I got food poisoning from here and it wasn't taken seriously from the manager at all. He said it couldn't be possible..???? It took a 2 weeks for them to even think of compensating me. Service was so bad it's like they forgot about our table. The one at major Mac and Weston is so much better !! read more

came with many friends. Food was great! Huge portions.. a bit pricy but it is what it is. Great atnosphere.. servers were friendly. Food was delicious. I had the sandwhiches.. massive portion but still managed to finish it since i ordred with a salad.. husband got the parmagiana chicken sandwhich.. soo good so filling. he didnt even finish his fries.. so much food. but it was really good. read more

I remember the glory days of the symposium, where you couldn't find a spot on a Friday night and it was filled to bursting with teens drinking coffee and eating desserts. These memories are about ten years old though, and needless to say, it's changed. My friend and I decided to meet here for dinner. When I arrived close to 5 it was nearly empty - three other tables were occupied. By the time we left around 7:30, it had amassed a bit of a crowd. Nearly half full. This is nice in terms of ambience and being able to hear your conversation. The music was amazing - 90s hits. I mean spice girls, Hanson, coolio. It was awesome! A nice level too. I liked being able to hear the music but also easily able to drown it out. There wasn't a whole lot in terms of gluten free options, but I have to applaud them for knowing what it is and having a ready response. That sometimes makes all the difference. So there was the basic grilled chicken/baked fish with salad. Or pad Thai! So of course I went for pad Thai. My friend had souvlaki. She also eats gluten free but won't die if she eats gluten so I'm not sure how safe her meal was. So go for the pad Thai, or ask some detailed souvlaki questions. The pad Thai was great! Very flavourful and super spicy! The only part I didn't like was the egg. I would have preferred no egg, or for it to be crumbled much smaller. It pretty much seemed like a piece of an omelette on my pad Thai. I also really enjoyed the carrots, bok choy and red peppers. There were tons of veggies mixed in. I couldn't even finish the meal and that's saying something! Our server Daniel was great. Very chatty and nice. Not annoying, didn't hover. Checked in just enough, added in some fun humour. In all, he was exactly what you look for in a server. The menu itself is huge. Tons of options for all of you people who are able to eat gluten. Sigh. The menu is somewhat reminiscent of a pickle barrel. Lots of drink options as well, fun, fruity, martinis, wine, and of course tons of speciality coffee and tea choices. Not a bad place to spend a Friday. Oh and the chairs are super comfortable! read more

Symposium Cafe Restaurant - Chicken Souvlaki - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Woodbridge, Ontario

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Tried this place again since I was in the neighbourhood, and the food was just how I remembered it... BLAH. On Saturday they advertise their special - $18.95 for an appetizer platter. I chose the calamari and fire cracker shrimp flatbread. Literally I got a handful of calamari rings. I, however, cannot complain about the size of the flatbread. It was still small but for 1/2 of the appetizer platter thats under 19 bucks it was ok. Calamari was good. Nothing special, but you can't really mess up calamari. Or can you..? The fire cracker flatbread on the other hand was unbearable. I'm sure it would have tasted great IF MY TASTEBUDS WEREN'T ON FIRE!! My god I felt like they used pure hot sauce instead of tomato sauce. All in all, you can get much better at a chain restaurant like Moxies or Milestones. Interior is nice though. A- for that! read more

