The Rooftop — Restaurant in Toronto

I had the misfortune of dining at The Civic last night. What's worse is that I booked the reservation for myself, family and friends over a week and a half ago for my birthday thinking it would be a special night out. There was nothing special about the lack service and lack of care paid to our table.

After the first round of drinks we were practically ignored as were many of the other tables around us. It was clear after nearly forty five minutes of waiting for our meals that something was wrong. Unbeknownst to us there was a wedding happening on the top floor which I didn’t find out about until after we left. Why The Broadview Hotel would keep its restaurant open during such an event is beyond me and can be nothing short of greed. Only aware that there was some sort of private event occurring, I asked the manager if there was something going on in the kitchen and if it had anything to do with the event upstairs. He dismissed my concerns and assured me that they paid attention to all their guests.

When our meals did finally arrive, after nearly an hour, only two of our guests were served. Their meals, the $36 spinach cavatelli, were hot but I’m told were average to the taste. I ordered the ribeye which at $42 showed up with only two small mildly warm slices, a rectangular slice of bread pudding and some burned rapini. The last of the three meals were the $30 duck which arrived cold, the $34 lamb which was on the verge of turning by the smell of it and the $36 Atlantic salmon. Surprisingly the salmon received no complaints. The duck, however, was sent back to be reheated and the lamb was removed only to be replaced by some scallops which were only lightly seared leaving them cold and, frankly after the lamb, nervously unwanted. The duck, it should be mentioned, did return after a short stay in the microwave which, at $30, was nothing short of insulting.

By the time our meals were done we had to ask for another round of drinks when, suddenly, some desert plates arrived. Asking the waitress what these were for, she reported that the kitchen was making something special for my birthday. After the plates went down it was almost another twenty minutes before this special desert arrived. Two separate plates of assorted gluten free deserts randomly placed on the table. I’m guessing we were supposed to serve ourselves with our individual forks?

At this point, I was done. It was clear from the beginning that something was going on in the kitchen, that they were behind and that many of the tables around us were not being tended to. I deeply regret not going somewhere else but it was my birthday and I hoped that things would get back on track to which they never did. When I called the waitress over I asked for the manager. I was then informed that he wasn’t even on the floor. I informed her that I was not pleased, very angry and that I did not want to be angry with her because she didn’t deserve it. The Civic had let her down as much as they had let us down and I was greatly embarrassed in front of my guests.

When the manager eventually showed up after another fifteen minutes, I informed him that whatever opportunity there was to grant me and my guests a decent evening had been ruined. I wasn’t sure how he felt, and said as much, but informed him that under no circumstances were any of us going to pay for anything. He didn’t apologize but rather agreed and that I deserved a happy birthday. Too little, too late. We got up and left.

The Civic and The Broadview Hotel have permanently lost my patronage and I will not be recommending this...

They do NOT take allergies seriously or care to accommodate them. My friends and I went to the rooftop bar at the broadview hotel yesterday. I called ahead, disclosed the severity of my allergies, which ones they were, and asked if they could accommodate.

It was hard to even get someone on the phone and when I did the person was very short with me but was very "of course we can" and when I asked if there were multiple options or just a plain salad the person responded with a tone that I was wasting her time and said they had multiple options.

We arrive yesterday and the rooftop menu (which is very limited) only had 2 options that indicated they were gluten free. However when I asked if either if then went in a fryer with other items, the waiter was like "of course yes". To which I responded then its not gluten free, I'll get sick if I eat that.

So I asked if there was any other items they could amend to accommodate so I could eat with my friends, and he came back and told me 2 other menu items that did not indictate gluten free were in fact gluten free, but when I asked questions about ingredients in them that can commonly have gluten in them, the waiter's blanket statement was like I'm just telling you what the cook said.

My friend also suggested that since they have a restaurant in the lobby too that maybe we could order me something from it that is gluten free so I could eat with my friends and the waiter wouldn't even ask his manager if that was a possibility.

All the way around we were trying to find solutions and the staff there were not.

In my experience, if a restaurant goes to the effort of labeling anything gluten free it is the only things that MIGHT be gluten free. Even then, as with this example, if they don't take the allergy seriously, you still have to ask questions.

The only reason this got 1 star is I couldn't give it zero and the ambiance is cute.

Obviously I would NOT go back.

Their customer service was terrible, their management of allergies could have made me severely sick and they didn't care or take any ownership of finding a solution.

I ended up sitting there drinking water when we had prepared in advance and searched for a gluten free place.

Also, my friends who did eat said they wouldn't eat there again, even without having allergies as the food they did order was subpar.

I have been there another time just for a drink at night in the summer, and it was cute if you're not hungry and only...

I am writing this feedback, so the general public can brace themselves with the employee who severely lacks customer service skills and is clearly employed in the wrong industry. I went the rooftop on a Friday (July 9th to be exact), with three of my friends at exactly 10:45pm; we had reservations.

The only complaint which almost ruined the start of our night, is the male who greeted us at the main entrance. We didn't catch his name but he was an Asian male, who was extremely unwelcoming and yelled at the patrons like a drill sergeant, demanding my full name; there was nothing polite or calm about his greeting at all. His attitude was extremely unnecessary and he also had the same demeanor to the patrons behind us. His behaviour honestly caught us off guard; we were somewhat shocked, mildly disgusted and were close to walking out at the same time.

I'm certain this could be a rare problem, but this employee's attitude is very disappointing. I'd truly appreciate it if he receives this feedback for his own benefit. I trust that you will speak to him regarding polite customer service. If his interactions with the public are consistent to the behaviour we witnessed that night, he will continue to reflect his irritable and hasty behaviour with the patrons who visit your establishment. As for the other half of our friends with us that night - it was there first visit there; so it was extremely disheartening to have their first interaction there off to a poor start. Prior to his interactions with us, we have not said or done anything to this employee for him to treat us with these poor mannerisms. I also noticed someone else write a recent review complaining about his mannerisms on the phone. I'm sure they're also addressing him, since he was quite rude to us on the phone as well, when we called with an inquiry. Perhaps he requires further training, otherwise, hospitality isn't the industry for him.

On a better note, the young Asian server who provided us with our drinks was excellent, kind and patient. Her customer service was impeccable including the Caucasian lady who greeted us as soon as we got to the rooftop. Please let them know to keep up the excellent customer service (it doesn't go unnoticed), as they both made up for his...