The servers we had were amazing today! It was a Sunday brunch during the first weekend of Stage 3 with indoor dining, and the restaurant was busy. But the staff didn't rush us, and they were so attentive to do things like reposition the umbrella to keep the sun out of our eyes. It was the first brunch we've had outside since pre-COVID, and the staff really went out of their way to make it a good one. Tried the omelet and the poke bowl -- both delicious. Will be back for the 2 for $10 mimosas! Tip - if the front-facing patio looks too crowded for you, then request a table on the side pedestrian walkway; it's much quieter! read more

Really enjoy the grilled salmon with the marketplace salad. It was delicious and the waitress was really nice and food was organic and very healthy.! read more

I've come here a few times over the past couple of years, and my experience has been quite consistent each time. PROs: The location, large and spacious interior with lots of seatings, comfortable casual ambiance, large and nice patio. CONs: The food. Food selection is okay - there are vegetarian options. However, the taste and quality of the food are very average, or below average. This is based on ordering from the regular Core Menu for dine-in (not the weekend brunch or weekly special buffet events). The fish taste (such as salmon) is very average, and the side vegetables are usually doused in so much oil and/or butter. They remind me of school cafeteria-style vegetables that are drenched in oil. The service is a hit-or-miss. Service is friendly and professional, but sometimes it takes a long time to get served or to get someone's attention. read more

Food was good Not exceptional, but good. Loved dining outside even with the traffic we enjoyed the distraction and busy sidewalk. Great outdoor set up. Jambalaya was not what I was expecting. No Okra minimal rice. More of a stew than jambalaya. Good heat but not overwhelming. Mushroom salad w shrimp was good as was the Curry chicken and Caesar salad w shrimp. Four cheese Mac N Cheese big portion as was the jambalaya. Drinks were slow to arrive and did not arrive all together. Old Fashion was straight Makers Mark. So the food was good but there were gaps early in the meal read more

Zero stars for this place. Everything about it was terrible right from the beginning. Walked up to the Hostess and she just stared at us. No hello , how many? We had to say hello several times to her before she acknowledged us. We had 3 people and she says "2" ? We get seated and the server didn't bring us water (it was a hot day and we were on the patio. We ordered 2 apps (Cauliflower and bruschetta) the server brings them to the table without giving us plates. The apps were not good at all. How can you mess up bruschetta but they did. We ordered drinks and she forgot to bring one. Overall this place was so bad in every possible way. Don't bother wasting your money. It was expensive and terrible ! read more

Attended a group event here. Meal was potentially the most average burger I've ever had in my life. The bun was over toasted, meat was dry and the fries were ok. For the rather large amount of people in our group the service was pretty quick. read more

We enjoyed our brunch. The food was good, with the exception of a couple of my shrimp not being cooked enough. The service was good. The interior design was beautiful!! I will come back. read more

I haven't been in here in 8 years and primarily because the food quality was poor back then and even worse now. We came here for a quick drink and only got a small appetizer. We got the bruschetta and it was inedible. Basically soggy tomatoes with no seasoning what so ever on top on bread. It was gross we couldn't eat it and left it. I promised myself to never come here again 8 years ago and still did. This time I'll never come back even if it's the only restaurant left in all of Ontario. Just avoid this place they don't know how to make food at all. And I'm not gonna buy any COVID excuses. There is no excuse to service canned tomatoes on top of bread that wasn't even toasted or anything. read more

Hothouse - Nasty bruschetta - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Visiting Toronto from NYC and went to Hothouse on Christmas Eve with family. We managed to get served our appetizers, which were very good, but that was it. After 90 minutes, no main orders were appearing, and our waiter gave us a heads up, and an apology. So we paid and left. As did many others. We saw waiters lined up outside the kitchen trying to get their orders, so clearly there was some kind of kitchen issue-- understaffing maybe? If you're going to open, accept reservations, and say you're a restaurant, then be one. Or don't open. read more

