Symposium Cafe Restaurant & Lounge

Have not been to symposium in a couple years, went last night for 2 birthdays. I was amazed by how expensive the drinks and food were for the quality. Food was mediocre and the signature drinks were not great at all. My wife ordered a margarita and it was clearly made with margarita mix and barely any tequila. I got the JD Petite Filet and the steak was cooked alright but it tasted like they just lathered it in JD BBQ sauce after it was cooked.
Overpriced for the meals and drinks. In my opinion this is more of a coffee and desert date kind of place.
Also, As mentioned we went for 2 birthdays and they stopped doing a personal brownie birthday deserts which was disappointing for my parents.

I called in adavance for the special which was mussels to arrive to no mussels being available and it didnt seem to phase them. Ordered 4 birthday desserts, they could have compensated 1. Service was slow. Not impressed, unfortunately because I like to support local.

Adam was our waiter and he was great. He made us feel comfortable and was happy to provide a customized experience.

I had the pleasure of being served by Jalyssa, and I must say, she exceeded all expectations. Her warm smile and attentive service made our dining experience truly delightful. Jalyssa's knowledge of the menu and her recommendations were spot on, and she went above and beyond to ensure our needs were met. Her professionalism and friendly demeanor made our evening special. We will definitely be returning, and I hope to be served by Jalyssa again. She's a gem!

You need to include "dinner" on your sign so my husband can take me here more often.:)

Had a great Sunday brunch at Symposium. Thank you to Matt who was very attentive and started our day off great!

Krysten was absolutely fantastic. Gathered our orders at light speed and consistently checked up on us to make sure everything was alright. I am definitely coming back, and I left a nice hefty tip for her!

Food is terrible, I don’t recommend at all…. It was bland, I had the ribs and wings. Wings weren’t cooked and ribs had no taste, no flavour…. Staff was nice and helpful but the food not worth it all, don’t waste your time guys…. Really disappointed! Staff was nice to give me a discount next time I come but I told them I don’t need it!

Great spot in a residential neighbourhood. We stepped out around 9: 30pm to celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary. They’re open until midnight on a Monday! We shared butter chicken poutine and Spanish and Monte Cristo coffees. They also have a large set of vegetarian options as well as gluten-free.

Dinner was excellent, the lady manager check always our table and making sure everything was perfect! Our server was also amazing! Very good job! Very recommendable!

It was okay! I came here for lunch and ordered the Teriyaki Salmon bowl. I guess i was expecting something else or didn’t fully understand what the dish was going to be like but - it was plain bowl of salad with raw broccoli lettuce tomato and cucumber, with a nicely cooked fillet of salmon ontop! Makes you feel healthy

Lovely breakfast place, very lively.
The food is delicious but I would suggest them to add some halal options to their menu.
My family and I love their omelettes and coffee.
It gets a little busy in the morning so plan ahead.

I went for a brunch and ordered pasta for myself. It was cooked in mango sauce and was very tasty.whole dish was perfect blend of herbs, sauce and pasta.yummm. The place was very clean and staff was following every post COVID protocol. Very friendly staff and authentic food. Thumbs up Symposium!

Service was good, the dishes and dessert were delicious as well. I love the atmosphere of the outdoor seating area, it’s a bit pricey but I definitely recommend this place.

Five of us went there this evey. Bottom line is we met great staff and all of us felt it was excellent food.

I ate some fish tacos which was the worst i ve tasted, it would have been better if they named it a fusion of tacos and sushi. At least service was great, but they have to do better with the food

We enjoyed on the patio. Good customer service and they have any type of coffee you need. No hesitation in recommending.

Food is not a nice as it used to be. This is the second time of disappointment.not sure we will try it again.

We drove from Toronto to have lunch here today and it was absolutely fabulous. We ordered a Mediterranean omlette, a hamburger and a California chicken sandwich and to top it all off we ordered the Nutella waffles. The food was absolutely delicious and staff were extremely accommodating and polite with excellent service- highly recommend it. Parking also available at the back.

Went there for the first time for breakfast. The quality of food and service was beyond my expectation. The staff and the manager were so keen to help and satisfy each and every customer.
Will definitely go back.

Went on a Friday night two weeks ago. There was a couple outside who said they were waiting and had put their name down. My wife and I went in to try to put our name down as well. No one acknowledged us. There only seemed to be one server there and someone behind the bar area. There were several empty tables that weren't cleaned. My wife and I waited ten minutes and the server walked by us twice not once saying they will be right with us or hello or anything. So we left. We will probably not come back to this location.

Please don’t go and waste your money here. I was there for breakfast.the service is pathetic.no adequate cutlery and most important of all the breakfast wasn’t good at all. The much hyped restuarant needs to improve in all respects. Cleanliness was poor. The management needs to check all details.

