Came here for a birthday lunch with a friend. I ordered the house citrus smoked salmon tartine and she ordered the creamy chicken pot pie. We both got iced teas as well. Definitely a very enjoyable meal. The food was absolutely scrumptious. I really loved my tartine a lot! It was a lot of food for both of us. We couldn't finish our lunches, but we still somehow managed to polish off 2/3 of an apple and crandberry crumble shared between us! I love the decor of this cafe. Really beautiful and light, with a great view of Bloor street down below. Our server was so attentive and very good. He was able to recite the daily specials and was even able to explain the dishes more to us when we asked. Definitely a plus! This is a place I will come back to for more great food! read more

My experience here on Saturday was laughable. There were 3 of us coming in for a quick bite. We sat and immediately ordered our lunch. We all ordered salads - my sister and I both ordered the BLT salad. After an hour and 10 minutes our salads arrived. Hers was visibly larger than mine, but both were just sad (especially for $27). They both consisted of mixed greens, a tiny piece of chicken and not much else. In an attempt to make up for the wait, our waiter offered us cappuccinos on the house - these took half an hour to arrive. After our 2 hour "lunch", we were starving and had to find somewhere else to grab a bite. With that being said, the new space was gorgeous, but everything else was a major disappointment. read more

to be honest the service is quite slow and the food is extremely overpriced. they tend to weight everything and a piece of shrimp is 3 dollars. LOL, makes me laugh that they think people are stupid. you can easily spend 15$ here for lunch, and honestly, for what? You could do down the street and have a nice sit down meal whereas holts cafe is sort of a sit-down, but a fast in and out set up ...overpriced for what its value is. I will say however that they do have decent food, at first it wasn't as great but there are a few things they do well. I like there boxed sandwiches to go. As well their salmon steaks and chicken protein and salads are decent. All very healthy and clean meals for those looking to be health conscious. read more

Definitely prefer this Holt's Café over the one in the Holt's at Yorkdale. For one, this is a proper service (wait staff take your orders and bring you the food). This isn't usually a place of grub for my parents and I unless we happen to be in Holt's shopping. My dad bought a pair of Bottega shoes and we decided we were thirsty. The place has been renovated (but a long time ago), and it's nice. We had a lovely booth by the corner and decided to order a bottle of Veuve (because for those of you who know me, there is nothing like Champagne during the day!) and a chicken pot pie to share. We also decided to order fries which were freshly fried and crispy. YUM! My dad was extra thirsty so he decided to order some of their fresh (and healthy) juices. Great place for a snack or post-shopping drinks. Service was great and it was not busy at all (so a nice escape from the hustle and bustle within the city!) read more

There are two locations at this address: 1) a quick cafe in the basement with some pre-packaged fresh made sandwiches and other already prepared foods, and 2) a higher end "fine dining" restaurant upstairs on the second floor. Review of downstairs: Delicious sandwiches. Nice coffee. I come here often for a quick meal. Four stars. Review of upstairs ("fine dining"): It was quite a few months ago when I visited for lunch. I remember the food was quite good but more than anything I remember it being really really cold. The building was blowing cold air on me. I am usually the last person to complain about temperature. I let the waiter know and he said this problem is oft complained about by customers who sit where I was sitting (near a window with a big air vent at the bottom...which is many of the seats), and they have had experts examine the problem, but determined nothing can be done because of the way the restaurant's heating and cooling system is designed. He said quite a few tables in the restaurant don't have that problem but unfortunately none of those were available right now. Food, while good, was also a bit expensive for what it was. Two stars. I average out the review of each location to 3 stars. read more

What a waste of money. The panini I had was a Chicken Club and it was pretty bland and gross. Lacked a lot of salt and flavour in general, with the chicken breast (ick) being dry and dusty. The pressed juices were good but at $4.95 for half a bottle, I'd rather walk to Whole Foods and buy something for that price (or cheaper!!) with double the amount. The only good thing was the shrimp, but that was not cheap at $3.50 PER SHRIMP. Forget it. Ain't coming back here. I should've known better but I was just so hungry..... There are so many better places to eat than Holt's Cafe. read more

