Stopped for late lunch. Good service, friendly staff. Liked kale salad, it had very tangy tasty souse, lots of pistachios and an interesting addition of green lentil. Overall - unexpected and tasty . Mussels were good - fresh in a tasty souse ( i love mussels and hate when they come in a watery over-salted souse , this one was perfect). Fried calamari were also very good and cooked from fresh, not frozen. What i didnt like were the fritters that came with mussels ( mushy, i was expecting Belgium type - crispy on the outside and soft on inside) and rose hip tea - terrible, comes from a tea bag , not tea leaves, at at a price of $3 , and smells and tastes like steamed hay. Wil go back for food but will stick with beer for drinks read more

Found this place walking down the street. It was in an old building and has been around 15+ years. Food was decent. My wife enjoyed the fish tacos for $19.95. Not a large portion. They snuck in a $3 side of guacamole. My son had a noodle dish (Bah-Me_Hang) for $13.95 that he enjoyed. It had a decent amount of meat. My dim sum appetizer was overpriced at $8.95 (for 4) and the 9.95 Romaine and fruit salad was OK. I was looking for something lighter. My daughter ordered a dip with chips for $9.50 (good goddess) that she enjoyed. I am putting the prices down for perspective since many restaurants are very expensive. They have several cakes for dessert and we chose a banana and chocolate slice for $6 to share. It was good. Net result place has a reasonable sized menu with reasonable prices for downtown Toronto. Good service and host who spoke about the ghosts when asked. read more

This was my third visit to this place. Me and a few friends came here after drinking at moxies. Our primary reason for coming was to have the pho we had last time. We were disappointed to find out that it was a special and wasn't on the menu tonight. It was pretty busy tonight but we were lucky enough to get seated right away. I knew right away that I was going to have the quinoa salad since I saw someone else get it the last time I was here and it looked good. Also I'm a sucker for goat cheese. Given that I cleaned my plate it's safe to say that it was a good choice. It was a large portion but it felt like the right amount because it was light and fresh. Everyone enjoyed their food. Although I like the food and the portion sizes are quite large I feel like the prices are high relatively speaking. Obviously not too high to keep me away. read more

Queen Mother Cafe - Quinoa salad - Asian Fusion Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

When in town I must make time for the Queen! Great little spot full of tasty and unique food with an even better selection of drinks! This is one of the places you can get St-Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale, well that I know you can, and also have some amazing options for food. From asian fusion cuisine to classic steak frites. I had only ever been for lunch but this time got to experience their dinner! The dinner menu compared to the lunch menu is a nice change of pace. The lunch menu consists of lighter fare and lighter prices, then the dinner gives more substantial meals and with that come more substantial prices. (which is fair!) The Atmosphere, I would describe as dark and cozy... the booths are a great size but the table seating is slightly squished for my liking, but a great way to make friends! All in all... great spot and great food! Worth a trip in when on Queen W. read more

Queen Mother Cafe - Some delicious appetizers! - Asian Fusion Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

This place came highly recommended. Even though I've been to Toronto many times before mainly around Caribana time it never really afforded me the opportunity to check out different restaurants. At any rate my family and I ate here and shared three different entrees and all plates were cleaned. The Ping Gai chicken was excellent juicy and fill of flavor as well as the Pad Thai as well as the Bah Me Hang which had a nice kick to it. I will def come back here when next I am in town and will try replicating the Ping Gai as the recipe is online. read more

Queen Mother Cafe - Most popular dish. Ping Gai chicken - Asian Fusion Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

See all

Ordered the pad thai and the coconut peanut noodles. Both were absolutely delicious! Will definitely be ordering from here again! Also they were able to make both dishes gluten free! read more

I used to go here years ago and it was a favorite during any trip to Toronto back in the day. But I seemed to have forgotten about it while running around after shiny new restos and bars. But I met an associate for lunch here yesterday and I was impressed all over again. The place is as bustling and vibrant as ever. I had the Ping Gai which was really delicious. A nice portion of perfectly marinated, and grilled to crispy black in places, chicken. Side salad and rice were nice as well. Service was great considering the place was pretty busy at lunch. Very happy to have found this old friend again. read more

