Starving Artist — Restaurant in Toronto

This was the absolute worst restaurant experience I have ever had in my entire life. I was planning on getting the grilled cheese waffle but did not want something sweet. I asked the waitress if the waffle was going to be sweet and she said no. I did ask again as I said I would want to get something else since I’m not feeling like eating something sweet and she assured me that it we be to my liking. Eventually she came with the food and low and behold, it was sweet and honestly tasted quite terrible. This is not what I was expecting to eat and I was extremely disappointed. I spoke to our server (this time a boy came to the table) all I asked was if it would be possible to replace the food or get a refund. He later came with a fruit bowl which we thought was complimentary. Soon after we were very rudely greeted by who I can only assume was the manager. She was absolutely the most rude and aggressive person I have ever encountered. She told me that I should not have ordered something I knew I wouldn’t like and that no one ever would have done what I did. She said that she herself would’ve never ordered food that she thought would’ve tasted bad and even if she did she’d silently eat it and/or take it home. Honestly, I was appalled by her attitude. I didn’t even get a word in and she just constantly kept attacking me and saying if I wanted a refund so badly she was going to take it out of our servers pay and that we had to pay for the second fruit bowl that we didn’t even ask for. Eventually she came and made a big deal about cutting the price out. I ended up paying for it regardless since I didn’t want it coming out of the poor servers pay, especially since they have such a wretched boss to deal with. We ended up leaving quite a hefty tip too. I hope she’s learned her lesson from that but she was honestly one of the most infuriating people I’ve ever had the unfortunate fate of meeting. There’s absolutely no words to describe how vile and obscenely she had acted towards us. Would NEVER go...

“Starving Artists” is an established brand of waffles-centric restaurant with five outlets around Toronto. It is especially suitable for families and groups of friends as they offer a wide selection of savoury and sweet creations on their menu, including gluten-free/vegan options. My family and I had breakfast at the one located at Mount Pleasant this morning and enjoyed our meal. If you like omelettes, the “Hitchhiker” ($14) is a good choice. A signature of theirs, it is a hearty combo of two mini waffles, a cheese omelette and four pieces of bacon. The popular ”Waffle Benny” ($13) was my pick. It comprises of poached eggs and caramelised bacon stacked on mini waffles and smothered with hollandaise sauce. I swopped one of the waffles (it’s made with batter) for a potato waffle for $1 more. In case you are wondering, it tasted like mashed potato with a lightly crisped finish. I thought it tasted very good and paired deliciously with all the toppings. The “French Toast” ($13) is a delightful take on a classic with cinnamon raisin waffles dipped in egg wash and fried. A drizzle of maple syrup is really all you need to complement the yumminess. Every order of waffles at “Starving Artist” comes with fresh salad plus a side of either maple baked beans, potato salad or fruit salad. They are all really decent, so it just depends on what you are in...

First time going here after living in the hood for 8 years. Our go-to brunch spot has always been Hazel's. But we tried this place today. The food was good, but the plating was odd. I ordered the chocolate chip cookie waffles with fruit, and it randomly came with a vinegarette salad, which just felt very out of place, and got dressing in the whipped cream part of my waffles. The service was awkward and atrocious. Our server spilled a bunch of chocolate sauce on my legs and just stood there, totally shocked, before finally bringing me one extra napkin. Mid meal, unprovoked, she came back with a serving tray only to swat the wasps around us and on our table without actually saying anything. I finally told her the wasps are fine (there were only 2 or 3). Thinking in my mind her doing this is only going to make them angry. Then she came back again and told me there was something in my smoothie, a wasp, which I knew, but then proceeded to just stand there awkwardly, no offer to replace it. I finally said it's fine. I feel like she was just very new at life, let alone a serving job. But it was enough of a turn off, and the food wasn't good enough, for me to want to go back there....