Carens Rosedale

I celebrated my birthday at this restaurant, and we had a wonderful experience overall. We had specifically been looking for a place that served cheese fondue, and this was the perfect spot. The fondue itself was excellent—rich, flavorful, and served with plenty of bread. What really impressed me was that they offer free refills of bread, so once the basket runs out, they bring more without any problem. It made the fondue experience even better. We also tried the burgers, and they were delicious—juicy, perfectly cooked, and nicely presented. In fact, the presentation of all the dishes stood out: the plates looked elegant and thoughtful, which made the meal feel more special. Everything tasted fresh and well-prepared, and it was clear the quality of the ingredients was high. The atmosphere inside was cozy with a stylish interior, though it was quite stuffy. It felt like the air conditioning wasn’t working well, and on a hot day (around 35°C), it became a bit uncomfortable to sit indoors. Because of that, we chose to sit outside, but of course, it was still hot due to the weather. Even so, we enjoyed ourselves and appreciated the overall ambiance. The staff were friendly, the food was memorable, and despite the heat, we had a really nice evening. I would recommend this restaurant for anyone looking to enjoy cheese fondue, fresh dishes, and a pleasant atmosphere. We definitely had a good time and would consider coming back again.

We celebrated a birthday here, but the food was poor. The mussels were mostly raw and uncooked, the steak was bland, and the fries were over-fried. Mac & cheese, steak tartar was okay but overall not the quality expected for a special occasion.

We’re just finishing our dinner here as a work team. The food was fantastic. Service was welcoming and easy-going. Great place to share food. We got a great wine recommendation. Would totally return. Thanks for a wonderful evening!

The appetizer was good, but unfortunately we hadn't received our mains after 2.5 hours of waiting. No servers checked on us for over 40 minutes, with just a meager portion of bread 1 hour into waiting. Food 4, service 1. Restaurant needs sound deadening panels and is very dim atmosphere 2. Left a restaurant for the first time in my life. Go here if you like leaving hungry and grumpy I guess.

A passing dog threw up on the patio before I sat and it stayed my whole meal. The food is very “creative”. I’d recommend this place for people who want to try new things. But the French onion soup is awful. No flavour. Very watery. Barely caramelized onions. Cheese is floated on a chunk of flavourless lifeless bread on top. Didn’t have the right texture at all. Bowl was gaudy. Just use a ramekin, make portion smaller and charge less. $20 for a mediocre bowl of water is awful. Service was completely fine. I liked the attention to detail of polished silverware

Had the greatest pleasure the other day to dine at Caren's. It was my Mum's birthday and she just reported back that it was the best day of her life! Thank you for going above and beyond with your service. The food was excellent and I can't wait to try the fondue - next time!

My first cheese fondue experience and absolutely loved it! Our server was extremely sweet and her recommendation on the white wine was on point. The french onion soup had generous portion and very flavourful. Perfect ending to our delicious meal- the yummy chocolate fondue. Overall experience was amazing!

This place is sadly a disaster. Our waiter took over 30 mins to get our wine, and food order also took forever. The steak was not great , frites covered in way too much table salt—they ran out of usual ingredients ? Server was unhelpful and unpleasant. He may have enjoyed some wine himself as he was bumping into things and broke many glasses in the 2 hours we were waiting for everything Many of our bills were not accurate (overcharged ). The owner came over but she didn’t have much to say about the multiple issues. She offered one of our group a gift card, but it never arrived as she was busy with another unhappy group. We won’t be back.

Visiting Toronto for a few days and we were wandering about Yorkville looking for a lunch spot when we happened upon Carens. It was a bit late for lunch but we were warmly welcomed and took a table for two inside although seating on the sidewalk was an option. This is a French restaurant and it has the ambiance of a bistro in Paris. Many excellent selections on the menu and we settled on a Croque Mossier and the pasta special. Both were excellent. Desserts were fabulous. Service was very solicitous and we felt very at home and comfortable. Would highly recommend and we will certainly return if we find ourselves in Toronto. Gave this same rave review to the concierge at our Yorkville hotel. What a great find!

As a true Swiss we had been searching for a real cheese fondue and found it at Carens. We also had the steak frites, beet salad and chocolate flourless tart. Everything was delicious. The service from our French waiter was outstanding. This place is not pretentious and has great food. We will be back.