Came here for Sunday brunch buffet. They take reservations. I don't even think they take walk-ins. The cost of the brunch buffet is $24.95 per person. They also have a dinner buffet on Wednesdays for $23.95 per person. We missed our reservation after 15 minutes. They tried to accommodate us, but it took over an hour to be seated. It is very busy. Tour buses come here. The place was packed! After all that wait, there is also a wait to get the food. The line ups to the buffet were extremely long. The space for the buffet was L-shaped, narrow and small. Everyone was going one way in the line up with no breaks, so if you wanted to bypass the bread section because you don't want any to get to the cake section, it would seem like you're butting in. This is the downside to the space layout. There is a bar area where you can purchase alcoholic drinks to the right, just before the entrance to the buffet area. Food was great overall though, with a few misses. The selection is something to boast about. They have a variety of fresh bread, waffles, cakes, strawberry sauce, whipped cream, cheese, tasty glass noodles salad, salads were tasty and looked fresh. There were mussels, roast beef, salmon and tasty chicken legs. They had scrumptious pork sausage, rice, potatoes. The down side, the scrambled eggs weren't that good and the chicken sausage was too hard to actually eat. They have a make your own omelette section which I didn't try. You can order mimosas, coffee, soft drinks or fruit juice. The coffee comes with free refills, however, based on the waitress coming by, you will probably only have one cup of coffee. The waitress was friendly enough, but did not come around often. It was understandable considering how busy it was in there. To add to the ambiance, there was a band playing. They were very good and really made the brunch enjoyable. They started a little later, approximately at 1:00 pm. Come here if you want a good selection of breakfast and lunch items. I really enjoyed the salads, cheese and bread selection. The mussels, salmon, chicken and pork sausage were my favourites for the hot meal portion. The waffles with whipped cream, strawberry sauce tasted like funnel cake (no ice cream available though). I also enjoyed the band playing. Take note that you must be patient if you want to eat here. read more

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We went to the Hot House Restaurant for dinner. The restaurant is very large with many tables. The staff was excellent, very friendly and knowledgeable. We came on Monday night when they were not very busy. We started with the mussels dish which was very good. I ordered the Lasagna Al Forno which was very tasty. My friend order the BBQ back back ribs. She was very happy with her dish. We came back several days later for another meal which was very good. We would come back as the food and service were excellent. read more

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We came here for a retirement party lunch today. Absolutely fabulous service. The waitress kept refilling my hot water. Very attention and friendly service. In terms of the pasta, I don't like tomatoes sauce and they are very accommodating and changed it to cream sauce. It was tasty and there were tiny bits of anchovies that gives it a good kick. Food and service have improved so much since the last time I came here for lunch. Will come back again! read more

Hothouse - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Cute and large dinner - my bf and I always walk by and the place looks so homey looking into the window.. place is large so getting a table is pretty easy and spaced out. I got the chicken wings and he got the lasagna, both really yummy and hearty. read more

Hothouse - Lasagna - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Went there in June while on vacation, saw reviews and walking distance from our hotel. Across street from flatiron building. Had a very diverse menu and hard to pick one. Wife got salmon which is her standby and really enjoyed it. Son got lasagna which was a little bit of a surprise but said it was one of the best he has eaten and extra cheep. I got the wild boar bolognese and was blown away with flavor and quality of meal . Prices very reasonable for quality and good portions. I recently ate at the Eatery in Dallas NPM and had a very similar dish of pork bolognese and noodles very tuff the my liking and meat missed the flavor of one in Toronto at 56. First time in Toronto and probably last but eating there was a treat. read more

Found on Church Street close to Toronto's Distillery district, this restaurant is busy during weekend breakfast or brunch buffets. You can't reserve on line using Open Table for these peak hours, you would need to call in at least a week in advance. You can walk-in during peak hours, however you can easily wait more than an hour. This place is a staple eatery for more than 10 years now and it is as popular as it was when it first opened. Great selection of traditional breakfast but you can eat hot meals from Oriental to Italian styles. They even have BBQ chicken. You have omelette cooks and dessert servers which has a large selection of cakes! Oh yes plenty of fresh fruits too. Parking on the streets recommended. $$-$$$ read more

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It was okay--just a basic restaurant. Nothing special. Food is average, not terrible. Service was okay. The ambiance was great.