I've only been here once but the sandwiches are amazing! We just arrived after the lunch rush so it was quiet and intimate. Our food came out quickly and was delicious! I will go back to eat and try something different on the menu! read more

holts café - Sandwich at holt's cafe - Cafes Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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This is a great restaurant for a business meeting or out-of-town guests. I have been here twice and enjoyed the food and service both times. We happened to be here during the St. Patrick's Day parade and the restaurant provided a nice view to watch the festivities from indoors. Both times, I ordered the Chicken Milanese and it was executed well. The sweet potato fries are also to die for! read more

Beautiful venue but the quality of the food has deteriorated as the price has gone up. I had a pathetic nicoise salad for $28.00. 3 tiny, tasteless pieces of tuna, a few green beans, 2 leaves of iceberg lettuce, all without dressing. My colleague fared a little better with her chicken salad. When I was paying the bill, I complained and my waiter said I should have said something. Awkward during a business meeting. He did nothing else. I think I'll have an over-priced drink there next time. read more

I have hard time understanding why there is a diner in side a shopping centre but I come here time to time for quick snacks and sweet treats. But mostly I like to come here for sleek modern diner-inspired style of interior. It looks cute and cool, and view of Bloor Street is cool too. Foods are generally salads and open sammies but they are just ok. Interesting ingredients are used in the sammies but it doesn't translate to good taste. But I liked pork sandwich and holt club sandwich. And dessert is where the money is at. They are delicious and coupled with teas or coffee they are perfect for a lengthy chatty afternoon with gals. As much as I want to love this place I can't justify the prices. They are overpriced and sides and salads are ridiculously priced. I can't justify other diners around me too. They all look like rich aging housewives living off husbands' bank account, and trying to enjoy the fortune while they can before their hubbies dump them for younger women soon. read more

Holts cafe (50 Bloor St West, mezzanine level) Famous BLT salad pancetta, breaded tomatoes, creamy greens, need not say more! Having a good day? Add a side of truffle chips and stay healthy with a Holt happiness drink. What we loved? Valet, manager greets guests, designer shoes on same level! #ladieswholunch read more

holts café - Holts cafe Famous BLT #ladieswholunch - Cafes Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Holt's Cafe is a stylish, clean and modern cafe for the ladies that lunch taking a break from shopping. There are four in total and having only been to the downtown Toronto location, I can only speak for one. The restaurant in narrow with a long window wall bringing in beautiful light all day. The menu changes slightly and they always have specials. Their soups are delicious and always fresh. The day I went I was lucky, the special was an extremely tasty butternut squash noodle-free lasagna. The layers were paper thin sheets of squash. My friend and I examined the layers with awe, I can't imagine how long it took to make this dish... not one I will be trying to imitate anytime soon. The food is definelty made with care, fresh and there's something for everyone. They also just started serving Belmonte Raw, which is a raw, top quality local juice company. read more

holts café - ravioli - Cafes Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

If you are ever craving a pick and choose, cafeteria style lunch place with fresh food, a stand-alone hot beverage stand and yummy bite-sized cakes, head on over to Holt's Cafe! Located on the lowest level of the Holt Renfrew Centre on Bloor, this cafe is always a great reward once you have been shopping for hours and have worked up an appetite. For main lunch meals, Holt's Cafe offers a WIDE VARIETY of soups, salads and sandwiches. For sandwiches, they have freshly wrapped, pre-made sandwiches and they also offer large panini sandwiches, which are thrown onto the grill right before you take your first bite. Some of the sandwiches I have tried there that were absolutely delicious were the blackened chicken caesar sandwich, the garlic shrimp panini and the avocado tuna on whole wheat. After you are done your main lunch, why not indulge in a hot drink with a little dessert? The cafe has its own stand-alone cappucino stand, with a nice selection of coffee, latte, tea and hot chocolate options. And last but certainly not least, Holt's Cafe has a large amount of different desserts to settle anyone's sweet tooth. The only thing to be warned is that this cafe is PACKED during the working day lunch hour and you may have to shell out more money on certain food items. Overall, Holt's Cafe is just fresh and delicious! I give it an A! read more