Excellent food. Service was a bit slow and oddly, payment process rather difficult. Would I visit again? Absolutely.

The service was slow and the food did not come all at once. Also, the waiter was a bit rude and was not very attentive. We had to ask for water many times for it to finally come 15 minutes later. Would not really recommend it as the prices are high for portion sizes

We only went here because it was Father's Day and they had a patio during the pandemic rules. Food is plentiful but bland and prices are on the higher end. However the atmosphere and service was very nice!

Sunny beautiful Sunday and fam desired a breakfast place visit after a long pandemic lockdown. With this place being a few steps home away, tried out first time here. Clean ingredients and flavours and couldn’t have asked for a better day. Their plates may look big but don’t indulge in super heavy portions unlike other joints. Being a vegetarian fam, had super good choices. The value for money is max for kids menu which pampers kids to super size portions for their age and can be an excellent treat for summers. Being our first restaurant visit with our LO, enjoyed every moment of our bite.

The sauce on the Power Veggie Omelette oozed great flavours and was a perfect choice for my south Asian tongue. Absolutely no need for Tobasco shower. Their grilled veggie omelette was another great find and had subtle flavors perfect for our 11 month’er too. While coffee isn’t the best comparing other spots, how can one miss their oxygen. Thankfully, it’s bottomless.

Edit: Don’t miss Emily’s service. She is a fantastic host, period!

They have a pretty good menu! Most of the items (fish tacos, butterchicken on rice, calamari and burgers) taste great and have good portions. I love the desserts there too!

Terrible and racist service, refused to let my family sit together, and when we politely told them that covid regulations allows family members to sit at one table and were allowed by one of the waiters, we were quickly attacked and yelled at by a senior staff in front of my children.

Symposium has always been my go-to for their coffee & desserts. Such a lovely ambience, especially when seated outside. The staff are superb - Luna and Emily were so kind & hospitable!

I am giving Symposium 5stars for the absolutely incredible service we had yesterday from Mary Beth! She was so friendly, warm and it was obvious she went over and above to ensure we had a memorable dining experience. She was super fast and we were so pleased that I specifically spoke to the on duty manager to let her know how amazing Mary Beth was. Symposium is very fortunate to have someone like her representing their restaurant.

Aside from the food, this cafe is beautiful. You can enjoy your meal in a cushy armchair near a fireplace if you like. I love the fireplace, because it's functional & "fashionable". It matches the interior & serves to divide the bar from the more formal dining areas. On one side, the fresco-covered walls & flickering light are more than charming.

Beware of choosing this restaurant. They are extremely unprofessional! Servers refuse to even acknowledge their customers despite staring at them for several minutes. If you order for pick up, the food is left sitting on the counter with servers going about their way while you're standing their waiting to be attended to. At 9 something pm on Tuesday, 30th of June, I witnessed a delivery driver working for a courier company just stand there with the food sitting on the counter, right by the servers, but the servers refused to even attend the driver for probably 10 minutes! The servers were a woman with a terrible attitude and a young looking guy just busy with his work. The woman definitely saw the driver several times but ignored the driver and let the food sit on the counter to get cold. Then a man comes from behind the kitchen (likely the manager) and has the audacity to tell the driver to "make noise". I saw all of this and had to leave the restaurant and didn't even want to eat their food as I doubt it's even safe to eat food with such an immorally and unethically run place. If they let delivery food sit on the counter and get cold because their servers are a bunch of unprofessional degenerates with attitude (the lady that was working that night), I can only imagine what they do with your food behind the scenes in the kitchen!

You have been warned! Eat here at your own health's expense and be ready to be treated piss-poorly.

A joke of a restaurant.

Glad I decided against eating there.

They now make the burger patties handmade and it was the best burger I've had in years legit. Prices are awesome and the ambiance is perfect, I reccommend this place 100%

Really happy overall with our takeout experience. Food was fast to be ready and the service was awesome. Had the spinach dip, which is always good.

One of the best places in Milton. Awesome patio in summer and great food all year round. I'd highly recommend their ribs - it's truly delicious!

Definitely a place worth stopping over, the food is good and fresh, the cost is fair and it is regularly clean here. 5 stars.

The symposium cafe is a great place for all types of crowds. You can start your day with a great cup of caffeine & some baked goods. Alternatively you could visit for a nice breakfast. If you missed the morning alarm brunch will have you energized. Lunch is full of options & dinner will have you ready for dessert. There’s a nice bar area with sports. A good wine selection. Great indoor & outdoor seating that follows Covid regulations. Definitely worth trying!

