Symposium Café Restaurant & Lounge – Oak Ridges

Its true, where there is no choice. you go where you can. Symposium is impressive in it’s ability to deliver as all symposiums across the GTA. However, given the general lack of coffee establishments within a specific radius… you would expect to really own it. We actually came by with the hungry troop for breakfast. The menu was delightful and I could not decide what to order. The food was great if overly sweet. I would have preferred the caramel sauce on the side so that I could decide how much I wanted to use to drown my waffles (to which I dock a star). Half way through I had to admit defeat and pass the plate to the hubby dispenser.
As it was not busy, the kids had a field day and the staff were pretty nice and accommodating. No dirty looks and the like.

Here is a live story from our experience at the Symposium in Richmond Hill 2 hours ago. Actually we are still in shock.
It’s our neighborhood coffee place usually. Came with our daughters for a family day brunch.
The place is half full plus one large table.
A nice waitress takes our order and than the amazing experience of service begins.
After 40 minutes (yap 40) we asked about our order. Talked to the manager who said he will go and check. He went and never came back…
Food still doesn’t come, we call him again and now our girls food arrives. woot! (Grilled cheese sandwich and Belgium waffle. 45 minutes to prepare!)
But wait. What about mom and Dad?
No food.
We call the manager who goes again to check. Food arrives. Yeah!!!
My husband’s burger is burned. I mean black burned.
My order of eggs benedict with Brie and NO ham, arrives with ham and no Brie.
We than call the manager again who looks at us and answer rudely– well we had to take care of that big table and if you want to replace the burger it will take 15 – 20 minutes to cook it (seriously ??)
My husband was so starving and the girls almost finished their food so he actually asked to get the burned burger back. And the manager was fine with it.
Meanwhile, my eggs got back! Yeahhh finally I’m going to eat. Surprise– they took the old eggs (remember? The ones with the ham) and put them on a new bun and throw a piece of cheese on top. You know what guys? When you play all these games, the eggs and potatoes get cold!!!
Finally they succeeded to break me. I cancelled my order.
The sweet waitress was out of words. We asked for the bill and she told us there is no bill.
The attitude of the manager Ismael Jimenez, his disrespect and arrogant approach, is the reason we will never step in again. Not the food, not the incompetents of the kitchen. His attitude.
Although Symposium is a chain, the atmosphere was always of your neighborhood place to go. Until you will train your staff that great service experience is provided when you see and hear your customer, and when something goes wrong (and things go wrong), you don’t turn your back from your customer and walk, but take responsibility and just make an effort to fix it, you won’t see us coming in.
Plantty of places with regular food which taste great because of exceptional service.

I enjoyed this place when they first opened but found the food mediocre at best and expensive … Would not recommend it at all …

Have always wanted to try this restaurant after hearing good reviews, mostly about that they have nice cakes. Finally had a chance to visit today for lunch. First thing I noticed was how nice the patio looked. Too bad it was too cold today though. The interior was also very nice. Very big open space and the bar/​drinks area was nicely decorated and felt comfortable.
The menu had a good variety and breakfast is served until 4pm. I ordered the Eggs Benjamin since I love my smoked salmon. Service was good and quick. Good sized portions but the food wasn’t great nor bad. Probably not something I would order again. My friend had ordered the pulled pork sandwich which he said was pretty good.
Would come back again and try other things on their menu. Nice place to just relax and catch up with friends.

First time I went here my friend ordered an appetizer that tasted horrible. I didn’t think I’d visit again but a few weeks ago I ended up here. Ordered the symposium burger. Very impressed. The sweet potato fries were perfect. The garlic sauce it came with was also very tasty. They have deals every day of the week. The décor and ambiance is very nice in this café. Friendly service.

Love this place! My mom and I go here about once a week since it’s right around the corner! The staff is extremely attentive and the food is deliciously and super quick.
I love their breakfast, Turkey bacon club or the flatbread! Never disappoints.

