Godwin T.

Venue 3.5/5 Easy to access. Ample parking. Very busy during afternoon tea/lunch hours and on weekends. They have booths and tables for large groups. Service 3.5/5 Hard to get table at times if walk in during busy hours, they have buzzers to give for waiting in line but there are times when the regulars will be "ahead" of you in line. Service is as expected in this cafe style, call over when something is required. Payment cash and debit only, credit card has surcharge. Food 3.5/5 Flavours are generally consistent. Sometimes there is heavy oil in some of the dishes but overall alright for the extensive menu they have. They offer meal sets (soup and drink) as well for those looking for a larger meal. The portion sizes are pretty good for one person or to share as well depending on appetite.

Ivy L.

Firstly, unless the menu had gone through extensive change over time, some of the reviews on Yelp and Google are disingenuous. The white wine mussels and baked escargot are ONLY "Dinner for Four" options. They do not exist anywhere else. Moving on to my personal review: for the price point of the dish (8oz AAA beef tenderloin) I ordered it fell super short on what I expected as a standard. There's not a damn sprinkle of salt or pepper on these steaks. Just pure beef/steak inherent flavour. The only seasoning is in the sauce but I shouldn't need to be dunking my steak pieces to get seasoning especially as a $50 dish. Vegetables, which I didn't expect to come with my order because the options was "rice, pasta, potato of the day OR vegetables" is straight flavourless, pretty sure just boiled or from frozen. The mashed potatoes at least has flavour and was most likely made in house as there's bacon bits and other goodies within. Ambiance is what you would expect from any 'HK Cafe-esque' on the quiet side but occasionally rowdy based on table and chatter. Service though? The servers aren't the least bit attentive. On a Friday afternoon where half the seating is empty and theres only like 6-7 of us tables total, all the waitresses (4 minimum) are looking down at their various stations. To get any attention we have to stand up to flag them down or walk up to their station as none of them are looking around. Closing thoughts I would not come back here again. Even from the attention of the appetizer which came with the combo, the "garlic bread" was toasted on one side. Not even both sides. It screams lazy and low effort. I was told in the past this place was a lot better but it's an entirely disappointing experience now.

Hank K.

I was kinda disappointed by my food (and saddened by the fact that they don't have soup with puff pastry soup anymore. Without it, the food is quite mediocre at Dickens while also being a bit expensive.

Carol Y.

First time returning to Dickens after many years, and their more western-leaning HK menu hasn't changed much! I always look forward to a hearty cream-based soup whenever it's offered at an HK restaurant, so I was pleased to see that it's a standard offering with most lunch/dinner meals. Service was quick, and the interior felt spacious. Most importantly, the food is as good as I remember it to be. I opted for the curry veal brisket rice, which had a thinner consistency with what I think was a more tomato-based curry. This is unlike other curry briskets I've had in most HK cafes, which lean more like thicker Japanese yellow curry. It's got a mild-medium spice to it that pairs well with rice and potatoes. The cream of corn & ham soup was amazing (honestly I could just eat that alone and be satisfied), and the HK milk tea here leans on the slightly stronger/more tannic side. Even though prices have gone up (as is with most places), I think the price difference between Dickens and other HK cafes doesn't seem as large as it did 5-7 years ago.

David S.

While the service and ambiance are acceptable, the food was awful. Ordered chicken in portuguese sauce and some of the chicken are raw. Yes, purple raw. The same goes with the chicken steak. What are the chances of having two completely different dishes and both were raw (well, most of them are way undercooked with some spots being raw.) and the cream soup was from a canned soup for sure.

Daniel C.

We came here for a family birthday dinner. It definitely looks bigger inside than from the store front. It was a pretty busy weekend night, most tables were full. Service is organized and prompt. They have these near robots that being good out from the kitchen to the table then the servers take it from the robots to the table. A little bit of fun to see. Food: Borscht soup - flavor is not bad, a bit on the sweet side. Has some cabbage, carrots and celery in it. Not bad but nothing amazing. 3/5. Pork knuckle - this is a pretty massive piece of pork meat on the bone. The skin is done nicely with good flavor, has some nice chew. The meat is decently tender. Cokes with pasta or rice and some cooked veges. 3.5/5. Beef tongue in tomato sauce with rice. The beef tongue was flavorful and very tender. The tomato sauce was good. 4/5. Price: Prices are quite high in my opinion. You're looking at easily 30-40$ per dish. I do think the quality is pretty good for HK cafe food but the price is at the highest range I've seen for this type of food. Summary: Good quality HK cafe type of food but at relatively high prices.

Crystal L.

Dickens is located on apple creek and woodbine in Markham. Definitely one of the well known chinese restaurants since its one of my parents go to restaurants since their previous location. Interior 3/5 - nothing crazy but def nicer than the old location Food came pretty fast after order, they also have robot server, so that was pretty new and fun! Their afternoon tea special is always the time we visit, since their $$ are a bit on the high end comparing to other chinese restaurants. The cream sauce baked fish dish i ordered was alright, dont love it dont hate it. 3/5 Steak + instant noodles was a hit, 5/5. Its less than $20 so im not complaining Overall, i would say food was okay but def a bit $$. If you would love to give it a try, i would highly recommend visiting during their afternoon tea special period before deciding if this is the place for you.

Lim T.

