Rosewater

Came here two years in a row (unfortunately) for a Christmas function. The food was horrible. The plates didn’t come with what it had stated on the menu, steak was overcooked, fish smelled rotten. All around bad. Two star rating because the service was decent. I’m pretty sure they served frozen spring rolls.

Attended a charity function.
Nice place, good space.
Only qualm was the food was mediocre, not too sure if it was a separate catering company.
The function was on the second floor, the main floor was their actual resto/​bar. By a peek it looked nice
There service was also good during the event and not sure if it was a separate from the event.
Nice place and will be update when I try the main level.

Went a while back and hadn’t gotten around to writing a review –awful experience– went on a Thursday… so loud the bar was jammed and totally ruined the vibe of our dinner. This place needs to figure out what it is are you an Earls type after dinner drink spot or are you a nice restaurant… you’re called the rosewater supper club so I would expect more and a nicer vibe what a trashy crowd !!! …the 3 $ drinks thing??? Like really what are you sneaky dees?!? …trash trash trash… even though we were in the dining room it sounded like there was a rave going on right next to us our waiter was an asshole and so stuck up… dismissive and rude. There was a group at the table next to us and there was a fat loud drunk guy that was being so obnoxious… everybody else at the surrounding tables was looking at him and none of the staff did anything about it… What a disappointment what should’ve been a nice romantic quiet dinner was the opposite. And to boot the food wasn’t even very good. NEVER going back and would never recommend it.

Tucked away in a charming gem of a location in the Financial District, Rosewater has a very charming interior. Some trivia would include the popular USA Networks Suits was filmed here for a dinner scene between Harvey and his old mentor. The service was good and we had a lovely Chardonnay to accompany our soup of the day which was a light parsnip purée with crème fraîche. We ordered the seared trout which was perfectly roasted and the flakes of fish came apart at the light touch, very delicate! We also ordered the gnocchi with gorgonzola and pear and walnuts and that was a refreshing and satisfying meal for a business lunch.

This place has an awesome décor! This is the perfect place to unwind after a long day working in the Toronto core, plus the $ 3 dollar happy hour drinks don’t hurt! It was packed so getting a place at the bar will be difficult unless you’re willing to be aggressive and push your way to the front. If you’re looking to hang out with friends with cheap drinks and have a few laughs this is the place to be!

If you didn’t know, Tuesday is the new Thursday. They have the same specials without the crowds. Depending on what you like, you can consider this as a alternative albeit earlier in the week. If you like a quiet evening with friends at a classy place, you gotta come try it out.
The bartender is the same as Thursday but she has time to breathe and have a good conversation. She recommended a few drinks and was extremely patient with us considering we were a large group. Some of us arrived early in case the best seats in the house were taken. It was probably after the long weekend but we were able to get those seats no problem. The booths were also still available as well as the couches at the back.
They do not take reservations for the bar area but if you wish, you need to call ahead and there is a minimum charge to be seated in a private room upstairs with your own dedicated server. The upstairs area is not open on Tuesdays as opposed to Thursdays, you are welcome to sit upstairs as it is the most crowded day of the week.
I will probably return on a Tuesday to get great service in a chill atmosphere. Although the service on Thursdays is good, it may be difficult to get a table and you will need to make your way to the crowded bar as the bartenders try to service everyone as quickly as possible.
I never tried to the food but may order some snacks next time.

Great food and great service. The ambience was quite elegant. The booth seats really stood out as it was quite tall. Though we came as a group of 4, I think it would be quite nice for a party as I saw individually sectored rooms. We tried the summerlicous menu. Everything was very well seasoned and beautifully plated. The duck breast was cooked to medium and topped with a vinegrette to balance it.