My friends and I visited this café the other day for brunch at around 11:30am. The staff are always so friendly and the place is always clean with a great atmosphere. I love how high the ceilings are and how open the layout of the restaurant was. This location is great if you’re looking for a place to grab some food or drinks and catch up with friends. We ended up sitting and chatting for 3 hours.
I ordered the eggs benedict with a café latte and it was delicious. The portions are on the larger side as my friends and I were stuffed by the end of our meal. The presentation of the food was also really appealing. I loved their home fries as they are the perfect amount of crisp and are not drenched in oil. The price was also great as my meal came to about $ 15.
I would definitely recommend this location if
— you and your friends are looking for a place to catch up for a long time
— you are looking for a place with a large variety of food options or an extensive drink menu

My new favourite place for breakfast! I came in at around 2PM after a crazy morning of shopping at Fairview Mall. I got the Egg Benedict, soft poached and it was perfect! The service was good and prompt!

this place rebranded it self… it was purely a grab a drink/​dessert type of place when it first came into the marketplace about 15 yrs ago (kind of gave away my age there lol). it has not evolved into a dining type of restaurant, a little more sophistication.
we ordered the Greek chicken sandwich with Ceasar salad, steak wrap with fries and the ‘east meet west’ waffle for dessert.
the Greek chicken sandwich was pretty good, no complaints there. however, the steak wrap should be renamed, it should be called veggie wrap with a little steak in it. place was a bit dark, but I swear, I did not see more than 2 little pieces of steak in the wrap. every bite was pure veggies. it was good but way short on the meat. the fries needs a little help. the style was like New York Fries but minus the crunch. it was too soft for my liking.
in terms of size, we eat both meals in a shorter time span than it took to bring it out to us. that should give you an idea of the portion size.
now for the dessert. it was basically vanilla and chocolate ice cream on a waffle with bananas and strawberries. this was petty big. I actually did not finish this plate off and I usually finish everything. but keep in mind, you have to consider what I eat during the day. lol… let’s not get into that.
price wise, I guess it’s pretty average for this type of restaurant. each sandwich was about $ 12 and dessert was $ 11.
will I come back… hard to say. undecided at this moment. I’m leaning towards coming back, the food was pretty good in a way. it was just not the right time tonight. I was too hungry to eat in a place like that… buffet would’ve been more ideal.

To me, Symposium is a nice addition to the neighbourhood, but the food is neither here nor there.
The interior is impressive, the fresh juice bar is great — i’m not a regular of the chain, but they really need to look at adding some healthy options to their menu. The menu is really a bit dated. But this place has some great potential because there isn’t much rivalling it in the neighbourhood.

I went there with my wife for a casual dinner. The décor was nice and casual (including high ceilings with faux fresco walls) and dimly lit. Although it would be ok for kids (and there were small kids when we got there), strictly speaking it is not a kid-​themed restaurant. I’m not saying they are not welcome, but at least in the evening it seemed more adult oriented.
The menu was extensive. My wife had steak, I had ribs. The cuts of meat were not top notch, but based on the price I guess they were what would be expected. Ribs could have been cooked a bit longer as they were on the tough side. Waiter tried really hard, but totally forgot to bring our appetizers (we had ordered bruschetta to eat while perusing the menu, which he brought, but he didn’t bring my soup or my wife’s salad). The mains came out so quickly this wasn’t really an issue, and the apps didn’t appear on the bill so I guess he forgot to order them.
Price point was ok for a mid-​range restaurant. Big patio so during warmer months that would be a plus.

pretty good service, the food is not bad either, the ambiance is really nice and the ample parking is so convenient! amazing cake selection; similar to the one in woodbridge so I’m glad they opened one up north!

Figures, just as soon as I move away from Oak Ridges a decent spot to sit, have a coffee, while sitting in a comfy chairs a using free WiFi comes to town! Sheesh!
Luckily for me this now makes passing through Oak Ridges a tad more convenient if I’d like to stop and get some work done (and maybe have a coffee and a snack). It’s located in the newly minted plaza at Yonge and Regatta (just south of the Medical building (much of this plaza has yet to be filled in with new businesses as of yet so we will see what comes).
I will say that this location is HUGE and it is gorgeous inside to boot! I really had to tilt my head back to take it all in. Quite gorgeous with huge murals on the wall, eclectic décor pieces around on both wall and floor. Definitely a sheik and versatile spot!
Last Monday I paid them a visit shortly after lunch time and decided to have coffee #2 and get some work done. The staff were totally understanding and even extra helpful letting me know where I could find the ONLY plug in the dining room. Note for future visits, my. your laptop best be charged bc if this table is seated you’re screwed.
I ordered an Americano (my go to coffee beverage), and while I waited to got the WiFi password and tried logging in. The WiFi here is terrible, so bad in fact that the staff told me before I could even ask if there was an issue, that the WiFi is bad and that Pizza Pizza next door’s WiFi is open and MUCH stronger — that’s next door though! You can’t advertise Free Wifi and then have said wifi suck? Work on this.
My Americano arrived and the presentation was very nice, I really like the flute-​like clear coffee mug. However, the Americano was overly watered and the correct ratio of espresso to water wasn’t used, resulting in a sub-​par coffee experience. I would have sent it back but I feel like this was the standard offering.
I’ll come back because I know that there food (from other locations) is good, and hopefully they fix that WiFi. Believe it or not this is the ONLY coffee shop in the Oak Ridges corridor of Richmond Hill (aside from Tim Hortons).

