Absolutely fantastic food, atmosphere and service is outstanding! We happened upon it one lazy Sunday, so grateful we did. Diane, our waitress,was phenomenal and took great care of us. I had pancakes with ham, fruit bowl and blueberries on them. Delicious! Hubby had the Swiss mushroom burger with fries and gravy. He said it was awesome as he inhaled it..lol. Highly recommend this lovely cafe, worth the trip to Alliston. read more

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Always a pleasure dinning there and they are always so polite. The food and dessert are awesome read more

Went on Wednesday for half price wing night. They were absolutely delicious!!! Our server Allie was amazing and looked after 4 of us beautifully!! First time there since new owners and I will definitely be going back!!! read more

I've been to Symposium twice in the last 6 months both time I have been happy with the service and the food. Price on the menu seemed a little high until I got my order. The food portion was massive and flavourful. I had the Portuguese chicken dish and it had to be two full chicken breasts. The clam chowder starter is $8 but in reality that could be your whole meal; good luck finishing your main if you have this to start. The restaurant and washrooms are clean and the wait staff have been friendly and personable. I have had no issues with wait time but then again if I was in a rush I would not go to a sit down restaurant in the first place. If your looking for something a little different then all the bar food chain restaurants in town check them out.. read more

I went here this evening to celebrate my friend getting a new car and the service was AWFUL! The greeter / host was not friendly he hardly even acknowledged us. When seating us he walked away with menus and didn't even direct us toward our seat. Everything was overpriced, the menus were literally just printed out on regular paper despite the price of each meal. Our food barely had any seasoning, got a chicken quesadilla and the sour cream and salsa was the only reason it was enjoyable. I had a banana fruit slush; when it first came to the table it was a complete ice chunk--the server had to take it back and re-blend it ! The only thing I liked about this establishment was the server, she was very friendly. read more

Walking in to this place you are pleasantly greeted by the nice and fresh ambiance. The Server promptly offered to get us a beverage. Wow I thought, this is off to a good start. Sadly, that is where the service ended. Once drinks were delivered, there was no sign of our waitress. We had to call her over to take our orders. 41 mins later our orders still had not arrived. Yet again, we beckoned her over. She brought the orders out shortly after that( with no explanation or apologies for the delay) The restaurant was quite empty as well so we did not understand why the service was so slow. There were only two other tables with customers. Interestingly enough, not only was my food cold. She also never came back to ask if we needed a top up of our drinks or even some water. Again, we had to take the initiative to ask for a top up on our own. I decided to take a quick peek at their online reviews and the comments were the same - Service is very slow. So believe it people. The cheese on my potatoes had congealed to an inedible consistency. Lack of seasoning as well. My Chicken tenders were tender. They were decent. My friends enjoyed the veggie flatbread. So there is that. I don't think I will be back there again willingly. There was no focus or attention on customer service. Even the desert display was desperate for attention. It was sparse and no creativity in how the items are displayed. That is really too bad, because it's really a nice space to meet. It may look like Moxie's- but they don't treat you like Moxie's They are more like a buffet service, you have to help yourself read more

Symposium Cafe Restaurant - Veggie flatbread with balsamic glaze - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alliston, Ontario

If you feel like waiting an hour for your food and like paying for overpriced food then this is the place for you! Ordered $20 Chicken Souvlaki..... no dressing on my salad, absolute no flavouring on rice at all and over cooked... 3 tiny skewers of chicken very dry . Food is not worth the price at all ! Especially for the hour wait to even get that plus to small tacos the size of my hand. I would understand the long if the place was very busy but it was only me and a friend.... it's pretty ridiculous...... not going back....would not recommend They also gave me and my friend an expired coupon for breakfast for using their internet .. super exciting. read more

We are doing takeout during Covid and continue to enjoy this cuisine. Can't wait to do able to enjoy the breakfasts again; they are scrumptous and filling! We love the atmosphere and service. Looking forward to coming again with our friends. Pat J read more

I really like symposium and never have a bad experience so I was happy to see one in Alliston but after going to it twice this place is horrible. Service is extremely slow and food came out horrible. First time we went was about a week after they opened; it was fairly busy and the service was extremely slow which I was ok with knowing it's the first week they are open and busy. As we were waiting for food I ordered a Coors light which came out with something black floating in it. When I notified the server she offered me another one but I declined. The manager came out and apologized, said it must of been a dirty tap (which didn't make sense because the place is brand new) we also questioned why the long wait (almost an hour now) and he gave us a free $25 gift card to come back. Few months later we came back again, to use our card and give the benefit of the doubt that things have settled and kinks were ironed out since the opening. We brought friends so the girls ordered a dackary (sp?) which came out horrible, no doubt it was made wrong. We felt bad but had to send it back because it was not possible to drink it. For appetizers we decided to get mussels which came out smelling and tasting like bad fish (really strong smell) to the point we were worried about eating it. We had to send it back... the manager came out and offered to re make them with extra wine to get rid of the fishy smell and taste (which at this point we were pretty sure the mussels were not fresh or bad) We politely declined but the manager insisted but we finally got him to back off after minutes of him awkwardly trying to force it on us (lol) Our food came out after a long long wait (restaurant was almost empty) but once the food came out it was actually good. My conclusion is that I won't be going back, which sucks because like I said I really like symposium :-/ read more

