Holt’s Cafe

Even though I’ve worked in the area for too many years, I’ve actually never sat down here for a meal. They have sandwiches, salads and pastries. I really should give it a try! Lately, I have been grabbing tea latte to go (i love tea latte!) and they use Sloane Teas which is always a nice surprise. Already tried Holt’s blend and the Earl Grey. Next up, oolong and then snow dragon green tea. And they serve illy coffee, so one of these days I’m going to order me a latte. Yes please!

Aida was in a sour mood working the lunch counter a recent Dec weekend. She barked my order and didn’t go into the details of the different sandwiches. But she did ask if I wanted a salad. When I inquired if it came with the sandwich, she only shook her head. If I am going to be upsold, make me feel special!
While this was happening, an older gentleman pushed past me to see what else was available for lunch. When I turned to look at him and give him a WTF look, he said my purse was in the way. Of course it’s my purse. Blame me while you push past me to make your way. Not a fan of old money men who have absolutely no manners.
At the end of the day, it’s nice they have a café that you can stop for a sandwich/​coffee while you’re shopping. But not worth the stop if you end up feeling uncomfortable /​regretting you stayed there. Maybe I need to dress up like a banker next time I go there.
The chicken sandwich was delicious though! I do recommend the food!

Came here around 5pm for a quick bite before dinner because we were starving! There was two other tables when we arrived and pretty quiet. The host let us picked our seats which was nice because I like sitting by the window so I can look outside.
We ordered 500mL of Pinot Noir Joseph Drouhin — it was fantastic as well as truffle chips (chives, grana padano), a holts club (grilled chicken, bacon, fontina, avocado, spicy mayo and arugula) and the holts burger (aged white cheddar, bacon, sauteed mushrooms and roasted garlic aioli). Truffle chips tasted like kettle cooked chips but a little too salty for my liking. The holts burger was exactly what it sounds like — just a burger. It was really well made for a burger but it was still just a burger. I didn’t really like the holts club not only because it was an open faced sandwich but it was also dry. The grilled chicken looked more like chicken cold cuts than grilled chicken if anything.
Our server (I forgot to get his name), was fantastic. He gave us recommendations and suggestions for wine, super friendly and was already around at the right time. PLEASE bring back the lobster mac n cheese!
I’d go back if they bring back the lobster mac n cheese but other than that. it’s really nothing special.

Holts café (50 Bloor St West, mezzanine level) Famous BLT salad pancetta, breaded tomatoes, creamy greens, need not say more! Having a good day? Add a side of truffle chips and stay healthy with a Holt happiness drink. What we loved? Valet, manager greets guests, designer shoes on same level! #ladieswholunch

There are two locations at this address:
1) a quick café in the basement with some pre-​packaged fresh made sandwiches and other already prepared foods, and
2) a higher end «fine dining» restaurant upstairs on the second floor.
Review of downstairs: Delicious sandwiches. Nice coffee. I come here often for a quick meal. Four stars.
Review of upstairs («fine dining»): It was quite a few months ago when I visited for lunch. I remember the food was quite good but more than anything I remember it being really really cold. The building was blowing cold air on me. I am usually the last person to complain about temperature. I let the waiter know and he said this problem is oft complained about by customers who sit where I was sitting (near a window with a big air vent at the bottom… which is many of the seats), and they have had experts examine the problem, but determined nothing can be done because of the way the restaurant’s heating and cooling system is designed. He said quite a few tables in the restaurant don’t have that problem but unfortunately none of those were available right now. Food, while good, was also a bit expensive for what it was. Two stars.
I average out the review of each location to 3 stars.

Nice and airy. Service was okay. But the food took forever! We must have been waiting for an hour for a burger and salad. Food was good. Nothing to rave about. I probably would not have a meal there again.

A wonderful light filled room for a ladies lunch or brunch. I love all the tartines and salads. They are big enough to share. Service is always friendly.

Its a beautiful restaurant! I actually got a wonderful place to sit, right beside the big sash windows and it was drizzling snow that day. Had an amazing view while enjoyed their minty mojito with soup of the day! Loved the place, its etiquette, food and location! Oh not to mention, the washroom is huge and pretty! :) Enjoy guys!

