Symposium Cafe Restaurant & Lounge

Service was great. Had a great menu with some "happy hour" type specials. We enjoyed ourselves a lot. Can be a bit noisy due to the marble all around, but not too bad. Would go again definitely.

I had the most negative experience here. I went with my friends and when we arrived it took 20 minutes to even be greeted. Once we sat down the waiter took only my drink order and not my friends, they came back with drinks and still didn’t offer my friends anything. Then we noticed the kitchen staff getting drunk in the back and completely ignoring us. When we finally got served it was already 30 minutes later.we left. The restaurant was not busy. Will not be back!

We arrived and waited 10 mins to be sat in an nearly empty restaurant. Only one server on a Friday, she seemed new or should choose a different job. After 25 mins she only took half our tables drink orders and just left. We watched kitchen staff and we assume manager or bar tender, make their own drinks and drink them while ignoring customers. We choose to leave before even attempting to order as the workers seemed more concerned with their own drinks. However, it was nicely decorated.

Food was really good didn't get what I thought I ordered but it was still good service was very polite but not very frequent or fast almost 40 minutes waiting to have my order taken and receive food will be trying again to see if it was an off night

Kind and enthusiastic management. Jojo and Shanti treated us like guests in their home rather than customers. Symposium in Keswick is a hidden gem and needs a lot more and well deserved publicity. We will be visiting again definitely. It is one of the places we have marked as”worth the money “ restaurant.

Took 30 min to order, no waitress!
Another 45 min to get a coffe and shake and very stale cake!
Funny part is, there is not more that 3 tables busy!
It was our first and last experience in this location.

Food was ok. The server Sophia was very friendly and attentive, as well as the other ladies working there. However, the owner Jojo got very pushy towards the end insisting we leave a five star review for him. Literally waiting for us to open on our phones and kept repeating “give me 5 stars”. And then waited at our booth and as we were walking out repeating about the review and their business hours. Honestly the experience there wasn’t bad but he needs to work on this as it was very pushy and uncomfortable. He should realize that’s not how a good review is earned.

We hosted my son’s baptism on May 7,2023 and by far had an incredible experience, JOJO the owner was so pleasant and very accommodating.
Melanie, was my main contact while planning this lunch for my 30 guests, and the communication was amazing and they housed us all comfortable. The food and drinks were delicious, highly recommend your events or even a night out.

Food was good. Server Sofia was friendly and very helpful. New ownership and it shows. Owner Jojo was too pushy asking for a 5 star review numerous times after our bill arrived and when we were trying to leave. He was waiting at our booth till we opened the app repeating… 5 star review, 5 star review.

My husband and son took me out to dinner tonight for my birthday and we decided on symposium.
What can I say?
Food- fantastic
Service- fantastic
Waitress- fantastic.
Thank you jordon for helping make my 40th special. Highly recommend symposium.

Let me be frank

The food IS nice, for what we experienced.

The staff was honest and our server Maria was kind, understanding and even dare I say, caring.

We arrived today (Mothers day) may the 14th and was greeted to a half filled space.

The door greeter had asked us for our reservation and to our surprise, we didn't call in for one, as it wasn't readily available on the website that this was expected.

That already put a dour mood during the evening as I was trying to treat my wife out to a place she had always been curious about.

I offered the patio and wasn't quite heard or understood. We were told we would be waiting to eat for about half an hour, or forty minutes.

That seemed odd, as again the place was markedly empty compared to the statement we are very busy.

So aside from that, we found a space but moved as it was windy and the chill dropped the comfort outside to dreadful. We had not really been offered inside seating, and with an infant visibly in tow no less.

Maria would have insisted we say inside, had she known we were being politely ushered around.

The downside beyond was not knowing there was a Sunday children eat free 12 and under, and had made plans for our other children (worrying it would be a costly affair to even relax a moment)

It would have been nice to have seen this on the website as well.

The only part I am slightly concerned with was the owner asking for a review. I hadn't thought of passing up a chance, but felt I should speak up.

