The Riviera + Runaway Cafe — Restaurant in Toronto

Myself and a few friends were thirsty, we wanted a cold brew. Upon arriving at this location we were told that we must spend minimum $20 per person. I should mention that their hours indicated they were closing in about 20 minutes... we obliged. We ordered a drink each, 2 smash burgers, an order of tacos for my 3 friends and I was recommended a watermelon cucumber salad. The drinks arrived in about 15 minutes and the food took close to an hour to be served. The burgers were ok, the tacos, nothing special but still edible, however my salad was stale, like it was cut up and left unrefrigerated from morning or even the day before. After the fact that the server recommended that option as one of their more popular dishes needless to say I was a bit disappointed. We ordered another drink each to help wash down the ok food. (I should mention at this time the place was still buzzing at about 50% capacity but slowly receding in patron numbers) After the plates were cleared, and knowing they were closing up we sat there waiting for the bill for over half hour. When it finally arrived (us being the very last table seated on an empty patio at this point) we settled and decided that with good company and cold(ish) drinks you really can’t have it all. Considering my friends weren’t too displeased with their seemingly freshly made food I didn’t want to be that person who made a fuss about the freshness of the salad seeing how the place was busy when we got there and the few servers were trying to take care of everyones tables. The bill was a bit outrageous. 2 drinks and a meal came up to just over $50/each. I guess if I had no other option and absolutely had to get food/drink, I would return, but under no other circumstances. Considering we just wanted a cold drink this was a lesson we had to learn on how struggling local businesses had to put profits ahead of people to survive. This happened on Canada day. Pictured here is my stale salad. Thanks...

I come to Ward Island a lot throughout the summer to paddleboard which is only a minute away. The restaurant has been very kind in the past allowing non-guests to use their washrooms, I always try to return the favor by eating here. For 2020, the washrooms are restricted to guests - it makes sense given the Covid situation and the need for contact tracing. Please note there is also a minimum $20 per spend per person - I also think this is fair given the situation.

Came here on my birthday this weekend. Drinks were quite expensive - we got a pitcher of Sangria, so that didn’t help. We both ordered the burger - tasted good - nothing out of the ordinary though. One of us had fries and one of us had salad - also quite ordinary. Happy to have food though as the Island Cafe is closed leaving this as your only option on Ward Island.

The tacos were $15 for 3 - these were REALLY disappointing and would definitely not recommend anyone order these.

Another disappointing situation was lining up. I was the only person in line and the hostess had gotten right up when I went to line up - I’m sure she had to attend to something else first. In her absence, the couple (Alyssa and friend) were at the bar in the front and HAD NOT left their name on the waiting list, they chose not to line up and proceeded to put their name down first when another employee returned to put our names down. I disputed this but nothing was done. For this I have to remove one star, given that they are the only restaurant on Ward Island right now and in high demand, I expect them to have better management of their wait list.

Dropped down to one star on August 1... very rude and unwelcoming person manning the takeout bar, yup me and my friend turned...

The original Rectory Café was great. This new restaurant posing under the same name but under new management is not. The portions for many of the dishes are tiny and everything is an extra charge. Guacamole as an addition to nachos is 5 bucks, want sour cream 3 bucks! Just to give you an idea. I upgraded to a watermelon cucumber salad for 3 dollars as a sub for the included potato chips as a side with the main and there were maybe 5 tiny cubes of watermelon. The size of the dishes ranges from generous (the burger or nachos) to extra tiny (poke bowl) with no easy way to tell. If the poke bowl is going to be that small put it under the appetizer portion of the menu or increase the price, make it larger and keep it under the "bowls" part of the menu. The patio is beautiful but for some reason they have put a TV out there. I heard 2 other couples as they were being seated say they wanted to face away from the TV, we felt the same but if you come as a larger group someone will have to face it. The whole point of this place is the natural, peaceful area bordering the lake as an escape from the city, why ruin that with a TV. They just don't seem to care. They have two single person bathrooms, one didn't lock! (Lock was jammed), the other didn't have a toilet that flushed (there was a sign saying "don't flush too hard" except even when trying to flush as light as possible it still would not work - gross). Instead of putting a sign up why not fix the toilet? Just shows they don't care. Also the tap water is served in disposable plastic cups, clearly not a care about the environment, or ambiance for that matter. Our server was good but the management clearly could not care less based on our experience. Avoid this...