal, skimping on pecans on the French toast, etc. The live music provided was a definite plus and created a lovely atmosphere which somewhat made up for some of the disappointing food items. read more

Went there yesterday for their Sunday brunch. The food, the amount of choices, and the service -- none of it disappoints! The only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is that we were seated so far away from the jazz band that we couldn't hear them play at all unless we were on our way to the buffet. But when we were at our table the music was impossible to hear over all the conversations. read more

Brunch was good, and had an enormous variety of items, but the things that were wrong on this Sunday afternoon were the basics. The eggs were poor quality and the bacon was deep-fried and deep-fried *way* too long. If there are two items at brunch to get right, I would think eggs and bacon are the ones. That said, the desserts were amazing, and the cappelletti and cannelloni were great, the roast beef was exactly how I like it, nice and red. I am not a huge fan of buffet, as I just overeat and at the same time, rarely eat enough to cover the cost of the meal. The Hot House is strangely laid out and even with a Jazz band playing (a scorching 25 minute rendition of Caravan) the place felt corporate and bland. If you are looking for a good buffet, then you might have a hard time beating the selection here, but for the money, you can get full elsewhere, and with better food. read more

Is your sense of taste deserting you? Do you have difficulty masticating? Are you having difficulty viewing objects from a close distance? Do you want to experience dining in the banquet hall of a seniors' residence? If you answered yes to any or all of the above questions then Hot House Cafe is the right dining establishment for you! With active taste buds and active visual and olfactory senses no one would want to eat this terrible excuse for a buffet. With a buffet that serves such tasteless, unnamed slop it does take quite a bit of fantasizing to ingest the stuff. I tried really hard to imagine that I was eating lasagna but the horrendous dish resolutely thwarted my efforts! All I could keep thinking was that the dinner served in my university cafeteria tasted better! The other dishes were pretty tasteless too. On top of everything, our glasses were never filled unless we asked. No matter how beautifully Cinderella's step sisters were dressed up they were still hags. Similarly, Hot House Cafe, your nice looking patio doesn't distract from the rubbish you serve during the buffet or that you're the perfect venue for a geriatric conference on bad food. read more

I try my best to not write reviews when I am emotionally charged - I give it 24 hours to cool off, so I can jot something halfway decent and objective. 6 months later, I am STILL cheesed so be warned, this may just turn into a long rant. This is not the first time I've been to this place - I have been here at least 2 times before mostly on insistence of friends,far and few in between -which should have been a good indication that I wasn't going to be happy.. This time was no different. It was a bday dinner for a friend and probably only one that would accept such a large group (there was 12 of us I think) on short notice. Of course I arrived fashionably late (30minutes) which the waiter kindly to point it out to me, when the food started arriving, but I am skipping forward here. When I arrived, I was surprised that the waiter promptly asked me for my drink order, which lead me to believe that he's going to be awesome: of course not. I think I spent good 20 minutes mauling over the menu and good 20 minutes looking for my waiter. In fact, we had to go ask someone where our waiter was. Which was a bizzare, as the place was far from "popping"; in fact, there was one table of 5 behind us and a table of 6 or 7 to the left of us and the section was quite empty. Had I been the waiter I would be lingering around to ensure maximum satisfaction and of course, tip. Apparently the waiter and I didn't see eye to eye on this view, as finding him was like finding Waldo - Waldo was easier. We finally order - I get an iced tea, crab cakes and something pasta. Chatter away - I go on a hunt for a last cigarette of life - and fail. I return and notice :the table left to us is constantly being attended to, and from what I understand they arrived only shortly before I, yet there they are, getting the food before us. Is it because the table consisted of men and we were a table of 12 Asian woman?and really, as a male server, shouldn't you be extra nice to the women then the men, considering we tend to tip better? WHATEVER. I also noticed that my crab cakes have arrived which was wonderful; it was going to be GRAND after all. NOT TRUE.Our waiter simply disappear into the void to never be found -we had to constantly ask others where he was and each time there was no guarantee that he would reappear. The reason for this odd behaviour was because we are large enough of a group that the tips will be included in the final bill automatically so the waiter doesn't have to work at all for it, whereas the others are just small enough that he needed to work his magic for the tip. We finally start to get our food; by this point the we've been waiting at least 15 full minutes since arriving. The waiter tells me upon eye contact, that my food will be coming late because I arrived late. I said, that's fine but where is my iced tea? I bit my tongue and didn't mention that my crab cakes have already arrived, so don't give me this poop about my food being late cuz I was late; I worked in service for a very long time and I can tell u otherwise , *humph* Of course my food arrived with the food of few others who have been patiently waiting since the start, except one. And her food was a burger - probably the easiest thing to put together. We had to get a manager to figure out where that burger was and when it arrived it wasn't edible.They gave a complimentary caesar salad for her, which was nice - but she had to eat all by herself now. The cheesecake I had requested for the bday girl was also missing. By this point, I am thoroughly pissed off and stomp off to speak with the floor manager. What I noticed about this place- EVERY TIME I got up the staff assumed that they knew where I was going to go. When I went on a hunt for the last cigarette the floor manager shouted the directions to the washroom to me;when I was looking for the manager they assumed I was still looking for the washroom and barked the direction to me before I can speak. I spoke to the manager - this was an unacceptable service at any level of restaurant (I didn't know THIS was a 5 star?!price maybe)- this was supposed to be special night and it has turned into a stressful disaster. I hope he was going to comp the burger at the very least - which he apparently was going to give thought. He was going to send the cake right away though and speak to the staff. Few minutes later the waiter came to ask when he can bring the cake and ruined the surprise,because people were "eating." I snapped to let him know that they had not touched the food for at least 10 minutes and if he could bring the cake now, that would be FABULoUs. We did pictures. The angry birthday girl had a chat with the manager and gets a complimentary glass of wine.He said the bills would be separated - and we took that to mean that the automatic tip will not be included - but it did. OMG I can go on but there is a word limit; short end - blacklisted. read more