We went yesterday me and other friends to have our breakfast their and we had a lovely great experience even with the pandemic restrictions.warm welcoming and great hosting.thank you for being their for us with all the restrictions around.

They are local. They are prompt. Their staff is ever-so polite and best of all, they treat you with respect.

Love going there.

The staff is extremely friendly and helpful and is swift in their delivery of the meal. I would highly suggest coming here if you need a beer and some great food!

I was here for brunch a Saturday morning in July. Service was friendly. The food was good. The atmosphere is more bar/ lounge than dinner. Sundays is 2 for 1 cakes.

Worst Service hostess and Manager on Saturday Afternoon
Went to this Milton location after a soccer game with kids. The Hostess was clueless and had to keep going back to ask for response to my query and one child's meal was awful and after requesting them to remake it was still bad but the child was hungry. The manager hid behind the counter and didn't make any efforts to come and address my concerns.if I delivered this kind of service I would lose my job in a second and my company would lose millions of dollars we bend over backwards to serve and maintain our clients. I would never go back to this location.

We went to Symposium for a drink around 10: 30pm and waited at the front to be seated. Not only were we completely ignored from the wait staff, who looked like they were just standing around, when we looked at the tables in the restaurant none of them had been cleared. After waiting 5 minutes to be acknowledged, no one came to greet us so we walked out the door.

We were extremely disappointed in this restaurant and would not recommend it.

I had an eggs Florentine, the portion was so small, I’ve been to many different locations and I know what the quality of how it should be and this place isn’t it. Really disappointed.
The customer service is not the best. The servers look like they can’t stand talking to customers. Would not recommend.

My sister, brother-in-law, and myself enjoyed a pleasant afternoon visit here along with a tasty appetizer. We enjoyed the ambience and the service.

Amazing food and ambiance, daily specials are good deals that you can never miss out. Staff is very friendly and good, will definitely come back to this spot.

New management is terrible. We have waited for over 30 mins to get our coffee and drinks. Friend found hair in food. Sad to say this is our last visit here.

I decided to go with a caesar wrap. It wasn't the best wrap I've had. It was a bit dry. Had to ask for extra dressing on the side. I also ordered the daiquiri which lacked a lot of alcohol! Will surely be going to symposium again but will most likely be sticking to my original location.

Nice selection of food, drinks and desserts.always have some weeknight special. Nice atmosphere and patio. Service is great too.

This is a nice restaurant with nice décor but that's where it ends. I ordered a mediterranean chicken salad and I asked for an egg on the side. I pointed to the Cobb salad and asked the waitress to have the egg like how it is in the Cobb salad. She asked me if I wanted it in the salad or on the side and I said I want it just like how it is in the photo. Then she asked me again if I wanted it on the side or in the salad and I said I wanted it in the salad like the picture. It took over 45 minutes for my salad to come out and I did not get the egg (as an aside it was not even busy when I came). Nor did I see the waitress again until it was time to get the bill. The manager came by and asked how the meal was and then I told him about the situation. The waitress then comes over and says the Mediterranean salad does not come with and egg and only the cobb salad does. Which I know which is why I asked for it to begin with! Needless to say that was frustrating and not even apology for her mistake! (Instead wants to pass the blame to the customer) Never will come back here again. Customer service is dead here.

Don’t know if this place has a new owner or new management we had a very different experience this time service is not the same food was ok

It's an ok restaurant, reasonable prices, very nice ambiance an good service. The fish and chips weren't great, the rench toast was delicious and the pad Thai was ok.

Although it's a nice place, the hard floors and high ceiling do not help with sound and it was difficult to have a conversation between only 6 of us.
- Red Rose tea sold as a "specialty tea" (so be prepared to pay a premium).

The staffs are great but the food is no taste and its taking so long to bring my order. And there women washroom is dirty.

Better for any meal not breakfast. Nice decor, staff, parking, ambience. Coffee's better than most restaurants. Breakfast not a reason to go there.

Too many waiters asking if they could top off our coffee, or if there was anything else they could get us what seemed like every 5-10 min. I don't think they even realized it.
The French toast was okay, but the fruit on the side did not seem ripe, except for the grapes.
Nice people, nice atmosphere, but a little less than I expected.

Had the beyond meat burger, I was shocked to know they carried it as a vegan option. I was very glad to say the least, it can be cooked better and I can ask them to make it how I like it next time, however, I was happy with my meal! I previously rated Symposium a 2/5 stars but this experience can redeem one star solely based on the food was good. The customer experience is still lacking but this restaurant is too close to work to not come back and give the employees a chance to display more care for their guests.

Amazing food excellent service this location by far is my favourite! The staff / management are all so friendly and helpful. Always my go to place for Sunday breakfast never a disappointment!