Possibly the worst meal I've had at a restaurant in the GTA. My date and I ordered the cheese fondue, duck confit, Niçoise salad and chicken liver pate. They were out of chicken liver pate, ok fine not a big deal. 30 minutes later, fondue comes. We finish the fondue in about 15-20 minutes. Another 15 minutes passes, we're informed that duck confit is not available so we're offered a steak instead (medium rare please). Another 15 minutes pass, we're informed that there is an issue with the tuna on the salad and are asked if trout is ok. We ask how much longer it's going to be and our waiter says it's coming right out. Ok but we haven't even decided if trout was ok and it's on the way??? What?? While we were waiting for our entrees, the table next to us ordered fondue but were informed they were out of the wine that goes in the fondue. The table wanted it anyways, a few minutes after they order, they were offered a free Niçoise salad because of the mishap. We finally get our food, steak is medium-well done, THICK grey band, looked like a supermarket cut of steak and just dry as hell. Fries were soggy, salt was unevenly distributed and tasted of old oil. Salad was not great, fish was undercooked in the middle and so crispy on the outside (but not the good kind of crispy). Safe to say we only ate half of our food, waiter notices we aren't eating and asks to clear our table and offers the bill. The bill comes and we point out that we didn't get what we ordered and the food was not great and got a discount. Pretty pissed he offered the table right next to us something on the house for not having something at the time of ordering but we didn't get an apology for not having our original order halfway into the meal. Save yourself the trouble and never come here. There's definitely something dysfunctional happening if you run out of inventory mid service and there's only THREE tables to service on a Sunday night. A simple night out turned into 2.5 hrs of wasted money and time.

Food was not that great and took a very long time. Omelette was cold and the cheese wasn't melted. Eggs Benedict was cold and overcooked.

Had lunch today for my daughter's birthday, the food was excellent. The service superb and even though we didn't order dessert, they surprised us with a creme caramel with a candle because they said she deserved that on her birthday. Looking forward to going back for fondue. Highly recommend

We made a reservation for a ladies dinner. When we walked in, we waited 5 minutes or so and no one greeted us. Finally someone came and showed us to our table. There was a large party, crowding our table b/c it was next to the bar. Someone asked if we wanted our coats so I took mine off but then the person left and never came back. We sat there for twenty minutes before anyone came to take our drink orders. We didn't have drink menus, so we could only order water (and a drink menu). Someone then gave us a drink menu but it took another mins 15 before I was able to flag someone down to give us a food menu. Our arrived around 630pm and we didn't get menus until well after 7:15pm! We ordered the classic fondue to start. It was alright. I liked it b/c you can't get fondue at many places. But it wasn't fantastic. The waitress came to ask for our mains and 2 of us knew what we wanted, so we told her. The other 2 didn't know yet, so the waitress said she'd come back but I think she forgot about us b/c we had to flag her down again. Our meals were okay, but nothing special considering the poor service we were receiving. No one ever came to check on us. After dinner we ordered dessert. I was warned the chocolate cake would take 20 mins. No problem. My friend wanted the creme brûlée but they were out so she got an apple tart. After the 20 mins the waitress told us that the kitchen messed up another party and we were being given the creme brûlée instead of the chocolate cake, and the apple tart. We felt like second class citizens. The waitress was nice, but not very attentive. We didn't feel like they even cared we were there b/c they had other bigger parties. They didn't give us the time of day and you shouldn't either. I wouldn't come back.

A snazzy place! There is a piano at the front door. Decor was fresh and classy. Don't show up in your PJs. Had a reservation for brunch on a Sunday. Glad we did; it quickly filled up! To start, I got an Americano and it was really good. I could have that everyday! We went for the prix fix brunch. It started with cheddar scones. So flaky and fresh. Jam was on the plate with them and my friend thought it was weird. I loved it, a little sweet and a little salty. Don't knock it until you've tried it! I had Eggs Benny, because brunch. It was your standard Eggs Benny. Fried potatoes and salad were good. With our meals we had a mimosa. They pack a punch! I've had mimosas over brunch before, but I think this was the first one that actually had alcohol in it. Tasty! The chocolate cake. So rich. Smooth, sweet and everything I thought it would be. My friend was full, but I cleared all of my plates. Portions were pretty good. The service was pleasant. Attentive, but not intrusive. Their dinner menu looks pretty good; perhaps another visit is in order