I didn’t rate this place 5 only because I don’t have the credibility to do so. But it was surely quite the dining experience, it wasn’t just a dinner. The variations of flavours used in the first course, main course and desert were unlike no other. This place is just the right place to go if you want your dinner to be an experience and not just to eat. **whine is also nice. :)

Came for winterlicious. As soon as we walked in, there was a crowd of people in business casual attire. It actually looked like a pub or a bar at this point, and everyone was socializing loudly. I was confused because I thought this was a restaurant, not a night club. It was probably because we came Thursday night.
We got seated in the corner of the dining room which was really nice. I had potted duck, short ribs and the sorbet for dessert, no complaints. However, one thing was the fact that it felt like just because we were coming for winterlicious, and because my group of friends were ages 21 – 22, we did not receive the best service. The server did not check up on us at all, and only came to take our order and bill us.
Overall, the food and décor was nice. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the crowded pub-​like environment happening for Thursday night, nor was I a fan of the service. Disclaimer: my friends and I are all restaurant workers.

I’ve been here for both the industry Thursday nights, and for actual dinner on a random weeknight.
Tuesdays and Thursdays makes this place a bit of a watering hole for Bay street suits. And by watering hole, I mean alkiehawling hole. From 5 – 8, there’s $ 5 wine, $ 4 draft beer and $ 3 mixed drinks! Not too shabby. If you’re in the Financial industry, you might want to snazz up a little bit, because you’re guaranteed to run into SOMEONE you weren’t expecting… a high school not-​really-​friend, business school rivals, that person you couldn’t beat on the debate team way back when. You know. Just random people! Gets old quick though.
All in all, Thursdays are fun and make for an affordable way to get from 0 to drunk before 8pm.
For dinner, I came on a Thursday night as well, just to see how the dining experience is affected by the rowdy financiers. Not bad, actually! I mean, I look through the glass and it looks like a zoo in Suits, but the noise control is decent!
I tried the Lobster Ravioli ($ 18) and threw in $ 10 to make it a main. When it came, I was severely underwhelmed. AND I bit into a rather large lobster shell… Nope. Asked the server to replace the dish with another entrée altogether, because I lost confidence in it. Replaced my entrée with the Beef Tournado au Poivre and this was a great dish! Not know what a «Tournado» was, I had few expectations, but it said «caramelized onions» and hey! I love me some caramelized onions! This dish was a winner.
Service was perfectly fine. The server very graciously replaced my dish. But that’s probably because I picked a more expensive option, hmmmmm?!
So. Dining would be a 3 star thanks to the shell, but industry nights would be a 3.5.

I came here for dinner with the GF on a Thursday night and what can I say the bar area is full of business guys and girls in suits trying to «hook» up! It’s loud and there are tons of people there for the cheap drinks and socializing. Not typically my thing, but we were slowly moved to the dining area where there was a bit less noise.
The décor is nice and the interior looks fancy and well put together. I can’t really say the same for the food. The server seemed a bit uptight and brought out the food in a decent amount of time. Due to the front being so busy, I guess the kitchen was a bit backed up. One of the dishes we ordered was the lobster ravioli. I found that it tasted previously frozen and there was lobster shell bits in there to boot. The server asked us if we wanted another dish and they brought out the Beef Tournado au Poivre instead (which we had to pay for). It was decent, but your typical streak really. I ordered the duck, and it was well cooked, but again nothing memorable.
Overall I’m sure this place would be a bit more quiet on a regular non happy hour day, but I definitely would not recommend going here for dinner on a Thursday. The atmosphere inside is nice and the place looks fancy, but the food and service to me were both forgettable for the price paid.

Disappointed!
I’ve been to the Rosewater with clients in the private rooms. Always had a good time and the food was good. Recently reserved for my Partner’s Birthday and had 12 people attend.
When I reserved I requested a private room because I knew we were going to be loud and I didn’t want to disturb others trying to have a nice dinner. I was subsequently told that they could accommodate but there was a minimum charge of $ 850. Not wanting to push my friends to spend more than they wanted, I didn’t know if we would get to the min amount. I decided to forego the private room.
I called to order a birthday cake and was told they don’t offer this. I could however bring my own, which is what I did.
We went to the restaurant on Friday night 8:00 pm and it was relatively empty. We had a nice table at the back of the restaurant that made it wonderful for surprising the guest of honour. We did see a couple change seat because we were too noisy for them as I suspected. Btw, all of the private rooms were empty.
We ordered our food. It took a bit of time but we could live with that. When we started eating, most of the people in our party we not thrilled with their meal. Some thought it was lacking in taste while those who ordered the tagliatelle complained to the waiter that the herds over-​powered the meal. The restaurant quickly fixed the problem by bringing out 2 of the same dish but with less herbs. It was better but just ok.
we were having a good time when suddenly the birthday cake was Brought out without us having requested it. 2 more people were joining us for cake and coffee and they had not arrived yet. We really felt rushed as the staff was cleaning the restaurant around us. By 11:00 we felt so rushed we just decided to leave. This is a Friday downtown Toronto during TIFF. Place was empty by 10:15 except for us.
Not the feeling and atmosphere I was expecting. I will not be holding any more events at this restaurant.

