Deer Garden Signatures Toronto — Restaurant in Toronto

Used to come here all the time in 2021- early 2022, like at least once a week, and it was my favourite spot to eat at. Came back after the summer break to see that there has been new staff than the previous ones. Disappointed to see that their service has deteriorated tremendously since then; particularly the two older women. The price also increased significantly since last year, and it doesn't help that the service is much ruder now. During one visit, I asked one of the two women for some water, and as a regular customer, she knows I usually drink a lot of water. She proceeds to angrily place a full jug of water on the table while giving me a nasty look. One of the younger male waiters, towards the end of our meal, then whispers his apologies to my boyfriend and I. On the second visit, both women were the only ones on the clock, and we came close to the last call, but still a good 10 minutes before then, and the same older woman considered turning my friends and I (only 3 of us) away before finally giving a table. When giving our orders and giving us our drinks, her colleague (the other older woman) did so in a rude manner. When we paid during last call, I decided not to tip as I have had recurring experiences of both women being very rude during my visits and during this one as well, and was quite frustrated about it. One of them reacted by crumpling the receipt and throwing it on our table, and then slamming the bill tray on the cashier counter when she went back. Her colleague then confronted my boyfriend at the end of the meal and mentioned that the prices (which I will say, is very expensive now) doesn't include tip; to which he replied that their terrible attitude is why we did not tip – we usually tip during our visits, but not this time. I'm incredibly disappointed that my favourite restaurant has become this way, and I won't be coming back again after this incident. Great food but terrible service, hope this...

I’ve been a regular customer since this restaurant opened at its current location. I called to place my order in Mandarin, as I know the staff speak the language. During the call, I also confirmed there would be a 5% discount for paying in cash. If coins were not an acceptable form of payment, the staff could have clarified this at that time.

When I arrived to pick up my order around 7 PM on May 16, 2025, I paid $20 in coins (ten $1 coins, one $2 coin, and the rest in quarters), which I had carefully counted at home to assist the cashier. The staff member appeared visibly displeased, questioned why I had so many coins, and shook her head while counting them, a process that took less than a minute. She then asked me, in both Mandarin and English, “Did you come back from China recently?” and repeated the same question. I was shocked, as the question felt irrelevant and inappropriate. I replied in English: “I’ve paid here using notes before. I received change in coins, so I saved them and used them today. This has nothing to do with China.”

I found this interaction inappropriate and alienating. Although the staff member may be from Hong Kong, I believe such comments carry a discriminatory undertone, particularly in a restaurant that serves many Mandarin-speaking customers. I would also like to point out that Mandarin is spoken not only in China, but also by many people from countries like Malaysia and Singapore. Toronto is a diverse and inclusive city, and I hope the restaurant takes this feedback seriously to foster a respectful and welcoming environment for all guests, especially given that many of your customers speak Mandarin and may come from a variety of...

I’ve been going to Deer Garden for years in Richmond BC so I was happy when they opened up locations in Toronto. I’ve never had any issues in BC but this was my second time visiting the downtown location and it will be my last. I ordered a beef brisket and bean curd noodle and the beef was definitely not fresh - it was dry and tasteless. It didn’t taste off but I didn’t eat most of it because it wasn’t very good. Stuck to the bean curd and noodles. The broth was also not as flavorful as previous visits.

When I went to pay, I asked why my bill was $27 for a meal that was supposed to be $17.99+tax. The bill showed I was charged for both toppings when the set includes the two toppings. The woman cashing me out had to check with my server who then said she had entered double toppings (even though I had just ordered one of each, indicating my choice with a check mark). The cashier removed it from my bill since I didn’t actually order double toppings but I could tell my server was not happy, even though she made the mistake.

Later that night I started to feel unwell and ended up realizing I had food poisoning. What came out when I threw up? The beef. It’s been over 24h and I’m still recovering but I won’t be back because of the poor attitude from the servers (both visits) and the...