cafe belong

i was atcafebelong for an event. my server becky was amazing. she was detailed and on the ball. the food was decent, but a little over priced. my biggest issue was that i overheard the head chef swearing at the servers. i won't support a business that treats their staff that way.

our journey begins  at an old factory backyard called evergreen brick works. a factory that once heard many metals clinks, was now buzzing with giggles and chatter of people who were enjoying the warmth of the sun on their skin and indulging in the small pleasures of life.amidst this beautifully dilapidated, abandoned yet lively structure was a quaint little restaurant. with closely nested tables,cafebelong made everyone feel like they belonged to a single great conversation - often about the delicious looking dish on your neighbors table, while  man’s best friend, furry and bright, could be seen basking in the bright sunlight to accentuate what this day was all about.

nestled within the evergreen brickworks, café belong benefits from its proximity to the year round farmer’s market. perhaps perusing the fresh food stalls beforehand influenced my meal choice, but their vegetarian dishes sounded fantastic and i didn’t miss an ounce of meat!

replacing ham, the sautéed kale and mushrooms eggs benedict ($23) incorporated plump mushrooms that provided a meaty bite. as the poached egg oozed over everything, the molten yolk was captured into the not overly done kale’s crevices, making for a cleaner dish. a layer of sweet caramelized onions sat on top of the doughy soft buttermilk biscuit; it was a bit sugary for my taste, but thankfully the buttery hollandaise helped to add back a savoury element.

although the frittata ($19) is listed under the “cold kitchen” section of the menu, it still arrives warm. the cubes of roasted butternut squash at the bottom makes

this restaurant is amazing. the menu is fairly small but everything is fresh and cooked with care. all the ingredients are locally sourced and much of it purchased from the farmers market that happens right next to thecafeon the weekends. i went in on a monday afternoon, it was nice and quiet at that time, great for a leisurely lunch.

well, i certainly found out what all the fuss was about and will definitely return to café belong for an unsurpassed and truly organic eating experience.

disappointed. had lunch atcafebelong for the first (and last) time today. was very disappointed! the wait staff was friendly, however, even though the restaurant was not busy, it took 50 minutes to get our lunch. the water was soup-warm and we had to ask for ice. my friend ordered a hamburger which was shrivelled and dry. menu has limited choices and food is overpriced.

our first visit tocafebelong in the evergreen brickworks. their mantra is local, sustainable, and organic...

worst customer service!. worst customer service! after a great visit to this restaurant for brunch, i chose to have my birthday celebration here. i ordered the hangar steak and found it extremely tough. i also did not enjoy seeing their staff eat in the back kitchen. i e-mailedcafebelong the next day to give them feedback. here is their offensive response:

the steak you ordered was a hanger steak (our menu changes a lot, more than most, and now we have a striploing and a ribeye) and while definitely not a tender cut, it is extremely flavourful (which is my priority as most guests have teeth and bland but tender meat is readily available all over town) and i'm sorry for two things there - one that the waiter didn't underline the cut of meat for you and explain the cut better and that (i suspect) the kitchen cut it the wrong way after cookiing - it's like a diamond and if you cut it one way vs. another it will be more tender. as for staff eating, well let me say that i would prefer that the staff actually like our food, that they don't waste perfectly good food given them and that they are keen to eat the food we make. not sure where in the restaurant this staff memeber was eating but if it was in the back of the house, well then, not sure what your concern could possibly be? if this person was walking around the dining room drinking out of a pot, then i believe i'm on your side. bon appetite

needless to say, a repeat visit is not on the menu!

disappointing. i had dinner atcafebelong last night. the portions are tiny! i know the owner is from jk wine bar which had a tapas menu. so i'd suggest that, if they intend to serve such small portions, they position the menu as a tapas menu and lower the prices accordingly. but to serve as an entree a scallop dish that has only one scallop, or a quail dish that serves only half a quail, is kind of silly. we left hungry, but we'd paid $90 for dinner. additionally, the service was inattentive, the waiter was not fully informed about the menu and there was no 'fish of the day' available when we asked. the venue is interesting, but i won't be returning.