I came here last year for a prix-​fixe valentine’s dinner. It is a very gorgeous restaurant. Very spacious and beautiful interior.
I was surprised with a rose on my side of our table when I realised a rose was not available on others. It was my bf who requested the restaurant prepare a rose for me, but the restaurant was so nice and did it for us complimentarily.
The food there was good. The dessert was beautiful and tasty. The ambiance and the excellent service made our dinner especially amazing.

Impeccable service and excellent mains. The roasted potatoes are amazing. Lots of attention to detail. Keep an eye out for 1,000 point OpenTable times (usually around when they first open). If you’re looking for a place to suit up and hit a bar and look like you belong there in a suit, the Rosewater is your home. Knocking them back a star because if you go on a Saturday they host weddings on the top floor. It can be loud.

Went to Rosewater for my friend’s birthday. Interior was large and airy (high ceilings!)
Service was absolutely fantastic. Extremely courteous and professional which is always very appreciated for large groups. The majority of my reasoning for the 4 stars goes to the service.
They give you a beautiful variety of breads to start your meal off with and a delicious salted whipped butter
Food was hit or miss. For mains I got the PROSCIUTTO & FROMAGGIO ($ 19) cause I wasn’t too hungry. It was served on a stone cold platter and was beautiful to look at but mediocre in taste. I am too spoiled from having cured meat platters from the likes of Black Hoof and Bar Isabel!
My boyfriend got the LOBSTER RAVIOLI ($ 28 for main size) and it was quite tasty. However, it was a little too salty for my liking. The lobster flavour was very prominent and I actually quite liked the dish. if only they toned the salt down a little bit
FYI: plating fees for cakes are $ 4 a plate! Better off eating the cake at someone’s place if you have a large group!

A totally disappointing experience. Looking back not sure why I chose to go there with my friends… I guess we wanted to try something new and also after reading the positive reviews online on Google for the licious events, I figured should be good? Man were we wrong… Came here for Summerlicious (maybe a different experience for others?). Asked to sit downstairs. There was a divided section separated by a wall of roses at the front of the restaurant… Wish we could have sat in that section instead as it looked nice and also they had round tables (my preference) with nice looking table cover.
Food was just BLEH A OK average. portions were decent but the food didn’t taste great. The fish we had was so small, smaller than a fish dish we had at another restaurant for lunch! The Asian ratatouille that came with the fish tasted awful. The chicken looked quite dry and the lamb shank lacked of sauce… The breads given were not fresh…(more like half a day’s old). The scallops appetizer was likely the best dish of the night but it only had two scallops. and the dish looked funny with a chip in the middle of the dish (talk about degrading the presentation of the dish). The duck prosciutto appetizer was oversalted… Rosewater needs to work on the presentation of their dishes & drinks if they would like to keep their reputation or past reputation… even the slice of banana had its skin on still in our Martini drinks YUCK!
Desserts was terribly disappointing… nothing special but was told from a friend that came on the week-​end that the desserts were different and tasted good.
In regards to service, our waitress was hardly serving us. The busboys who brought us bread and extra dishes/​cutlery gave us a much better service than she did… Our waitress didn’t even bother checking up on us on whether our food was ok… except when when we were almost finished. She was too busy buttering the table next to us to work on her tip. Only once DID she served us water without us asking for it, and that was at the end when we asked for our bill! Also, the funny thing is when I asked her for the bill, she pretty much took the salt shaker off our table immediately… not sure if she thought we were going to steal it!
As the night got busier, the dishes took longer to come out for many tables… Thank goodness we were there early or else we would be so starving waiting for a long time for the food to come out. even heard a table complained when their food was finally brought out. Felt very sorry for the other tables who had to wait so long for dishes that tasted mediocre at best.
Rosewater had a lot of stars visiting their restaurant for the TIFF festivals but not since 2005. This used to be the IT place to see many Hollywood A List stars that is something of a past now. Rosewater still have a long standing reputation but if they keep going in the path of mediocre food and drinks, I am afraid business will start going down. Was surprised to see the place so busy that evening.
For the same price, I suggest to stick with well known restaurants such as Jump or Annona where you are guaranteed for a fabulous meal and fantastic service… or for a little more, stick with high end restaurants.