I found this place after Googling good places for breakfast/brunch to enjoy on my birthday. I was not disappointed at all. We got there at 9am on a Tuesday, so there was only one other table when we arrived. The place looks nice and well kept. The chairs are comfortable, though if you're not very tall, it can feel like you're sitting a little low at the table, but it wasn't so noticeable that it made it uncomfortable to eat. They also have a large wrap-around patio that looks like it would be great for a Sunday morning brunch, I can't wait to test that out when the weather permits! My husband ordered the Eggs Benedict with a side of bacon and I got the Eggs Florentine. Amazing! Even though we were one of two tables in the place, we were pleasantly surprised with how quickly our order came out after placing it. Each plate came with three poached eggs. We both like our eggs soft and they were cooked beautifully! The English muffins we fresh and warmed perfectly. The pea-meal bacon on my husbands Benny was fresh and perfectly cooked, nice and tender, not rubbery like it can get when it's overcooked or not fresh. The spinach on my was tender but not soggy, it still had a good texture to it. The Hollandaise sauce was delish! And, the bacon was perfectly crispy, but not burnt. The potatoes that came with the dishes were so yummy! Perfectly cooked to a crisp outside with a tender inside and deliciously seasoned! I normally don't eat potatoes but I finished every things on my plate! We took a look at the dinner menu while we were there, it looks like the dishes might be a little dated, but given the very European area we are in it probably works well with their clientele. That being said, we are looking forward to trying them for dinner given how wonderfully cooked and fresh breakfast was! If you're in the area and looking for a nice place to Brunch, I would highly recommend Symposium Cafe. read more

Symposium Cafe Restaurant - Eggs Benedict (top), Side of Bacon (middle), Eggs Florentine (bottom) - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Woodbridge, Ontario

This place has really good food but service can be slow. We really like that server A.K... Such a funny and nice guy! Also, I'm pretty disappointed that the breakfast menu no longer extends into the late hours. Customers would come back for that option. read more

I have been to a lot of Symposium restaurants, and the food here is nothing like any of them, regardless of what the menu or the server says. I have never had a good meal there and today was no exception. We ordered the grilled fish sandwich, which I had in Stouffville and it was incredible - two large pieces of haddock cooked perfectly on a super soft bun. Absolutely disgusting at this location. The bun, which was obviously not fresh, was toasted and very greasy (slathered in butter/margarine), then smushed down like a panini. There was very little fish, just small bite sized pieces shoved into a bun; very salty. There was one small piece of ROTTED lettuce on top. They cannot cook; do not follow he read more

This was the first time my friends and I have come to Symposium. I did a google search on local restaurants in this area and we thought this place would be something different to try- especially given the selection for desserts for after dinner. I read some previously reviews and was a little hesitant on having dinner here, but thought to give it a try anyways. My meal was actually quite good- I ordered the Chicken Slovakia meal with a side of fries in my meal. My chicken was cooked great (a bit salty) but nonetheless good. My fries were really good- but not salted and my greek salad was alright, nothing special. Despite my meal being good, my friend's and husband meals weren't so great. One ordered the pull pork on pita, the other chicken on pita, chicken parmesan sandwich, and mussels as a starter. The pitas were more like crakers - so this wasn't a true meal on it's own, more like a snack. The chicken parmesan was a dry breaded chicken and taste like from frozen and just heated up and the mussels didn't taste right- like it was thawed and re-froze or just cooked from frozen. We returned the mussels and the server was kind enough to take it off the bill. Later on, a manager came out to apologize for the mussels not being good. For dessert, my dessert - fruit festival was really good- and large; 2 people could easily share this. We also ordered a cookie dough cheese cake, a mouse cake, and an apple dessert. These menu options were just OK according to my friends. Nothing spectacular. It was unfortunate that the blender was broken .. On a saturday night where we wanted to order some blended drinks (visited Sat. March 1). Service seemed slow and the server had seated us to a table of 4 when there were 5 of us eating full meals. We asked to be moved to a larger table, or to even attach the empty table of 2, but she said no she can't do that. Overall, I would only recommend this place as a cafe and dessert bar lounge. The entree menu was too diverse, which makes it hard to be proficient in making one food category. Therefore, it's understandable why other reviewers didn't enjoy their meals as well. read more

Very slick atmosphere, and "laid-back" setting. Good food for your money! Not an expensive place but a great place to go out for dinner! Music wasn't too loud, so it is a nice place to have a business discussion. Great website to check what special they have daily! Awesome touch! read more

