HOTHOUSE — Restaurant in Toronto

Food: 1 Star Service: 2 Stars Ambience: 2 Stars Value: 1 Stars Overall: 1.5 Stars

HotHouse is a restaurant that markets itself as a casual and modern eatery that serves classic and contemporary dishes with a twist. It is located in the heart of the city, making it a popular choice for many diners. However, my dining experience there was far from satisfactory.

From the moment I walked in, I knew something was off. The ambiance of the restaurant was mediocre, and the decor was uninspired. Nonetheless, I decided to give it a chance and ordered the Korean Fried Cauliflower (14.00 CAD) as an appetizer. When it arrived, the portion size was disappointingly small, and the cauliflower was swimming in oil. Although the flavour was there, the oily texture overpowered the dish, making it difficult to enjoy.

Feeling somewhat disheartened, I decided to move on to my entree, the Puttanesca Pasta (29.00 CAD) and a Caesar Salad (9.00 CAD). The pasta was overcooked, and the sauce had a strange aftertaste. There was barely any seafood in the dish, making me feel like I was cheated of my money's worth. The Caesar Salad that came with the pasta was mediocre at best, and it seemed like it had been sitting on the plate for a while.

To complement my meal, I also ordered the BBQ Baby Back Ribs Full with Caesar Salad (30.00 CAD) as a side. When it arrived, I was immediately disappointed. The ribs tasted like they were a day old, and the sauce was overly sweet with no real depth of flavour. It was clear that the dish was not freshly prepared, and it seemed like it had been defrosted or microwaved before being served to us.

Aside from the lacklustre food, the restaurant was also understaffed, which was evident from the lack of service we received. Our server was friendly but lacked the necessary training to serve customers effectively. She got our order mixed up, and most of the time, we were left waiting for a long time, struggling to get her attention just to ask for another glass of water.

Despite our reservations about the restaurant, we decided to sit outside to enjoy the late-night air. Unfortunately, this came with its own set of problems as we were constantly bothered by bugs, which made it difficult to enjoy our meal.

All in all, I was extremely disappointed with my experience at HotHouse. The food was lacklustre, the service was poor, and the value for money was not worth it. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone, and I would rather have a Happy Meal at McDonald's over the dishes I was...

Dear Sir/Ma'am.

Let's start with the customer service. In my opinion, it has been very pleasant to have greeted with smile and character.

Though, I was far too early for my initial event. I kindly asked, if I can be placed at the bar instead of waiting area by the main entrance. As I have seated, one of the stuff hinted "you don't need to buy anything. I'm sure" As she and her hostess confirmed I'm on invited guest list. I do appreciate her empty and kindness as she give me cup of ice water. Though it's common courtesy to get a drink. Therefore I gotten myself coffee, as I don't wish to ruin my appetite.

As I sat there nervously thinking about life's events. An older gentleman named Sir A was having his meal right side of me. He and I talked about this and that. One conversation lead to another, he highly recommend the fish and chips on Friday's special. As our conversation carried on, I got a chance to notice the settle details of jazz music with the atmosphere themed design accordingly to the layout. It's cozy with classic modern and 1960s fine dining. It's a different from most bar/restaurant as it's not load nor overly boasting their brand.

As time goes by the minute, as I sat here reminiscing of my pass events, "how my father would take me out since I was a small lad each Sunday." It conforts me to know the staff here has been very patient, as well very informative of the menu items.

Regarding to the appetizer, main dish, dessert and a drink. It's quite filling in my opinion.

The vinaigrette salad has opened my appetite for more substantial protein and carbohydrate. The roasted chicken pair with mashed potatoes bring me joy as I ate my food.

Although it was a short visit. this place will make a great first date. As it's classy with welcoming vib. This place do recommend reservations for tables if asked/requested. I wanted a 2 seated spot, for my partner on a later date. Although I wasn't sure where it's the best table. One of the ma'am shown me, by tour me around, the best table by the window. I am truly grateful and astonished by the little details they do.

My overall experience have been very delightful. The clientele it's based targeted individuals with family gathering, business man/woman, couples, solo lunch or just out for a drink at the bar. It's a casual dinner with more classes spin.

Ps, there's a metro by the corner. I gotten myself small bouquet of fresh roses for my supervisor as an...

We were here for dinner after a concert at the Scotiabank arena. The food is a reasonable price and it's a 7 min walk away. The restaurant was decorated nicely for the holidays. We ordered mock tails (the Arnold palmer and the no alcohol rose) as well as the daily soup as an appetizer. The drinks were not overly sweet which was great and they were large for the price. The soup was flavourful with the slight taste of maple to round out the flavour.

The next set of food took over an hour to arrive! We watched another family walk out of the restaurant due to the extraordinary wait. Our server was very nice and apologetic. She offered us free bread during the long wait. The manager also noticed and went to the kitchen to check on our food. He popped out about 10 min later with two dishes and another five minutes for the other two dishes. In recompense for the slow food service they offered us dessert on the house. When we ordered two sticky toffee puddings they actually offered to comp us both desserts!

For the food, the cheese capaletti was good but not amazing. I had the warm mushroom on arugula salad with chicken. The chicken was generously large and cooked to perfection and paired fabulously with the salad. Everything that was supposed to be served hot was, which was a pleasant surprise. The sticky toffee pudding was good but not the best I've had in Toronto. It follows more of a cake consistency as opposed to the traditional way to make sticky toffee pudding in a round pan. It was topped with a mint leaf and blueberry as opposed to the classic whipped cream.

We asked the staff if someone called out sick and it turns out the restaurant had simply understaffed for the unique two shows in one day that Scotiabank arena was hosting that night and did not expect the restaurant to be so busy with the double sitting (pre and post concert attendees). Overall I have been here many times and I think this restaurant is really well organized. It ducks they didn't know about the Double header concert but the waitress really kept her cool and I applaud the manager for getting his hands dirty and helping staff out when the going got tough. They made a bad experience into something much more manageable. I will return here in the...