This actually deserves 3.5 stars. After reading Unilocal reviews and the menu, I had hoped for more. I left disappointed, but not enough to dismiss the place altogether. I would return to give it another shot.
Firstly, I’ve only been here once and it was for Winterlicious 2014 — lunch. I believe my review may not be an entirely accurate reflection of the restaurant, but I’m also not sure of that.
Ambience: The place itself is huge and very well decorated. It was contemporary and quite romantic, but also modern and stylish. The décor really stood out for me. Note: We felt rather chilly during our dining experience.
Service: It was a bit slow at times, but they were quite busy. We didn’t find that there were overly long wait periods, but the pace could have been a tad speedier. The waiter we had was friendly and unpretentious. No stand out service though.
Food: Nothing I had was too memorable, and in comparison to my other Winterlicious 2014 experience a week early at Canoe, this meal paled. Here is what we ordered
— Duck Salad
— Freshly Squeezed Juice (Mango-​Orange)
— Some Fruity Cocktail
— Another Fruity Cocktail w/​Prosecco
— Pan-​Seared Rainbow Trout
— Cornish Hen
— Braised Beef Panino (I think)
— Sorbet
— Bread Pudding
— Molten Lava Cake w/​Rum-​Bananas
We all started with the smoked duck salad. I truly enjoyed this dish. It had an ample amount of nicely smoked duck, and a surprise of lentils under the leafy greens. It was quite tasty. My SO didn’t particularly enjoy it, and my brother and 2 other friends liked it, but didn’t love it.
Now, the drinks we ordered were fabulous. It helped that they were also $ 5 and under (I believe a special Winterlicious promotion, which was a very nice touch). The juice was amazing — thick and fresh and full of flavour. Two of our party ordered a cocktail that I don’t remember the name of — they both enjoyed it. I ordered a cocktail with Prosecco, and it was absolutely delicious.
The main course disappointed me — at least mine did. But I was also disappointed in the inconsistency. Given that we did come for lunch, I expected the portions to be a little smaller, and that is fine — I’m usually not that hungry around lunch time. However, two of us (including me) ordered the pan-​seared rainbow trout, and found it to be ridiculously small. What put us off more was when we noted the other dishes, which were slightly larger, one being so large my friend had to pack half to go. I found the vast inconsistency in size to be a little unpolished for a restaurant such as Rosewater.
That being said, the fish I had was flavourful and I especially loved the beet risotto — it was creamy and had a bit of cheesiness, but went so well with the fish. I was unsatisfied with the portion, and although I did enjoy the flavour of the dish altogether, it did not stand out for me.
My brother and SO had the Cornish hens. This dish was larger than my fish dish — medium sized, relatively. They both enjoyed their meals, but my SO complained that parts of his hen were slightly dry, while my brother applauded the juiciness of his. Again, inconsistency. Not impressive. My SO also found his meal unmemorable. I also noted that they served this dish with a rather sad and flavourless side of steamed veggies — why?
My friend ordered the braised beef panino I believe. Her dish was HUGE, compared to the rest of ours. She had leftover fries and half a sandwich after her SO helped her with some of her meal (he also ordered the fish, like me, and was not full, like me). She commended the meal and said it was quite good. I tried the fries and they were delicious, but I’ve also had better.
I’m a little fuzzy on what we had for dessert. I know my brother and I both ordered the trio of sorbet, and I believe my SO and my other 1 friend ordered the bread pudding, while another the molten lava cake. The sorbet was dismissible. I enjoyed the mango sorbet, the fresh fruits, but it was really nothing spectacular. Whatever my SO and friend got though, was very delicious. The problem with consistency lay here as well — my SO’s dessert was considerably larger than mine.
Overall, the place wasn’t BAD, but it didn’t blow me away either. For that, I give it 3.5 stars. I doubt I would pay regular price to dine here, but I just may have to, to give them another shot. They didn’t put me off altogether, but there is a lot of improvement to be made if my experience is any reflection of their regular dining experience. For a restaurant of their stature, they can do better for sure. I didn’t appreciate the inconsistency, and found the food underwhelmingly small (I didn’t leave satisfied/​full), however, the flavours definitely had potential.
Note: My two friends who dined with us went again later that week for dinner and said they enjoyed themselves more. They commented on how the portion sizes were larger and there were more choices. This is another reason I would give the place another chance

