Canadiana Grill By The Lake — Restaurant in Toronto

Refused to let me use the washroom while I waited for my Mother and Brother to arrive on Mother's Day. Today (Mother's Day) I traveled 2 plus hours by TTC to meet my 90-year-old Mother and Brother for lunch. I travel down on special occasions. Easter, Birthdays, Thanksgiving, and today Mother's Day. The restaurant is Mother's choice because it is a quick drive from her seniors residence. Today I got off the bus, went inside, looked around, and saw that they had not arrived. The last time I was there on Easter I did the exact same thing, I looked around the restaurant and then told the male host I was waiting for my family. Both times I spoke to the host just inside the entrance, where people line up to be seated. I then said I just got off the bus and needed to use the washroom before being seated. On Easter, there was zero issue. I used the washroom then went outside to wait. When my family arrived we were seated and had a good meal. TODAY when I said I was waiting for my family and attempted to use the washoom the male host put the palm of his hand an inch from my face and said NO, paying customers only. I attempted to tell him I was waiting for my family and he said NO. We do not allow homeless people to use the washrooms. My jaw dropped. I am a middle-aged Canadian woman. I am clean and presentable and in no way could I be mistaken for someone homeless. I was literally carrying a Mother's Day gift bag for my Mom. I said fine then we will go to another restaurant and he said OK.

I still had to wait for my family to arrive so I stepped outside and waited. I was embarrassed and angry. I stepped back inside and asked the host if he was the owner or the manager and he said no. I asked him what gave him the right to speak to me that way. To assume I was homeless. I was angry, humiliated, and unfortunately loud.

I went back outside and waited for my brother to arrive with my Mother. This idiotic male host came outside to tell me that I had embarrassed him. He said that they have a lot of homeless people just coming in to use the washroom. I looked at him and asked him if I looked homeless to him. I repeated this. He looked at me and told me it was my fault. That I should have waited to be seated first and then used the washroom. At this point, I told him his customer service skills were terrible. He just smirked at me. Not going to lie at this point I called him an AH.

My poor 90-year-old Mother arrived at that point. She cannot walk properly and needs assistance ( this is why I wait outside for her) It is a struggle for her to get out and this small trip was something she was looking forward to. We had to help her back to the car which was half a block away. Then we had to drive around until we found another family restaurant.

Our Mother's Day was completely ruined by the idiot. The happy mood we had looking forward to our Mothers day lunch was gone. And for what? Because a middle-aged woman needed to use the restroom while she waited for her 90-year-old Mother to arrive for lunch.

We found another place to eat. It was packed and we had to wait for a table. While we waited I used the rest room with no issue at...

Since our usual breakfast place closed down my friend and I were looking for somewhere to have breakfast. Well I think we found the place! This was our first time here and I'm telling you it is deceiving from the outside. First off it looks really small from outside but when you enter, it's pretty spacious! I think our server's name was Julia and she was AmaAzing! She was so kind and friendly and very attentive to our requests and needs. I would go there weekly if I know she would be serving us she was great! The food was really good and the price was reasonable for the large portion of food you get! We were so upset when our regular place Dundas Street Grill was shut down due to new condos taking over but we are so happy that we found a place we can call our new home! We had the big breakfast I think which comes with 3 eggs, bacon (or sausage) a side, your choice of toast and french toast. We also ordered a side of back bacon. My friend and I shared the french toast and the back bacon and I got bacon and she got sausages and we shared those as well. The food was cooked perfectly. Everywhere we go they never get the eggs right and well, here they did! If you are ever in the area, don't miss out on this hidden gem! Ask for Julia, you won't regret it! P.S. My review asks for a price we paid and I can't answer that since my friend treated me and she also picked up breakfast for her daughter so although I'm guessing in the higher range that's only because of the extras we ordered and her...

Super disappointed by our 2 most recent visit as this place has been a regular haunt of ours for years (we consistently come 2-3x/month + takeout for lunch). The menus have changed and prices have increased steeply (+$2-3/dish on breakfast & sandwiches). In the past servers were quick to greet a table & bring drinks, this time we were seated but then had to wave a server over after 10 minutes to order coffee, which proceeded to take a surprising amount of time to arrive considering it was for mugs of drip coffee - the staff seemed more intent on rolling cutlery and chatting than attending to guests. Once the food arrived we found the fries to be super overcooked, and while the bennies were good, the salad portion was meagre and underdressed (also when did they start upcharging $3 for a sub salad?!). My partner’s club sandwich somehow was missing the crust from two of the four portions and the tomato ended up skewered on the outside of the three layers of bread (!?) - we are still confused how that could happen, but it was just so sloppy we were stunned. This happened to be a day when we brought guests in from out of town and we didn’t want to kick up a fuss. Additionally we ordered breakfast a few days prior and while the blt was good, the pancakes were stodgy and felt undercooked in the middle. Based on proximity alone we will come back to see if our experience was a blip but there was an “under new management” vibe that may send us elsewhere...