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| - The last time I tried Fressen was back in 2006. It took me almost 5 long years to try again; but I probably should have left it indefinitely.
In total, I've been here once for dinner and twice for brunch. The dinner foray, from what I remember (because this was 2004), was a nice intimate evening and the food was interesting and tasty. But what I'm really here to write about is the brunch. In two words: stay away!
Between 2006 and 2011, the general results of the brunch service have not changed:
- slow service
- cold tea and tasteless coffee
- forgetful staff (missing items)
- cost not relative to amount (teeny tiny tapas)
- vegans welcome, but gluten-free diners not
The last time I went, I ordered the soup of the day - coconut butternut squash - which had much more coconut cream than I'd like in a soup, but it was at least warm and filling. I also had a very small chickpea and avocado salad which was supposed to have some greens in it, but I counted three pieces of tiny arugula. My dining mates were shocked at their cold tea. From the sounds of it, the diners from the table next to us were not pleased at all with their food and had demanded a refund on one of their items.
I was very surprised that the restaurant offered no gluten-free alternative options for their sandwiches. Their excuse was that they couldn't find a recipe good enough for what they wanted. Please - this has to be pure laziness. There are so many gluten-free companies and bakeries in the Toronto area. And if they're dedicated to making things in-house, there are hundreds of blog posts online with variations on gluten-free bread that they can experiment with.
Be warned if you go with groups and you want to split the bill. It is the owner's policy that tables must have one bill together. Sure, the servers can split it up for you after, but why not allow separate bills in the first place so that each of us, one-by-one, doesn't have to traipse up to the till and keep wasting their time?
Also, they really have to get with the times: a menu from 2006 on their website? A clear sign that they do not put any care into their image or public presence or reaching out to their customers.
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