Hot House Restaurant & Bar

I’d give this place 6 stars ! Our server was great! Food was amazing. We sat outside and it added to our experience. I had the Asian stir fry with shrimp… YUMM!!!

Fabulous to wine and dine, the patio is the best in Toronto love the service. Scott is amazing Andrew and his wife treat you like family. There is something on the menu for eveyone.

With all the options we had for dinner we chose this place. Soooo glad we did! Our waitress was fantastic, our drinks were good and the Mediterranean Trio appetizer and the Waikiki Pizza were out of this world! If we ever visit Toronto again we will most certainly come back!

Went on a Sunday — around 1pm. 2 of us for lunch.
Place was packed — always a good sign of good food.
Asked front staff how long of a wait — was told matter of minutes.
Matter of minutes turned into 30 minutes and we gave up and shared with 4 other people at the bar area.
Good food. — get a reservation prior to coming for Sunday brunch.
Don’t believe front line staff at door re estimated waits.
They have no concept of time.

I’ve eaten here with friends or family maybe forty times over the last 10 years. It never fails to be an excellent experience: delightful staff, delicious food, and ample portions for greedy types like myself. It’s smart enough to be suitable for special occasions, but unpretentious enough for a spontaneous bite to eat.

Food was below average, tasteless and nothing to brag amount. I will not be returning. Basically my pasta was bacon bits and peppers in a sauce that was as tasteless as it looked. Service was good food was horrible.

I like Hot House. It gives me the option of stuffing my face with embarrassing quantities of good food rather than mediocre food. The «award-​winning» Sunday brunch buffet is what I came for and I must say, the food quality justifies the price. Both are pretty damn high! (~$ 25)
Onto the food itself, I didn’t find there to be that much variety but this is brunch after all. What it does have, it does very well. Omelette bar with fancy ingredients? Uhh… yes please! Cake cutting station with 10 different cakes? Pile it on! Not only did the food taste fresh, you can SEE some of it being freshly made (like waffles). Gotta love the mussels in white wine, the crab salad, and the mixed berry white chocolate cake.
I also have to give shout-​outs to the waitstaff, who are some of the most attentive and professional around. Within 2 minutes of us noticing our table was wobbly, a polite man came up and said «Here sir (to my dad), let me fix that for you!» without us even asking. I saw someone ask a random person carrying dishes away whether or not a certain dish was vegan and not only were they responsive, they were actually very helpful! Major props to the amazing training at Hot House.
Was it worth the trip downtown? Yes, just this once, but I probably wouldn’t do it again. Definitely wouldn’t mind coming back if I’m in the area though. Highly recommended for those who are in the mood to eat until your pants protest.
(35÷100)

This is a lovely place for a Sunday brunch. I was invited to a paint party bridal shower here a few weeks ago. I ordered the omelet with the toast and it was perfectly cooked. Service was ok, we didn’t all get out food at the same time. Portions were large and food was hot and delicious. Parking was not great but nothing in that area is.
I would love to go again.

My husband and I both had pasta dishes here and ended up with terrible food poisoning. We called the restaurant the next day to inform the manager that the food made us both sick, and he replied that he had not received any other complaints and perhaps it was something else we ate. There’s no mistake though, Hot House food made us sick and had us running to the bathroom night long and all day. I checked the Unilocal reviews and there are several other people also complaining of food poisoning. This tells me they are aware of the problem but are choosing not to address it. Do not eat here!
*UPDATE* Dear Unilocalers, if you experience food poisoning from eating at this restaurant, call Toronto Health. From the response they wrote below, it’s clear that management won’t to do anything about it besides displace blame. Peter, just for future reference:
«Symptoms from the most common types of food poisoning will often start within 2 — 6 hours of eating the food. That time may be longer or shorter, depending on the cause of the food poisoning.»

Great spot for brunch! Live music and all you can eat buffet for $ 20. This place is classy and spacious. The only downside is the waiting time, which can be up to 40 minutes without reservations. Strongly recommend the cheescake and the variety of salads.

If you are looking for a good restaurant that is not over the top, this is the place to be. The service was outstanding and food was great! It is not too fancy, hence the prices are not too high, which makes it an affordable place to eat.

Wish I had gone sooner!
I’ve heard tales of the famous Sunday brunch at Hot House, but only had the pleasure of enjoying it for the first time last week.
Excellent service, the jazz band and the wide variety of excellent dishes exceeded my expectations.
A not so hidden gem in this wonderful city!

Not our first choice for valentine’s dinner but they had room and away we went! Service throughout was excellent. Lovey had the fixed price menu ($ 45) and I went for just a main. She started with the crostini with beets and mushrooms, followed by beef wellington. Both were excellent with the main being done a perfect medium-​rare. My main was the chicken stir fry — a large portion! dish that came out hot and perfectly done. Loveys desert was the pannacotta — she did all but lick the plate!
Got to admit it was hard to find any reason not to like this restaurant! Great service, great food and the ambiance was nice! Absolutely would recommend this restaurant!

