Valens Restaurant Inc — Restaurant in Toronto

I'm leaving my original review and editing to add my recent experience. I've been mulling over how best to address this issue with one of my favourite restaurants close to my home, that I have been a frequent patron of for many years and after calling and not getting a very receptive response to broaching the subject have decided to update my review. I went not long ago on a Sunday evening. We arrived around 8:30pm, and were told that they were closing at 9:15 (so I thought ok kitchen closes at 9:15.) I thought they were open later (hours posted here on the listing say 10pm) but an hour to eat isn't too bad. So we ordered our prix fixe, bread and individually packaged butter was served with the appetizer and the food was prompt as usual. My friend did not finish her main dish and asked for a box to pack it up. The server was removing items from the table and my friend asked about the bread and butter "are you just going to throw that out" when the server responded yes my friend very politely motioned for the server to not take it away as it was already in their hand and she gently and politely picked up the napkin the bread and butter were sitting on and started to move them into her packed box. This is when the server decided that they wouldn't have thrown out the butter packets and proceeded to dig through the bread with her hands (!!!) to take out all the butter packets, which was a bit shocking. My friend was quite appalled, she again gently and politely tried to remove the napkin full of the bread and butter (now a single packet) from the grabbing hands, and put it in her box. We promptly finished our dessert and when the server came to clear the dessert dishes she told my friend that they (her and the kitchen staff??) had discussed that they wanted the single butter packet from her box!! My friend provided it to her, but at this point I was furious. It was just 9:30 when we paid and the staff were all directly behind us treating us like we were thieves and unwelcomed intruders in the restaurant. My friend was so upset by this behaviour, days later was in tears for the way she had been treated. I am extremely disappointed that the staff that night did not recognize that the bread and butter were paid for as part of two meals: that treating a customer like a thief for taking little packets of butter is really bad form and has made me not to ever want to come back, to never recommend them and to tell all the people I've taken there to not go there; that the kitchen can close at 9:15 but the server and staff should be a bit more graceful about the finishing up time with remaining guests; that server hands don't belong in food that's going to be eaten; that their callous treatment was strictly uncalled for and unprofessional; and that it is unlikely that this extremely negative experience can possibly be rectified for the new patron who was treated like a thief who was packing something that was paid for and then treated even worse after being informed about the discussion and demanding of a single packet of butter. Is butter really that important to you Valens?

Valens is deceptively good (they could update the decor if they did I'd bump this to 5 stars EDIT they recently made some upgrades/ fixes to the decor so I have bumped them up to 5 stars) the food is extremely good. I love their prix fixe menu, lots of value in the options (the lunch menu is beyond what you would expect for the price.) I particularly love the mussels, the broth/sauce is so tasty. Their soups are always fantastic. Friends who I have brought have all loved their choices that I've never tried. I repeatedly get the steak or fish because they are cooked perfectly (and they meet my dietary requirements.) The sauces and sides are generous and delicious. Be sure to order the crème brûlée, it is the largest portion you are likely to have anywhere and it's excellent. They also have a decent wine selection...good bang...

Made reservations here for Winterlicious with a friend for Saturday. It was only a few days before, so I was happy they fit us in. Sure seems like they messed up the reservations though, because when we got there they couldn't find the reservation. Happily, they sat us anyway in the busy restaurant. I saw a party of 2 come in later and overheard that they had a reservation but there were no tables. Ours was a 4 top, so they ended up pulling the second table away so they could sit the other people. Another large group had come in afterward that were waiting for a long time before they got a table. They appeared annoyed after awhile so I'm guessing they also had a reservation and the restaurant screwed it up.

Despite being happy that they sat us, that happiness quickly dissipated as we waited way too long to get a drink or have our order taken. The waiters walked by and looked directly at our table and then would walk away. A couples times I saw them looking around the room to see if anyone needed anything, but they did not come over to take our order. I sure felt like we were more of a nuisance than anything. Someone finally came by and brought us water (after a table that had come in after us got their water, placed their order and got bread). We weren't asked if we wanted something else to drink though - it was just a quick, drop off the water and leave. Quite awhile after that we finally placed our order.

I ordered the salad - it was good, but nothing spectacular. My friend got the soup and said it was really good, but only warm.

For the main I had been craving risotto and was going to get it and at the last second changed to the lamb. Boy was I ever disappointed. From looking at other people's plates, the risotto didn't look great, but probably better than the lamb. The lamb was way overcooked. The vegetables on the other hand were under cooked. I was trying to cut into one as well and it was so under cooked it flung out from under my knife and got sauce all over my new sweater. I was trying to dip my napkin into my water to get the stain out of my sweater. I saw some of the waiters looking at me, but did they offer assistance, some more water or napkin? Nope. Just ignored me.

Now with this awful review, some might be asking why I would give this place 2 stars. While I was not pleased with my experience, nor would I come here again, for the amount of food we got, the meal was only $15. More importantly though, the apple blossom dessert...that was the saving grace. After a quite awful meal, that apple blossom finished off the meal with a smile. It was nice and warm. The crust was delicious and the scoop of ice cream on top...

It's actually really sad for me to write this review because I actually think Valens is overall a nice little restaurant , cute and cozy. With generous servings and good value for the price. I have been here for Sunmerlicious a few years back and was excited to be back for Winterlicous during my birthday weekend but unfortunately after today I won't be back.

I am never the type of customer to complain about the service because in all honesty I think that food is the focus for my reviews. It would only be an extreme eye sore in my books that I would base my review soley on customer service. Basically when we got there it was very busy which is understandable seeing it is a Saturday afternoon. No problem. We discovered the table was wobbly no problem as the our nice waitress said she will fix it. As we sat down after 2 min., we were nicely asked by our waitress to switch tables because she wanted to combine our table to make room for a larger group, again no problem for us as we understand it was busy.

I had a very nice lunch up to the last part as I was eating my dessert. A waitor awkwardly said to us: 'Sorry can you do me a favor?' and he stumbled a bit with his words. But I don't know how to say it but can you guys hurry up a bit as we have reservations booked and customers waiting.' I actually laughed because I felt embarrassed and awkward. Like I almost felt like I was loitering there and not a paying customer. Non the less I said awkwardly 'no problem' again, we understand. As the waitor came by again after I warfed down my creme Brule like how I would as a child when my mom said eat your dinner fast and I did as I was told. I honestly felt very embarrassed because we were the only ones told to hurry as older patrons that were there longer than us sat gingerly enjoying their meals. I didn't want to be a 'Karen' so I made small talk once the bill was given and we still paid a good tip seeing how the restaurant industry has suffered due to covid. I know that our waiter also was told to do that by management so I was not going to make a scene for something he was told to do as he was in a tough position as well. But that left a bad taste in my mouth.

I think Valens forgot that 'i' am a paying customer and not someone loitering at a fast food restaurant. It hurts me more to write this review as I really did like this restaurant. It's a pity I can no...