The Lakeview

Always an awesome bet — waffles were AMAZING. Service great as well!

This restaurant is great for late night visits. Try their milkshakes, they really are delicious.
I’ve gone a few times and always been very happy with my food. Most recently I had their disco fries– I definitely recommend.

Definitely OVER RATED! Tried it a number of times, and figured the appealing feature of the restaurant is its 24 hours, convenient parking across the street, and clean.

The Lakeview is an institution and it’s partly why I go there. The food is hit or miss, but the Caesars never disappoint and they have beer specials. The pies and cakes are usually amazing — my favorite is Oreo Cheesecake. I’ve even bought a whole one before, because it is that good! Of course the line up after hours can be quite long, but at an off peak it’s a neat place. I’ve always had good service, no matter how busy this place gets.

This historic diner with 24 hour brunch, sandwich, burger, breakfast and more has a warm feel. The Lakeview burger with portobello mushrooms and crispy onion ring on top of the burger is a good choice if you like a simple burger. The seasoning of the burger makes the burger stand out from other burgers around downtown. The fries were soggy because most likely were sitting while the burgers were being made. I was happy with the service but felt that waiting an hour for a burger was ridiculous. Overall it’s a decent place to go after the club but not for dinner time.

This place will forever be a hit or miss for me. First off if you’re going there at a normal time — say around 6, it’s probably going to be great. But if you’re like me and you only go when the bars on the Ossy-​Dundas strip close then you’re taking your chances. Service is always up in the air, but at the same time they do have to deal with all of the drunkies. I get that.
My go-​to meal sober or not will always be the cornflake chicken sammy. Oh and I always get half salad half fries– because I’m half healthy. I’ve heard the milkshakes are also a must try!
All in all, It is a super cool place to check out if you’ve never been before, and it’s open ²⁴⁄₇ so you really don’t have an excuse, Do ya?

Place has been around since beginning of time. Institution as far as classic diners are concerned and still gets rammed on weekends. They still keep to the roots as seen clearly in the outdated décor… but the charm is still there. Food menu is massive! Be prepared to spend 15 minutes just picking stuff out.
I ordered fried chicken with a poutine, and split a bunch of different appetizers. Nothing memorable except chomping into a frozen drumstick that night. but I am sure it was a one off. Good selection of local craft beer. Probably go back again one of these days.

A great place for a solid diner experience.
My friends and I were craving comfort food and stumbled upon the Lakeview.
Great prices for what you were getting. Nothing beats $ 3 Mimosas. I got the Fromage a Trois which was melted Asiago, cheddar and havarti on whole wheat bread. Their sides were great. You had an option of a mix of salad and fries.
I would definitely come back again for brunch with friends.

This place is not without its charms. It’s got the whole old diner look going for it. And the diner food to go along with that look. The service, while friendly, is a bit slow. As if they forgot about you, went and did some errands, and then just recalled you were waiting for some food or the bill or perhaps more water. Still, the fact that this place is ALWAYS open, 24 hours around the clock, more than makes up for the slow pace the staff prefer.
I’ve been here several times, and sometimes this place is a miss for my dining companions. But honestly, if you’ve been out partying and are hungry? Great place for greasy, cheesy foods. You’re hungover from last night? Not to worry, Lakeview can help you nurse that with eggs.
The menu might not be something that inspires me to go out of my way to visit. But I know Lakeview’s got my back, despite my fickle devotion!
P.S: the deep fried Mac n Cheese Balls are the bombdotcom!

This place is open all day long has a variety of delicious divey/​dinery food. I’ve only tried the Lakeview Benny (crab cakes Benedict) and the Turbo (with salmon and cappers), so I can’t speak to everything on the menu but those two were awesome.

This review is for food only. Have tried the cornflake chicken club, mac n cheese balls, and chicken n waffles.
The chicken club is decent — but doesn’t come with enough spicy mayo, and they charge extra 50 cents for extra. Mac n cheese balls weren’t memorable. Chicken n waffles came with two poached eggs on top, and both of the yolks were cooked through. Also the ‘syrup’ is the glucose-​fructose kind. Side of salad is good, fries are ok, the soft potato chips that come with the waffles are really good.

It looks so nice from outside…
Services are very slow! I came for an emergency thirst beer and it took the sraff ten minutes to bring it.
Food was ok, but more like a bar food… so definitely not the catch for me.
The positive might be the good beer selection, however my joy from that was destroyed by the bad smell (10pm) which would be comparable to a smell of a dirty bar at 3am.

I went to Toronto with my father 2 summers ago. That was the best vacation of my adult life. Vacations as an adult were not too hard to beat considering the arrest at spring break, age 21. My father passed away 2 months ago. I decided to retrace our steps and went on a pilgrimage to Toronto. I drank a substantial amount to drown out the memories and pain. I needed food to soak all of that up. I ended up at The Lakeview at 3 AM. I had the burger. It tasted like a gyro. I felt like I was Tom Waits and my life was Nighthawks at the Diner. This was a great place.

Food is average, the Caesar is delicious and for $ 4 you can’t go wrong — ask for horseradish! They’ve got some really good drink specials going on.

After the party there’s the after party. That’s how I ended up here with a group of Unilocaler’s. Truth be told, this review might not be 100% accurate due to the alcohol consumed at said pre-​party. I had no expectations of the food or the place, so I couldn’t have really been disappointed. The $ 4 pint of beer on a Tuesday night was actually delicious, and very nice touch. I ordered the standard fare hamburger, and was expecting to choose between a salad and fries, however our cordial waiter suggested I get both! The food looked great, from what I could see in the dimly lit restaurant. Really hoping that the dim light wasn’t hiding many indiscretions that wouldn’t want to see in the daylight! eek! The patty of the burger was lacking some serious flavour, and I would have loved to douse it in some hot sauce, but alas I remained cool and just enjoyed my burger. The company was entertaining enough, I didn’t need the food to make me happy. I should probably try this place again for a different perspective. I can say that the staff were great, and he checked in a few times to make sure everything was good. Kudos to him for a job well done!

Came here on Canada Day for brunch and it was quite busy. I don’t think they were expecting it as there were about 3 – 4 servers. We were seated within 15 minutes, but the wait for food took a while.
I got the chicken and waffle benny while my boyfriend got the disco poutine. The chicken and waffle benny was okay but I would have rather just had chicken and waffles. The hollandaise sauce was more like a salty and tangy mayo. The chips and salad were okay, but fries would have been better. The disco poutine was not at all what we expected — fries, some gravy, shredded cheese, a sausage cut into 3 or 4 chunks, and some scrambled eggs on top. For the price we were expecting a lot more substance.
Would only come here again to try the mac n cheese balls.

I keep wanting to go back to this place after my initial and second visit. First time I went I had a burger and it was delicious. I don’t remember what kind it was, but I do remember great toppings and fries that were gone in about 4 minutes.
Second time there I was accidentally given the mushroom burger instead of the mushroom Swiss, but surprise surprise, it was also delicious! I actually had no idea and had eaten through half of it already.
Every time I go by this place there’s line ups. Way too popular, but that speaks well for it. I’ll be heading back when it’s not so busy.
Worth the trip!

I visited The Lakeview midday with a friend with high hopes. It was not busy inside at all, but the small patio was almost full. We were told we could select a seat, we chose one of the few available spots left on the patio. We ordered mac & cheese (no bacon), eggs benny, and a chocolate milkshake with peanut butter.
The service overall was slow, but our food came out relatively fast. The mac & cheese did have bacon on it, which meant I couldn’t eat it, my friend said she was not totally impressed with the dish. The eggs benny was alright, but we both agreed that we would probably go for a sandwich or something else if I went back. Our milkshake did not come out before or with our food, so we inquired about it. The server said she would check on it and came back a while later to tell us they had run out of peanut butter cups and asked if we wanted to swap mars bars or oreo pieces. We were confused because we only wanted peanut butter and not peanut butter cups, so we decided to just get chocolate. The milkshake finally arrived and we both felt that it was only mediocre.
When we were ready to pay, we noticed that we had been charged for the peanut butter cups that we didn’t want or recieve, so we went inside and had someone correct it for us because we were tired of waiting.
Overall, not the greatest dining experience for me.

It was really late like 4am we were on a bar near by and hungry we came here and ordered burgers, my Burger wasn’t really good, I ordered the one with 3 different cheese (can’t remember the name) and my man ordered one with a fried egg on it (his was really good) we sat beside the kitchen, big big mistake.
We could hear loud, really really loud hard core metal music, I have nothing against their music preference, however it’s 4am we were kinda drunk/​hangover and definitely tired, we both had a headache after.
Our server was really present, we are probably not coming back

The Lakeview is your typical diner with staples like brunch, burgers, sandwiches, fried food and comfort food at reasonable prices along with daily drinks specials.
I have only gone for brunches here and love their brunch menu and $ 3 mimosas. It’s a popular place on the weekends, so be prepared for a long wait about 20 – 30 minutes depending on the crowds.
Today I came for lunch with a friend and love the fact that it wasn’t busy, perhaps 6 or 7 tables occupied. Service is always friendly, fast and efficient, always attentive, but never intrusive or overbearing.
We shared our meals today because we couldn’t decide what to order. Don’t we all love friends who like to share? ABSOLUTELY!
Fish and chips didn’t look appetizing as the batter looked very crispy, probably due to old oil or perhaps a special batter they’re using, but it was definitely way more than the golden brown that I like. The texture of the fish was a little mushy which suggest either frozen fish or perhaps fresh fish that has gone bad or maybe just a bad type of fish. It wasn’t terrible, but lacking in flavour, plus was not the flaky fish I was expecting, but nonetheless it was edible. Thankfully the wedge of lemon and tar tar sauce helped. Fingers crossed I don’t get sick!
The fries were done nicely, so no complaints there, whereas the coleslaw was a little watery and tasted very bland.
The Standard Burger on the other hand was absolutely fabulous and very tasty. The patty was done medium and was full of flavour with a hint I believe of rosemary and thyme. It was simply a mouth watering, burst of goodness with every bite. The burger was served with half fries and half salad. Salad was nice and simple with light vinaigrette dressing topped with sunflower seeds.
I ordered the caesar which was sweet and I could barely taste the vodka, but for $ 4, I cannot complain too much. I should have just ordered my usual mimosa or a pint special for $ 5 — note to self for next time.
Overall, The Lakeview is a neighbourhood gem with great service, good food and they’re open 24 hours. What more can you ask for? Go try it for yourself!

Véritable repaire des ‘hipsters’ d’Ossington Village, ce restaurant fut repris en main assez récemment et c’est une réussite. Ouvert très tard, la qualité y est constante et le service aussi. L’intérieur vous rappellera les bon vieux ‘Diners’ américains avec ses carrelages et boiseries. Le menu est particulièrement original, les vieux classiques des ‘Diners’ est relevé par l’imagination du chef.
Mise à jour (5 octobre 2012): toujours aussi bon et ça mérite d’être souligné !