PLEASE STOP WITH THE JAZZ MUSIC!!!
The brunch is incredible, been here 100x. But the jazz band is so horribly annoying, nobody wants to yell over their table on a sunday afternoon.
Please stop with the jazz band!
Literally NO ONE likes it.

Pros: Accommodated group of 12 within a few days notice, very good food, prices correspond to food received, generous portions, quick service, service was friendly.
Cons: Décor was nothing to write home about.
Verdict: Would recommend.

Some good and some questionable food.
We’ve been to Hot House 3 times.
First time I had the mushroom gnocchi, and it was so good. It was heavy, but fresh and flavourful.
Second time I had the mushroom gnocchi, the cheese sauce had obviously gone bad. The whole dish tasted really off, with a little sour aftertaste. I also had the mussels, and they were nothing to write home about. I would not order it again. We both did not feel very good after that meal.
Third time (we went back because the wait for another restaurant was too long, and we were hungry) I had the jambalaya, and we both thought it was one of the worst jambalaya we’ve had. It was basically some pasta sauce with 3 tasteless shrimps, some bland chicken, and thinly sliced sausage mixed with rice. Tasted like ingredients drowned in heavy sauce without much spice. I wouldn’t actually call that dish a jambalaya.
My partner’s Mongolian Beef entrée was good though. He ate the whole plate.
Service has always been friendly, restaurant is non-​pretentious, clean, and spacious, and the complimentary bread is much appreciated and memorably delicious. The bread is probably one of the reasons we go back to the restaurant lol

I came to Hot House with a friend over the holidays. We both weren’t really hungry and just wanted a simple meal. Hot House was perfect — it had that Christmas vibe, warm and welcoming feel and the menu items were reasonably priced. Pasta and pizza around $ 12 – 16, latte and smoothies around $ 4, wine and cocktails around $ 8 – 10. My friend ordered a glass of red while I got the blueberry and elderflower martini… to be honest we were both a little disappointed as we felt the portion was less than what a typical glass would be. We ordered a pizza to split with salami, sausage and sweet sausage… It came split in half for us already. As much as it was a kind gesture, I’d have preferred to have the pizza come as a whole so I could take a nice picture. We didn’t expect much and wanted just something simple that wouldn’t break the bank. Ambience was important as we wanted to catch up in a comfortable environment. Overall it was a good place for that and we appreciated that we could take our time there. I heard Hot House has the best brunch in the city so I hope to try it next time! The restaurant donates their food generously to Second Harvest charity which I think is wonderful. Happy holidays nomming!

Absolutely delicious gnocchi mushroom fughi. So tasty! Very heavy as expected but huge portions. Definitely value for money. Well worth the $ 20. This place is very reasonable priced and has great service. Our waitress as always on point and attentive. Highly recommend.

This place is a staple for Sunday brunch whenever I’m in Toronto. Great spread. Great atmosphere.
I love the omelet station here. For some reason, I’ve never come across a brunch spot that has better tasting omelets.
If I’m in Toronto on a Sunday, then I’m here.

We had ordered here on Christmas Eve, also being a local patron in the area. We ordered the jambalaya and lamb burger, which came with a side of house salad. Upon a couple of hours of eating this, we had both experienced terrible cases of food poisoning. There was certainly food contamination in either of those dishes as we had shared the meal. Surely enough, this was a lousy Christmas experience. Never will I ever eat here again.

Came here for a pre Paintnite meal. They have Paintnite at the back of the restaurant. We decided to have appetizers and drinks beforehand since we thought having a full dinner would take too long. Drinks were typical, nothing to report there. Their cocktails weren’t that good for the price you pay but I guess you expect a decent tasting drink for what you pay for. The food we ordered was bruschetta and calamari which were recommended by our server. It was okay, but nothing special. I thought the calamari pieces were a little small and greasy. I did have a good time at Paintnite though and the service was good during that time. I don’t think I’d come back for dinner but I’ll definitely try their brunch buffet next time since I heard that’s what the restaurant is known for. I do enjoy the atmosphere of the restaurant for sure. It was nice and cozy but this was a Tuesday evening. I’m sure the brunch morning is busy!

Went here on Wednesday night. When we got there it was packed, we had no idea that Wednesdays were all you can eat dinner buffet. We made reservations so we didn’t have to wait too long, maybe 10 mins. My husband and I never tired the buffet here and the waiter kept raving about how good it was and the various selections they had to offer so we decided to give it a try which was a big mistake. The selection wasn’t that great. Only things we actually enjoyed eating were the BBQ chicken and the cheese filled pasta. The roast beef was as raw as raw could get. The cup of water I got from the server was dirty beyond belief. Not saying I won’t be coming back to the hot house but definitely won’t ever be coming back for the dinner buffet. Seems like the servers are focused on way too many guests to actually serve you properly.

