Fox Cityplace — Restaurant in Toronto

I had a terrible experience due to awful service and a very socially uncomfortable space. I will not be going back to this location. This upsets me because this restaurant is always close to where I stay when I am in Toronto, and not to mention I’ve worked as a waitress at a Fox and the Fiddle and it is disappointing to see such terrible etiquette coming from a restaurant I once loved working at.

I attended (at least attempted) to attend this restaurant with a couple friends after a long working day. Let me be clear that before we attended the Fox and Fiddle we ONLY had ONE beer each. We were exhausted from being in meetings all day and because it is close to our stay we felt as though we would go around after our long day/night around 12-1 for only one beer since we were aware that they close at 2pm. When we arrived, a blonde waitress came running out of the bathroom with what seemed to be makeup under her eyes (either she was crying or doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing in the bathroom)… As soon as she ran out of the washroom with what seemed to be her friends, she approached us and asked us if we were here for a drink. We said yes, assuming that she was going to set us up at a table. She then proceeded to ask us if we had been drinking at all prior to attending her restaurant. We said yes, as we had only one drink prior to. She then proceeded to get mad at us and tell us that we are all intoxicated, and we are not allowed to be in there or be served. We laughed, as we thought she was joking (because you know, we were all sober apart from having one drink prior to attending)… We asked her to explain as to how she figured we were intoxicated seeing as we only had one drink and she proceeded to say “I am a manager here and I make the rules and I say that you are all intoxicated and I cannot serve you”. We didn’t want to cause any problems, therefore, we all decided to find another restaurant that would love to receive our money and tips. After leaving, we decided to send our one friend in… to see if she would serve him. Soon as he walked in, he was served immediately. Right after she kicked us all out (including him) because we were all “intoxicated”. It was very confusing… because we were all sober, and the fact that our friend got served? I’m not sure what was going on at the restaurant that night, but unless we were friends or people that they knew I believe we were not going to get served at all… no matter what night. I suggest that you don’t go to this restaurant and if you do perhaps call in advance if you are. It seems like they pick and choose who they want to serve.

I would have understood her claims if we were all drunk and were ACTUALLY intoxicated but we weren’t. We weren’t even close to being intoxicated. This was upsetting because we could clearly see that all of her friends were there drinking and intoxicated. We came to the conclusion that she simply did not want to serve us because it was 12pm and close to her closing… AND that her friends were all there and she did not want the responsibility of doing her job while her friends were there. Of course, we’re only assuming that they were her friends as she came out of the bathroom with half of them and then hung out by them during the time that we were there.

I don’t dislike the restaurant itself because it has good food, but it had disrespectful and judgmental staff that night. This is not to say that all their other staff is like this, but my experience was terrible and this saddens me because I enjoyed going there!!

On a good note, it was...

We had tickets to Jays game on a Sunday, so after walking up from Union station & bypassing the other options we looked up the menu online for Fox & Fiddle. Looked amazing with something for everyone, & I already had my ignite set on fish tacos lol We get there, just after noon , pop our heads into the restaurant and ask if its ok if we sit on the patio - just to make sure a server knew we were out there, and one replied “ sit where you want” in an unwelcoming tone. 10 mins go by and same server arrives, water and glasses ( no ice) in hand and two mini menus that say “ Brunch” , no other menu. The “ brunch” menu had only a few breakfast items, chicken wings, a veg and beef burger, chicken strips or a chicken wrap as options. Nothing else seen on their full menu online, not even from their brunch section of their online menu, which looked great too. We made the best of it & without complaint decided on a chicken wrap & burger. When the food came, the burger looked as though it had the appearance of a burger someone left out overnight in a takeout container, mushed bun, wilted lettuce & nothing else, no tomatoes, nothing fresh. The patty looked homemade which we thought was a plus until we cut in half and each bit into - it tasted rotten. Like bad!!! I couldn’t get the smell or taste out of my mouth and it was inedible . We shared the wrap, which was completely the opposite, fresh and crunchy and as it should be - which seriously made me wonder where this burger came from!! Like it was served after being reheated in the back or left out or something I don’t know. The only plus was when she came to clear our plates the server still with no smile or personality took the burger off our bill - basically because it was sitting in a pile on the plate and I said I wasn’t paying for it as it was inedible.

In retrospect, we should have gone into the stadium and ordered some overpriced cafeteria food at the Jays concession - this place is a HARD MISS if you are looking for a better alternative to stadium food. There was ZERO vibe, nothing was inviting and no idea why their “ Brunch Menu” is being served when they have such a nice menu online. If this restaurant doesn’t close in a year I’ll be shocked, and you can thank your staff who...

I have to admit, since the pandemic, I’ve reduced how often I go out to eat, and when I do, I choose a time and place less busy. Having a late lunch here at 2:30pm, I would have expected the service to be much better. Our server had 2 tables and didn’t seem to be interested in anything other than conversing with their fellow staff members who were clocked out and drinking at the bar. The entire atmosphere in the restaurant was as if we were interrupting employee happy hour with our patronage. I served for years , and I get it. The “over” between lunch and dinner shifts can be slow, and a time to have a more relaxed environment. But you are still seating guests, and it’s important to give them a pleasant experience by being attentive to their needs. It doesn’t Take much, just the insight to know when your table needs something. After getting my food, a quality check was done after I’d almost finished my meal. And when I was ready for the bill, it took forever for the server to finish the lengthy conversation she was now having with another staff member or manager at a table in the dining room, where the server was now casually drinking her large double/double from Tim Hortons. Once the server brought the payment machine over, and I was prompted to give a default tip of 18%, I wondered what for. Some servers treat guests as if their tip is the only salary they receive, while others like this one seemed entitled to maximum tip with minimum effort. Definitely underwhelming experience. This is meant to be constructive criticism, and I hope that management will take it to heart, that when a certain tip is expected, that the service...