Horrible, horrible, horrible service. We stopped in yesterday for a quick lunch. We gave our food order when the waitress came by for our drink order because we had enough time to review the menu. Then waited 30 minutes for our food, waitress didn't stop by to ask if all was good after. Needed our drinks topped up as we drank them during our wait. Finally I had to get up and go find our waitress to ask for the bill. Food was alright but 40 bucks for 2 burgers a handful of fries and 1 soda wasn't worth it. What a waste. She did ask us if we wanted dessert but we didn't have another hour to kill as we trying to catch a 3:45 movie! The restaurant was also filled with misbehaved children running around screaming. Next time we'll just go to McDonald's P.S. My lamburger was way over cooked. read more

Insanely popular for their brunch on Sundays, Hot House serves up a delicious buffet with live Jazz.! It's a madhouse, so you'll want to make a reservation. The first time you see the buffet... it seems huge! Station after station with pastries, breads, spreads, waffles, bacon, sausages, yogurt, prime rib, seafood, salads, fruit, desserts.... all that is considered brunchy fare ($19). Everything looks marvelous and you can't wait to take a bite out of everything! The second time up, you grab some of the items your really liked and anything "new" that you missed. Third time up... now you're just trying to get the best bang for your buck. You don't really want to eat it...but you put what you can in your mouth and chew...slowly. I'm not usually a buffet type of gal but I do love live music and brunch. If you are in the St. Lawrence market area and want to stuff your face, Hot House is a fun and glutenous way to start your day! read more

