Taking a break from the Stanley Kubrick Exhibition at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, my twin and I stopped into the TIFF O&B Canteen for a quick bite. The time was mid-afternoon, after 2pm, so the Canteen was not especially busy or packed full of patrons. We were seated by the service windows of the kitchen immediately and our waiter offered us water soon after.
We placed our orders, my twin ordered the Breakfast and I ordered the raw vegan pad thai. I later added the corn chowder because it sounded very delicious.
My experience here wasn't the best, mostly because our server was not attentive and very slow with the food service during non-peak hours. I would be more understanding if we ate around noon with twice as many patrons in the dinning room, but of course, that wasn't the case. I was very annoyed that my raw vegan pad thai sat at the service window, staring at me, for at least 10 minutes before they served it to me. I would be less annoyed if the server just owned up to his slowness instead of throwing the salad chefs under the bus... He said they make the salad fast without syncing with the table's other orders. Admittedly the hostess and server both asked if I wanted my pad thai replaced, but we were pressed for time and I was very annoyed by then. It really shouldn't have happened in the first place: you are serving lunch in a world class city, professionalism and time matters. #protip
The food was mediocre. The corn chowder was not a chowder, just a soup. It wasn't chunky and with very few pieces of actual corn. The raw vegan pad thai, it wasn't exploding in flavours like most vegan dishes -I would know coz I am the veggie queen after all. And I can't help but think it would have tasted better if I had received it when it was ready and not after our 10 minute- staring competition. The potato from my sister's breakfast was hard like rocks, the scrambled eggs did not look fluffy, and the bacon looked like a crumpled mess.
So in summary: it was a poor experience.
The good news is that if they see this, they can always improve. Oh yeah, most importantly: this is Toronto, you're in the big leagues -act like it. Be professional. Own up to your mistakes. Don't make excuses and don't throw your colleagues under the bus.