I really dislike this chain for many reasons. It's part café, part restaurant, part breakfast place, all confusion. I really hate how the menu exemplifies this also. There's no real theme to this place other than "everything you want all in one place". Anything from butter chicken to waffles. Since the kitchen is cooking all these wildly different foods, on the same pans, for years, everything tastes the same. Everything has that "Symposium" flavour to it. Very bland and nothing special. There is nothing that I would specifically come here for, besides the cakes. Especially since there are way better restaurants around. The servers are very fast, professional, and sociable. The decor is depressing at night and I would recommend staying away as it literally looks like a crypt inside except in the morning/ during the day. read more

Service is a bit slow on weeknights so leave ample time for yourself. Desserts are always delicious and on point, exactly what you ask for. Prices are reasonable and the ambiance is great. read more

Planned to come here for a girls night out as it was a convenient location for our group. There was lots of space when we arrived and we were seated quite quickly. The waiter kept referring to me a "doll". Not sure I found it cute at all. Overall the food is very overpriced for what you get. We ordered desserts and can't say we were super impressed. The waitstaff brought water at the beginning when we were seated. After our food and drinks were delivered we never saw them again. No one checked in to see if we wanted to order more. No one refilled water glasses. Service was very poor. read more

We tried to dine here on good Friday but eventually just left empty handed. No fault of the people working this location on that day, they were just under-staffed and perhaps under trained. We walked in as a party of 6 with 2 seniors and two toddlers. We were seated immediately and then ignored for 15-20 minutes before we eventually packed everyone up and left. Needless to say the kids were beside themselves at that point. Had the staff been up front about wait times we could have decided what to do without disrupting the place upon leaving. read more

Went on a Monday night and it was pretty full. They had this Monday Night special for Burgers $3.75 or a draft for $3.75. Tried the burger and it was very good but you don't get fries with it. Still a nice deal. Also ordered the dessert crepe and the portion is huge, had to share it with someone else or I won't be able to sleep that night cause of all the sugar. read more

One of my favourite places to unwind and have a coffee and dessert. Their Food selection is pretty good but no really a fan of the pasta but the sandwiches were great. Definitely the desserts are AWESOME. Tons of choices. Had a waffle called the perfect couple (combination of chocolate ice cream, vanilla ice cream with strawberries and bananas on a hot waffle) and it was just to die for. I would recommend taking someone on a date to Symposium if your looking to have a great experience and not be pushed to leave. read more

I love the decor. I liked my meal. Ordered a milkshake got a smoothy but I don't mind. The busboy was heading towards me with my drink and got stopped by the waiter. When she came back my drink now had a little milk in it and some whipped cream on the top but still tasted like a smoothy. read more

amazing service, food and ambiance. we've been here many times at different hours and are never disappointed.

Tried their mussels and fish and chips special today. Food came pretty quick and the quality is not bad for its price, plus portions are huge. Service is great and the atmosphere inside is pretty good as well. No complains here. read more

All around lousy place. The people who go here clearly do not have a taste for good food. It's a jumbled mess of bad service, large menus and cold food. About the only positive is the patio which there are few of around. read more

Good vibes in this place. Nice social spot to chill out and go with friends. The food, desserts and drinks are mediocre, if you're looking for really good food this is not the place. There is live entertainment sometimes which adds to the nice vibe of this place. If you're in a hurry to eat, this is not a quick place to go to, there are long waiting times. If you're in no hurry, want a nice spot to hang out and eat some decent food, this is the place to go. read more

Great atmosphere! Went for breakfast... had the bacon and egg sandwich on chibata bread which was delish! Server was also cool, very nice and attentive. read more