I cringe writing this review. I lived in Toronto my whole life but I’ve since moved to Vancouver. I planned a trip back to Toronto to see friends and family; I raved about Hot House Restaurant to my friends in Vancouver and told them all how excited I was to eat there again.
My best friend and I showed up at 11:30am on Sunday for the brunch buffet. We were told it would be an hour wait. I was looking forward to eating here so we put our names on the list. Sure enough, an hour later, we were given a table.
My friend is a vegetarian, so other than the omelet station, the buffet was a bit of waste for him. Meanwhile, I stuffed my plates high and goobled down food as if I had never ate before.
Our server was great. She was friendly and refilled our water often.
I left feeling full and happy. I didn’t need to eat for the rest of the day!
The next morning though, I didn’t feel so great. My stomach was hurting and I thought I must have overate. Then I ran to the washroom and threw up. Over and over and over. I spent the entire day puking and feeling absolutely terrible. Turns out, I was suffering from food poisoning! My friend thought it must have been from the shellfish, which he didn’t eat. Could have been from the beef as well. Whatever it was, it ruined a day of my vacation and I will never tell anyone to eat here again.

I came here for a friend’s birthday. We had a party of 7 people for brunch on Saturday and all had a very enjoyable experience! The restaurant was mostly empty, so we didn’t have to wait at all, unlike 99% of brunch places in Toronto. The wait staff were also extremely friendly and attentive! We’re a pretty rowdy bunch and our waiter humoured us and laughed at our jokes.
The food was okay. Very standard brunch fair. Amongst our table, we tried almost every item on their menu and I would say that the ham and cheese omelette was the most impressive dish (unfortunately, I was not able to snap a picture). The French toast was a close second. The St Lawrence Classic and Egg Benedict were nothing too special. If you are undecided between the choice of sausage or bacon for a side, definitely go with the bacon. They serve real peameal bacon with generous portions!
Our favourite part of the meal were the mimosas! They have a special where you can have two mimosas for $ 9! The tropical mimosas is a must try! There are other cocktails on the menu, but two for $ 9 really can’t be beat!
I will definitely come back again for the service and atmosphere, probably on a Sunday for their brunch buffet!

I have been to this place many times, for dates, hanging out with friends or dining with coworkers. They offer a huge assortment of food. I recommend going Wednesday nights for their pasta buffet bar where for a low price of $ 20, you get custom cooked pasta, a selection of steak and a healthy helping of desserts like chocolate layered cake. This has been a favourite choice for winterlicious and summerlicious!

Very casual but nice place to grab a bite or have a few drinks with friends or family. They can accommodate a large size group because it is quite spacious inside. There is also a secluded area for a large group. We had the gnocchi and pasta and it was good. Had the Viognier French white wine and it was also good although their wine glass smelled funny– a little bit like wet towel or when wet glasses and left on a counter top upside down. Will visit here again.

I am a frequent customer at this place.
For dinner and lunch, they have a nice patio which is a perfect place to get drinks, mingle with friends, and people watch. The personal pizzas are delish. Can’t go wrong with pizza and drinks. Crust is nice and thin. The rest of the dinner/​lunch menu are just alright
However, My favourite thing to do here is Sunday brunch with my girlfriends. Nice ambiance with live jazz band playing in the background. It’s all you can eat brunch, quality and selections are good. Price has gone up over the years, we had brunch today, it was around $ 23 per person. Fresh waffles, french toast, omelette station, cheese & fruits, and other lunch items (pasta, lagsana, mussels, roast beef etc). I like the cake selection
Perfect place to enjoy good food, and spend time with friends

Horrible, horrible, horrible service. We stopped in yesterday for a quick lunch. We gave our food order when the waitress came by for our drink order because we had enough time to review the menu. Then waited 30 minutes for our food, waitress didn’t stop by to ask if all was good after. Needed our drinks topped up as we drank them during our wait. Finally I had to get up and go find our waitress to ask for the bill. Food was alright but 40 bucks for 2 burgers a handful of fries and 1 soda wasn’t worth it.
What a waste.
She did ask us if we wanted dessert but we didn’t have another hour to kill as we trying to catch a 3:45 movie!
The restaurant was also filled with misbehaved children running around screaming. Next time we’ll just go to McDonald’s
P. S. My lamburger was way over cooked.