The ambiance is very nice indoor, and there is a very large outdoor area. It took the server 10 minutes to acknowledge us after being seated, and then it took 40 minutes for our food to come out. I had the seafood Pad Thai, the shrimp tails were not removed, and they were black burned to a crisp. When I said something to the manager like we have been here waiting for 50 minutes, he said well not really it only took 40 minutes for your food to come out. He really could care less. I would not recommend especially if you only have a limited time for lunch. If the manager was apologetic or even offered some valid reason I would rate higher, my work mate said his portion was so small and the bad vibe from the manager just made him want to leave. I guess slow food is a common theme on review sites. read more

Nice food here and atmosphere is good. I had a Cobb salad. Very good portion and very tasty

This is my favorite place that offers buffet and a la carte menu. They have just completed renovations to parts of the establishment, few minor updates here and there looks great now. The buffet menu is only offered on Wednesdays and Sunday brunch. This is not your typical buffet with loads of different choices to load up your plate. They offer a smaller menu but everything they offer is prepared with real quality and craftsmanship. On Wednesdays there is a pasta station that you select your own type of pasta and ingredients, the chef prepares your selection to order. On Sundays this same station is turned into an omelette station instead of pasta. There is also a roast beef station where they carve you a thinly medium rare roast for you. Like I said there isn't a huge selection. Of food but the selection they offer are all prepared perfectly. Their a la carte menu is also very good and price is fair. Many people actually opt for the a la carte menu instead, we usually get the pasta off the menu. The service is always great everyone here is very friendly and helpful. I would recommend everyone to give The Hot House a try. read more

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Went to Hot House recently with a couple of my friends. The cappelletti was pretty good. Really cheesy, stuffed with ricotta cheese filling, and baked with another layer of mozzarella cheese on top. One of my friend wanted to try the cappelletti, but don't like tomate sauce so wanted to substitute for another of their cream sauce, but the waiter did not allow any accommodation. She just said that the dish comes in the way it is, no substitution at all :( we weren't really happy with that The puttanesca had a mix of seafood like tiger shrimp, scallops with tomato basil sauce. Really like the thick and wide pasta noodle with this pasta, but could serve with a bit more sauce. The pizza wasn't as good as our expectation. The crust is the most disappointing, because it was really really hard, especially when the pizza got a bit cold after eating, the crust got even harder to bite. It's a quite expensive restaurant to be honest. A simple plate of pasta or pizza will at least cost $20. Cappelletti - $20 Puttanesca - $19 Smoked Duck Pizza - $20 Di Parma - $19 Capriccio Bread - $15 Calamari - $16 read more

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I love this place! It's huge! I've been here for both Summerlicious and Winterlicious, and I loved the food. Everything was delicious and the portions were huge! I always end up packing half of my entree home. Service was a little slow, but nothing too terrible. read more

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I like Hot House. It gives me the option of stuffing my face with embarrassing quantities of good food rather than mediocre food. The "award-winning" Sunday brunch buffet is what I came for and I must say, the food quality justifies the price. Both are pretty damn high! (~$25) Onto the food itself, I didn't find there to be that much variety but this is brunch after all. What it does have, it does very well. Omelette bar with fancy ingredients? Uhh...yes please! Cake cutting station with 10 different cakes? Pile it on! Not only did the food taste fresh, you can SEE some of it being freshly made (like waffles). Gotta love the mussels in white wine, the crab salad, and the mixed berry white chocolate cake. I also have to give shout-outs to the waitstaff, who are some of the most attentive and professional around. Within 2 minutes of us noticing our table was wobbly, a polite man came up and said "Here sir (to my dad), let me fix that for you!" without us even asking. I saw someone ask a random person carrying dishes away whether or not a certain dish was vegan and not only were they responsive, they were actually very helpful! Major props to the amazing training at Hot House. Was it worth the trip downtown? Yes, just this once, but I probably wouldn't do it again. Definitely wouldn't mind coming back if I'm in the area though. Highly recommended for those who are in the mood to eat until your pants protest. (55/100) - 2016 read more

