We had an awful lunch here. Before starting the review, wanted to say server Rob was excellent and even removed one of the items from our bill without asking. We had bruschetta, Moroccan chicken sandwich and cheese Capeletti. Bruschetta was just tomato and pesto, along with some marble cheese. There were maybe 3 or 4 pieces of feta in total on the 8 pieces of bread. No onions, balsamic or anything you'd expect on bruschetta. Moroccan chicken sandwich looked like they'd cut half a sandwich in half. The bread was so dry and the chicken was maybe 1/8 inch thick, also dry. The sandwich was like biting into a bone. In the end it was gross so I'm glad it wasn't bigger but I can't believe they would serve something that small for $20 Capeletti we couldn't eat more than a couple bites. Slathered once again in marble cheese so it was just greasy as anything. Tasted like it was made by a little kid We were refunded for this one. Patio was ok, service was very friendly. Will not be back due to the food read more

Sat on the patio on a hot summer night recently with a couple of friends. Service was great, friendly and kind. Food was by and large good, but the winner was the laid-back patio atmosphere and great service. read more

Solid date night place. 10/10... errr, 5/5.. oops, sorry yelp. Perfect place to wine and dine your significant other. The service is top notch and fancy; everything came very quickly and they didn't come ask if you were doing ok every 2 seconds and when he was here, he'd somehow find the perfect timing so he'd barely disrupt us. Tons of vegan friendly options here, marked clearly with a V. I had the asian stirfry, which impressed me - and I'm asian! The sauce on it was mixed well and delicious with the abundance of veggies and rice. (you can add shrimp/chicken too) It was mouthwatering and I wanted to stuff my face over and over again. Dining partner got the filet mignon and not being a meat eater myself, I can say it looked delicious. Came with potatoes and veggies too, nom. There's a nice wine selection there and we got 1/2L of a red wine.. forgot the name, but it was amazing. Perfect sipping and chatting about inappropriate things kind of wine. That's my kind of wine. Prices aren't ridiculous either. I'm a fan, I'm a fan, I'm a fan! .. Also, all these reviews mention brunch... hmmmmm. I need to get on that. read more

Went for a late lunch with the family today. Food was excellent for all of us as well as the service from our server but it took forever to get our food...otherwise I would have rated it a 5 out of 5. Would definitely go back as the prices were reasonable as well. read more

Hothouse - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I had chicken Ballonite which was perfect, loved it! It was stuffed chicken with cheese and spinach served with mashed potato, broccoli. All together was very tasty! One more great thing was my white wine cocktail!! read more

came here on a Saturday night. the lights are dimly lit and it was pretty busy that day. expect to spend around $20 per person here as it is more on the expensive side I got the Marsala chicken which is baked chicken breast seasoned with this mushroom sauce and wine and came with mashed potatoes and vegetables. the chicken was surprisingly moist and paired so well with the sauce I never tried anything like it! this skin was also really tasty and had a lot of flavour to it. the mashed potatoes were also delicious and I loved dipping my chicken into it. the flavour for the mash was one of the best I've had. the service was good as well and they refilled my water without me having to ask. the food also came in a timely manner for our group of 4 people! overall I would recommend the place the food definitely comes HOT as the name suggest. great for dates or hanging out with a small group of friends read more

Hothouse - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Booked a party of 20 ppl. Was sent a price fixe menu with a set price Once seated, service was slow (plates not cleared, glasses etc) since we only had one server. Food portions were all over the place, some big some laughably smaller, and one of our party didn't receive their food at all. Went to pay our bill and it was much higher than quoted on the prix fixe. Manager told us we were sent an old menu and wanted us to pay the higher price even though we were quoted lower. (?!) eventually let us pay the original price after much delay. Disappointing in so many ways. read more

Our family go-to restaurant. Been coming to this restaurant for 15+ years and the staff and service is what always makes us return. My 13 year old chose Hothouse to celebrate his milestone. Prices are reasonable and there's something for everyone. We always get the Penne Alla Sambuca and ribs. Yesterday, hubby tired the pizza with sausage and caramelized onions (yum!). Their fries are made perfectly too. We totally appreciated the DELICIOUS chocolate birthday slice they surprised my son with. Such a classy touch. Thank you Hothouse! We will see you again soon. read more