We had a confirmed 4 guests lunch reservation on July 26, 2022, 1:00 PM. One of our guests couldn't make it, we (with my wife and our guest) were there on time. It took the young lady server (no name tag, welcomed us 3 times!) approx. 15 minutes to take our order: 2x Heirloom tomato salad, 1 Omelette du jour, 1 Chicken liver pate, 1 Croque monsieur. We ordered 2 glasses of (excellent) French Saivignon blanc. Our guest drank only water. It took the server 4 returns to our table and approx. 35 minutes to let us know that the chicken liver pate was sold out. That's when my wife ordered the 2nd Croque monsieur. After a total waiting of 45 minutes (and 3 more inquiries about the kitchen's progress with our orders) we obviously became not only more hungry, but also quite impatient and embarrassed for our invited guest. Our (very kind) server was obviously also more and more embarassed, but assured us that the chef made good progress with our orders. Finally, after 1:00 hour of waiting our server let us know that "the chef is plating your food". After 1:10 hours the food was still not served, and the server assured us that "it'll only take another 5 minutes". The 5 minutes over (after a total waiting time of 1:15 hrs) we stood up and left the restaurant. It was a most unpleasant experience, absolutely inadmissible for any public establishment, even less so for a pretentious Rosedale one. Avoid disappointment, STAY AWAY!

I would think that with reopening, restaurants would welcome back diners. This is not the case at Carens. After being seated, the waitress proceeded to ignore us. We were not given menus or water while she proceeded to serve everyone else as well as clearing other tables. We were finally given water and menus when I flagged down another waitress, Naomi. She told us that "our waitress" would come to take our order. After a 20 minute wait, I asked Naomi what happened to "our waitress". She was advised to take our order but never came to our table. I told Naomi that she could take our order or we would leave. She apologized on behalf of the "other waitress" and took our order. Shortly after two ladies sitting at another table able told Naomi they were leaving and not paying for the coffee as they had waited over an hour and no one had taken their order. Our meal arrived an hour and a half after we sat down courtesy of Naomi.

I visited Carens during summer for cheese fondue. Inside was very classy the tableware and everything was set very beautifully. When I went, there was only one person working, this was at around 2pm. I'm not sure if it was because of this that my experience wasn't so great. Being a waitress and I believed responsible for making the dishes, as I saw her making our fondue. The cheese fondue was alright we also had chocolate fondue. It was presented beautifully and tastes average. Overall everything was ok not a spectacular experience, I expected more.

We had a terrible experience last night at Caren's. Details: -Had a 7PM reso for Saturday night, 3 people. First member of our party arrived and was told we didn't have a reso. The same thing happened when I arrived a few minutes later. -Initially seated in back room then told to switch tables -Not clear who our server was (interacted with a total of 4 servers over the course of the evening) -Very poor service - probably the worst I've experienced in Toronto. Had to ask multiple times for water refills. Food dropped off at table but server never asked how it was. Requested ketchup multiple times from two different servers. Never offered dessert/coffee. Waited a long time for bill and then to pay. Waited a very long time for our jackets to be brought up from coat room after paying. The service was so bad, by the end of the night there was nothing we could do but laugh. (In fact we were surprised when they brought up the correct jackets.) The restaurant appeared to be severely understaffed (there was a large party in the back area) but Caren's should have considered closing the entire restaurant for the event - they obviously couldn't handle the number of customers in the restaurant. I was particularly disappointed since I'd chosen Caren's for a special dinner with an out-of-town guest. I will not be going back.

Decided to come here for brunch on a Sunday, it was relatively empty so there was no difficulty getting a table. The back is very beautiful, the tables have fresh flowers on them and the decor is stunning. The atmosphere was great, warm, pleasant and overall inviting. As for the food, I got the smoked salmon eggs Benedict and my partner got there croque madame. My eggs Benedict was great, the salmon was fresh, the eggs were cooked perfectly and the presentation was lovely. We were both very pleased with our food and it came out soon after we ordered. For vegetarians, there really aren't many options for brunch other than the omelet. The only downfall to this place is the price - for an eggs Benedict, 17$ is a bit steep of a price. Although it was great, the price was far too high, especially for brunch.

My burger bun was burnt. They took my beer away before it was finished. They didnt offer any condements. It cost a lot.

Delicious brunch here, beautiful space. Caren was so nice chatting with my mother and I. We will definitely be back!

Full of promise but what a let down. Note to the owner, putting oysters on salt bed doesn't work. The oysters were warm, they should really be on ice. We waited 40 mins for our meal to come after the oysters, and when it did my steak was WD when we requested MR. we didn't have time to send it back as we had waited so long for the main to arrive. The only saving grace was the piano player who added a great ambience to what is a well maintained friendly staffed restaurant. Your restaurant has so much promise, and I have had wonderful meals there in the past, but last nights was a fail for me.