Hothouse - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

This restaurant was not impressive at all. Monday morning waited for 5 minutes to be seated while the restaurant was essentially empty. Ordered 3 breakfasts but tried to change an order for dietary restriction purpose only to be told no. We weren't adding or removing any items just changing scrambled eggs to over easy. Tried to order 2 extra eggs on the side as an add on...nope can't do that either. Our server was grumpy and put a negative spin on the already negative experience. Nice place though and quiet at 1030am Bathrooms clean but no water pressure in the taps. Waited 20 mins for server to come around to ask for the bill, but had to ask for it anyhow. Will never go back and will never recommend. read more

Hothouse was our first restaurant to dine the very first night we arrived. It was a good choice. They did run out of selections but they had the main dishes available. We ordered jambalaya which was just ok. It was a bit too Smokey and a bit too dry. I wasn't a fan of it. I did like their hothouse mussels which were curried. This was the best thing! I definitely recommend this appetizer because it's fresh, zesty, and has a great tasting broth. I just wish there was an actual entree for this! This dish is a must. The Portuguese cod cakes were alright too. They were a bit mushy but the lemon aioli was perfect with it. I ordered a wild boar bolognese which was decent. I thought the meat was way too thick and almost like chili texture. It did taste good but it was hard to tell if it was really boar because it could've been tossed with ground beef. Hothouse is a good restaurant with a fine ambiance. It's a great choice for dinner with a group of friends or an intimate time with your partner. read more

I would have rated them 3 stars but the fact that management resolved my minor issue has prompted me to give them 4 stars. Went here to dine prior to an event at the ACC and was seated in a timely manner which made us happy as we first had chose the esplanade, but every restaurant had a 45 minute wait for tables. I decided to dine on a favourite, lasagna. I was surprised the meal was served without accompanying rolls or garlic bread, but the server was kind enough to bring some rolls for me. As I started eating, I noticed immediately the lasagna was lacking spinach, which was something that was a selling point for me on my meal, as I believe a good lasagna should be cooked with it. I brought this to the waitresses attention, who then notified the manager, who came to my table. The manager apologized for the error, and ended up comping me my meal. The lasagna was tasty, I was not extremely disappointed, just felt a need to mention it was not as described. Needless to say the waitress still received a nice tip for ensuring my happiness in this situation. An added bonus here is they have a decent hot sauce other than basic tobasco or franks read more

Hothouse - Decent hot sauce at hot house - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Pretty little restaurant located in a beautiful part of the city. You get an amazing view of the Gooderham building! I like the outside patio more as I felt the inside felt more dated. Food and service was good, selection is on the smaller side. Overall good experience. read more

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The picture looks shitty but it is indeed really really delicious, they also offered to put as much cheese as you wish on the jambalaya, which tasted so amazing because the spiciness was balanced out by the creaminess. The fact that they have the strawberry beer just automatically gained them a 5 star from me cuz I love that beer so so so much，one thing I'm a little not happy about is how slow they took to prepare our dishes, we waited a century for our food to come and one of our coworker's even had to pack the food and go since he had a meeting to head to and the food came super late. read more