My boyfriend and I live in the area and eat out a lot so we found this place driving around searching Yelp for somewhere out of our usual places. I like coming here for the 2 for 1 cakes I. Sundays and I recommend the mocha with it. I also love doing breakfast here, we are veggies so he loves to have eggs over easy with hash-browns but I come for the Tuscan Benedict. It's got tomatoes and asparagus and the sauce isn't too heavy and 3 poached eggs! They also do a beer and burger on Mondays, good deal and the veggie burger is good. There is also a night that they have pasta and wine is $4 off! We like the service it's way better than the Yonge St location. Julian has been my server a few times, he's great! read more

They made very good desserts. I had the carrot cake which tasted great. The problem was the slice was very thin and costs $9. I also had their chicken pesto flat bread and the pulled pork sandwich. Those were very disappointing!! The flat bread tasted bland. The pulled pork tasted like they used cheap Kraft BBQ sauce. I couldn't even finish the meal. The decor was very chic and clean. Service was slow even though not many people were there. I won't be coming back, sorry. read more

Stopped by Symposium Cafe on a Thursday night this past week with my boyfriend for a date night after work. We've eaten here several times before, usually during the afternoon. Surprisingly, it was packed. There was a 10 minute wait as well as another couple that came before us waiting for a table. We were quickly seated and our waiter came within a reasonable time for menus and drink orders. The food took around 15-20 minutes. I ordered the mushroom swiss burger and my boyfriend got the NY Jack Daniels steak. I've had this burger before, and my favourite part about it is definitely the sautéed mushrooms and soft tender burger meat. Unfortunately this time the mushrooms were practically raw (legit I kid you not) and the burger was dry. I didn't want to send it back or complain because the waiter seemed stressed out and busy... actually everyone did. And I'm not picky I just really like sautéed mushrooms. :( I ordered sweet potato fries as well, which were good with the chipotle sauce. It was probably just a busy night and the kitchen was backed up or something. Overall, I would come back. read more

Me and my husband went out for dinner last night. My husband had received a gift card from his boss a few days ago at work. The food was a joke and overpriced as usual but that is not all. At the end of my night after "enjoying" my 20 dollar chicken nuggets we went to go pay and the lady rudely tells my husband that the gift card has not been activated. She gave us no solution and was very disrespectful. We eventually paid with cash and left very embarrassed. Save your self the time and money and go to Fork and Spoon instead. read more

Worst $7.01 I have spent on a cappuccino that tasted like a regular Tim Hortons coffee that was very bitter.

Filthy bathrooms, worn-out décor, inattentive staff. Lunch was decent. Bathrooms were a biohazard. Based on the poor attitude of the staff, I'm not surprised. I would not step foot in this place again. read more

meh i went with a group of 4 on wednesday when they have the martini and mussels special $4 martinis are a great deal (hence the 2 stars) - my fav: mango passion the mussels were good too but a bit fishy tasting; we have the ones with asiago we also shared the calamari .. it says it is "grilled" and then drizzled with herb butter but they are actually breaded and deep fried these were alright; served with just seafood sauce also had the BBQ chicken pizza - instead of pizza sauce, its BBQ sauce - this was alright; some of the crust was badly burnt; nothing special others at the table had a burger, also alright and the veggie wrap all in all the food was mediocre the service however was TERRIBLE we had one waitress to start; everything we ordered was "HER FAVOURITE! OMG! SO GOOD!" and she did not know much about the menu; when we asked about the mussels, she had to go check her sheet; it is the WEEKLY special on wednesdays... she should know about it she also didn't know much about other items like the martinis "I only know about the one i like the most" is exactly what she told us i asked for water twice before we got any AND THE RESTAURANT WAS PRAACTICALLY EMPTY then another server brought our food and told us she would be our server her name was Veronica i think VERONICA IF YOU READ THIS, i am sorry, but your humour comes off rude and not funny first she told us "we must've done something really bad cause our old server didn't want to serve us any more" then she came back with drinks and told us to "eat faster"cause there wasn't room on the table; when we tried to give her some plates she told us "well i can't take it with these drinks on my tray" after my friend finished half his burger she came back and offered him mustard and hot sauce.. a little late no? she also came around 3-4 times to take away the dishes and WE WERE NOT DONE once she just started to take my friend's plate; as she took it she said: "you're done right" my friend was NOT done she also wiped the table with a wet cloth while we were still sitting there and eating she also did not understand how to split our bill; we told her to split it by couple with each couple having 3 martinis and to put an app on each bill... this was confusing for her and she returned twice to confirm honestly, the worst service i have ever recieved EVER and i eat out a lot read more