as you may have notice from here , here and here that i am a big fan of evergreen brick works  and have addeded a lot of events there but it was only a few weeks ago that finally trycafebelong that's located there. one of those places that i pass by millions times adn love the decor and never got the chance to try until now. it's really pretty at night when you look into the restaurant though their huge window all along the s with the bare wood beam/brivk counte/bar/kitchen it was empty inside taht day since everyone opted for the patio (^_^) ♥ so true we actually went to the brewer's backyard ( @brewmarket ) taking place at the brick works that day, so we actually had a beer (or two) before that, so i opted for a glass of white instead but ben wanted another one: king pilsner $5 norman hardie  melon bourgogne - pec $8 glass a very light, crisp white wine bricklayers board $20 ~ with house cured meats, terrine, cheese pickle, mustard & toast everything was delicious

horrible service. our group of 8 had brunch atcafebelong, and while we found the food to be generally quite good, the service was horrible.

we ordered our drinks and meals together, but half the cocktails arrived with the mains (which took over half hour), and half after the plates had been cleared. one frittata was very undercooked, and they took it back to the kitchen with no apology, so that guest had to wait another 20 minutes, while the rest of us finished, to have her meal. then we ordered coffees; the people to order theirs first received them after the person who ordered belatedly, and the espressos were cold. we were told by our frazzled waitress that because there had been such a delay for our drinks, etc. that our desserts would be comped. so half of us ordered dessert (which we wouldn't normally), only to be told later that only one dessert would be complimentary. very aggravating.

after we complained, the manager did take the additional desserts off the bill, which was appreciated. this is an 8-10 table restaurant, with 4 waitstaff, 2 bartenders and a hostess working, i'm not sure what the delay was. we love the brickworks, but we won't be going back tocafebelong, at least not the seated portion.

thecafeshould be called be long waiting. went for brunch today and waited an hour for eggs and a pancake, and then paid a small ransom for it. no value here, and the place was half empty. no wonder. better to go skating and by a hot dog from the vendors beside the ice. what a bad experience.

review. i like to start off with telling you all that i'm such a foodie i go to all the new restaurants and try them out and almost 85% of time i am fully satisfied with the food/service/ambiance.

brand long, the chef of belongcafehas a fairly good reputation in toronto, so i gave belongcafea shot, here is how it went:

went for lunch, the prices were ridiculously high for acafespecially for lunch, no variety no panini no sandwiches... nothing... all very expensive dishes that are just really big plates and just little tiny bit of food! ($30 for half a chicken...or $28 for a tiny slice of fish with 3 pieces of gnocchi and i'm not kidding). the service was okay everyone seemed a bit confused and sketchy to be perfectly honest.

after tasting two different dishes and $85 later, i concluded never to go back ever again!

on the way back to the office i actually had to stop at mcweans super market to grab a sandwich to go because i did not eat atcafebelong only cause the food was so disappointing, forget the price!

here is a list of really great restaurants that will satisfy all your taste buds and get you to leave the restaurant with a big smile on your face (even if you pay a little more you get what you pay for, you will never get jibbed at any of these restaurants i promise you that;

1.george-www.georgeonqueen.com
2. by mark- www.bymark.ca/
3. fabrica- www.fabbrica.ca/
4. north 44- www.north44restaurant.com

5. grazie- www.grazie.ca/ - i love grazie!!! there is reason why they have been in business for 30 years!!-

6. lindas- www.lindarestaurant.com/
7. beer bistro - www.beerbistro.com/
8. any of oliver bonacini restaurants- www.oliverbonacini.com
9. origin - www.origintoronto.com
10. spledndido- www.splendido.ca/

sorry to say will never go back and will never try anything that has brand long's name attached to it.

i want my money back!!

better restaurants in toronto. the service and food were terrible! food was served cold to four of the diners. fish dish was bland and lukewarm. french fries had a box of salt poured on them! and they have the nerve to charge 4.00 for a small basket of bread and butter. save yourself the trip and don't go tocafebelong.

5 star service!. my food took about 40 minutes to arrive and was not fully cooked.
however, manager francis stepped in immediately to apologize and offer to make it right. i changed my food choice to the frittata which was delicious!
he then proceeded to take care of our meal and then took us to choose some yummy butter tarts and brownies to take with us. i left smiling!

the ability to turn around a less than satisfactory customer experience is a rare skill that is truly commendable. well done francis!
i would return again and refercafebelong to my friends.