Hothouse - Jambalaya and fruli beer - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Welcome to Summerlicious 2013. First stop, Hot House Cafe. I came here with a friend yesterday for lunch to try their $15 prix fixe menu. I started with the soup of the day (clam chowder soup), while my friend had the crab cakes. Needless to say, I should've gotten the crab cakes...the soup was quite disappointing, since the clams just melt in your mouth, there was too much bacon, and the bread that came with it was inedible. Both of us got the smoked chicken and goat's cheese anglotti. However, despite that, our plate sizes were different! I got a round plate, while my friend got an oval plate. The anglotti was actually quite good! There were a couple of burnt spots in my plate at least, but overall I was satisfied with it. For dessert, I got the cheesecake while my friend had the mango sorbet. The sorbet is a large portion; be careful of that if you're too full. The cheesecake is a smaller one, and once again it tasted quite good! However I didn't think the strawberry sauce went very well with the cheesecake... Service was quite good the whole way, however when we had to leave it took a while for the waiter to arrive. We were only planning to stay till 1:15-1:30 (arriving at 12:30), but we ended up staying until 1:35-1:40. The receptionist informed us about the Sunday brunch and the Wednesday AYCE night as we were paying for the bill. It did sound interesting, and I'm willing to give this place another shot. read more

Hothouse - Clam chowder soup. - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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This past weekend, I participated in a work function that had me enjoy a dinner with my colleagues here. Our reservation was for 7 PM and we were seated right away. As soon as everyone was seated, servers came out with appetizers and various wines. Individually, I ordered the house salad and a BBQ chicken pizza. The house salad comes with a house dressing, which I found to be quite nice. It wasn't too heavy. The BBQ chicken pizza was quite hot, but it was still enjoyable. For dessert, the tiramisu was served. It was absolutely delicious. I had a positive experience at the Hot House, but I can't say that the food or even the experience was ingrained into my memory. My memory of my Saturday night would be the fact that I got to know my colleagues better, which has nothing to do with the Hot House. In other words, I'll be okay if I don't come back here. read more

Hothouse - Tiramisu - Italian Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Average meal with above average prices. The food is on the plain side in terms of taste. I've been there about 3 times and most recently was there for lunch. I ordered a soup of the day, it was tiny (size of a ramekin) for the $8 price tag. The Saigon salad had a good portion of chicken but the dish was not what I had expected. It's a bland version of the Vietnamese vermicelli "bun" dish. You can get a better bowl and cheaper at most Vietnamese restaurants or the Thai fast food places. read more

Not worth the money for the quality of the food it was once a great brunch place however given Toronto's excellent food scene this place needs to get with the times read more

Went to Hot House for their buffet brunch on New Year's Day. I didn't think it would be so busy but it was! The place was packed. They have lots of different food stations & types of food to try. There's something for everyone. I really enjoyed the waffes, roasted potatoes & salmon. I wanted to get more waffles but they make them fresh & they kept disappearing before I could get more. There's also an omelette station where they custom make your omelette right in front of you. The waitstaff we got were friendly, professional & quick. This restaurant is pretty big so be prepared for crowds on the weekend. This place seems pretty popular. I don't live near here so I wouldn't come here often. But it was a nice experience. I hope I can find something like this in my own neighbourhood! read more

Went to Hot House for their Wednesday AYCE buffet dinner for $21. Service was good: waiter checked up on the table from time to time and water was re-filled frequently. The items I enjoyed included BBQ chicken, roast beef, mussels, the lasagne, and the clam chowder. They also have a selection of fruits to choose from, such as watermelon, honeydew, grapes, and pineapple. There's a small salad bar, and a pasta station where you can build your own dish and have them prepare it for you on the spot. They also have a selection of cakes and other desserts to choose from. In terms of variety, it's rather limited. Hopefully, they have enough items that you like, otherwise you may not have as great of an experience. There was definitely a lack of vegetable options for me, given that I'd stock up on leafy greens when I go to a chinese buffet. I guess at an italian place, you'd just have a mix of cauliflower, carrots, and some other vegetables. No leafy greens! Personally, I found a lot of the foods to be quite salty, but I'm not particularly a fan of too much salt. Especially if it results in me drinking more water and thus having less room for other things. Also, no ice cream. But cakes were great. Overall, not too bad. It's located near st lawrence market, and I'm not sure what your options are for AYCE buffet in the area, so if you're just looking to get lots of food for a reasonable price this is not a bad option. read more