Ambiance is classy. Pro waiter read the cues and knew exactly what we needed and when. Excellent wine list. C'est maqnifique.

Decided on a late brunch and when we arrive the advised they could accommodate us in 30 mins, left and came back 30 mins later. Sat and had a coffee and proceeded to wait 45 mins for our food that never came. The waitress never even came by to apologize for the delay or ask if we needed anything she just ignored us. It wasn't till I approached her she said they are understaffed and there were 4 other couples in the restaurant who had been served. It was the lack of communication and if they couldn't handle more customers they should have professional and said we don't have capacity. Super disappointed.

Their brunch is fine...when the server is good. I asked for the Carens breakfast, no meat and with salad, not potatoes. Guess what happened? The food came with both the salad and potatoes. I HATE potatoes (the photo attached was taken AFTER the potatoes were taken off the plate. I also told him that I absolutely DID NOT want potatoes). Dude also swapped out drink order, first giving my husband the cappuccino and his juice to me. I don't do orange juice as a drink. I get that they're short staffed, but when you write things down, the kitchen should know.

I've been coming to caren's for years and have never been dissatisfied. The cheese fondue is awesome and as well as the salmon. The staff is great and the wine list is superb. I had a large gathering and the staff including the owner was above and beyond excellent. I highly recommend this restaurant that has beautiful ambiance. You won't be disappointed!!!!! An awesome experience!!!!!!!!!

We love Carens Rosedale​ for the experimental cheese boards - our introduction to the noble union of wine and cheese! Just a bite from our full experience review.

Here are a few points from a bday dinner i attended last night: - slowest service in the city - the waiter rushed us to get our orders in, then took forever to bring water, drinks, and food. - every time we asked him where our food was he dismissed us - even after being RUSHED by our waiter the entire night it was WORST when the bill took close to 45 mins. Definitely not the place to go if you want to have a meal in less than 5 hours.

I've been a customer with my husband for several years, ever since they were in Yorkville. I was upset when they moved to Yonge Street, but to my surprise this location was far superior on all levels. The service improved, the ambience was transformed due to having a wonderful pianist on the weekends. I highly recommend the cheese fondue and the lamb.they have a fabulous brunch on Sundays, which never disappoint. The staff including the owner are exceptional, totally on top of their game. The wine list is above par. I had a party there a month ago and all my guests said they couldn't wait to come back. Great atmosphere, great staff. It's a win win. You won't be disappointed!

Food was spectacular. Dined on a Saturday night with no reservation, the wait staff very kindly squeezed us in. Prices were fair, wine selection was very good, and the interior decor is both classy and comfortable, while making a small space not feel at all stuffy. Would definitely recommend. Entree's: mac and cheese, and scallops - 5/5 Wine: New Zealand Sauv Blanc - 5/5

Looks like a pretend French restaurant with dishes named in French but really... Apart from the fries- they are good- we tried the bouillabaisse and mushroom risotto. Both dishes were sub-standard. The mushroom risotto had a few button mushrooms, the rice was crunchy and had too much thyme. Not pleasant.

Caren's Yorkville used to be one of my favourite brunch and wine bars in the city. It's a shame they had to close. I visited Caren's Rosedale the other day and the service was friendly and quick. The sangria was delicious as always, and the brunch and cheese were tasty. My only problem was we often had to ask for things. For example, we got the mascarpone french toast, and it didn't come with mascarpone. We had to awkwardly ask for it and he said "Oh is there not any on it?" well.... we wouldn't ask if there was. Then, when we got the cheese, it came with grapes. My friend is allergic to grapes, so we asked for something else. My friend asked for apples. The server responded with "apples AND strawberries???" And we were like umm okay. A little odd, but we ignored it. We had also asked for walnuts and honey, but we never received it. The bill came and not only did the apples and strawberries cost extra, it was absurdly priced. $3 for a few slices of apples and $5 for less than a handful of strawberries? Super odd. Funny how our waiter heard "strawberries" which nobody asked for, but didn't give us the walnuts and honey that we DID ask for. We still tipped generously because we like the establishment, but this weird technique of up-selling on fruit was off putting.

This place is not great. Had the steak and frites. The steak was over done although the fries were excellent. The fries got this place the 2 stars because everything else was lacking. Service was slow, even though the place was empty, literally, empty. Their first attempt at my old fashion was bourbon with Soda water I think... and the second attempt was half simple syrup and bourbon I think. Awful. I wouldn't recommend this place and I won't be returning, especially with so many options in the area.