They had wonderful meal. The sea bass was great, fresh and hopefully ocean wild as was told. The fried sweet potato was amazing but surprisingly wine glasses was not nicely cleaned... It's downgrading. It's a pity that such a nice white wine was served in inappropriate glass! read more

holts café - Amazing (was told wild fresh ocean) Sea bass!! - Cafes Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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A wonderful light filled room for a ladies lunch or brunch. I love all the tartines and salads. They are big enough to share. Service is always friendly. read more

holts café - Poached egg tartine with roasted tomatoes, smoked salmon and sautéed mushrooms. My only thought is it could use a little crunch. - Cafes Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

....So apparently this cafe doesn't exist. That's right, according to the 30 something Chinese sales clerk in the men's section - the one with ghostly pale skin who thinks she's auditioning for a role on a Korean drama - this cafe doesn't exist. Update your records, Yelp! So this is what went down today, Sunday May 28th at noon. My family and I were shopping in the neighborhood when my toddler started getting fussy. I remembered that there was a small cafe here. When we walked in, I approached a clerk standing by the cashier nearest to the escalator. She was not doing a damn thing at the moment. So I approached her and asked, "Excuse me, where is the cafe?" She looked up at me with a blank stare and mouthed the word "No". SHE DIDN'T EVEN MAKE AUDIBLE, VERBAL SPEECH. With a rather confused look, I repeated my question, only to get the same pantomime expression from her. Needless to say, we immediately left and went to Sassafraz instead. And on the way out, I saw that she got on the phone. So there's no way in hell she has a speech issue. Just a deplorable rudeness issue. But LITERALLY I've never been confronted by such rudeness, incompetence and carelessness. I've shopped all over the world, but I can tell you that this is the first time an idle clerk has refused to even speak to me! And in case you think it matters, my entire family was dressed well and my toddler was very quiet and well behaved while we were on the store for the sum total of two minutes. read more

My girlfriend and I had lunch there a few days ago on a Thursday - the mezzanine leveled Cafe - the one where Corbin, celebrity chef works as head chef and is a big reason why I wanted to try the restaurant. The ambiance is lovely - definitely an enchanting and special place to go have lunch. Service is fairly good as well. I have to say, when it came to the food, my main course was a little...disappointing...for appetizers, we started with Canadian baked brie - it was a small round brie that wasn't all that soft for having just been in the oven. It was accompanied with some sort of orange marmalade-like compote and corn chips. All looked ready to go into a miniature museum. We ordered truffled potato chips and each chip came out fairly brown (you'll see in my pics). Overly cooked, in my opinion. Then came my entree - I ordered the osso buco since that's something I don't eat everyday - although the flavors were nice and round, it was incredibly DRY. OMG, was it ever dry. Osso buco should be so tender, moist and juicy...this was just the opposite. I should've ordered the turkey pot pie like my girlfriend. I of course, had to order dessert, and had the sticky toffee pudding - I'm a sucker for it if it's on a menu and that, was a happy ending to this meh of a meal. read more

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Place is fancy but food is overpriced and crap. It's very sad, because this place has potential to be great. The location is excellent. I have been here way too many times because my friends want to go and every single time I get disappointed. I hope I NEVER go back, such a waste of money, seriously! read more

The new restaurant looks really nice - loads of daylight and the decor is super cool. I had the burger and it was great. Service was really good too. read more

Came here for lunch with my friend Kevan. Not a place I could afford to eat at often but the whole experience was lovely. Had sweet potato fries and the BLT salad. Divine. Service was quick and efficient. Ambience nice. Price well it is Holt's so not cheap. Would come back again for sure. read more