Service sucks! Waitness with attitude demand that I make a choice while I am in a middle of conversation. I asked for a medium rare steak but they can't even make it. After the original owner sold their restaurant it has never been the same. read more

Great sunny & spacious patio area, excellent service but food was just ok. Some dishes better than others. The JERK FRIED CAULIFLOWER (Cauliflower seasoned with thyme, allspice, cinnamon and scotch bonnet peppers, dredged in a chickpea flour and fried. Served with a pineapple salsa) was so delicious & i would order it every, single time! I had the SUPERFOOD SALAD (Quinoa, roasted butternut squash, avocado, broccoli, grapes, on a bed of baby kale and spinach, pomegranate seeds, fresh basil vinaigrette) + Salmon & my boyfriend had the SPHAGHETTI AL OLIO (Sautéed rapini, roasted garlic, panko bread crumbs, and chilli flakes served with bucatini pasta) + Chicken. My salmon was good but the salad wasn't very fresh & the flavours were just ok & definitely disappointing. My boyfriend enjoyed his pasta but thought the chicken was way over-cooked. I did however LOVE my cocktail, RASPBERRY GIN LEMONADE (Equal parts Bull Dog Gin, lychee liqueur, finished with fresh-pressed and additive-free raspberry lemonade). Would definitely go back for the cauliflower & other goodies. read more

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I came with 3 other friends for a weekend lunch, during their summerlicious period. The menu was appealing and the price was fair, so we said why not? Here's why you should not... Their service was awful. We barely saw our waiter and the service was so slow. We sat outside, on their patio, and I don't know if it was because of where we were sitting, but I felt like we were forgotten a lot of the time. We asked to get a refill on water at least 3 times. The food was only mediocre. The salad, the appetizer, was an arugula salad with balsamic dressing topped with peppers and apple slices. The main was a plate of jerk chicken, coleslaw, rice and a pineapple ring. However, there was no spice to it at all. The flavour was subtle, we asked for some peppercorn sauce on the side. Once again, we asked for the sauce at least 3 times. We received the sauce eventually. It came in a small tray (similar to the one you would pour your soy sauce into at a sushi restaurant) For dessert, there was a praline-like scoop of icecream, which was the most flavorful part of the meal. When we received the bill, little did we know that the sauce would cost us an additional $3 each. THREE DOLLARS FOR A BIT OF SAUCE ON THE SIDE?! Why wasn't this mentioned before we asked for the sauce..? Service was poor, food was mediocre. I wouldn't come back here again. read more

通りかかかって前から行ってみたくてやっと行けた お料理の提供は早いしお店も駅近で周りも栄えてるから入りやすくてとてもいい カナダの店員さん大体態度悪い人いるけど 初めて店員さん全員気持ち良い接客してくれた 満足 また行きます read more

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Yesterday went for the pizza... the normal crust was soggy and the gluten free was burnt hard like a rock and almost broke a molar eating it. 1/2 price bottle of vine and service was good. Server nice young man answered when I asked if they got a new chef said 5-6 mths ago. Disappointed. And the roasted garlic isn't on the pizza anymore... :( read more

Nice Sunday brunch with a diverse and many choices that will cater to all. Good quality, nice presentation, good price for what you are getting, nice ambiance with a live trio playing good music, good and attentive service. Highly recommend and will return for sure. Congratulations Hothouse! read more

We stumbled upon this place walking outside the farmers market ! Had the wild boar Bolognesa which was good. A bit on the low salt side. Which is ok because I sprinkled a bit which kicked in the flavor of the wild boar Also tried the arugula with prosciutto pizza. Had a very thin crust well backed. And the sauce was easy Atmo was nice outside. Lite breeze/ sun. People walking around. Service was alright. Felt that it was a bit slow. But then we in Los Angeles are spoiled and expect to be pampered where ever we walk into. Sadly. Not a good thing. read more