Great staff great place to have dinner but they will not get your order correct. They just won't. Don't expect it

Miserable host.. go to sunset grill.. don't waste your time.. everyone can understand the fatigue this time of year.. but with service like that they should really just be out of business read more

If you would like to wait an hour for waffles, then this is the place for you!! Similar to other reviews on this site - the service at this establishment is terribly slow and the food is "okay...". I won't be going back. read more

Writing this as we are hitting 45 minutes and our appetizer hasn't made it out of the kitchen. Wings, Caesar salad and Fish and Chips (the special of the night). The wait staff is super friendly but that is the only redeeming feature of the experience. read more

I feel this restaurant has potential once they get their groove. The wait staff and back bar are great. Keep up the good work. The food leaves a little to be desired, but I feel this will improve with time. read more

I'm literally shocked at the reviews here. I have always had a positive experience. I love the zucchini noodle bowl and my husband usually orders a steak. Never had an issue with the food. On occasion the service has been slow but nothing like the other reviewers and the restaurant was full. The mussels are amazing as well!! The Manager has checked on our table 7/10 times we have been there. They offer great breakfast too. read more

Fantastic food, nice atmosphere. Although there were a few minor mistakes with our orders, manager Sharif was quick to go above and beyond to fix the error and then some. Definitely try some of the house special flat bread read more

Ok food, bad bad service. The food is a 6/10 at best. Their pasta dishes are large and comforting though, as well as their burgers. The waitstaff does not know what basic service is, as my 3 visits were not busy in the restaurant but table service was absolutely gruleing . read more

I have a major complaint about the manager at the Alliston, On location. We waited over a half hour for our breakfast and then part of our order came out. We still waited another 10 min. before getting up to inquire. he came over and told us to be patient with them. He was extremely rude and disrespectful to us (even swearing) in the restaurant when we told him we had read the reviews of the location, he told us to just get the f### out, after congratulating us on being able to read! It was our 1st and last time ever at that place. I have never experienced this shocking behavior from a manager of a restaurant in my life ANYWHERE! Whomever owns this restaurant should be very concerned. read more

This is the third time we have frequented this restaurant. All three experienced have turned out to be similiar. The decor is very nice. Staff is excellent and most pleasant. Food is nicely presented "bar food". Both times the hamburger has been cooked to oblivian. The hamburg itself is full of fill! All three times we had to wait to get served. Few customers yet it took us 40 minutes before the food arrived. Four dollars for a cup of tea or ten dollars for a piece of cake is not justifiable. Hopefullly they can get their "act" together soon for their own sake. Be prepared to wait for your food! They do have an extensive menu with some very good selections. read more

My family used to go to this restaurant regularly. The food is normally good quality. Myself, my mother, sister, and her boyfriend went for my sisters 25th birthday. The server Diane was terrible. We were her only table and she was never around. At one point my sisters BF had to track her down just to ask for butter. She neglected to refill drinks to the point I had to ask and then she forgot so I sat with no drink for 10 minutes before having to remind her AGAIN. The food was good for the most part, except for my sisters steak which was served rare/bloody when she ordered medium rare. This wouldn't have been a big deal, but when it was brought to Sharif(the manager's) attention he dealt with it in the most unprofessional manner possible. He argued that the steak was medium rare and that she just didn't know how to order. Everyone at the table politely stated that this was not the case. He proceeded to condescendingly ARGUE WITH HIS CUSTOMERS. My sister is a very polite server so the fact that it was undercooked wasn't even the reason we were able to convince her to complain. The steak was so fatty it was like chewing rubber. She ate less than 1/3 of it before we convinced her to complain. Sharif informed us that all steaks are this way. He did NOTHING to attempt to ratify the situation. We weren't trying to get a free steak out of it. My sister would've been happy had they just made her a new one. After all of this disappointment, the bill comes and Diane has forgotten to apply the coupon we had brought. Again we are made to sit and wait for this incredibly inconsiderate woman. When she finally returns she hands my mother a bill with a charge on it for a coffee that was included with her meal. Frustrated and just wanting the experience to be over she just bites her tongue and pays the bill. HAD I PAID SHE WOULD HAVE GOT NO TIP. My mom pays the bill and they are chatting friendly. DIANE LOOKS AT THE BILL RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY MOM, GETS A SOUR LOOK ON HER FACE, STOPS MID-SENTENCE AND WALKS AWAY! I've never seen such an ignorant and unprofessional act in my life! We will never return to this restaurant and I recomend you avoid it at all costs. Terrible service from rude people unpdeserving of your business. read more