They had wonderful meal. The sea bass was great, fresh and hopefully ocean wild as was told. The fried sweet potato was amazing but surprisingly wine glasses was not nicely cleaned… It’s downgrading. It’s a pity that such a nice white wine was served in inappropriate glass!

Place is fancy but food is overpriced and crap. It’s very sad, because this place has potential to be great. The location is excellent. I have been here way too many times because my friends want to go and every single time I get disappointed. I hope I NEVER go back, such a waste of money, seriously!

Definitely prefer this Holt’s Café over the one in the Holt’s at Yorkdale. For one, this is a proper service (wait staff take your orders and bring you the food).
This isn’t usually a place of grub for my parents and I unless we happen to be in Holt’s shopping. My dad bought a pair of Bottega shoes and we decided we were thirsty. The place has been renovated (but a long time ago), and it’s nice. We had a lovely booth by the corner and decided to order a bottle of Veuve (because for those of you who know me, there is nothing like Champagne during the day!) and a chicken pot pie to share. We also decided to order fries which were freshly fried and crispy. YUM!
My dad was extra thirsty so he decided to order some of their fresh (and healthy) juices.
Great place for a snack or post-​shopping drinks. Service was great and it was not busy at all (so a nice escape from the hustle and bustle within the city!)

Came here for lunch with my friend Kevan. Not a place I could afford to eat at often but the whole experience was lovely. Had sweet potato fries and the BLT salad. Divine. Service was quick and efficient. Ambience nice. Price well it is Holt’s so not cheap. Would come back again for sure.

I am absolutely disappointed with this place. My plate came COVERED in a dusty and HAIRY residue. The proposed solution was to re-​plate it which I think is utterly heinous. I guess they thought I would be okay with eating just the top layer of food and leaving the bottom. Really? The worst part was that it actually smelled absolutely delicious and I was starving.
I thought the chef here was the same guy that helped rundown restaurants turn things around… I hope this is not the sort of quality assurance he teaches the other places.

Holt’s Café is a stylish, clean and modern café for the ladies that lunch taking a break from shopping. There are four in total and having only been to the downtown Toronto location, I can only speak for one. The restaurant in narrow with a long window wall bringing in beautiful light all day. The menu changes slightly and they always have specials. Their soups are delicious and always fresh. The day I went I was lucky, the special was an extremely tasty butternut squash noodle-​free lasagna. The layers were paper thin sheets of squash. My friend and I examined the layers with awe, I can’t imagine how long it took to make this dish… not one I will be trying to imitate anytime soon. The food is definelty made with care, fresh and there’s something for everyone. They also just started serving Belmonte Raw, which is a raw, top quality local juice company.

What a waste of money. The panini I had was a Chicken Club and it was pretty bland and gross. Lacked a lot of salt and flavour in general, with the chicken breast (ick) being dry and dusty.
The pressed juices were good but at $ 4.95 for half a bottle, I’d rather walk to Whole Foods and buy something for that price (or cheaper!!) with double the amount.
The only good thing was the shrimp, but that was not cheap at $ 3.50 PER SHRIMP.
Forget it. Ain’t coming back here. I should’ve known better but I was just so hungry…
There are so many better places to eat than Holt’s Café.

I have hard time understanding why there is a diner in side a shopping centre but I come here time to time for quick snacks and sweet treats. But mostly I like to come here for sleek modern diner-​inspired style of interior. It looks cute and cool, and view of Bloor Street is cool too.
Foods are generally salads and open sammies but they are just ok. Interesting ingredients are used in the sammies but it doesn’t translate to good taste. But I liked pork sandwich and holt club sandwich. And dessert is where the money is at. They are delicious and coupled with teas or coffee they are perfect for a lengthy chatty afternoon with gals.
As much as I want to love this place I can’t justify the prices. They are overpriced and sides and salads are ridiculously priced. I can’t justify other diners around me too. They all look like rich aging housewives living off husbands’ bank account, and trying to enjoy the fortune while they can before their hubbies dump them for younger women soon.