Came in on a Wednesday afternoon just before the work rush. Service was good and my food was served quickly. The dining and food experience is a 5 star rating, however I felt the portions were small for the price I was paying on the appetizers. I opted for the meal size caesar salad with amazing cooked salmon while my partner had the gnocchi. I would like to shoutout the cocktail menu as well, they were amazing! read more

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Yesterday I made a return visit to Hot House after not having been there for several years. I was there with a large social Group for brunch; I'd previously had lunch, dinner, Sunday buffet brunch and buffet dinner there going back 15+ years but I'd never had brunch from their menu before. I've never had such a delicious omelette before (ham & cheese, which came with also very delicious whole wheat toast and home fries) and we had great service for such a large group. If I recall correctly I quite enjoyed all of the previous meals I've had there over the years and I believe they still have live jazz music on Sun. mornings for their buffet brunch that day. The venue is quite spacious throughout and somewhat upscale in appearance. It's also a fairly short walk east from 2 subway stations - King and Union - and St. Lawrence Market is close by (a couple of blocks east on Front St.) so it's in a nice, convenient to get to neighbourhood as well. The venue also has a front patio during the warmer months. read more

PLEASE STOP WITH THE JAZZ MUSIC!!!!!! The brunch is incredible, been here 100x. But the jazz band is so horribly annoying, nobody wants to yell over their table on a sunday afternoon. Please stop with the jazz band! Literally NO ONE likes it. read more

Hothouse - WHY IS THIS A THING - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I cringe writing this review. I lived in Toronto my whole life but I've since moved to Vancouver. I planned a trip back to Toronto to see friends and family; I raved about Hot House Restaurant to my friends in Vancouver and told them all how excited I was to eat there again. My best friend and I showed up at 11:30am on Sunday for the brunch buffet. We were told it would be an hour wait. I was looking forward to eating here so we put our names on the list. Sure enough, an hour later, we were given a table. My friend is a vegetarian, so other than the omelet station, the buffet was a bit of waste for him. Meanwhile, I stuffed my plates high and goobled down food as if I had never ate before. Our server was great. She was friendly and refilled our water often. I left feeling full and happy. I didn't need to eat for the rest of the day! The next morning though, I didn't feel so great. My stomach was hurting and I thought I must have overate. Then I ran to the washroom and threw up. Over and over and over. I spent the entire day puking and feeling absolutely terrible. Turns out, I was suffering from food poisoning! My friend thought it must have been from the shellfish, which he didn't eat. Could have been from the beef as well. Whatever it was, it ruined a day of my vacation and I will never tell anyone to eat here again. read more

Hothouse - Who knew something on this plate would make me sick? - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Great food. Just had apps and drinks, but wished we had eaten dinner! Patio seating was fun.

I want to be honest and confess one thing. It has been over 2 weeks that I visited Hot House Cafe and its blueberry scones still calls to me everyday. If I comment about nothing else. Not the service (superb), the food (glory goodness!) or their overall ambiance (jazz and dripping candles!) - I must confess that I would revisit HHC... just for the scones. This review was strictly for the scones (10/10). read more

HORRIBLE SERVICE - waited 20 minutes for a menu and cutlery, 40 minutes to order (after I asked), and an hour 5 minutes to get served. A omelet and 2 salads. Not once were we checked to see if everything was ok. Asked to speak to Manager, he never showed until I went to search him out. I had to literally get up and search service again to order a second bottle of wine. Manager didn't even offer as much as a cup of coffee as an apology. They need serious help. The food was good, but for a $25 Cobb salad there was literally 6 bites of chicken pulled off the chicken - not even cut into slices. 1 of the 6 pieces was actually fat, dark meat and inedible. I do not recommend read more

We wandered into the Hothouse Restaurant after seeing what looked a science experiment going on at one of the tables near the window. Interest peeked... that was the "smoked old fashioned" that we needed to investigate. It was outstanding. It is the reason this restaurant goes from 3* to 4*. We decided to stay for another and figured we better have some food too... The food: we started with a finocchio pizza, which was the best thing we ate. I had the sambuca pasta that was pretty good and my coworker had cappelletti, also not bad. None of the food had us talking about it after dinner, but the smoked old fashioned is worth a return trip. read more

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Amazing spot. Had to book lunch on a patio for a group of 30 for work. Hot House was one of the only reasonably priced that would accommodate. I'd never been and was nervous which was unnecessary because it ended up being fantastic. It was gloomy out and they called to confirm and asked if we wanted to be moved inside. Everyone's food looked and tasted amazing. They were so on top of everything and although it took a while to get the food out, when it came it was hot and came out basically all at the same time. The venue is nice and clean and I can't stop raving about it. I got the gnocchi and the smoked Old Fashioned. Totally worth it. I tried my friends calamari. Amazing. read more