Symposium is a great and long-​needed addition to Oak Ridges. This place has a great atmosphere, a varied and appealing menu and a pretty large patio, which I can’t wait for next summer.
My wife and I went there recently for dessert and we were not disappointed. We shared an «East Meets West» waffle and, wow, the plate was so large we couldn’t finish it! It was presently beautifully. I also ordered a latte which was, well, it was a latte, so not too many places can get that wrong.
Overall I’m very happy we (Oak Ridges) finally have something a little more upscale, while being more affordable than Sarpa up the road, to help give our nice little town more variety.
Welcome to the neighbourhood, Symposium! Hope you stick around for a long time!

Have you ever been to a restaurant where you don’t feel welcomed, and you feel like the waiters are doing YOU a favour by being there? Then symposium oakridges is for you. First time we went, terribly long service… over two hours (with small kids!). We chalked it up to opening week. Second outing, service was quick, but the owner was visibly present. Tonight was horrid! Barely acknowledged, I had to move our dirty plates to a clean table, and none of the other staff that were milling about and chatting even offered to help. One thing I will say. You get quick service when you finally get fed up and stand up to leave. I noticed that there were a lot of disgruntled looking customers, all standing around waiting for their bill. Boo! It’s not as if the place is cheap… I would rather spend my money where I feel valued. Don’t even get me started with the number of flies in the restaurant. I must have burned a few hundred calories swatting them away… eeeeeewwwww! I would have mentioned this to our waiter, if we would have seen him. Booooooooo :(

A franchise recently opened in Oak Ridges~ Went for brunch before shopping trip.
Nice atmosphere, really cool, quiet, spacious and airy. Décor followed a lot of European wall art pieces. Seems kind of dated.
Our table was not well cleaned, bread crumbs were observed. We asked for extra cleaning. The girl seem reluctant and quite absentminded. (as if we are thin air, nonexistent).
Friend ordered a Eggs Benjamin ($ 12.45), which looked really good, but never got to try. Potato wedges were crunchy.
I ordered a French Toast with White chocolate cinnamon ($ 12.55) which also came with a fruit salad. The fruits were really fresh and sweet. It was not the canned fruits you get from supermarket, where the fruits are submerged in sugar juice. But the french toast was disappointing. The bread was burnt, moist and soggy. It was like soaked in water kind of texture. It was lacking the crunchiness I hoped for. White chocolate cinnamon was savory, just a good sauce combination. Other than the cinnamon sauce, they give you maple syrup on the side. But because of the sad french toast, I did not enjoy the brunch much.
verdit: if you ever go for bunch, do not try their french toasts.

Just discovered this place the other day in Oak Ridges. It is located in the same plaza as the newly opened Food Basic. The decoration was specular and very upscale. The service was great as well. We went here for drinks on a weekday. I order a Gin and Tonic ($ 5.95) and my friend order the Symposium caffe latte (~$ 4.00). The caffee latte was like a dessert with cream on top, but it did get really sweet towards the end. My GT could use a little more gin, but it was a good sized portion for the price.
They do have daily specials as well and a spacious patio outside, but unfortunately it was too cold and windy to sit outside. Considering its proximity to my neighbourhood, I’m pretty sure I will be a frequent here.

Service was incredibly slow, the servers did not know the menu or ingredients in the dishes, nor did they know basic server skills, I got something different then what I ordered, we went with 4 people and no one was satisfied, will not be returning

Symposium recently opened in Oakridges. Great addition to the town. We went for coffee and desert. The carrot cake was delicious. unfortunately I couldn’t finish the portion was huge. Great menu, lots to choose from. They serve breakfast every day. Each day they offer a different special. Guess where I’ll be on Wednesday… Martini Night at Symposium!
Staff are friendly, very nice ambience, summer patio and lots of parking.