This place looks like an English pub and was recommended by a friend. Menu consisted of Lao, Thai and western dishes. My daughter loves Thai food, and she was impressed with the freshness and portion size. We shared 2 popular appetizers and one entree. The service is friendly. The food comes in reasonable time and is very flavoursome. read more

We live super close to this place and after crossing by a couple of times, decided to give it a try. First impressions: This place looks like a European coffee house from the 20th century and yet somehow serves Asian fusion. Well, that said my husband and I are very open to experiences. We ordered Srilankan curry vegetable roti and Indonesian Grilled Chicken. The chicken was a 3.5/5 but the roti was a total disaster. It was gooey and super bland. They had a good selection of desserts. However, we were full given the decent size of the portions served. It sports a good ambience but I've had better Asian fusion in Toronto at half the price. Tip: They have a cute little patio at the back of the restaurant that they save for sunny days. read more

Took a while for me to try this place cause i always thought the restaurant looks really weird and sketchy. Now i am so glad i got to try this place. Both interior wise and food wise, this place is trippy. They are kinda western but not really. Have a bit of south east asian but not really. I guess this suits them well since they claim to be asian fusion. The food here is pretty cheap considering the huge portion you get. I have tried their duck special, Bah Me Hang, which is similar to pad thai but with egg noddles, and Khao Soy Gai, which feels like pad thai in curry. They are all very good and I would definitely recommend then to people who want something more than typical thai dishes. Service here is okay. Nothing wrong, but you come here for food. read more

Queen Mother Cafe - Bah Me Hang - Asian Fusion Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Sadly not the same quality of food or service we've experienced on many previous pre-COVID visits :(. My husband's meal was half eaten as it was way way way too salty. Mine was okay. Just ok. Waitress never asked how our dinner was. I hope it's a blip but sadly probably won't go back. read more

Service. Food. Ambience. What a brilliant find while exploring Toronto! We enjoyed dinner on the patio to a superbly orchestrated welcome, menu introduction, attentive and friendly staff, drinks and wonderfully delicious food. This team is well learned and the service is streamlined spot on. Al fresco dinning option was a great choice. Dinner was a perfectly seasoned and combinations of flavors were layered and complex and...I can't say enough. I absolutely understand why this neighborhood cafe has remained important in Toronto's food scene. See you again tomorrow to try more dishes! read more

Had dinner on Friday with four girlfriends, had no issue getting a table, which is always nice. We were greeted quickly and have friendly service for the evening. The food was great. Three of us opted for Khao soy gai (mine has rice noodles to make it GF) and one had ping gai. Everyone enjoyed their meals and had no complaints. What was great was that we didn't feel pushed out after we were done eating too. If you like authentic flavourful Thai food, check this place out. read more

Queen Mother Cafe - Ping gai - Asian Fusion Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

See all

Quirky, to say the least. Offbeat. Decorated with irreverent posters and pictures of QE II and her mother. Food is Asian oriented. Lots of noodle dishes. Service is actually efficient and cordial, even during a crowded lunch hour. It must be a favorite because it's been there 40 years and this visit it seemed to be the busiest eatery on Queen Street--which is crammed with places to dine. I love their Cosmic Burger (vegetarian) on whole wheat pita. They have a full bar and make great cocktails. The place is also known for its deserts. If you can get a window seat, it's great for people watching. Definitely worth a visit. read more

See all

A popular restaurant that has been here for decades the food quality is always reliable the prices are reasonable. It is small and always busy so you need a reservation. read more

Excellent lunch here. First, the desserts are from Dufflet, so you the ending to your meal will be fantastic. This visit we had the lemon dacquoise. Fantastic. They also had a cappuccino one. Plus chocolate banana cake, apple caramel tart, and other great selections. For our meal, we started with the nam dip (salad roll) and nam juen (crispy dried spring roll ). Both delicious with house made dipping sauces. For the main course, tandoori chicken sandwich with a salad and the red curry seafood hot pot. Fantastic fresh flavours. Friendly and attentive service topped off this dining experience. read more