HISTORY/ABOUT: Hot House Cafe has been a Toronto Brunch landmark for a very long time, I can't even remember the first time I went. They are open during the week and on Saturday for breakfast but make no mistake, the Sunday award winning brunch buffet is all I have ever ben interested in. DÉCOR/AMBIENCE: Cozy, moderately upscale. The type of restaurant where you can walk in with jeans and a t-shirt, and still pull off a blazer. Live Jazz on Sundays, very chill. I love sitting at the bar as well. MENU DESIGN/READABILITY: I have never looked at the menu, strictly come to slay buffet . FOOD QUALITY: Ok. I will admit the food is not incredible. But personally I am a huge believer in spreads, and by spreads I am not referring to maple butters and artichoke dips. By "spread" I am referring to the sheer diversity of the food available. There are so many options - breakfast/omelette station, carving station, various lunch items, waffle station, bread station, cold salad station, hot station, dessert station, and more, it really is insane. On a standard Sunday I would normally plow through fluffy croissants, bacon, sausages, omelettes, waffles topped with strawberry sauce/maple syrup/whipped cream, meat lasagna, steamed mussels, roast beef & horseradish, pickles, bocconcini, soppresatta, greek salad, various cheeses, cheese tortellini, fresh fruit and I am sure I left a couple things out. For me to hit up a brunch buffet and have everything mentioned above and so much more in relatively infinite amounts, makes me a very happy camper. PRICE POINT: $18.95 for the Sunday brunch buffet, extremely worth it (especially when hungover). SERVICE: No issues with service, hostesses and staff are friendly. I highly recommend sitting at the bar because you constantly have the bartender in front of you so you have essentially immediate service for drinks, plate clearing etc. BATHROOMS: clean. FINAL THOUGHTS: Definitely not a regular Sunday outing for me, but I do enjoy it quarterly. Again, you can not expect to be blown away by the food, there are some great tasting dishes and some not so good, but with things like waffles and bacon etc. you can't really mess those things up. Based on the spread it is a steal and well worth it for me, I do love this place for what it is. read more

After hearing all the rave and reviews about the brunch buffet at Hot House, it was one of my top choices to try on a Sunday afternoon. Walking in 1:30pm without a reservation on a cold and rainy day, we expected a slow crowd, but man was I mistaken. The host informed us that the expected wait time was 1hr, but she offered 2 seats at the bar which we graciously took. Why not? You're hardly going to be sitting down for long anyways! As we made our way towards the buffet, we were greeted with a wide variety of warm pastries, bread, and fresh fruits. Followed by hot waffles made on the spot, with choices of maple syrup, chocolate or strawberries with whipped cream to accompany. The meat station consisted of smoked ham and roast beef. The highlight was the omelette station, with 5-6 toppings to choose from, cooked on the spot to your liking. About a 5-10 mins wait time but well worth it! The hot stations of the day consisted of sheppards pie, BBQ chicken, lasagna, chipotle steamed mussels, capelletti, stir fried noodles, rice pilaf. Of course, you'll have the usual scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausages. The dessert section was heaven for cake lovers. There were 6 cakes to choose from and all looked so delicious, but I was only able to try 2 slices. They consisted of red velvet, chocolate bananas, white chocolate, chocolate truffle, cheesecake, strawberry mouse. Oh, so good! Service was quick and friendly. Dishes always cleared by the time I returned, water consistantly refilled. Live jazz music in the background. But it's definitely pricey ($19.99) for brunch fare. But worth the trip if you're a huge brunch fan. Note: As noted, make reservations before going! read more

Extremely tasty buffet with tons to offer on Weekends. Everything I ate was delicious: omelette from omelette station, waffles, jerk chicken, rice and peas, cheese tortilini, muscles, etc. Worth the cost. Plus we had the 2 for $10 mimosas. The grapefruit and earl grey ones were delightful. A must try! read more

The name would suggest your food will be served hot. It won't be. We came here for Winterlicious and how disappointing. Firstly we were seated in a cold area with a great view of the Metro next door even though there were plenty of other seats. The chairs were very uncomfortable and the decor (in this section) was hideous. Some sort of net looking material on the ceiling. The Good: 1. Fast. The food came out fast. The Bad: 1. Food. The food was horrible. The Caesar salad was tiny and looked/tasted like something you get from a cafeteria. The steak was bland, the vegetables were clearly from a bag, and the fries may have been McCain. No joke. The dessert (creme brûlée) was terrible. 2. Service. Though the food was fast, we waited a good 10 minutes for someone to come collect the bill/Visa card. Also, a manager opened a door right beside our table to let 4 people out of the restaurant and it was FREEZING. Way to make our meal even colder! 3. Atmosphere. A random blend of students and old people, the atmosphere here is more like a cafeteria than a restaurant. Recommendation: do not visit the Hot House, at least for winterlicious. I cannot comment on regular menu items but I can tell you I am not willing to find out after that experience! read more