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We were there to celebrate our friends birthday party. Went in on a saturday without a reservation. We were pleasantly surprised to be seated in a privet room. ** The Grilled New Zealand Lamb was fantastic, my wife had the Grilled New York Strip loin, well seasoned with savory mushrooms. Garlic mash was an excellent side for both dishes along side fresh firm veggies. *** The server (forget her name) kindly enough highlighted the gratuity, which you never see done anywhere.. This made us only leave a bit more. *** Overall excellent staff, very hospitable and were well taken care of. read more

Hothouse - Grilled New Zealand Rack of Lamb - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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It's "Reunion Time"! It's interesting how certain people draw you to certain places! The girls from work and I use to go here on lunch runs. We always order the cheese cappelletti and pizzas. But that was a few years ago. Now I'm back in town and it's catchup time with the girls on a late Saturday morning at 11! By this time, I have already eaten brekky, but who says I can't have a SECOND brekky? =P ... I ordered the Eggs Benedict Florentine; two poached eggs on top of mini muffins topped with creamy spinach and oozing with hollandaise sauce, with a side of your choice (home fries or fresh fruit). Delish! Good portion size, decent price ($11.95 w/o tax or tip), filling and tasty and really hit the spot! Tip: You can get gluten-free alternatives for $1.50 extra. I didn't try it, but my friend ordered the pizza and got it gluten free, which she seemed to have enjoyed. This was my first Saturday here. If you come on Saturdays, service is impeccable! The waiter was always poking around the corner, almost eagerly filling up our coffee and water! And we when asked for the bill, it almost magically appeared in our hands. I've also been here for dinner and SUNDAY Brunch. Dinner was Meh. But BRUNCH BUFFET on Sundays is GRRRRRRREAT! It's $19.95 per person, plus tax. (no drinks included). Reservations are highly recommended. There are 4 buffet stations ( Hot food / Salad & Cheese & Fruit / Omlette / and Dessert). The ambiance on Sundays is lively, as the air is filled with a live band! Warning: if you do not have reservations for Sunday's brunch, waiting time is nasty (or is that ME cuz I hate waiting for food when I'm hungry?). But it is absolutely worth the wait! For the quality & selection of food, it is almost a steal! Great for groups, big or small. Food: 4/5 Atmosphere: 4/5 Interior: 3/5 Cleanliness: 5/5 read more

Hothouse - ... eggs florentine @ hot house cafe ... - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I sure do hope you are reading this while they still operate the patio. Hot House is one of our default restaurant when we can't think of anything else. It's because it's good. Try their Gnocci and tell me you didn't like it... I'll tell you four million reasons why I love it. Call me, now. Ok.. granted, sometimes they can use less salt to make it but it's good more often than not. My friends always stare at their orders and salivate on my calorie-filled Gnocci whenever they taste it... on my plate. People, you gotta believe me. Two couches outside the patio with white linens add to summer ambience. It give a classy look. Food ranges from $ 15 lunch menu to just about $ 30 or under... it's worth it. They have a good selection of wine list (though I don't drink) and I believe you can do BYOB for a corkage fee. On Wednesdays, forget your diet and dine buffer-style with style for under $ 20. On some days, wanna bee performers entertain the guests. Waiters are generally happy to serve you. Oh and check their bathroom.... there's a creepy mirror packed with ads - so I deducted a star. read more

Hothouse - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I came for brunch on a Sunday. The mussels were delicious plump and nicely seasoned I ate two platefuls easily they were that good. Even though they were busy and our server was very attentive and did not rush us. I enjoyed the fact that they have many low carb options at the buffet other than eggs such as Smoked salmon, olives, cheeses and salami, roast beef, BBQ chicken I was too full from the buffet to miss not being able to visit the dessert area which was full of La Rocca cakes. read more

Hothouse - Mmmm! Mussels - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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I hate leaving bad reviews but this place was really really ... not ... great. From starting with a dirty coffee cup (that the waitress really should have known better than to serve), my order being input wrong, and barely seeing our server before and after asking for the bill (despite it being not busy at all), service was sorely lacking. To be clear, her attitude/demeanour was fine, but her quality control and eye for detail was not. And to boot the food is just edible. Anyway, there are so many super restaurant options in the area, I highly recommend you opt for a different choice than Hothouse. (I have heard their AYCE Brunch on Sundays are good? But I'll never know as I'm never going back lol.) read more