Ordered the Khao Soy Ghai ($13.95), but really shouldn't have. I think they used chicken thighs and the meat looked slightly undercooked. The noodles were kind of sticky, and overall not appetizing, but I was just so hungry that I ate it anyway. The mimosa ($9) was miserably small. Get a beer instead. We were seated in the back garden patio which was lovely, but the reflective table tops were kind of annoying because they reflected the sun right into my eyes. I came here for indoor service a few years back and I don't want to think about how that carpet has probably seen better years. They really need to rip it up and replace it with something more hygienic. read more

Hello. I'm a stupid American that doesn't pay attention to local holidays. I still don't really know what a "Civic Holiday" is, other than it means almost EVERYTHING is closed. Funny I'm writing this on the American "Labor Day," eh? We struck out at Pai, Khao San Road, and one other Thai restaurant before finding Queen Mother Café. Thank you, Queen Mother, for being open for us ignoramuses. In the mood for Thai (duh), we ordered the Pad Thai. While the waitress assured me that the "spicy" was indeed, spicy, this dish was milder than I had expected. It tasted good though, and (bonus points) had both chicken and shrimp in the dish! I had two margaritas, both tart and strong. The menu is a little all over the place in this moody, casual café. There's also a full bar menu. It saved our asses just before we started to get hangry. Queen Mother Café still probably would not be a "destination" for me, as I was obviously headed for some serious hot spots for Thai, but it worked beautifully as a back-up plan. We left with our bellies full and satisfied. read more

MUST TRY: Khao Soy Gai. (rice noodles in curry soup) People will tell you that the Ping Gai is the best, but get the Khao Soy Gai instead and thank me later. Sticky rice is a good snack.... though it can be inconsistent. Last time I ordered this, it came as post-sticky rice. The rice had hardened and was one giant grain of rice, so I had to rip off chunks of it and throw the delicious peanut sauce on top. This also begs the question: Is there a singular form of the word rice? There is a back patio. BTW, it has a really strange entrance where you have to walk downstairs, then back upstairs, and your waiter walks through the kitchen. For a moment, it's all a little bizarre and reminiscent of a bugs bunny cartoon. Servers are good, laid back. BONUS: Kitchen is open late read more

This place was slightly confusing. Looking at the menu it felt like it was trying to accomplish too much. A Laotian dish followed by a burger, followed by fries, followed by Pad Thai. Just strange! We ordered the Khai Soy Ghai and I really enjoyed it, but if I returned would probably prefer the Bah Mi Hang which a friend ordered and I thought was great. Still... not sure I'd return though. read more

I've been here a few times and always had the amazing Pad Thai. My friends have had other things, and none of them spectacular, but the Pad Thai was AMAZING. None of that over-ketchuped nonsense here, Queen Mother's Thai chef makes a really good Pad Thai. The sauce was really good, tamarind with a hint of peanut. Large pieces of chicken and shrimp and fried egg goodness. The Pad Thai comes in three levels of spiciness, but even the most spicy one doesn't take away from the flavour. Another must-try is the calamari -- crispy on the outside and really tender on the inside. I've always had calamari with tzaziki, but Queen Mother serves it with sweet chili sauce, which is a really nice fusion taste. Service is fast and friendly but could get hectic when the opera rush comes in (since the COC is just down the street). P.S. The Pad Thai is $2 cheaper on the lunch menu, but the dinner version is almost twice as big as the lunch version. No dinner menu until 5:30PM! read more

