The Famous Owl of Minerva — Restaurant in Toronto

I chose to dine in at this restaurant because I had previously ordered delivery several times and the food was consistently delicious (though, unfortunately, the last time they forgot to include rice with the hot stone soup). The in-person dining experience did not disappoint either. One notable difference is that you receive double the amount of side dishes compared to ordering online.

However, the service I experienced was the worst I've encountered in Toronto. Upon entering around 12:30 PM, I noticed a table with leftover rice and dirty plates that had not been cleaned, despite the restaurant not being busy. After 30 minutes, all three staff members emerged from the back and began eating at a table near mine. At one point, I choked on a spice, and although the server noticed, she did not offer any assistance and continued eating and chatting loudly with her colleagues.

When I requested the bill from another staff member, I felt as though he looked at me unpleasantly and then loudly instructed the server in Korean to bring me the bill.

To my surprise, they informed me that they do not accept credit cards, which I believe should have been communicated prior to ordering. I chose not to leave a tip, which is unusual for me, but I felt the service did not warrant it.

Before leaving, the server approached me and mentioned that the bill did not include a tip. Feeling guilty, I asked if I could add a tip using my card, but she declined, saying it required her input. I only had $5 in cash, and when I offered it, she immediately accepted without hesitation. This exchange left me feeling uncomfortable since I do not think their service worth a tip that worth 25% of the bill, and I decided not to tip at all.

The server became angry, stating that tipping is customary in Canada. I explained that while I understand, it is not mandatory. She then suggested I should go home and cook for myself if I couldn't afford to tip. I reiterated that I had paid for the meal and left.

Reflecting on the experience, I regret not leaving even a small tip and acknowledge that I should have handled the situation differently. Despite the excellent food, I will not be returning to this restaurant due to the anxiety caused by...

I’ve been going here once every few months when we visit my grandma (we rotate between different restaurants in Chinatown) so management or something MUST have changed because I am so disgusted by what happened this most recent time. We were a family of 6 with an elderly grandma who does not eat outside food and 2 kids so we only ordered 4 dishes to share, and they only provided one set of side dishes to start which is normal.

Then once they bring out the food they decided to say that since it was not busy and it’s a weekend they would be charging $3/ head extra as apparently you need to order 1 dish per person even though we were only sharing ONE set of side dishes. This was a complete surprise to us as we have been coming here for years on and off and were never told this previously. Also even if it was a policy, this is something I’d expect to be told as we gave our orders and not after the food arrived when we could no longer just leave.

After this my elderly grandma walked out as she felt bad and my dad followed, and then the waitress had the nerve to say “oh since you only have 4 people now it’s not a problem anymore”. I had to ask the waitress multiple times to check with management or whoever else to allow them back in to sit with us because there were no chairs anywhere else!!

By that point the whole mood was soured, and I just couldn’t believe this was the quality of service my family received from such a highly rated franchise. Definitely the worst location I’ve ever been to, so think twice before...

I have been to this branch before and my stay has been good, staffs were welcoming and kind to the point that I invited my friend to try it out yesterday and to my disappointment one of your staffs were rude and unwelcoming! We were five who dined in and we decided to order 3 Regular Kamjatang sets and 2 extra rice. We have been ordering this way ever since and there was no problem about it, but your server yesterday said that it was not allowed and she will not cater our requests for refill. She only served us with 1 set of side dishes instead of 3 since we ordered 3 kamjatang sets.

Another complain that really made me angry is when we were paying she automatically added $9.86 worth of tips without asking or informing me!

We dined in yesterday January 1, 2023 at 6:15pm.

The server was an aged woman wearing the staff uniform not the one wearing white longsleeves. Other staffs were nice and welcoming. But its really disappointing that we had to experience this especially...