I am a frequent customer at this place. For dinner and lunch, they have a nice patio which is a perfect place to get drinks, mingle with friends, and people watch. The personal pizzas are delish. Can't go wrong with pizza and drinks. Crust is nice and thin. The rest of the dinner/lunch menu are just alright However, My favourite thing to do here is Sunday brunch with my girlfriends. Nice ambiance with live jazz band playing in the background. It's all you can eat brunch, quality and selections are good. Price has gone up over the years, we had brunch today, it was around $23 per person. Fresh waffles, french toast, omelette station, cheese & fruits, and other lunch items (pasta, lagsana, mussels, roast beef etc). I like the cake selection Perfect place to enjoy good food, and spend time with friends read more

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Came here for a meet up with a friend last week. The place is kinda funny. It has been around forever (my friend had worked here 10 years ago). It reminds me of some of the casual restaurants of my youth, right down to the booths and the fresh bread on the table. I had a fancy cocktail (whiskey and vanilla) and Putanecsa Pasta with black olives, sardines, capers and tomato sauce. It is a classic recipe and this interation was served the way it would have been at most places 10 years ago. A giant portion with lots of sauce. It was very competently done , but not anything amazing. I have mixed feelings about this place. It seemed well...dated. It has a giant menu, and seems to be trying to do a lot of things. Maybe a bit of focus on the classics and on the bruch buffet. read more

After the painting classes, we picked a restaurant randomly. Luckily, we picked the correct one. The decor, menu variety, service and the taste were amazing. We three ordered jambalaya, which was so filling and yummy. Lunch menu, 13. Dollars. The rice and meat were juicy and creamy. Minha's baked potatoes and Cherry's lobster spaghetti were awesome! Will come back! read more

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A good place to go for brunch near St. Lawrence. Spacious inside and nice street view. Went there for brunch. Food was ok, not much surprises. The french toast I ordered was given a fancy name called "Hot House French Toast", should be their special, but not that special to me, as it got soaked in the maple syrup which made the whole dish very soggy and super sweet. Even I like sweet but still couldn't take that much. Next time hope they could offer the syrup on the side. Other than that french toast, everything was good. read more

My partner and I frequent the Hot House Cafe a lot. I guess you could say that we're 'regulars'. It's close proximity, dependable food and great service makes it an easy place to go for lunch, brunch, dinner or just drinks on the large outdoor patio. Known by most for their Sunday brunch, the Hot House serves up favorites such as lasagna, bbq chicken, salads, roast beef, bacon & eggs, and a dessert table that's undeniable. The prices are very reasonable and right now they are featuring their own 'Summerlicious' pre fixe menu. They also feature an annual garlic festival menu which I would recommend to anyone who loves garlic. If you've heard about the Hot House but never tried- do it this Summer! read more

Hot house has always been a popular restaurant serving some classic dishes and notable for its Sunday Brunchs where they'd have a live jazz band playing. Located in the heart of Lawrence the place is huge with plenty of seating. Though I've been here in the past, our last experience was painfully slow. Ordering their classic Hot House Breakfast with pemeal bacon our group order took a long time. After all it doesn't take THAT long to make breakfast unless everyone's order was mixed up. However long story short, after taking advantage of their well priced 2 Mimosas deal our food finally arrived. In terms of service we cannot blame our waitress who was always kind and attentive. Would I come back here, probably not as there are many other breakfast/ brunch places all over the city. read more

Hothouse - Classic St Lawrence breakfast - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Quite a delicious meal if I do say so myself! Came for a school event and indulged in a three course meal. For starters, we had a cheese and meat platter with some pita and dip on the side. It was very varied and tasted like top quality cheeses and meats. Very satisfying. For my meal, I had a starter garden salad, and later moved to my pork dish. The pork was very juicy and easy to eat and the mashed potatoes with it was creamy and had a unique flavour. The service was very good considering the size of the group and the things that were happening. He was a very patient server. Ambiance was lively and the washrooms were outdoors which I thought was kind of funny. Overall, I wouldn't go downtown just for this place, but if i'm in the area, then I would try it out again! read more

Nice place to hang out with friend, food is average, wine was good, had a burger with french fries. read more