The Queen Mother Cafe violates a sacred restaurant rule: You should get what you pay for. This means that so-so food can be enjoyable in a laid back, cheap cafe setting and it's also reasonable to pay a lot for outstanding food and service. But Queen Mother is far too expensive for what you get - both in terms of service and food. Arrived there tonight around 7:30pm after a wonderful day and drinks with friends - so we were in high spirits. But Queen Mother brought us down. Fresh roll appetizer was mediocre - the filling was pretty good with tofu, mint, peppers, lettuce and glass noodles, but the rice paper wrap was clumpy, clumsy and full of holes, so the rolls fell apart. I'm no Top Chef contestant, but if I had made those rolls, I wouldn't have served them looking like that. The dipping sauce was tasty, but strangely grainy. Veggie Pad Thai was really disappointing. The server told me that I couldn't get tofu instead of the chicken and shrimp they usually serve with the dish. When I asked why, given they clearly had tofu in the kitchen (since it's part of two other dishes). She just said, "vegetables only". Of course, they had no problem charging the full $14. The noodles were overcooked and the sauce was just badly balanced - too salty, too sour, a little too intense. As though the chef used a pre-made thai paste without diluting it properly. Weird. Vegetarian Roti was pretty bland and actually tasted microwaved. Not a bad place for coffee and dessert, but for dinner I recommend you go elsewhere. There are so many great places on Queen street where, for $14-$20 mains you can get a lovely meal and terrific experience. You can do better. Vegetarian Score: This is a tough one. There are veggie options, but who cares? They are low on protein and high on "meh". 5/10. p.s. When the server cleared our plates, she said, "Would you like to wait a bit or would you like your coffee now?" Note to server: manipulation is a sign of weakness, my dear. read more

I always have a good time here. The food is inventive and there are generally interesting people at the bar from all walks of life, spinning yarns and sharing world travel and foodie experiences. I make it a point to visit the Queen Mum whenever I'm in Toronto, it just feels like home. read more

Two words: pad thai. Two more words: secret patio. A bunch more words: the Queen Mother is a gem. The decor, atmosphere, service and food are all awesome. Honestly if you go here and don't have the pad thai, I am going to hunt you down and kill you. I kid, I kid - but it's that good. Not sure what they make the sauce out of, but I think it flips the same switch in your brain that makes crack addicts so addicted. And for dessert, a fine selection of Dufflet cakes will make you fat - and sassy. Oh and did I mention secret summertime patio? Accessible only by an underground passageway, you'll feel as if you're going through Fred Penner's hollowed-out tree and arriving in Mr. Rogers' fantasyland, except with better service & food and fewer hand puppets. Surrounded by trellis'd foliage and flowers, it's a great place for an afternoon drink. In the evenings the patio lanterns come on and the ambiance is exquisite - perfect for a post-movie dinner with your love. Highly recommended! read more

Decided to check this restaurant out after reading about it in BlogTO. My husband and I LOVE Thai food but this place definitely did Thai food a big disservice. Every item we ordered was disappointing. The waitress was nice and the food came out relatively quick, but I'd rather wait for better cooked food. For appetizers, we ordered Sticky Rice with peanut sauce dip and Wasabi Guacamole. Both sad imitations of what they could be. First of all, the rice was sticky but ridiculously bland and dry. The peanut sauce tasted pedestrian, like they just mixed peanuts with coconut milk. No depth whatsoever. I've tasted better sticky rice at a Thai place in Whitby, of all places. Second of all, the guacamole was fine. It was fresh but why stick the Wasabi label on it if you can't even taste it? Not even a hint of it. I expected a sharp hit of wasabi with the guacamole but tasted like avocado blended with no other ingredient. Couldn't even taste any lime. It also came with taro chips. Very dry. Taro chips and guacamole do not go together, especially when neither have any salt or seasoning. For mains, my husband ordered Crispy Calamari since he wasn't that hungry. I ordered Khao Soy Gai. Sounded amazing. Spicy broth with ginger, Thai herbs, tumeric, curry and coconut milk. Uh no. Tasted like watery curry powder with dry noodles. The noodles was the wrong choice because it can't soak up any of the sauce. Where's the thick rich coconut? Where's the fresh Thai herb flavours? Very disappointing. For the first time, did not finish a Thai noodle dish, packed up and actually decided to throw it out because who wants to eat a watery mess? The calamari was fine. The batter was crispy but this dish can't save this restaurant. If you want a poor imitation of "Asian Fusion and Thai", come here. I can't believe any of the positive reviews here. It was two years ago that I read exciting reviews on BlogTO. What happened? ANY other Thai place, even the fast food place Thai Express, would be better than this place. Plus, this place doesn't even sell Thai beer like Singha. Wow. Won't be coming here ever again. read more

