Lazy Tulip Cafe — Restaurant in Barrie

I do not take a 1 star review lightly, as I am also a business owner in town. I had a very sad experience here today with my kids. I brought my two small children (age 2 & 4) in for a cold drink and a little treat. We live within walking distance and we were out for a little adventure after the library! First off their automatic door opener was broken and I had to navigate a 2 child stroller in. No one came to help me, except for another patron. We then came to the front and ordered a few drinks and a snack and sat down. I asked where they wanted me to put my stroller (trying to be mindful it is a large object in a smaller space), the staff seemingly annoyed at the question reluctantly helped me find a spot which was out of the traffic flow, and we sat at a table.

The entire experience was exceptionally uncomfortable for me. I felt like they did not want me and my children there and no one was friendly from beginning to end. Every question I asked was met with frustration on their end- even though I was trying to navigate a small space with a larger stroller. However, the one thing that has forced this review today occurred when my two little boys were happily sitting at the table waiting for their drinks (no yelling, no fussing or poor behaviour at all) they were playing with their fall placemats, which were laminated pumpkin looking place settings. They had them in their hands are were just wiggling them around. A staff member comes out of nowhere and physically pulls the placemats out of their hands- saying “these can’t get bent” and promptly removes every place setting from my table, including mine. She did not talk to me kindly or calmly, there was no explanation at all. She aggressively removed them from the hands of my two year old and four year olds hands. Who were NOT bending them. Absolutely appalling. I am a mother and I’m out spending money at this cafe and trying to give my kids a nice morning.

I refrained from making a scene because my children where present. In fact we cleared out dishes and my boys thanked everyone and we left.

So sad that I was treated like this. And my boys were treated like they were being destructive.

My opinion is that this cafe is NOT CHILD FRIENDLY, and I will not be returning. I would hazard anyone with a stroller or young children from coming as they are obviously not fans of serving children here. And the fact their automatic door opener is not working and the staff refused to help me get in through the door also makes me question whether or not they value all business or just that of patrons without accessibility issues. Let alone that this is probably a code violation. Super sad and disappointed with a local down town cafe. I hope the owner reads this and trains their staff...

The McLaren Art Centre is beautiful, great event space. I was at the centre for a market this weekend and wanted to fill up my water bottle but noticed there wasn't any place to do so, no water fountain or station to fill up. So I went to the bathroom, tap was hot water. I decided to ask the front desk, the people working there told me to maybe try the cafe "the lazy tulip." (Which is in the centre ) I have heard such great reviews about this place, the food etc. I ventured over, looked at the food board, thought I might order something to eat later. (While I still wanted to fill up my water bottle), I waited patiently, as it seemed it was busy and everyone was zooming around trying to care for the customers. I ended up leaving after 15 minutes (no one said a word to me, not a hello, or even I'll be with you …etc). I went back after again looking for cold water (again) - finally a women asked me "can I help you?" So I proceeded to explain "I am looking for some cold water" she looked at me frustrated and advised “I should check the bathroom”... so I politely explain that the water is hot and if they had tap water that was cold, if I could have some.. The women looked at me as if I was such a burden for asking and replied " ugh yes," grabbed my water bottle and put it in the sink, turned the tap on and walked away. I felt so embarrassed even asking for water... I had asked someone who worked there if she was the owner and they replied "yes." I have never been so mistreated at an establishment as I have today. I don't normally write bad reviews and this place seems to have many lovely reviews - working in customer service I would have never thought I'd be treated this way for asking for some "cold" water.. especially from the owner.. not impressed

**Update - I asked for tap water…..didn’t realize that was such an expense to the owner .. if you are mad about me not making a purchase with the “free” tap water, I probably would have if you didn’t have such an unpleasant attitude. I’ve worked in restaurants / hospitality, you lack a lot of customer service skills if that’s how you act when in high pressure /...

This one’s a tough decision to review because there is so much going for this place. Situated in the beautiful Maclaren Art Centre, the restaurant has a nice, airy positive vibe. We sat in the central patio and it’s a great overall ambiance mid day. We were there yesterday, visiting the downtown for brunch and some last minute fishing off the nearby rotary fishing platform before headed home to the GTA. We had the spent the last two days at the Vettä Spa and nearby Carriage Ridge Resort and enjoyed the great activities the area has to offer. We ordered two drip coffees, the Egg Sandwich and Frittata. The drip coffees were great (note: no refills). The food itself was tasty and presented well… except we found a beetle (live and kicking but slow) in the salad that came with the frittata. This was very close to the end of the meal, maybe with two or three bites left of the salad. Our waitress was superb, attentive and kind so weren’t sure if we should even bring it up, my wife didn’t want to make a fuss. However, when another staff member (not our waitress) came by to ask how things were, I showed her the insect. We were surprised that she wasn’t apologetic, but instead said these things happen and they sometimes come in the veggies for the salad(?). She offered a date square to make up for it, but didn’t comp the dish with the bug. Alas, I understand this is a small business and I’m sorry but it’s not acceptable- I eat salads in a lot of restaurants and never have I encountered a situation where a bug in the food now and then is considered par for the course. There is no “acceptable tolerance” for an insect in the dish for the customer (see it from the customers pov)- the restaurant either works on processes that send out bug free food or makes it right to the customer. What’s worse is reading through the reviews and noting that this once happened before to someone else and the meal was comped. Again, our server was great and the food tasted great, but an insect in your food is the universal case of turning a great meal experience into a...