We could not decide where to go for dinner and my fiance saw a fish and chips deal going on at Symposium. Early today I was thinking I really wanted fish and chips go figure that. We decide to go to Symposium and I ordered a cappuccino i thought it was great. Me and my fiancé decided to split Mediterranean flatbread it was very good, except the grilled zucchini wasn't didn't seem grilled. We both ordered the fish and chips and thought that they tasted good! It was a cool atmosphere, good service and good food. Overall a good experience. read more

Went here a few times. Loved the atmosphere, even though some things are damaged and teared (such as the seats). The food is good for the most part, one or two things weren't so good, pricing I would say a little high. It's better to go on specific days that they have deals. read more

If it wasn't for a very friendly polite server, I would give this no star. The wings were not fresh tough and reheated. The calamari were skinny rings, few of them, and not crispy. Their desserts have gone downhill. They had the best carrot cake going. It's changed not dense, no walnuts in batter, icing not rich and creamy. The pastry on the apple pie was wet and crumbly not flaky. Definitely will not see me again! read more

I visited this location on June 28th with my family. We had just gone wedding dress shopping for myself, so we had family from out of town with us. I recommended Symposium because I always go to the one in Bolton and we have never had a bad experience. When we first arrived, our reservation was not set up - but we didn't mind waiting as we were all happy to converse in the lobby. When we sat down, the two male servers were friendly. They advised us of the half price owner's cellar bottles of wine. As we all enjoy wine, we ordered a bottle of red, and a bottle of white. The waiter returned to advise me that they did not have the Sauvignon Blanc (orig. $53) that was advertised (half price at $26.50), but they would sell me one of the regular Sauvignon Blancs (orig. $35) for $26.50. My dad pointed out that, in the spirit of good customer service, they should be giving me the substitute wine at half price as well, not just $10 off. The server went to check with the manager, and came back and said that if they sold me the substitute at half price, the restaurant would be "losing money". I then asked if I could order the Riesling that was on the owner's cellar list - they advised me they also did not have this wine. So 2 or the 3 white wines advertised at half price were not available. I then just agreed to take the substitute Sauvignon Blanc at the $10 off price. When our wine arrived, I was presented with my Sauvignon Blanc, and once I approved it, it was opened, and a tasting was poured for me. The red wine ordered, a Valpolicella, was not presented, but just opened and the pouring began. My aunt took a look at the bottle being poured, and informed the server that this was not the Valpolicella. The server insisted it was, and continued to pour out the wine. My father then took a closer look at the bottle, and pulled it up on the LCBO website. It was certainly not a bottle of Valpolicella, but a cheap Passimento Rosso bottle. This wine sells for $13 at the LCBO - yet it was being passed off as a $50+ bottle of Valpolicella. Now, I know that the mark up at a restaurant could be upwards of 50% of the cost, but selling a $13 bottle for $53 is absolutely outrageous! Before my father could say anything, the bottle was taken away, and he did not want to start another argument with the servers over wine. My aunt, a celiac, ordered the Pork Tenderloin, as it was advertised that it came with a demi-glaze. When it arrived, however, there was gravy all over everything. My aunt informed the server that her meal came wrong, and that she would be severely sick if she ate it. They asked her if she wanted to keep the plate, and eat around the gravy while a new meal was promptly remade. She agreed, but the new meal came over 20 minutes later, when everyone was done eating. The restaurant was not busy at all, and it certainly does not take 20 minutes to cook a meal. When it finally arrived, she asked for it to be packed up since we were all done, and she was full on potatoes and vegetables. Despite all of this, we were enjoying ourselves, and stayed for coffee and desserts. When the bill came, we asked for it to be split into 5 even cheques, so each couple could pay their own bill. The servers "forgot" to inform us that there was an auto gratuity on the bills, so most of us tipped on top of the auto gratuity. My aunts meal was not discounted for coming out wrong, and, even though we were a group of 10, I believe servers usually tell the guests when they have added an auto gratuity onto the bill. This was the last straw for us - I was completely embarrassed that I recommended this restaurant, and, although we enjoyed each others company, we had a horrible experience. The food was delicious, but the service was appalling. From wrong bottles of wine, to incorrect meals, to sneaky servers not telling us about the auto gratuity, we will never be back to this location. read more