Came here for dinner.
Ordered the onion soup for the appetizer:
The onion soup was really good! It came with molten brie fondue on the side to add into the soup — it was really smooth and flavorful.
Moroccan grilled lamb chops for the main:
Didn’t like this at all. It came with couscous on the side which had a really weird flavour to it — the couscous was pretty dry too. I barely ate any — only had the lamb and the veggies.
Service was great. We had 3 servers serving our table of 4 lol!
One thing rosewater needs to improve on is their silverware!
We were all given «sharper knives» to cut our mains — like the lamb chop I ordered, others ordered the strip loin steak etc. It was definitely not sharp enough. We had so much trouble cutting the meat hahaha.

It was my second visit to rosewater. I came to have lunch with 3 friends for Winterlicious. We were seated on the second floor dining area. For those of you that haven’t been here before, it is a large space. It was dimly lit yet you can still tell that the place was dated.
I started with the Applewood Smoked Duck Breast Salad with Dupuy Lentils, Confit, and Crisp Bacon. It was a good salad but there was room for improvement. The dressing needs more of a kick in the form of acidity. The lentils didn’t add any value in terms of taste. The bacon wasn’t crispy.
For the main I chose the Pan-​Seared Ontario Rainbow Trout Beet Risotto, Grilled Asparagus, Pommery Mustard and Champagne Beurre Blanc. The fish was cooked perfectly. I only wish they had a crispy skin. The risotto was nice and creamy just the way I like it. I would have liked a few pieces of beets.
To finish off I had the Flourless Chocolate Cake with Rum-​Flamed Bananas, Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream. The cake was pretty much a molten lava cake. It was soft, crunchy and creamy all at the same time. That’s never a bad thing :-D. With the ice cream it worked well being that it had both hot and cold components. If you’re a chocolate lover (such as myself) you would live this dish.
It was fairly busy for their lunch service. The service itself was pretty good. There was minimal wait time in between courses. I Will mention that the bread they served was cold. It’s worth a visit.

Great experience in one of torontos hottest dining venues.
This place isn’t usually opened for lunch, except during winter and summerlicious. Rosewater’s exhibits the upper echelons of dining experience with its décor, and service. Not only does this place host corporate, and private events, but weddings, other special occasions. Here’s the scoop on the 2014 Winterlicious experience:
Applewood Smoked Duck Breast Salad 4.5÷5
You could taste the smoky flavors of the duck breast, complimented by the fresh salad. In addition the small green lentils create a neutral balance to the overall dish/​
Ricotta Gnocchi ⁵⁄₅
made with Gorgonzola Cream, Pear, Walnuts, Arugula, the pears add a smooth, yet partially sweet balance to the rich cream and gnocchi. Definitely something to try!
Warm Pecan Bread Pudding: ⁴⁄₅
okay, im a fan of bread pudding, this was delighful, the toffee, maple syrup was not too over powering, the bread pudding almost tasted like french toast.
Overall this place is quite beautiful inside, and the servers are extremely polite!