3.5
Review will be based on both the Sunday brunch and dinner menu.
Pros:
Very good Sunday brunch buffet
Very nice staff
Cons:
Place gets very busy at times
Most people know Hot House for their Sunday brunch buffet. Come early on a Sunday because the place fills up fast. Hot House has one of the most varied brunch buffets I’ve ever been too. There are tons of items available. It’s a little pricey for your average Sunday brunch, but being all you can eat makes up for it.
My only gripe is that it gets too busy for the staff making omelets to keep up. There’s usually a huge wait time for them because so many people want them. I just skip it altogether because it’s not worth the wait. Other items could be finished quicker because of all the people, but Hot House manages to refill them pretty quickly.
I also came here for dinner on a Sunday night just this past weekend. Not surprisingly, it was very busy again too. We were told they had a table, but it would be a 15 – 20 minute delay for food. We had already been turned away from 3 other places so we stuck this one out. The delay wasn’t too bad when you factor in how busy it was and the fact it was father’s day.
Our table ordered a couple of pasta dishes, a burger plate while I had the rib steak. I was surprised to see a rib steak being offered as places like these usually only have sirloins. The pasta portions were very big compared to other places like this. My rib steak was a very good cut of meat that I didn’t expect. It was a nice thick piece, not thin like other non-​steakhouse restaurants offer. I did ask for medium rare but the steak was more medium. If you like it more on the rare side, you will need to ask for rare here.
The staff were all pretty nice throughout the meal even though you could see they were very busy. They did a very good job despite the conditions they were under at the time.
All in all, Hot House is a pretty nice place to go to if you’re in the area. The food is good, but not anything special. You won’t be making the trek downtown just for this place, but it’s a great option if you’re in the area.

After the painting classes, we picked a restaurant randomly. Luckily, we picked the correct one.
The décor, menu variety, service and the taste were amazing. We three ordered jambalaya, which was so filling and yummy. Lunch menu, 13. Dollars.
The rice and meat were juicy and creamy.
Minha’s baked potatoes and Cherry’s lobster spaghetti were awesome! Will come back!

I went here after planning for awhile. It was for the Wednesday night buffet. At first, I had a pretty good experience and the staff at the door were quite nice. The food wasn’t amazing but it was a nice buffet. Ultimately, I got super sick after I left. Their quality of food might be lower end…
Food: 2/​5, buffet choices weren’t a lot and it was secluded in the restaurant. I had to walk quite a bit to get there. Desserts were probably the best part of the buffet.
Service: 2/​5, not great for buffet service. We had to ask for water often and there was too much «are you done with your plate».
Ambience: 3/​5, nice looking restaurant
Price: 2/​5, hard to find good buffets these days but not sure if it was worth $ 25 here. I’d rather go to Mandarin.

This is one of our favourite places to go for Brunch. It is full of wonderful food, from salads, roasts, entrees and breakfast foods. The deserts are also very excellent. In face there is too much for one person to sample it all. The service is fantastic and the ambiance is wonderful. It’s a treat to come here for brunch!

For a place called Hot House, the restaurant wasn’t very hot.
We came here for Winterlicious and we were not impressed.
The Food:
Came quickly but was the main was lukewarm. It also came out pretty bland. I got the surf and turf which had one jumbo shrimp and a 10oz steak. I didn’t finish the steak because it wasn’t worth the calories. The vegetables tasted like it came from a frozen bag and didn’t taste fresh at all.
The Service:
We had reservations and there seemed to be plenty of space in the prime areas of the restaurant. Yet we were seated in the back /​old décor section of the restaurant facing the Metro. We sat right beside the emergency exit. A manager decided to let people out of the emergency exit and let a cold burst of winter air in while we were eating. Finally it took a long time for our waiter to grab the Visa and the manager noticed and rushed to get it processed.
It’s a shame because I really wanted to like Hot House but it left us feeling cold in so many ways.

The name would suggest your food will be served hot.
It won’t be.
We came here for Winterlicious and how disappointing.
Firstly we were seated in a cold area with a great view of the Metro next door even though there were plenty of other seats. The chairs were very uncomfortable and the décor (in this section) was hideous. Some sort of net looking material on the ceiling.
The Good:
1. Fast. The food came out fast.
The Bad:
1. Food. The food was horrible. The Caesar salad was tiny and looked/​tasted like something you get from a cafeteria. The steak was bland, the vegetables were clearly from a bag, and the fries may have been McCain. No joke. The dessert (crème brûlée) was terrible.
2. Service. Though the food was fast, we waited a good 10 minutes for someone to come collect the bill/​Visa card. Also, a manager opened a door right beside our table to let 4 people out of the restaurant and it was FREEZING. Way to make our meal even colder!
3. Atmosphere. A random blend of students and old people, the atmosphere here is more like a cafeteria than a restaurant.
Recommendation: do not visit the Hot House, at least for winterlicious. I cannot comment on regular menu items but I can tell you I am not willing to find out after that experience!