Came here a few months ago for dinner as soon as I heard that they opened a new location. I'm not sure if it's the same owner but they have been around for many years at different locations. The decor here is much more lively compared to their old location at Richlane Mall. This is a Hong Kong Chinese cafe style. The one thing that I always crave for at these type of restaurants is getting the HK style Borscht soup which is usually an option with the set meals. I was a bit disappointed with their borscht soup as it wasn't too flavourful and didn't hit the spot! My husband got the lobster bisque to start and it was also just okay. For my main course, I got the baked tiger prawns with cheese on rice (or spaghetti) . This was delicious. The shrimp was tasty and the sauce was perfect. The only mistake was they baked it with spaghetti instead of rice. They didn't offer to correct it and said if I was okay to just take it. They were extremely busy so I told them to just bring me a bowl of rice which they did so I was okay with that. Overall, we enjoyed our meals and we'll definitely be back.

Amy Y.

Haven't been here in years, at least not since they moved to their new location on Apple Creek Blvd. Interior is a lot nicer then their last location in Richlane Mall. Menu is 'high end' Hong Kong style diner. They have very familiar HK diner favourites ie baked rice, borscht etc but they also have steak and lamb ($52). Dinner combos come with the standard dinner roll, soup and choice of drink with an upgrade for cold drinks. Some combos come with a salad (house or Caesar). We stuck with a trusted favourite (baked chicken steak with cheese and tomato sauce on rice and a pan fried filet with clam cream sauce on linguine (you can also have it with rice). The soup and roll came first. The bun was not warm enough and the soup was good (at least the first spoonful) but very salty and almost too acidic. When the salad came the citrus poppyseed dressing just added to the over acidity of the first two courses. The mains were okay. Generous portions. They clearly have regulars as many people who came in throughout the time we were there we're very familiar with the staff. Also seems to be a favourite with family get togethers/celebrations/events. Dinner for two came to just over $70.00.

Alex C.

3.5 stars! Dicken's Cafe has been around for a while and in its recent move has upgraded from the Cafe moniker to a full fledged restaurant. There is a current soft opening 10% discount (bill needs to settled by cash). The food is ok. Nothing to knock your socks off. The 2.50 upgrade to French onion soup will be a pass as I found the soup to lack any beefy richness along with the stringy topping of cheese. The main entree was huge for any standards... feeds 2 comfortably or 1 uncomfortably... The flavors were subdued and nothing popped out at you. The tea again was not very rich in tea flavors. Will let the crew work out the kinks during this period and try again once the team is back in the groove.

Tiffany C.

Dinner experience, dine in. Very spacious venue, decent customer service. Prices are more on the pricey side if you compare other HK style cafes, but Dickens always had higher pricing. They do have set meals as well, which makes it convenient if you wanted a full meal without having to add the extra $5 for bread, soup and drink. Lobster Bisque 3/5 - this was a bit bland to me. Not enough flavours of lobster or spices. Quite creamy and milky in flavour, with a few pieces of crustacean meat which was cooked well. Borscht Soup 4/5 - this was quite sweet but had the nice tomato flavours that you associate HK cafes with (given they usually make it sweet tomato rather than your tangy/sour one). White wine and cream mussels 4/5 - the addition of cheese in their cream and wine sauce made it quite delicious. It reminded me of the flavours of 'lobster e-fu noodles' that you can get at chinese restaurants long ago. Pairs really nicely with the mussels and it was well cooked. The strips of onion makes it add some texture. Overall enjoyable! Baked cheese tomato porkchop rice 4/5 - if you like the sweet tomato sauce vibes on your porkchop rice HK style, this is for you! Sauce was thick but covers the fried rice nicely. Rice was well cooked and not mushy as many restaurants tend to do sometimes. Porkchop was well seasoned, good amount of fat to meat ratio. Tender and juicy. Really enjoyed. If anything, it can be a tad less sweet but overall I think its a good take on the classic. Curry Beef Brisket 3/5 - there was something in this curry dish that i didnt really like. I couldnt depict what it was, but it was not your typical curry flavours. Otherwise, good amount of meat and did not cheap out. Was quite tender and soft. Also on the fattier side so it can get heavy. Pork Hock with Rice 4/5 - while this dish was mid 20 in price for the meal, it was quite worth it given that the pork hock was massive! Meat was also nice and juicy and tender, fall of the bone. Skin and fat was well rendered, but there was still a lot of meat so you will definitely not leave hungry. The meat itself is relatively bland so definitely add the gravy. Overall good. I did have take out once as well, and the experience was not as nice, probably given the travel time and being in the boxes etc. They do use the microwave safe takeout boxes though, which is a nice take. Would like to try their morning/lunch meals and see how those turn out.

Kenny S.

WOW! Dickens Restaurant is the one of the best HK style café restaurants in Markham! My dad's curry chicken is so tender, my mom's Napolitana rice is so tasty, my brother's steak is so tender and my chicken steak is so delicious. Dickens Restaurant is wonderful!!

Jimmy Q.

Walked in for a weekday lunch. Decor is modern and clean. Was greeted and seated promptly upon entering. Table spacing follows Covid-19 restrictions and they take down your contact info before asking for proof of vaccine (+1). Order (Lunch Menu Set): Baked Coconut Chicken with Portuguese Sauce, Borsch Soup, HK Milk Tea. The Borsch was weak and lacked the tomato heartiness and slight spiciness you expect and get from other places. The coconut in the chicken (all dark meat) was subtle but a nice compliment to the Portuguese sauce, which was OK. Overall, the food was just OK, not bad but nothing special, just your regular HK cafe style meals. The HK Tea was good. TLDR: Nothing special here but the food is tasty and the interior is nice, would visit again.