The sticky rice and peanut sauce are even better here than in Thailand. They serve a diverse world of food- the Italian dish is on the menu just for the non-adventurous out there. The chef is thai, so he makes the real stuff. Although I don't eat it, the Gai Ping (or Ping Gai) aka BBQ Chicken is served in massive quantities, with rice and salad and is reportedly very good. The desserts are amazing too, from Dufflet. The bar selection is great and the outdoor patio is a secluded city oasis. All hail the Queen. read more

I've had some solid meals here lately: Both the spinach and cheese cannelloni and the quinoa salad were fantastic. Everyone in my party also enjoyed their meals - Pad thai and Ping gai) Service is always good. There is a great selection of fresh Dufflet cakes in their fridge, although with their amazing large portions, I'm never hungry for dessert! Tip: If you're coming on a weekday, arrive at 12 on the dot... because by 1 pm this place is JAMMED! read more

I've been here twice - once on a cozy date and once with a group of friends. And the Queen Mother was perfect for both! Everyone seems to find something perfect on the menu, and then enjoys what they ordered. The ambiance is kind of dim and busy, but not too noisy - it seemed very romantic on a date, and then just fun and interesting with friends. It's slightly on the pricy side, but I'd say that's worth it to know that what you get is going to be tasty and nicely presented. The drinks are average price and perfectly good, and the drink list is fabulously descriptive...the best I've ever seen, actually. This will definitely be a go-to restaurant for me. read more

The queen mother was a surprise to me and my boyfriend who were walking down queen street and were starving. We popped in and it delivered not only fantastic service but good food. I had the argentinian flank steak and he had the argula and pecan salad with chicken. My steak was FANTASTIC the chimichurri was soooo good. His salad was good but I'm biased because I love blue cheese. We finished off with a yummy (huge) piece of carrot cake which was 6 bucks, which made me sad lol. Overall, well priced. good food. good service. A little slow but that's the way I like it when I'm with good company. read more

When I discovered this place it became my new pre-club, pre-theatre restaurant venue. (the old was was the brasserie which unfortunately closed down and is now a Jack Astors). I love that the place has character, and this unique feel. Inside, it's warm and friendly, and the menu is full of everything from confort food, to fusion food. Usually they have a specials menu that's also quite good. I haven't tried some of their 'asian dishes' but everything else has been done right by me. It's my first recommendation if someone wants to eat in the area. read more

Put simply, I LOVE this place. I always thought that I would have my engagement party at The Queen Mother Cafe one day, but that was when I still believed in romance, marriage and true love. Now, it's at least my number 1 death-row last-meal pick. I always order the same thing. Not to say that the entire menu isn't amazing, because it is, according to everyone I bring there. I just LOVE the sticky rice (which comes steamed in a cute straw basket served with peanut sauce), the Nam Jeun (crispy Laotian spring rolls), and a cup of peppermint tea with honey. I never need to look at a menu. It's the perfect meal for me. If you have room for it, they have a glorious dessert case. If you don't have room for it, they are still fun to look at and dream. In the past, I have celebrated many important occasions there with loved ones, and ones I used to love, and the staff always went above and beyond. Once, they even placed fresh flowers on all the plates they brought to our table for my birthday/anniversary. And when my younger brother graduated from Ryerson Film school, we sat together as a family on their absolutely magical and intimate back patio, which is the best on a warm summer night. You feel like you're in a quiet English garden somewhere, and not the downtown core. A perfect date place, if you still believe in all that "love" crap. read more

Funky old place, Asian Thai influenced food.apparently this place has been here for ever. Friendly service. The chicken dish was really good and huge portion of chicken. Will return again next time thru. read more

I'm a huge fan of Asian Fusion, so when it was suggested that we go to Queen Mother Cafe for dinner, I was easily persuaded. I can see this as maybe a good first few dates type location - I'm a fan of the dark ambiance, it's romantic but not in a cheesy or cliche way - I'm going to go with "romantic casual". Combine that with good service, and you're pretty much guaranteed a good experience! I'm also a fan of the large menu and drink list. I had a Thai inspired chicken/noodle dish, (unfortunately I forget the name...) but it was really great! It was in a soupy broth, which was so good that I just ate it with a spoon when the noodle contents were gone. I also saw that the person next to us had what looked like a great lemongrass soup, which I will definitely order the next time I stop by. I can definitely see myself checking out Queen Mother again soon! read more

