Roses Social — Restaurant in Toronto

This was the worst Winterlicious dining experience. Their reviews and pictures looked great but our experience was far from picture perfect and we will not return after this visit.

We had a reservation for Sunday at 11:30am. We arrived at 11:26am with no one to greet us at “receiving desk” and we stood there as staff went about their day without ever, not one person making eye contact with us or acknowledge us. 5 mins went by before I could get anyone’a attention and before I could say I have a reservation, I was told to “sit anywhere you like”. This made it feel like I walked into a diner, not a hotel resto. As we looked around for a free table we noticed many of the empty tables still had dirty dishes and cups so our options were limited. We did manage to find a table but it took us to flag down someone for a menu. The server brought out their regular menu and I had to ask for the Winterlicious one (note- I made a mention of this in my open table reservation so if they had checked in me through that when we arrived, they would have seen this). We placed our orders at 11:45am. Since we sat down, a larger group got seated next to us. They got their plates served before even water came to our table…. At 12:15pm I flagged down our server for an update. Within minutes our starter salads arrived. My kale Caesar was beautifully presented with a generous portions of smoked bacon as described in the menu. The only problem was that there was way too much dressing mixed in and it was extremely salty. After 2 bites I had to ask them to remake the salad. 28 mins later they brought me my salad but no dressing on the side as I asked and no bacon…. Before I could even tell the server she hurried away. I flagged the server and she brought me a small dish with dressing and bacon (cut up regular bacon) on the side. She again hurried away so I had to flag her down again. Another 8 mins go by and finally I was served a plate of rubbery pieces of fat that looked like it was trimmed off some other dish… there was no meat on these things and I had to flag down a floor manager to express my concerns with how things had gone down just with my starter. Not to mention they didn’t prepare my eggs as I had requested. Food aside from bacon tasted fine. But it was mind boggling how they kept brining out different types of “bacon” each time? Mistakes happen but it’s as though the kitchen didn’t know or want to correct the issue by serving what’s supposed to be in their kale Caesar salad. The manager was apologetic and empathetic. He listened to my frustrations well and did rectify the situation and did comp my meal.

Their prix fixe lunch was priced at $41. I’ll say that my friend didn’t encounter any issues with her order/food and did thoroughly enjoy her meal.

We left the resto at 1:32pm. The whole ordeal lasted 2hrs and we even asked for our desserts to be packed up to go because service was really slow.

Overall unpleasant experience with service, food (bacon issue) and parking. Not worth the trouble.

Tip- when they “validate” your parking ticket they hand write down the time you go in (valet person did this in the garage) and the restaurant write your out time by hand. When we were leaving the garage the valet person asked to see our receipt from the restaurant (which my friend did not take with her). We asked if this person can call up Roses to confirm and she said no. She expected us to go up to the restaurant and retrieve the receipt when this was not clearly communicated to us when we arrived. There was no event happening in early Feb around the area. She saw us 2hrs prior and Roses manager validated our ticket but that wasn’t enough. My friend ended up pulling up her pending transaction on her baking app to prove to the valet attending we...

Went to the restaurant for brunch with a couple friends and the whole experience was disappointing. First with the lack of any attention from staff at the entry so we had to approach the staff in the middle of restaurant to ask to be seated - mind you, the restaurant was practically empty. Then the servers took forever to come and even offer us water or even speak to us. We ordered the avocado toast, proper breakfast and Southern Benny with green tea. The food took awhile to arrive and the tea never did. The avocado toast was small and the bread was so dry and stale that we requested for a steak knife - it did not help at all. The southern Benny did not have hollandaise sauce and the kale tasted wrong. The potatoes tasted old and acidic. I took a bite and proceeded to remove the kale and try it again. That was a mistake as i slowly started to feel unwell. The kale and the eggs couldn't not stay down. I had to flag them for tea in hopes of washing it down but it didn't help. I continued to eat the potatoes only and suddenly had the urge to vomit. I rushed to the bathroom and spent 30min there. Ended up on the bathroom floor as i was so weak and unwell. Managed to return to the table to only find out that no one has come by to see if we need anything or give us the bill. We finally got the bill after a very long wait and when i notified staff of the issue with my dish and that they should notify the chef to make sure that no one ends up in my position, the server said ok and proceeded with payments. We left to go to the lobby and wait for our Uber. Another wave of nausea came over me and i had emptied my stomach finding instant relief once i got the dish out of my system. Extremely...

It was my first time at the Roses Social when we went there for the Cinco de Mayo brunch event. It was already a full house when we arrived and there was a queue of guests waiting to be seated. The atmosphere was very lively while a Mariachi band was playing.

We started our fiesta with their curated cocktails made with luxury tequila—Don Julio 1942. We had Roses Paloma and Flower Child which were both refreshing and had the right kick in lieu of the festivities. For the food, we went straight for the mains and then shared a dessert which was good for two people.

MAINS

LOBSTER and SHRIMP ROLL It was such a flavour heaven but not overpowering thanks to the Chipotle aioli. There was a generous amount of lobster in the sandwich and the bread that was used was delicious in its own right.

PANCAKES SUPREME The pancakes were light, fluffy, and perfectly tangy, with the ricotta adding a creamy richness that balanced beautifully with the citrus. The berry compote added a burst of sweetness and tartness that complemented each bite, while the Chantilly cream melted delicately into the stack. A sprinkle of granola on top brought the perfect crunch, making each mouthful a delightful mix of textures and flavors.

STEAK and EGGS The perfectly cooked golden yolks added a creamy contrast to the savoury steak done the best way possible: Medium rare. Together, the combination is simple yet deeply satisfying.

DESSERT

CAST IRON COOKIE It's a fusion of warm chocolate chip brownie and salted caramel, perfectly balanced by a scoop of creamy vegan vanilla ice cream. Each bite delivers a rich variation of textures and flavors that’s both indulgent...