DO NOT plan your event here. Booked my 50th birthday here two months in advance, sat with the owner (Karen) and went over all details... Sit down dinner for 30 (including a birthday cake of course) followed by a DJ and dancing. Night of the party, no birthday cake. No DJ, no space even for dancing. Karen unreachable for half of the night, her poor staff (who were great) had no idea what was happening. No apology from Karen. No follow up and no response to my letter of complaint. When I shared this with friends in the neighbourhood no one was surprised as Karen apparently has a reputation for being unreliable and clearly couldn't care less about her reputation.

This was a horrible dining experience. The service was really bad. There was only two servers and the owner on during a Saturday Night Christmas season service. My party of 4 felt ignored. The waitress had no idea the difference between lamb shank and rack of lamb. She told us the special as lamb shank and then asked how we would like it cooked. I was looking foreword to a nice lamb shank but it turned the special was rack of lamb. This place has Foie Gras on the menu in 2 place but was sold out at 7:00. My wife and I ordered the onion soup and coq au van. Soup had 3 times the amount of OVERLY sweet onions. It was more like an onion stew then soup. Coq au van for $29.00 had a small thigh and drum stick with 3 piece of green beans, 2 table spoons of mashed potatoes 4 half mushrooms and 2 pieces whole garlic cloves with about 2 oz of sauce. The one thing it did not have was flavour. Just a thought SALT people. I can honestly say NOTHING good about this restaurant. PEOPLE STAY WAY AND SAVE YOUR MONEY.

There is a serious lack of communication at this restaurant! Me & some girl friends really wanted to have cheese fondue, so I called days in advance to see if they could accommodate us on the weekend. They usually only have the brunch menu, but the woman on the phone checked w/the kitchen & said it would be fine. When we got there, they had not been informed & weren't going to make it for us. We had gone all that way for nothing. They eventually started making it for us as they found a little note about it in their reservation book, but the server wasn't even aware of this yet and was still at our table with excuses. I had already read bad reviews about this place, but thought we'd give them a shot. The fondue was good but we only got bread with it. I will not be recommending this place to friends.

Cosy place. We went here for our graduation lunch and opted for a fixed menu since we were a large group. Had no problem getting a last minute reservation for 3.30 pm. The aroma of the mushroom soup got me and my friend hungry - it was excellent! The salmon was perfect as well, seared on the outside and fresh inside. The cheese fondue that my friends ordered was lip smacking. The red wine went perfectly with the meal. The dessert was disappointing. While the crème brulèe was tastefully done - crusty texture outside and creamy when you dig in your spoon, I felt the quantity was a huge let down. The cutlery was tiny and the creme brule was only half-filled! That wasn't the case with others on the table. Clearly this was someone's fault in the kitchen and they decided that it's okay for a customer to take the hit. Overall, a fine meal. The staff were pleasant and cheerful and seemed to be enjoying their jobs Deducting 2 stars for the sloppiness on the part of the kitchen staff.

The service was average but the food was on point! The decor and overall vibe of the restaurant is elegant yet cozy. The food is prepared and presented well and the desserts were also very good! It is quite pricey but worth every penny for the quality of food you're getting. I would recommend the carens burger and creme brûlée! Overall 9/10!

Cozy atmosphere and friendly staff, but expected the food to be better. The French onion soup was subpar and the fondue portion was too small to share despite what the waiter had advised.

My husband ordered a martini and I asked for a glass of wine. Two parties came in after us and had drinks delivered while we still waited. My husband decided to pass on the martini and we flagged over another server and asked him to cancel the cocktail. (It hadn't been started yet) We asked several times and the waiter kept saying that the martini would be his gift. Have never worked so hard to try to cancel a drink. We finally gave up and say ok to the martini. Got our food, which was just ok. And then came the bill, and, guess what, there was the charge for,the martini. Weird service, so so food and so loud you can't talk unless shouting. Won't go back

Chose Carens for my anniversary dinner. We wanted good cheese fondue, wine and nice atmosphere to enjoy ourselves. It couldn't have been any better - they had a pianist playing jazzy/bossa tunes, food was outstanding and even the dessert wine selection was pretty reasonable - their maître is Portuguese and very knowledgeable about wines.

This was an atrocious meal. They sent my husband a rack of lamb that was raw- once we notified them, they simply took it back to the kitchen, grilled it for a moment, and then brought us back the same rack of lamb now burnt on the outside and still raw on the inside. We sent it back again and what they sent back was inedible. My meal (the coq au vin) tasted awful and I couldn't eat it. At the end for all of this we still spent 160$ as a couple for what I can only call the worst meal I have ever had in Toronto.