The owner is only 2 months into this place and it felt like there was an eagerness to please, but a lack of some formality? It's hard to put into words the uneasiness but I do chalk this up to a willingness to please, and a new owner being nervous. So I won't hold this against the whole place, but if we visit again and it happens again. I won't be as comfortable returning.

Truly the hero of the night was Maria.

Wishing my wife a happy mother's day, and being the nicest human this afternoon. Genuinely happy to have made your acquaintance.

The food

We both ordered a Butter Chicken Poutine. These were massive and filling and quite possibly a great sharing meal amongst friends. The sauce was not over much, the fries were crisp and held their crisp from serving to finish. The chicken was firm and juicy and felt cooked just right.

Alright. I have to say. Value for meal on the apps before 6pm cannot be understated. I was driving tonight so I had no libations to speak of. The menus are MASSIVE. Like huge massive numbers. Regardless the menu is legible and the food matched the description. I am curious about trying a full meal next time and perhaps and Affocato.

When we do come back, we will hopefully be able to find seating inside if it's chilly and have our full family there.

My suggestion

Come on the weekend and ask for Maria. Sundays are free for 12 and under and that was a missed opportunity on our part.

Food and Sever aside. The owner and door greeter may have actually unnerved my wife and the half empty dining being called full or busy, set my wife off for the evening.

All in all. Come for apps and weekends for a great server. Hopefully by summer this location may yet keep our patronage.

The burgers are not expensive but all toppings beyond a basic tomato, lettuce and onion, are extra. Easily making a 13 dollar burger into a 20+ burger. The side being a salad was a nice touch.

We did not order a main as the meals seemed a bit much with the cost of said burger. Seeing my wife become sad because she couldn't order one, was a big let down.

Please be well, we will visit again and if the overall experience improves I shall amend my review.

Came here for a big work session and was pleasantly surprised. I got a cozy booth near an outlet, and was promptly served with water and coffee, and had the chicken and waffles for lunch. The server was awesome and checked in on me frequently.

My husband & I like this place very much especially,
Melaine, Lisa servers, are great ladies, Never met the chef but he does a great job also. Melaine runs the place well as the others.do. They know what & how to keep customers happy. DO NOT CHANGE THIS SMOOTH RUNNING SYSTEM.
Ken & Sandra Weir

Excellent service from Ali. We were a large group and everything came out with no issues. I had the Chicken Teriyaki Bowl, delicious!

My boyfriend and I came here for breakfast and had a wonderful time. Our waitress Melanie did a wonderful job serving us and the food was amazing. Will definitely be coming back excellent service!

Our server was really nice, and the food was really good; the overall atmosphere of the place is very pretty. All of the staff there are very nice.

Probably one of the worst restaurant experiences I’ve had. My friend ordered chicken waffle with cole slaw. Price $16.00. Large waffle, one container of syrup and a dried out chicken piece not much larger than a wing and a nugget. No cole slaw. Just a small dish of romaine. Were told they were busy on Sunday and were out of some vegetables. That was two days prior. The server kindly offered another choice and there was no charge for the chicken waffle. A lot of money for poor quality.

The food was delicious. Meanie was an excellent server - she made us feel we were with family. She was very knowledgeable and helpful with our food choices. You can see she really cares. We would come back just for Manie!

Ive had the worst service for drinks ive ever had.i asked for a refill twice and they took more then 15 minutes.and i asked for a pitcher with water in it twice and twice they didnt give it too me.im never eating there again.

We were looking for a place to have a burger when we spotted this place. We were familiar with a couple of other locations which we have enjoyed so in we went.
Ever so glad we did. The staff were friendly and courteous. The decor and ambiance were also quite enjoyable. Except for one impatient customer (whose actions his wife was also displeased with) a nice clientele too. We sat inside where it was cool as we had spent the day in the sun, but the patio also looked very inviting.
The food was amazing. We knew from experience that this was not a cheap, fast food establishment, but it is well worth what you pay. In our case, $60 for the two of us including tax and tip.
We will be coming back on our next trip to Keswick.

