Platform Espresso Bar — Restaurant in Markham

As someone who works in the hospitality industry, I try to keep an open mind on new places I visit, but albeit with a biased view on standards of service. We came as a family for brunch on Sunday, June 2nd. We were promptly seated. The themed decor of the restaurant is attractive. The menu is quite limited, but that is not always a bad thing (it could mean they change it often.) However, out of our party of four, two of us were not able to get the items we wanted as they did not have it in stock. One was a grilled cheese, and the other was a waffle with red bean asuki and green tea ice cream. That was disappointing considering how early in the day it was and they were already unable to fulfill orders requiring not-too- complicated ingredients. The drip coffee and the cappuccino were both of high quality. The Cream of Earl Grey tea left much to be desired - it tasted of what any run-of-the-mill grocery store Earl Grey tea. The most off-putting part was the serving of the tea - the server simply placed down the mug. No sugar, lemon wedge, nor cream was offered. After the guest asked for cream, they brought over two milkettes along with a teaspoon. As the cup did not come with a saucer, there was no place for the teaspoon to go. The service could have been faster for the beverages, but there was only one barista. As we were waiting, I could not help but notice the clutter on the counter that also appears to be a work space. It did not scream out as being dirty, but I could not understand why the space is in such a state. The quality of the food met expectations - but it was nothing remarkable. The price in relation to the little quantity of food (as the quality has room for improvement) makes this cafe sub-par in relation to the numerous competitors in its vicinity. I would visit this location again, but...

Wow! I can't believe this cute coffee shop has been open for half a year now, but I never noticed it despite always driving along Highway 7. I actually just found this place on Yelp when I was searching a nearby "Coffee & Tea" spot.

We came on a weekday afternoon, the barista greeted us right away upon entering. She was super friendly! She asked if we wanted a lot private spot (near the back) but we preferred a more spacious area since we had our laptops with us and were planning to chill for a while. We sat near the front.

I was so hungry. My friend and I each ordered a food item + a drink (I mean I ordered 2 food items - not really shown well in the attached pics, but I saw their homemade cream of mushroom and ordered that along with my waffles) :P

What we ordered altogether: Cream of Mushroom: there were so many real mushrooms chopped within! I loved it Sunrise: super filling breakfast item. The yolk was spilling so nicely when I cut it open. My favourite part of this dish would be their potato curls (tasted kinda like Hickory Sticks except a bit thinner and I got them in SPICY so even better!!). The only thing was just that they were a bit difficult to eat with a fork and a bit more oily than Hickory Sticks. Western Sandwich: I didn't try this myself, but my friend liked it. The melted cheese looked so delicious when it came over. Matcha Latte Espresso

TIP: We talked with the barista and she mentioned that sometimes people find it difficult to find a parking spot in the plaza, which is true since Hibikki is right next door, and parking spots are limited. However, she told me that we can actually park on the small street beside the plaza (if you don't mind parallel parking on...

Firstly, I’m gonna start with the coffee. Maybe this was because I ordered a cappuccino post noon, but for a place with such a plethora of coffee options (specialty, bean etc) I was greatly disappointed. The espresso in the cappuccino lacked flavor and the drink presented to me was closer to steamed milk than a cappuccino. I think it would be better if they try to do one thing and do it right.

Now let me get to the food. I ordered a smoked salmon bagel with hashbrowns and an egg. The meal I was given would’ve been fine if the girl I was sleeping with during college woke up early and surprised me with breakfast comprised of the Costco groceries I had in my freezer but alas I had to pay for this and it wasn’t a surprise. The bagel was described as a Montreal style sesame bagel. What I got was a poppyseed bagel that must’ve been the third one in a Dempster’s grocery store bag. The sunny side up egg was undercooked, but not awful & the Philadelphia cream cheese was a fantastic accompaniment to the recently defrosted smoked salmon. Now had this breakfast been presented to me out of a gesture of kindness it would’ve been a home run, but as I swiped my credit card for almost $25 I couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss inside. I really wanted to like this place as the decor is very cute and the staff charming but evidently I will have to add it to the list of lackluster brunch spots in the Markham area. With Patisserie giants like Duo cafe a mere 10 minute drive away it’s sad that I was swayed by the reviews of this place.

As always, I really hope that this was a one time experience but it’s hard to picture any of the other items being better as they require a greater level of...