So, I've been to this place many times, and have always found it to be good, but maybe not great. My latest experience however was fantastic. My mom was on a wheelchair, and they seated us in an area which would be convenient for her, despite the crowd at Winterlicious weekend lunchtime. Service - quick, attentive, courteous and great overall! Food - we ordered off the Winterlicious menu. There were three of us and I took a bite of everyone's food, so here's the rundown. Crabcakes - delicious and amongst the best I've had, served with good aioli. Tomato basil soup - fresh, thick and flavourful. Bolognese pasta - delicious! Chicken and goat cheese ravioli - loved it. Not an overpowering goat cheese flavour, but a delicious hearty pasta. Pizza Napolitan - thin, crisp crust with a delicious flavour sauce and great toppings. Dessert - mango sorbet was excellent, strawberry topped chessecake was fabulous (huge portion, good for those with big appetites). Peanut butter - white chocolate pie - another delicious dessert with nutty, salty and sweet flavours balanced well. Wine - the featured Winterlicious wine was a good Pinot Grigio with well-balanced flavours. $15 per person was never better spent than on this meal. With drinks, charges came to $77 for 3 people (taxes in). read more

I had lunch here the other day and ordered the following from the winterlicious menu: crab cake, chicken & goat cheese ravioli, and cheese cake for dessert. The food was okay. The crab cakes were probably the tastiest part of the meal and I could have eaten a whole plate of them! They were fried, not too dry or too crumbly. Not salty at all as I often find crab cakes have too much salt added to them. Definitely a good crab cake. The ravioli was okay. I couldn't really taste the goat cheese or even notice the chicken as it was overpowered by the pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese. The cheese cake was good but the slice was too big of a portion, The service was a tad bit slow but I guess that is expected during the winterlicious event! read more

We've eaten at Hot House Cafe a lot of times in the past. It's the kind of place you choose when you're with non-adventerous eaters or you need something generic to please a large group with different palates. We decided to come back to Hot House for a Summerlicious dinner ($25) before a girlfriend's stagette. I easily made reservations online and was assigned a four person table on their large patio. The patio seating was nice as we were able to watch the activity on Front St. Appetizer - I chose the seafood bisque as the other 2 options were both Caesar salad. The soup was hot, a bit spicy with some chunks of seafood but had an overwhelming fishy smell/taste. Mains - I chose the swordfish with rice and vegetables. My god, I swear this has turned me off of swordfish for the rest of my life. It was extremely fishy smelling and tasting. The swordfish meat was kinda chewy - somewhere between pork and fish texture. I'm not sure how they caught this swordfish but I'm thinking it was probably clubbed on the head several times and then dragged by it's tail behind a boat all the way back to shore. The others chose the surf/turf option and the ravioli. Both seemed like a way better choice than the swordfish. What was I thinking? Dessert - I went with the sorbet (one scoop of passion fruit and one scoop of mango). It was probably the best part of the meal, although I found the sorbet a bit gummy. Service was just okay. Server seemed a bit overwhelmed with the dinner rush. Also got the dreaded eye roll from her when we didn't order drinks other than water. We were going to be boozing it up later that night for my friend's stagette so we were saving ourselves. I hate that I have to explain myself in these situations - what if we were all pregnant, recovering alcoholics or diabetics that don't drink sugary pop? The possibilities are endless but I hate being made to feel like a criminal just because we chose to stick with water. *hiss, hiss*. I won't be enthusiastically suggesting Hot House in the future. It's going on my 'last resort' list. read more

Hot House Penne was amazing! The peppers, penne, sauce and vegetables in this dish was great! Ambiance: swanky Dress: Casual Good for happy hour and dinner read more

Went here on Wednesday night. When we got there it was packed, we had no idea that Wednesdays were all you can eat dinner buffet. We made reservations so we didn't have to wait too long, maybe 10 mins. My husband and I never tired the buffet here and the waiter kept raving about how good it was and the various selections they had to offer so we decided to give it a try which was a big mistake. The selection wasn't that great. Only things we actually enjoyed eating were the BBQ chicken and the cheese filled pasta. The roast beef was as raw as raw could get. The cup of water I got from the server was dirty beyond belief. Not saying I won't be coming back to the hot house but definitely won't ever be coming back for the dinner buffet. Seems like the servers are focused on way too many guests to actually serve you properly. read more

Hothouse - Raw roast beef - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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