Friendly staff good chicken wrap except it had bacon bits and I'm almost 100% sure that wasn't specified on the menu and I don't eat pork so that was a little disappointing..salad was delicious. Will go bak for sure to try out the other food maybe brunch.Also have a patio for warm weather which is hard to find in this area. read more

Went to Symposium for brunch this weekend for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised. Food was great. Service was fast and friendly. Will be going back soon. read more

The atmosphere in this restaurant is really nice. With incredible art on the walls. As well as I enjoyed the leather chairs, except the little discomfort that there is no armrest. Waiter took a while to show up. Food was good, ordered a Chicken Souvlaki, with salad, french fries, coleslaw, and sauce for around $20. The portion size is big, and will fill you up. Quality is good. The atmosphere of the place is classy, and relaxing, yet they played trance and club music. I would suggest classical music, or jazz. The service needs more attention, servers were bad. While choosing slice of cake for the dessert, I saw waiter grabbed some ones cake with bare hands, and put it on the dish. So I had to stay there and monitor my order. Other than service, the place is really good, and pricing is reasonable. read more

Me and my Fiance had heard a lot about this place and so we decided to give it a try. The decor and overall atmosphere of the cafe is more than we expected. Very different than most cafe's actually. The music is quite loud, so it's not necessarily good for a quiet or romantic date. It is however very uplifting and a nice change. The food on the other hand was horrible. We only ordered dessert and my fiance's cookie ice cream sandwich tasted like something cooked in the microwave! My cheesecake was ridiculously small and quite different than explained on the menu (the menu didn't have any visuals either, which I always see as a downside). I asked my server if I could exchange my dessert with something else and she was very hesitant even after I insisted it was stale (I've never had a problem else where). She asked me what I wanted without the menu and I decided for a icecream crepe off the top of my head. The crepe was just as horrible. It was ridiculously fried and the ice cream wasn't the greatest either. The brownies were literally covered in sugar and she didn't come back to check on us the whole night. We walked to the cash to pay. All in all, It's not somewhere I would recommend for dessert, but then again I am quite picky. read more

Went to this restaurant with my friends on Sunday to have a dinner. Atmosphere is nice there. I really loved the design of the interior. I can't say any good word about food and service though. All food was like it was thawed and re-froze or just cooked from frozen. We ordered mussels, burger, salmon with vegetables and ribs. The staff was good but not super friendly though. The service itself was terrible. First of all, we ordered two bottles of wine - red and white. The waiter opened the red wine and started filling all glasses not even trying to ask what kind of wine each person prefers. When we told him our opinion about the food he just disappeared. No offer for a coffee or dessert! A manager didn't come out to apologize for the food not being good. When we were about to leave and were buying dessert to take out with us, another waiter came to us and aggressively asked why we haven't left any tips?!!! He said that now the waiter who was serving us has to pay 3% of the dinner price to the cook? Why would I have to worry about their system of compensation? We left $20 and left absolutely frustrated. Considering there are so many other places, I opt to go elsewhere and stay away from Symposium! read more