Their frozen yogurt is to die for. Seriously, I strongly prefer this to other places. It's delicious and has a very subtle citrus taste to it. They also serve delicious healthy lunches. If you're looking for a breakfast, lunch or afternoon snack, it's worth checking out. read more

Even though I've worked in the area for too many years, I've actually never sat down here for a meal. They have sandwiches, salads and pastries. I really should give it a try! Lately, I have been grabbing tea latte to go (i love tea latte!) and they use Sloane Teas which is always a nice surprise. Already tried Holt's blend and the Earl Grey. Next up, oolong and then snow dragon green tea. And they serve illy coffee, so one of these days I'm going to order me a latte. Yes please! read more

it is nice to go there if you'd like to go shopping and have a different kind of lunch. the seating area is ideal and different. The food and service is only average. been there 3 times and it has been only average consistently. Wait times for orders are long. had to send back food each time as it was really cold (surprising eh?). it seems they are understaffed leading to longer wait times and delayed food delivery. i really would like them to see stepping it up with the food. not impressive, just average. wine menu is small but GOOD. however given it is freeriding on the HOLTs reputation and the location you get still a different shopping experience. read more

I hate to be one of those obnoxious people who come from Montreal and compare everything in Toronto to how much 'better' everything is in Montreal--but to be honest the Holts Cafe in Montreal is about 10x better. First of all this location is great, perched high above Bloor Street looking out at the plebeians below you with an open airy feeling because of the large windows and skylight. My mum, boyfriend, and I ate along the window which was great--not too cold for all you concerned about Canadian winter weather. Our server was fine, nothing special rather pedestrian if I do say so myself. He welcomed us, took our drink orders, and returned to take our orders. No chit-chat which is either good or bad depending on how you like your servers. My main concern was the food. The menu is small which I think is good for an operation like Holts Cafe. Its best to keep it simple and focused. Like Montreal the Toronto location offers the infamous tartines--open-faced Scandinavian inspired sandwiches--on French poilâne bread. I love the tartines but because Toronto only offers 5-6 options (versus 10-12 in Montreal) I opted to try something else. My eyes immediately honed in on the Chicken Pot Pie which was fine. Just fine. Nothing too spectacular. The puff pastry was really quite tasty, but the 'chicken' inside was shredded and rather sad in quantity. I recently had a Chicken Pot Pie at Bannock (in the rapidly improving the Bay on Queen St. W.) which had huge chunks of fresh chicken breast. The Holts incarnation was tasty but gurrrrl I'm hungry, I'm not one of those ladies who like to lunch who pick at their food, drag it around the plate, and then claim rather exuberantly 'I'm full!'. No no I like my meals and I like them filling. My boyfriend had the Holts Burger which was good (I had to steal a bite!) with fries which were actually really good, with a nice sprinkling of spices with an assortment of dips including garlic aioli mayo (my favourite!). My mum had a tartine (the Grilled Chicken) but unfortunately it seemed like the chicken was of the 'lunch meat' variety rather than slices of chicken breast. The Montreal tartines with chicken had a different kind of chicken and I was a little disappointed by this variation. Although each restaurant has a different executive chef I would expect some sort of standardization in terms of the tartines. Oh well they were sufficient. The cocktails that we ordered--the special Very Berry Cocktail--was expensive ($14) and tiny, served in a champagne flute. While the main ingredient was prosecco I felt like a cocktail like this would best be served in a cocktail glass. But than again, I'm no bartender. This Holts underwent a renovation a few years back and the rest of the store is of high aesthetic quality. But like any high-end department store or boutique in Toronto I always feel like the service is severely lacking. All of the sales associates--save for one in Louis Vuitton department downstairs--has been so fucking snooty. Why is this such a trend? I KNOW you work on commission, lighten up a little bit and I'll buy more. Crikey. Anyways thats for another review. Bottom line: Holts Cafe is fab to the eye and super chic. The food is 'ok' and the service is unforgettable. But its a nice respite from the crowds of Bloor or the mediocrity of neighbouring food options. read more