Can't say that my experience was too different from the other reviewers'. The service was poor from the start. My friends and I arrived 10 minutes early for our reservation. Upon entering and giving my name, the man "greeting" us (I use quotation marks, as it was hardly a greeting) looked at his watch in an annoyed manner as if we were inconveniencing him by arriving before the scheduled time. Not a friendly welcome at all. The service continued to be quite bad throughout the evening. The scowly man who greeted us was (yay!) also our waiter. What luck. My friend said she had a question about the duck confit, to which he responded "What about it - it's duck confit". We repeatedly had to ask to have our water refilled. My friends ordered a bottle of wine and their wine glasses were not refreshed regularly. Finally, my other friend ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio that had obviously gone off and tasted like vinegar. When she asked for a replacement glass, he had the nerve to tell her that that's what the wine is supposed to taste like. Her replacement glass was basically slammed down on the table without apology. The saving graces were the chef who made an effort to come out and ask how we liked the food. But unfortunately he and his food are not enough for me to return to Carens. Or to warrant a second star.

The fact that this place is still open is beyond me. I have been here twice now, and both experiences were negative from start to finish. But after my most recent experience, I will definitely not be going back. My friend and I were ignored from the moment we arrived at Caren's. First by the hostess, who after walking past us several times, finally decided to acknowledge us. Not with a hello or how are you or sorry for the wait, but by growling "reservation?", as if we were some great inconvenience for patronizing the restaurant. It did not get better. After being seated and waiting 15 minutes without water or menus, we were delighted to once again be acknowledged, this time by our waiter. We ordered wine, a cheese plate, mac & cheese (apparently their specialty) and the steak tartare. I have not worked in a restaurant, but I am inclined to believe that it does not take 45 minutes to plate pieces of cut up cheese. Only at Caren's. After half an hour of waiting we inquired about the status of our cheese plate. We were told it would be another '60 seconds' (at Caren's this translates to 15 minutes, as we would soon learn). After once again asking where it was (it is just cut up cheese after all), we were told that it was a new cook's first night (I was not aware that cheese required cooking), so the kitchen was delayed. Interestingly this was the same excuse that they gave me in October when I first tried this Caren's Rosedale location. After we received our cheese plate, we waited another 20 minutes for the mac & cheese and steak tartare. When they finally arrived we noticed that we had gotten a little more than we bargained for on the mac & cheese, a big black hair. It had to go back. We waited again. The steak tartare, which came recommended by the server, was bland and the texture was as if it had been through a food processor. The mac & cheese arrived back to the table looking very burnt on top (I assume they plucked the hair out and stuck it in a broiler). We were skeptical and at that point had eaten nearly an entire baguette during our long wait so we hardly touched it. The management and kitchen staff of this place are a mess. Go to this restaurant if you like slow, apathetic service and bland, uninspired 'French' food. There are much better options in the area.

We were 6 on a recent Saturday evening. One of us reserved this place because we expected it to be quiet, something of utmost importance at a larger table. We arrived last, the host or hostess put our party at the front of the house, close to the pianist. A couple of women that came in after us were shoehorned into a table between us and the entrance. The back of the house remained sparsely populated; I guess it was the old 'make it look busy' approach. Thank goodness it wasn't, the staff couldn't handle what trade they had. A whiff of my salad brought me back to a dank field. When I get that whiff from greens they are clearly past best before and belong in a compost heap. I pushed the salad aside. My beer glass sat empty for at least 20 minutes during the agonizingly long wait for our mains. When they came, I decided to cut my burger in half. The bun didn't take to that kindly; it was too dry and crumbled. No problem, I pushed those carbs aside and went for a bite of the burger. No juiciness there, my mouth felt like it spent a day in the Sahara. Perhaps it was partially the lack of fluids from waiting and still waiting for a refill in my beer glass. Nevertheless, I was disgusted, and left the dish largely untouched. The server made no attempt to put things right at payment time. The only reason I am giving this place a two, is I had been twice before and those occasions rated a two or three, there by lifting my FINAL experience with the establishment up from a one.