I stopped in here for a late night bite to eat, coffee and cake on the recommendation of a friend. Apparently this place is 'Asian-fusion' although you'd never know it from the outside or the decor. Haha, it just looks like a standard diner, contemporary cuisine, maybe cafe-style place. We got a Spinach Dip to start and it was a little off-putting. It just wasn't all that appetizing: the dip was ice cream scooped in a ball on top of some lettuce like some giant puke green lunch room slop. It didn't taste bad, but it didn't taste particularly good either at all either and some of the chips were soggy with water (I assume from washing the lettuce the dip was placed unnecessarily on). We'd ordered this dish as a "What would you suggest?"-recommendation of the waitress, so it was a little disappointing. For dessert we ordered some cappuccino and we tried the lemon crunch cake. The cake slice was huge, but a little dry and a little boring unfortunately. Maybe it wasn't incredibly fresh? It seemed to be mostly air, crunchy cookies, and very little actual cake and icing. Not incredibly lemony either, more creamy than anything. Again not bad, but underwhelming. The cappuccino was fine. I might be back in the future, but it would be up to a friend to choose this place because I wouldn't be likely to with so many other options to try or go back to nearby. Probably 2.5 stars. I'm a little iffy on this place. read more

See all

It's nice. I went to the back patio (which is downstairs, through the restaurant and then back up and then out....) to enjoy the sun. Even in the middle of the week it was packed. The drink options were okay - not a full bar at least not in the patio area, but they had some beers, cider and wine so it was fine. Had some snacky foods. The price was okay, the service was quick. It has a very laid back and hip vibe. I imagine it would be a good bar to go to with a group, though even for one-on-one the ambience was good on the patio. A solid place, nothing to write home about, but worth checking out if you're nearby. read more

My partner and I always default to the Queen Mother when we don't know what we feel like eating...the food is generally delicious, the atmosphere a bit romantic and great for people-watching, service is genuinely kind, and the location is a perfect place to start your night. I usually start with the Nam Dip and get the to-die-for Ping Gai. Really healthy portions ensure you leave feeling full. read more

I decided to give the Queen Mother a try while waiting for my concert to start at Nathan Philip Square. Once we were seated, we waited a bit for a the waitress to get to our table. I ordered the soup of the day: Chicken coconut, the calamari and a white Sangria. My Sangria was alright but did not warrant its $7 price tag. The soup was bland and it felt as if it was just made of old scraps instead of fresh ingredients. My calamari however was perfect: golden crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Next time I will probably give the Ping Gang crispy chicken a try. I stole a bite from my friend and it was honestly the juiciest chicken I had even tasted! read more

This is one of my favourite Asian fusion restaurants in Toronto. On this visit, we had the hummus dip with taro chips, the dim sum, and the rice rolls with tofu. Everything was served the right temperature, garnished well, and tasted delicious. A previous visit, I enjoyed the pad Thai. We also enjoyed the gluten free chocolate torte. If you like dense and fudgey, this is a must. read more

I'm definitely a fan. The atmosphere is bustling and the staff are cool cats and kittens. I really dig the eclectic menu and they mix a great cosmo. Recommended for casual, yet fun dining. the prices are great and you can get a three-course meal with a bottle of wine for two for under $100! One of the gems in the downtown-downtown core in my opinion. Try the sticky rice, spring rolls and dumplings from the appetizer menu, then I'd recommend trying whatever the chef's specials are for the main course. You won't regret it! read more

I went here after I read about it on the weekly Yelp newsletter. yeah the back garden patio is very secret as it's hidden from the front streets. but it's also way packed with little tables... we were seated so close to a couple next to us that it felt like we were lunching with them. we changed the tables though. the food is good and the portions are great. but somehow I didn't expect thai and indian in queen mother cafe.... should be something more european on the menu no? I loved my pad thai though. read more