Alice Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Toronto

Some restaurants should not participate in Summerlicious and Alice is one of them. Their kitchen couldn’t handle the volume creating a chaotic night for everyone involved… including the guests. If you’ve seen The Bear, the kitchen was probably working through the ticketing system episode as order after order was given to them.

To their credit, the front of the house did their best to maintain service, at the beginning. Our drink orders were arriving at a good clip, which can be dangerous when food isn’t coming out. But even they started struggling as the evening progressed. I remember at least five instances when the sound of breaking glass pierced the conversation and caused everyone to quiet down in reaction.

It’s a shame as Alice’s food was decent and for only $45 their Summerlicious menu provided good portion sizes as well.

Their Caesar salad was a little healthy tasting, the leaves barely dressed in a light citrusy sauce. While it’s not inedible, it tasted like something a student would make, complete with under seasoned croutons and tasteless shredded cheese.

My friend’s beet salad was better incorporating a tangy dressing, pistachios, and arugula. It was a hearty and fresh salad that at least had flavour. Sadly, the staff just aren’t aware of how dishes are prepared: when we asked how the beets were cooked, they thought it was roasted, only to later state it’s really boiled. Boiled beets taste fine by the way.

Of all the dishes, the steak frites was the best. The meat was cooked to the requested medium rare and tender. It just screamed for more seasoning, which the chimichurri tried to help with but was too oily and diluted. Conversely, the fries were perfectly salted and arrives as a huge Swiss Chalet portion.

Even though their menu offers three desserts the options weren’t varied: cheesecake, chocolate molten cake, and chocolate cheesecake. Good luck if you’re not into cheese or chocolate. But as we ordered only the two chocolate options remained, which is how I ended up with the chocolate cheesecake. A way-to-sweet frozen tasting variety that had me wishing a scoop of vanilla ice cream was an option.

Ultimately, their food wasn’t great but at least passable. Still, it took Alice almost three hours to serve the run-of-the-mill dishes. Painfully slow dinner aside, things were just chaotic:

Our mains start arriving and it wasn’t until I pointed out we hadn’t received our starters that they realize they were serving the food to the wrong table and had to go back in for the appetizers.

The appetizers then start arriving over the course of 10 to 15 minutes - first the salmon tartare, then Caesar, then beet. Only for the runner to realize they gave away one of the salmon tartare to another table and we had to wait for them to make the last one.

By the time it came to the mains, we realize we had to throw politeness out the window and just eat as we were served. They took equally long arriving two at a time. Even then, one was missing the chimichurri, and another came with the wrong side.

After how long it took the food to arrive, they really didn’t give us much time to eat the last two courses. The mains were being cleared despite there still be tons of fries on the plate… my apologies for taking a three-minute break to look up something for a friend. And I don’t think any of us had finished our dessert before they asked if they could start clearing. But then, we didn’t care and just let them - after almost three hours, everyone was done with the meal. Once last broken glass and the was...

Viewers of my pages know I put honesty above everything else when it comes to factual representations about my dining experiences. This wonderful find on College St in Toronto was, without a doubt, one of those moments where I truly found several hidden gems in this cozy establishment. Please allow me the opportunity to set the scene . . .

I flew out to Toronto from Seattle (on a whim, no less) to attend an Authentic Flamenco performance from the Madrid Opera artists at the Royal Theatre, which is located in the Little Italy neighborhood of Toronto on College Street. After a fantastic show, I knew that I wanted to browse the neighborhood before heading back to the Residence Inn (please see that review, and the following review of the Sheraton City Centre location, from my vast collection of Marriott portfolio property reviews). I found this beautifully interesting restaurant and bar on a reservation website just the evening before, and I was excited that they actually took late night reservations on a Thursday. Huzzah!

When I arrived a little before 11pm, there was only a single two-top that was occupied, and they were about to settle up with their bill. In other words, I was going to have this warm and inviting place practically to myself as the sole customer. After a very warm greeting from the bartender, who was also the server, I chose to sit at a small table facing the large window that looked out onto College St (for some fantastic people watching). However, the service received kept my attention the entire visit, which lasted almost two hours. After ordering a tasty N/A cerveza, we chatted about the industry and the fact I spent almost 20 years in the front-of-house. My server and I laughed at shared stories, talked about their menu, and how they've only been open for one year.

I took her advice and ordered the Rigatoni alla Vodka with the addition of burrata - the best choice a mon avis! However, I was going to wait until the end and order the meal to-go. I casually sipped the alcohol-free beer while the server and I talked about all-things-Toronto/Canada, the history of this restaurant/bar, the clientele, other great dishes and drinks that they prepare, etc, etc, ad infinitum. Needless to say, I was completely entranced and captivated by such hospitable service to the point that I felt more like a member of their family than just a guest passing through. The attention to detail of service, coupled with the soft ambiance and the fantastic decor, really set my mind at ease after a long day of travel.

Eventually, I loved this outing so much that I went back the second night just to have a couple of post-dinner drinks. My favorite server was there once again, there were more tables with guests enjoying their Friday night, and a DJ was softly spinning some fantastic music that matched the mood perfectly (without unnecessary volume levels that would encourage one to shout instead of talk).

Bottom line - if you are looking for a unique experience with unbelievably wonderful service, excellent food, and inventive cocktail offerings, then this is your place. I cannot wait until I return once again on my next trip to Toronto, Ontario. Please tell them David sent you! Cheers!!

P.S. Anastasia is an absolute diamond. She is the epitome of what a bartender/server/storyteller should be without being over the top. Additionally, she is a true credit to her profession, and to the ownership of this fine...

Decided to go to this spot for a Canada Day early dinner with family. I had high expectations given the glowing reviews. We were seated in the back patio(which was lovely) but service is almost non-existent. Once we were seated we were provided with menus, the server was quick to ask us if we preferred tap, sparkling, or bottled which we promptly responded to given the high heat/humidity of the day. She appears 10-15 minutes later to take our food order- however still no water. She proceeded to serve other tables, take their orders, give them their drinks. At the 30 minute mark, our table was still without our water and tables that had been seated after us already had their drinks in tow (and some were already enjoying their appetizers!). Regrettably in frustration, I had to shout across the room to get her attention(as it seemed to be the ONLY way to get her attention despite our initial attempts to flag her down and find her when she disappeared back into the restaurant) and asked her to bring us water which she had asked us for almost half an hour ago. Once it arrived, our table finished both bottles she had brought to our table in a matter of seconds, and she disappeared (AGAIN) for another 10-15 minutes. In our parties frustration and due to the heat, members of the table had LEFT THE RESTAURANT WALKED TO THEIR CARS, AND GOT THEIR OWN BOTTLES OF WATER!!! The server was apologetic once we had raised the issue and offered us a glass(es) of prosecco (when we had called to make our initial reservations, we were told these glasses of prosecco were in celebration of Canada Day, but she was quick to use it as a way to remediate the issue). Overall the lack of attention to detail, slow/non-existent customer service soured our dining experience there which was meant to have been spent enjoying time with family rather than having to fend for ourselves on a hot humid summer day. The food(once it arrived almost an hour later) was great, and the portions were generous- even despite this, I would not recommend this spot until management can resolve their service-related issues.

UPDATE

Out of full transparency I wanted to also socialize I was made aware that the server in question was let go. My intention for leaving this review was NOT to single out a specific server, especially if the lack of attentiveness and service-related issues was due to a lack of resources and staffing. I hope the owner of this establishment/restaurant can make meaningful changes to staffing and resourcing requirements- especially on busier...