We ordered a $17 bottle of beer and were very excited to drink it. The waitress poured the beer into what looked like an IKEA water glass, like an amature leaving a full glass of head. We were willing to let that slide - she was nice, she apologized and we laughed it off. Then a second waiter came to top of the glasses and did the same thing. We were annoyed, but again laughed it off. The bar owner then came up to us and went on and on about how that is how one is supposed to pour a beer. We joked and said that is not how we like it, and that this is not how we drink our beer. He proceeded to become quite aggressive, and basically treated us terribly. I have never seen a bar owner treat customers so poorly at what should be a classy establishment in Rosedale. All the best to this terrible Resto/ bar in a tough market in a nice area. We will never go back and will make sure our friends avoid this place. For those looking for a bar in the area, try Boxcar social, the Monks table, or Rebel house for a much better experience.

Pros; ambiance, piano player, steak, mac and cheese Cons; none Great experience. Overall, I loved it. I first went a few weeks ago, the atmosphere is exquisite and an excellent interior design. My partner and I ended up being one of few couples in the restaurant as we decided to have a late dinner. To our pleasant surprise, there was a live (exceptional) pianist playing while we sat in a cozy booth over a glass of wine. The staff made us feel like we were regulars, very warm despite it being my first time. Had one of the best flank steaks in Toronto and a fantastic array of cheese. I couldn't have felt like I had a more romantic, delicious, and excellent Saturday date night. 5 stars. Can't wait to go back.

Food was amazing! Portion size are smaller than your usual but I didn't mind. Ate from the prix fix menu - I chose the potato & leek soup, roasted salmon and mango & strawberry sorbet and all were just fantastic! Kudos to the chef!!! However, service lacked and allergies were not taken seriously (from our long dark haired waitress). I specially asked for no bell peppers in any of my food and she said she'd tell the chef and it appeared twice on my main. Dessert came, she checked up on us and then had the gull to joke about if there were any bell peppers in it. Not impressed by her at all. Service all around needs to be addressed. Great food but not sure I'd go back if service is not equally as great.

This is hard for me because the original Carens is one of my all time favourites and I was beyond excited to see the new location open so close to my house. I have gone three times since it opened, and resisted posting my review hoping it was a fluke but it has to be said. +ve: - wine list is good with some nice choices in each category. Not as long or varied as I expected but have been happy with each selection. - food quality is high and seeing the tar tar, mac and the french onion soup on the menu makes me happy. - steak frite is well done. -ve: - service is terrible. Like really bad. Friendly but totally frazzled. I mean empty wine glasses and ignored tables and generally totally disorganized. On one visit they left the credit card machine and just didn't come back for 15 mins. We almost left without paying. On another I ordered a glass of red to go with my steak and it didn't arrive until I had finished my meal. Had to remind them multiple times to bring drinks or food we had ordered and in a group one poor friend just didn't get her main while we all had ours. - too fishy. I would guess that 60% of the menu has some sort of seafood. Works well if you are in the mood, but wish there were a few more options. - no liquor licence on the patio. Huh? I am sure they will try to resolve that. - no cheese!! Their other place has some of the best cheese and charcuterie in the city and they just had three to chose from. - not open for lunch or on Mondays. They totally misunderstand the Summerhill crowd. We live lunch and afternoon wine. Just look at Terroni's!! Always busy. We want local places on Monday nights. LPC was fun and I will miss them, but Carens has the potential to pick up their game. Need a new manager to drill the servers in to shape and some menu tweak and I think they could thrive. I'll be rooting for them.

My friends daughter was looking for Mac and cheese. I believe she found the best around. Staff was so wonderful and very friendly. Very accommodating and even the good come out. WOW so good. I put the red pepper flakes in mine and spiced it up. So delicious. Definitely check out the place

I went for brunch and ordered the eggs Benedict which came with either your choice of peameal ham or smoked salmon for $16. I ordered the salmon. The waiter told me they were out of salmon that day but had lobster instead would that be OK ? I said sure. The eggs arrived with probably a tablespoon size of lobster on each muffin with a few home fries and a small plain green salad. Oh well. I had 2 mimosas a that Were half full. So about 4 ounces with hopefully half orange juice and half sparkling wine. Then I got the bill - the replaced eggs Benedict with smell o lobster was a whopping $32. When I questioned the waiter, he just shrugged and said lobster is expensive. I think when a replacement is suggested you assume that it is in the same price range but twice the amount and again for the serving size was crazy. The dish with the two mini mimosas came to $68! That's one pricey breakfast. Sorry Caren's I just can't give you my business with those types of practices.

