Really want to love gayley's since I live just around the corner and it's locally owned. But I'm always so frustrated by the service...
The staff/owners are quite friendly and do give the impression of wanting to please. That being the case, I think they're part of the group of restauraneurs in Toronto who Just Don't Get It. They drop menus and then leave you sitting for 20 minutes, oblivious to the fact that you're growing increasingly desperate for caffeine. Or they bring food but completely disappear after that - no quality check or offer of the bill or presence at all. They Just Don't Get It.
I can't bring myself to give them fewer than three stars despite all this because the food is quite good for the price and feels like an actual human prepared it (especially the sandwiches... Mmm). And they're so darned friendly!
This is a place that I can enjoy if I go in with no time constraints and an understanding that the service will not be 'service'.