The food selection is quite nice here, with selections for most nutritional restrictions (vegetarian of various kinds, and gluten free included). Staff was friendly throughout. Whiskey selection is not as large as you'd think for a bar wall that size, so go for the wine.

Good food, in just for appetizers and beer, warm spinach dip nicely done, chicken tenders always good, beer served in cold glass, staff very welcoming and pleasant, patio outdoors with comfortable sitting and good shade

Just returned from Symposium Keswick, I must say my experience there with the warm and welcoming atmosphere was awesome! Our server Melanie is so friendly and welcoming, she treats you as the most important customer there. The manager personally came over said hello inquiring how we are. The food was delicious! I love going there, I will definitely go back again and again

Great place to lounge around and have some yummy foodWe had been here with a large group of friends and had a really great time with a nice variety of cuisines available at this place. The pad thai noodles was superb, zucchini noodle bowl was average. The star dish was the dessert being s'mores and more which truly stole the show. Order this dessert only on a hungry stomach since the quantity is too high and you could give into some really guilty indulgences Also the ambience of this place could transport you to a medieval Roman area.

This is my second time in 3 weeks visiting a Symposium chain. At this location though the service was great. The waitresses were super attentive. It's a nice location to grab breakfast and hang with friends. We ordered steak bites with fries, chicken wings with fries and the steak bites bowl and it was good. We also got the brownie with ice cream and it was good. We did have a little wait time for our food but it was good when it came.

My mom and I organized my baby shower here & it was lovely. Mel was very accommodating and lovely to deal with, they really gave us all the creative freedom we needed which made it very special. The food, beverages and service was all great.

Portion is shockingly small. This is exactly how I opened my "Southern Fried Chicken with coleslaw and fries". I had to laugh.what kind of portion is this? I count maybe 20 fries? This meal costs 22 dollars. Feeling ripped off, next I'll just go to the Beach restaurant. What a joke.

The outside fools you, we almost decided not to dine in, but was mind blown once we entered. We ordered the Portobello Mushroom - 2/10. The chef has to really change or remove it from the menu. It was doused in flour and deep fried, so tastes like junk food and doesn’t bring out any mushroom flavour. Ribs and wings were good. The stir fry beef bowl was fantastic. So was the sangria. Overall great restaurant and menu, but wish they would review certain items that brings down the class of the menu.

As always great atmosphere, staff and food. However on our last visit we were surprised to find they had stopped the garden salad, it is our favorite. And the appetizer of calamari was overpriced for the quantity. However it was done very well, just not enough of it.
Guess covid has a bearing on the price increase. The only thing not overpriced was the desert. The staff was as always great.

I am a regular at Symposium. I have never received such horrible service in my life, ever!
The quality of the food was horrible, the portion size was significantly less than other locations (as i said, I'm a regular), and the service was poor (for the second time with this specific server might I add).
I ordered the Teriyaki Salmon and my dish came out with TWO mini potatoes. I let my server know this is not how the dish comes and to have the kitchen give me more potatoes. Can you believe they added ONE mini potato to my dish? !? They tried to charge me $25 for a dish that comes with THREE mini potatoes. (I get this dish regularly so I KNOW this is not how the dish is served).
Furthermore, my server was RUDE and had the nerve to give me attitude about deciding to go with chicken wings (because come on, how can you get chicken wings wrong smh)
I even spoke with the manager on duty regarding my entire experience and he did absolutely nothing.
I then contacted the manager of the restaurant who spoke with the owner, and again, they did NOTHING.apparently offering a dessert on the house (which i declined btw) is up to their standards.
Not impressed with this location at all!

Every time we come here we have had nothing but amazing food and exceptional service. The manager Melanie is a perfect example what customer service is all about. Highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. 10/10

Second visit here. Breakfast is awesome, priced right, friendly staff. Opens a little late for breakfast in my opinion but perhaps there isn't enough people around to warrant an earlier opening yet. Still, job well done.