The decor and atmosphere were the highlights of our meal. The shocker: our mains were brought out as we had just started our appetizer! The lady checked that we had not requested it that way (we could have, after all), but when we said we hadn't, she simply put down the plates beside us and said "that's ok, right?" We were a little surprised so instead of saying it wasn't ok, we just nodded, and she proceeded to "check" on the situation, coming back to blame the server (not very delicate). My steak-frites was cold. My partner's confit was just ok. The worst of all: within 30 minutes of leaving the restaurant, I started having terrible cramps, and let's just say that I only remember the washrooms from the cocktail bar we visited after our meal. Such a waste of a beautiful date night, we weren't exactly pleased.

Was walking up Yonge and happened upon Carens. Went in for a late lunch around 3:30pm and were the only ones there other than two ladies on the patio. Atmosphere was nice, piano, belt run ceiling fans, mirrors and art. There was a large dining room in the back but we sat close to the front in a corner booth. Weren't in a drinking mood which seemed to displease the man behind the bar, we over heard him saying "what's that's all they ordered?". Already off to a bad start before the food even arrived. Started with the crab cakes which were flavourful but dripping in oil. Even the small salad that garnished the plate was overly oiled with little seasoning. For entrees we both decided to go for the Gorgonzola burgers. They took a ridiculously long time to come out especially seeing as we were now 2/8 people in the place. Burgers were great but the buns had to have been two days old. Very dry and one cracked and fell into pieces. The salad was under seasoned and the "Frits" we're small pieces of broken fries. Home made ketchup wasn't too bad though. All in all not the best "walk off the street" meal I've ever had but wouldn't mind giving them another shot with more information about the place. The charcuterie boards looked great and the fondue looked fun as well. Maybe another time Carens.

I've been to Caren's twice now, both Saturday nights. Food was excellent as was the service. As some posters mentioned, yes it is pricey, but why wouldn't you check that before going? The food I have ordered was excellent and worth the cost.

My experience here was terrible, due to the server. I should preface this by stating that I've been a server on and off for 20+ years. Our server surprised me. Not that she is old, but she is not a 20 something who has little experience, and she did something that in and of itself wasn't horrific, but it put me in an uncomfortable position: my friend and I ordered 1/2 dozen oysters each. Strangely enough, I was eager to have my own little ice-filled tray of mollusks. When the oysters came, the server said "I took the liberty of putting the oysters on one tray. Is that ok?" (I'm paraphrasing. She might have said "hope that's ok.") For me, it wasn't ok, and I offer no explanation for why it wasn't ok. And I was uncomfortable to say so at the table. But I did, and the server very swiftly lifted the tray, muttering that she'd have it changed. I yelled after her not to do that, and I had to call her back TWICE, as though she didn't hear me the first time. Now, when you're at a restaurant and two people at a table order the same salad, or say, on a wing night, order two orders of the same-sauce wings, does the server presume that these things should be put on the same plate? Nope. Never in my dining days, and that is the point. As I wrote already, it wasn't horrific, but other aspects of the service were lacking (no side plates for the bread), and the server made me feel like I was a BITCH. When I went through my wallet much later and found my receipt with Caren's on it, I only recalled the crummy experience with what I perceived to be a stuck up server.

ok i really wanted to post a good review..i really did as the food was very very good... the service was dismissive...the bartender came over and took our order..he seemed like he could care less. when we inquired about the name of the restaurant and if there was a person named Caren..he chuckled 'yeah she's around sometimes'...so not sure if there really is a Caren or if there is a history of the resturant..we live in Rosedale and wanted to know a little more..We eat at Terroni all the time and the personality is spectacular and we really wanted to support another place.. it's a wine bar for sure as that was or first and second course, we had to ask for bread, they dropped it on the table and mumbled something about it being a bean spread or so i think. we were starving and when they finally came to take our order as we were guzzling back the second bottle, we were surprised and said "WE HAVEN'T ORDERED YET????"..surprised because we knew an hour before what we were having and no one had taken the order.. we forgot but assumed the restaurant wouldn't forget..guess you have to place a timer on your table to remind yourself as it is easy to get drunk on a cocktail and two bottles of $100 vino..STARVING..food was good or so i remembered..i was too tipsey to enjoy it and went home and went to bed..WOKE UP STARVING. i dont recall anyone playing a piano as advertised. oh it was a saturday night, easy to get a rez, and it was half empty, the other half were little old ladies. IT COULD BE REALLY GOOD, IT COULD BUT SADLY I DON'T THINK THIS PLACE COULD SURVIVE WITH THEIR SERVICE.. oh and the person who suggested it, said exactly the same of her experience..service is dismissive..why bother and we tipped the 20% just to be nice because clearly they can't be making any money as empty as it was..