Hothouse - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I've been here before and the food is gross and super expensivr! i ordered the jerk cauliflower and it cost $15 and literally got 6 pieces. vegan burger was a joke, so small and fell apart and that was $19 and my pasta that was supposed to be penne sambuka was disgusting like a 7 year old made it. service was garbage and it costs 74 with tup. save your money and don't go there. The waiter was soooo slow. huge waste of time and money !! read more

Came here with a group of 15 people and the staff were super accommodating. They brought out our food very quickly and the staff were very kind. The food was amazing! Very good pasta! I definitely want to come back here when I visit downtown Toronto again! Many items on the menu I would love to try!! read more

I'm going to give this three stars as I'll attribute the bad meal to startup issues after a prolonged COVID shutdown. 3 things: Soda - worst tasting Diet Pepsi we've had in a long time - essentially brown barely carbonated water with an odd taste. Greek Salad w/chicken - good idea, looks good, good chicken, good veggies but the dressing was just oil - no acid/vinegar that you could taste so it was just veggies in oil. Reuben Sandwich - Contrary to the description in the menu, it came without sauerkraut or onions so it was a corned beef sandwich with cheese. All in all, good ideas, bad execution. read more

This is my goto place for a decent after work meal with my hon. The food is tasty and they have one of the best summer patio's in the area. There is lots of space here so it's not usually hard to get a table. I recommend the mussels, calamari and penne ala sambuca and if you're thirsty they make a lovely sangria! On a side note I would recommend ordering off the menu rather than having their weekend buffet. read more

Amazing atmosphere, but OK food. The service staff are superb and professional, but for the price you pay, the cuisine is average. Good for the atmosphere and to be in the heart of downtown, but for those very special occasions, there are many beautiful restaurants in the area that might serve you better. read more

I decided to give Hot House another chance since they had the ideal location to watch the Santa Parade. I have to say their service and food has improved ten fold since I was last there. The Sunday Brunch is open until 3pm and it is really delicious. The head chef gave me a tour of the buffet and told me everything that was both gluten and lactose free. This was a really nice surprise. It was really nice of the restaurant to do this for me. The servers are very attentive and friendly. They kept checking on us to make sure we had everything we needed. They have lots of drink choices on the menu and did not try to rush us out of the restaurant. Sunday brunch at Hot House is definitely a great way to enjoy a Sunday morning or afternoon! read more

We were staying nearby at the King Edward, so this spot rated 2 visits on a rainy weekend. We opted for inside, although big umbrellas and tiki torches sheltered and warmed a few outdoor guests. Window seats were great for people and weather watching. Draft beers were all excellent, but on the second trip I opted for one of three hard ciders (can't remember the name, but it was Toronto made) on the list. It was a cold and refreshing changes and went down easy. Many excellent selections on the menu, but I've got to say that I had the world's best Jambalaya on the first visit, almost good enough to order the 2nd time, but I opted for Mongolian Beef, which satisfied my desire for Asian but was not quite what you could get in Chinatown. On the two visits, my wife had a beet and goat cheese salad and a tasty roast chicken dinner, both which she thoroughly enjoyed. Both waitstaff and the owner stopped by frequently to check if we enjoyed everything. We did. read more

One of THEE best and consistent buffets I've been to in an extremely long time. Hubby and I came here during our honey moon and we were blown away at all of the tasty food options. The live music was awesome and the fresh fruit drinks were delish!! This place was spacious and clean. The salmon was awesome! I had this delicious seafood salad that I just could not stop eating. My hubs was all over the waffles (which a line was formed just to get to). And not to mention all of this for a low price of what I think was about $24.99. Will be returning!!!! read more

My wife and I hit this place for lunch and it was great. Our server was very friendly and the food was great. We had a late lunch so I missed out on the pasta special but the server let me sub in any pasta on the menu, now that's just good customer service. The soup of the day was a carrot, pear, and ginger which was superb, and this is coming from someone who doesn't like ginger. The restaurant is big as is the patio so they can easily accommodate larger groups. Overall just a great experience. read more

Hothouse - Veggie sandwich - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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This is a lovely place for a Sunday brunch. I was invited to a paint party bridal shower here a few weeks ago. I ordered the omelet with the toast and it was perfectly cooked. Service was ok, we didn't all get out food at the same time. Portions were large and food was hot and delicious. Parking was not great but nothing in that area is. I would love to go again. read more

Hothouse - Omelette - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario