The Steady Cafe & Bar

Horrible. I went here recently for brunch and I left feeling like I could have stayed at home and/​or longing to go somewhere else for more food. Vegan options were lacking. The vegan eggs benny was gross and a very small portion. The baked french toast was good at first, but tasted worse with every bite. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so opinions on it may vary. It was also very cold inside and the bathroom only had cold water and no paper towels. The service was very, very slow. When asked how the food was we replied saying we were disatifised and the server just said «Ok.» and walked away. The other server also didn’t bother to ask me why I only ate one quarter of my plate. I do not recommend this place at all. Go eat across street at Hogtown Vegan.

My favourite weekend brunch spot in the neighbourhood. Pricey but worth a visit every now and again

Great service, cool ambience, well priced food! Would definitely go back. The hash browns were amazing!

Service was good, food was decent, but $ 13 for a plate of eggs and something else, and $ 4 for a coffee is a bit much.

No complaints here. Nice classic trashy place turned nice with just enough of a clean up and just enough old and dated look to make one happy. We sat in the front smaller section. There’s a bigger space in the back which looks like it can host parties.
Staff was super nice. They have lots of vegan options. I had the tofu mash. My friend had the vegan eggs benie. We were both happy. She also had a mimosa for $ 6.
They have vegan doughnuts. Today was coconut. Absolutely delicious. Well worth the $ 3!
Located on bloor around dovercourt, it’s easy to get to by bike or subway.

I don’t get it. Maybe I’m not cool enough? I dunno. I didn’t feel welcome here. We came in on a Sunday afternoon and the place was open but they told us brunch wasn’t to be served for another 10 minutes. Then the server left us for 20 minutes with no menus or even water. I walked to the bar and asked for a glass of water and carried it back myself. We waited patiently and it was all just kind of awkward. She finally brought us menus and then left forever. Were we forgotten? We were just kind of hungry and confused about the entire awkward situation.
I tried the vegan eggs benny, which was looked tiny and pathetic on a plate for a whopping $ 14. Why is this getting good reviews? I couldn’t finish it, it tasted bland and powdery. Not egg like nor tofu-​like, more the texture of polenta and flavour of soggy salty cardboard.
My husband had their vegan donuts which were tasty but tiny and expensive. I doubt I will ever come back here as it literally and proverbially left a bad taste in my mouth.

Holy cannoli this place is cute.
Pink flamingo wallpaper, pastels everywhere, an image of Bowie juxtaposed beside an illustration of a unicorn sleeping between two hunks of bread. Be still my twee hipster heart.
We went for brunch this weekend and got the full experience– food, booze and donuts.
While I wasn’t really moved by the biscuits and gravy (I’m tainted by exceptional southern food + the biscuits were soggy) my companions were blown away by the teddy and the vegan benny. As well, as much as I’m not much of a cake donut person, the vegan donuts (adorned with unrelenting sprinkles) were also very good.
Service was also awesome. Ya’ll should go.

I’ve been to this place more than a few times now and each time I’ve never been disappointed.
The brunch is fantastic and full of flavor. I am a basic person so I usually order the «this or that» breakfast and man, the hasbrowns are the best I’ve ever had. This is saying a lot because usually a basic breakfast is just that, basic and this was not.
The service was also nothing short of awesome.
I ordered donuts as an appetizer. Try the donuts. Actually, just try one and if you say you don’t want more, you’re a liar.

Yes this place is the best! I’ve only been here for an impromtu dance party but I immedeatly loved this place. The back room is perfect for an intimate party. The decore is the cutest too. My favourite part was their fake christmas-​like palm trees, i must get my hands on something like that. It brings a whole new meaning to christmas in july.
The staff was also so nice! I’ve been to so many bars where the bartenders aren’t the friendlist (of course I understand what they have to go through most of the time) but here they were so friendly :)
My next step is to go and try their brunch that I keep hearing great things about.
What a cool place, dancing and great food :)
Love it!

Wonderful brunch (lots of gluten free and vegan options), very tasty coffee and a cool and alternative vibe. The service was slow — my coffee came fast but the food took a while. But hey, who is in a rush on Saturday morning anyway? LGBT community seems to be regular customers. I will definitely return for brunch and also want to check out their evening events.

I am writing this review because we came here for brunch based on a good review from what I consider to be a reputable source, a review I now find baffling.
The service was efficient and polite, and there was no wait for a table but the food was really, really sub-​par. We had the Biscuits and Gravy and the Southern Skillet and found them both very tasteless and under-​seasoned. The ingredients did not seem to be of a very high quality and the portions were less than generous for the price also.
Like most people who live in Toronto I have been to a lot of brunch spots and this one does not hold up.
I don’t know if maybe the vegan and veggie options are the real draw here or if it was just an off day but based on my experience I would definitely not return here for brunch and I cannot recommend it.

From the outside you may not think this restaurant has great brunch or is super gluten and vegan friendly but it is. A pleasant surprise and not super busy on a Saturday morning.

Been meaning to check out this place ever since it’s turquoise front brightened Bloor.
Had brunch there for the first time and will definitely go back. I had a hard time choosing which menu item to check out. They have a great range of both savoury and sweet items, with many gluten free and/​or vegan. I went meaty (had the skillet) and my companion had eggs «Teddy», which cleverly use crab cakes (a little doughy) instead of English muffins, presumably to keep the dish gluten free.
Where they really got me was the cappuccino I had. It was perfect. They feature Pig Iron roasters coffee, which I’m familiar with from Lit on College street. Too often lattes/​cappuccinos are afterthoughts at breakfast places. Not so at The Steady.
Dinner menu seems promising too. I’ll be back.

Uh. I’m so sad I didn’t know about this place sooner! I went here for brunch and loved it. Tons of veg and vegan options. And they make a good americano (a must!).
I had the vegan eggs benedict and it was quite good. I would have preferred that it came with potatoes on the side but at least I didn’t leave brunch feeling crazy full and sluggish as is usually the case after brunch out on a Sunday.
It didn’t seem that busy for a Sunday brunch, so maybe not too many people know of this place? Such a shame.

Finally managed to go here for brunch. And it did not disappoint. Plenty of vegan and gluten-​free options (with a couple being in both categories) — including the only vegan donuts in the city that are also gf. Sadly they had just sold out of the donuts when we got around to ordering. Three of us had the vegan egg benny (mine on a tostada instead of the bun to de-​glutenify it), and one person had the vegan banana foster waffle. Delicious food all around. Standard brunch pricing (vegan benny was $ 14), good portions.
Great atmosphere — pleasant music, loads of room between tables, pretty chill all around. Great service — very friendly and helpful. They seem accommodating as well in making substitutions, which is always incredibly pleasant and welcome.
Bathrooms could be cleaned more frequently. They were fine, but there was paper all over the floor. A sweep here and there would up the place for sure.

Went here with my fiancé for brunch on a Saturday morning at 10:30am recently. When we arrived there were only a few other tables being used, but it got progressively fuller as the time went on.
I had the special that day, which was a Miami inspired breakfast burrito. Overall, I’d say my meal was a 4 out of 5 and tasted just delicious. I’m not sure why it’s served with «salad» (aka lettuce… which seems to be the thing to put beside brunch and call it salad.) But the burrito was so good, I didn’t really care about what was beside it.
My fiancé had the normal breakfast, you know, 2 eggs, hash browns and sausage. It wasn’t really that much of a standout, and she found that the sausage was SUPER full of rosemary, so if you’re not into that I’d say get the bacon.
Our service was pretty good, however we did see two tables come in, sit for 15 – 20 mins then get up and leave. There was one server when we arrived, and the second server didn’t get there until 11:30 or so when we left… I guess they needed him earlier.
Overall, this place was good, and if someone wanted to go there again I wouldn’t say no. However, in a city where you can find a well executed brunch with regular frequency, The Steady was good but not standout.

Let me start by saying that I love this place and am going to have to try to make it out to Bloordale more often!
1^st visit: I first visited The Steady Café for brunch last fall with a large group (10+? people). I started off with the Southern Sinner ($ 9), which unfortunately took longer than I would have liked to arrive. But when I tasted it-​yum! It tastes exactly as described (sweet tea, booze, and coconuts). I’ve since tried two cocktails and the Southern Sinner is my favourite.
I also ordered the Collard Stuffed Cornbread Waffle with Chipotle Maple Syrup ($ 13) and added a side of sausage (because I wanted a dose of protein). One thing that annoyed me a bit was that the menu said that fruit was included on the side but the waitress didn’t bring it out. When I asked about it, she thought that I was mistaken but later did bring the fruit out for me once she realized the error. I appreciate that she was nice about it. Another downside was that the sausage was sort of bland. I had high expectations since I believe their sausage is homemade but I didn’t really enjoy it. The waffle was really good and very large.
I also ordered the OMG Sugar & Cinnamon Donuts ($ 6) and I really enjoyed these! I wished that they were more moist but the coconut cream made up for it! The cream had a mild coconutty sweetness to it and was at a somewhat cool temp which I really liked.
Overall, for this visit, the service was slow but to be fair, I was part of a large group. At least the service was friendly.
2^nd visit: I visited again this past New Year’s Day for brunch in a smaller group. I ordered the Southern Sinner again and found it a bit weaker than what I remembered but tasty nonetheless.
I also ordered the Skillet ($ 13) this time because I had sampled a friend’s plate during my first visit and remember wishing that I had ordered it instead of the waffle! The Skillet didn’t disappoint — a nice mishmash of spinach, sausage, tomatoes, eggs, cheese atop hashbrowns brought out in a piping hot skillet! This definitely gives alot of bang for your buck because it’s tasty, hearty, and very filling. I was also pleased because the sausage was more flavourful than last time. Perhaps it’s just that there was enough salt this time. Still it was a huge improvement.
Service was friendly as usual, which was more impressive considering our server had worked late the night before for New Year’s Eve!
3^rd visit: I recently went with a friend to try the new dinner menu which is VERY well-​priced. I made a change from my usual Southern Sinner and went with the Forbidden Fruit ($ 10) to start. It’s not my favourite — I found it to be bland. Next time, I plan to try the Dirty Jolene (with donut liquer!) or I can go with ol’ reliable — the Southern Sinner.
For my main, I started out with the Enchiladas ($ 6). I LOVED these! There were 3 smallish chicken enchiladas with a side of cumin sour cream. I would say that they were mildly spiced but still very tasty. I loved the seasoning of the chicken and the cumin sour cream took it over the top for me! I have never thought of «spiking» sour cream with cumin but I may give it a try at home. I think that this is a very economical dish — tasty and filling. My friend ordered the Tequila Pine Burgerette ($ 7) and I thought it looked pretty small. I had a taste of the burger itself and wasn’t wowed — but keep in mind that I didn’t really taste the slaw or mayo that was part of it.
Service was friendly as usual!
On another note, the washrooms are clean but they look like high school washrooms and they REALLY need to get one of the stall doors fixed. Overall, I won’t let this deter me and can’t wait to return for dinner!
Final note: Go to The Steady now! For brunch and dinner!

The Steady is pretty awesome. I had been watching the restaurant for a while, and had it on my «to check out» list, and as soon as I heard they launched a brunch menu, I could wait no longer!
They take reservations for brunch (more awesomeness points,) so I took advantage of this by bringing in a giant party of 16 to test out the brunch menu! They had no problems accommodating this, and set up two large tables in the back facing each other so our large group was able to stay in the same area.
If you’re looking for some hair of the dog, they have a pretty awesome and creative brunch cocktail menu. I didn’t try one myself, but I heard some very good things from my fellow dining companions that did try one.
The Steady has a really alternative vibe (which I love,) and the servers and cooks really emulate that vibe also. While our servers were super friendly, service did leave a little something to be desired (could check in on us more, food and drinks were very slow, even for a group of this size) Note: no splitting bills here.
The food is amaaaaaaaaaazing. LOTS of options for meat lovers, vegans, and gluten intolerant people alike. The «This & That» breakfast, that seems really simple, but consists of lots of breakfast staple options (eggs, bacon or sausage, biscuit or hashbrows, fruit or greens, etc.) and had, by far, the best scrambled eggs I have ever had the pleasure of consuming in my life. They were cooked perfectly, and seasoned sooo well. My description just doesn’t do them justice. I don’t know if they slip drugs into those eggs because they are addictive as heck, but trust me, try them. My boyfriend ended up ordering an extra side of 5 eggs because they were so good.
I had the red velvet pancakes that came with a coconut sauce, and they were quite yummy. A HUGE portion size, I didn’t finish more than about a quarter of my giant stack. While good, they can get a bit one-​note if you are eating the entire plate. I suggest getting a side of something or sharing the pancakes with a friend.
Check out the calendar on their website — they hold a lot of cool events in the evenings.
Anyway, had a fantastic time here, and really, just can’t wait to come back. What a gem.

We showed up to an empty restaurant at 11 am with a reservation for 7 people. Our food took well over an hour after ordering to arrive, with another table arriving after us and eating before us.
When the food finally arrived, it was fairly mediocre — the skillet meals looked great, but the other breakfast plates failed to impress. Limp, half-​cooked hashbrowns, overdone bacon, and the vegan benny was relatively tasteless. The biscuits and gravy is $ 14 and consists of two biscuits without a side, which seems steep.
The service was friendly, but nobody acknowledged the fact that our meals took forever. Seeing as the service took so long that one of our party had to ask for her meal to be expedited so she could make it in time for her movie at 1 pm (2 hours after we arrived), it seems like they could have easily comped her coffee or the like. I think The Steady has recently introduced breakfast, so maybe they are still working out the kinks. This is a business in my neighbourhood that I want to patronize, but I don’t think I’ll be going back there for breakfast anytime soon.

I’ve been here twice, for both dinner and lunch, and had a great experience both times. For dinner I had the vegan burrito and it was great. Fresh and tasty and refreshingly different. My husband had a quinoa taco salad (also vegan) and it was to-​die-​for.
For lunch I had a grilled sandwich and coffee, also both delicious and reasonably priced.
Aside from the food, my favourite things about this place are definitely the service, which was awesome, the fact that they have plenty of vegan options, and the beer and drink selection. The space itself is also very cool and they have dance party nights that look like they would be a lot of fun.
I will definitely return.