Went there for lunch and had the a few apps, the slow braised brisket and the banana cream pie. "Truffle Potato Chips"- it was average, taste like Miss Vickie regular flavour chip. "Sauté Scallops" - It was pretty bland but the scallops were jumbo size. "Slow Braised Brisket with mashed potatoes" - The red wine sauce was delicious with the brisket and mashed potatoes but I have to say, the brisket was a little on the dry side. "Banana Cream pie" - the filling was average but the pie crust was very difficult to eat. I give this 3 stars because the service was really good. Although the food was not fabulous the price was reasonable. read more

Its a beautiful restaurant! I actually got a wonderful place to sit, right beside the big sash windows and it was drizzling snow that day. Had an amazing view while enjoyed their minty mojito with soup of the day! Loved the place, its etiquette, food and location! Oh not to mention, the washroom is huge and pretty! :) Enjoy guys! read more

Always a good experience whenever I visit as I get to take a break from shopping. Service is attentive as well and all my requests are met. While some say its a little expensive, I wouldn't mind it all. read more

I have to justify for the cafe. It is cafeteria in a upscale store, you can't expect the same pricing from CAFE DOWN THE STREET. I've used my Holts icon privilege points to have meals here or Yorkdale location. The service has been consistent and wonderful. And I've received the service from the waiter or waitress who don't even know if there's tips. I mean the meal is 100%covered by points. I got free crafted coffee, tea for myself and my guests. I ordered the tuna salad, and the tuna tartar was just the way I wanted. The burger was slightly over cooked. But minimal compared to what I've gotten. read more

Just stopped in at the Holts Cafe for a quick lunch with a friend. The space is bright and has a very nice energy about it. The highlight of the experience was the excellent service from Jesse, our waiter. He recommended the soup of the day, and just as he said, it was delicious. Jesse was efficient, accommodating, and very professional. He turned an ordinary lunch into a perfectly lovely dining experience. I'll be back again just on account of the great service! read more

Such a cute lunch spot! Food is beautifully plated and fresh. They change up the menu seasonally, so it's good to experiment while you can, although there are certain mainstays like the chopped salad and the Holts burger. Desserts are always a great size and very yummy as well. The brunch tartine is one of my favourites, served on toasted Poilane bread flown in from Paris. The atmosphere is airy and light, in the shoe department of the Holt Renfrew flagship and overlooking Bloor Street. Art is nice, too. They have daily flatbread and soup specials which are worth checking out. The food here is always well prepared. It's on the mid-range expensive side, but it's lovely for people watching and the ambience is modern and refined. There's something for everyone on the menu, and it makes a great restaurant to take a break from shopping in! read more

I'm a frequent patron. The steak salad on the lunch menu is superb! Everything I've tried here is excellent - I can also recommend the Brunch Tartine. They have a very creative cocktail list, and my favourite is the "Renfrew" which has mashed strawberries, champagne, vodka and balsamic vinegar! Coffee is excellent (this is always a sign of good kitchen management) and the wait staff are pleasant and attentive. 5 stars! read more

Our server, Jesse, was beyond amazing! Wonderful, attentive, friendly- thank you for a great experience.

Nice and airy. Service was okay. But the food took forever! We must have been waiting for an hour for a burger and salad. Food was good. Nothing to rave about. I probably would not have a meal there again. read more

I have been going to the cafeteria style restaurant on the lower level for years. Not really impressed to be honest. But last week a freind showed me the 2nd level restaurant. Seating is limited, so make reservations. I've now been twice in a week. The service is good and friendly, the food is excellent. I had the chopped salad with chicken, onions rings (best onions rings i've in a while). My partner had the steak and eggs salad which he really liked, and the sticky toffee pudding for dessert - this was amazing!! read more