I’ve only been here once but the sandwiches are amazing! We just arrived after the lunch rush so it was quiet and intimate. Our food came out quickly and was delicious! I will go back to eat and try something different on the menu!

Conveniently located and with such good looking food — cute little desserts, and all kinds of panini sandwiches and salads.
We tried the grilled vegetable panini — the veggies were a good portion of peppers and eggplant and perfectly grilled.
The pesto, brie and chicken panini was great too — the pesto was delicious with a generous slice of brie on the sandwich
The sandwich bread was quite a lot of bread and kind of empowered the rest of the sandwich. Although the sandwiches were enjoyable i kind of like the Starbucks paninis better — OMG can i say that!!!

Their frozen yogurt is to die for. Seriously, I strongly prefer this to other places. It’s delicious and has a very subtle citrus taste to it.
They also serve delicious healthy lunches. If you’re looking for a breakfast, lunch or afternoon snack, it’s worth checking out.

The Café is located is located on the 2^nd level at the back of the women’s shoe department. Upon entry the doorways are lined with the daily menu, so you can decide before hand whether entering this café is your cup of tea or not.
The café itself is quite beautiful. Like a modern diner, with retro red chairs that swivel, it gives off almost a lounge feel with the sleek grey couches lining one side, a bar on the other, and banquettes that allow you to take views of Bloor street below.
I came here for an early dinner, just about 6 pm on a Monday and the café was pretty dead. Including myself and my dinner mate there were 2 other females seated in the café.
Our cheerful waiter told us to sit where ever we please and graciously brought us over the menu. Before laying eyes on the menu she asked to take our drink order. We asked if there was a drink menu and she alerted us it was on the back of the menu. They have an extensive wine/​champagne list as well as some delicious cocktail options. However as soon as I laid eyes on the Iced Lemonade I had to have it.
She soon returned with our drinks and helped us settle on 2 sandwiches The Holt Burger which is a café favourite and one of there specialty sandwiches called Les Tartines — A classic French open-​faced sandwich on Poilâné Bread, a rustic sourdough «boule»
that is toasted and served with a variety of delicious and fresh ingredients, we opted for the grilled chicken breast version.
Iced Lemonade — Very refreshing, nice and tart with a bit of pulp. Completely enjoyed this.
Grilled Chicken Breast Tartine — with red pepper, arugula, truffle honey and chêvre. This was totally not what I expected. The chicken breast was sliced very thinly and laid upon the toasted sourdough that was spread with the chevre and honey and topped with a heaping pile of arugula and slivers of red peppers. It was very difficult to eat, steak knife and fork required, I had to saw through the crust of the bread which was really tough but the bread itself was soft and tasty. However I just found it too hard to eat and I didn’t enjoy the combination of ingredients and all the arugula was like a salad on my sandwich.
Holts Burger — with smoked bacon, Gouda, onion marmalade, and garlic aïoli. I totally understand why this is a café favourite! Burger was very flavourful, thick patty, cooked perfectly medium-​well, good bun held together really well, and I thoroughly enjoyed the combination of toppings. A very good burger indeed!
Truffle Potato Chips — with sea salt and chives. This was my side with the burger, another café favourite. They were pretty tastey however I found some chips to be a little overdone.
Onto to Dessert, as a PB lover I definitely knew what I wanted!
Reese’s Pieces Ice Cream — with chocolate truffle bar and peanutbutter cookie crumbs. This was also a café favourite. The icecream taste exactly like reese’s pieces and the truffle bar with peanutbutter cookie crumbs tasted exactly like a peanutbutter cup however it was lacking the silkyness of the milk chocolate.
I also ordered a Tea which came in a cute little white pot but it was probably the most bitter tea I’ve ever drank, it was palatable but far from the best.
Overall not a terrible meal, a good place to drop in for a bite after perusing Holt’s. The plating here is gorgous, service was pretty spot on, but the food is hit or miss. I’d stick to odering Café Favourites which are highlighted on the menu with stars and the dessert selection and cocktails are safe bets too!