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23 reviews for Carole's Cheesecake Cafe Yorkville
Review Highlights
23 reviews in English
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Review from Hina Q.
5/12/2012
My husband loves cheesecake so I wanted to take him to the 'best cheesecake' place in town. I googled "best cheesecake in toronto" and Carole's came up in the top two. And that is how I ended up here.
Carole's definitely has great cheesecake! I can't say its THE BEST cheesecake I have ever had, but one of the few places that make good cheesecake. Its a small chic cafe in Yorkville, downtown Toronto. Great area for bringing out of towners, going on a date, or meeting with friends.
I came back and introduced Carole's to my cousin and nephew, we tried their coffee and tried one of their wraps.
The menu is a bit on the pricey side, but then again it's Yorkville. so you are paying for the atmosphere/area.Listed in: Sweet Confections
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Review from Lauren M.
4/23/2012
Had lunch at Carole's Cheesecakes today.
They actually have a full lunch menu including soups, sandwiches, pizzas, paninis, omelettes and some other stuff.
All the food was just average. I had a split pea soup and moro mu had a mushroom soup, which he claimed had no mushrooms in it. Each was a small bowl serving with a slice of bread, for $7.99 wasn't a very good deal. Moro mu also had a panini - the chicken was definitely processed stuff and the bread seemed kind of stale.
I did take 2 pieces of cheesecake back to the office. The apple toffee one was delicious! They had also given me a free piece of raspberry cheesecake - it was quite stale, I guess that's why they are giving it away.
Waitstaff here was very pleasant and friendly, all Asian girls with bad Engrish, but they were lovely and very polite. -
Review from Joanne W.
1/5/2012 1 Check-in Here
Cheesecake is good. Bottomless coffee is always good.
Prices were so-so. -
Review from Christine R.
Scarborough, ON
11/8/2011 4 photos
Not in the mood for ice cream or gelato and wanting to stare clear of the mass coffee chains I decided to give Carole's a try for my evening sugar fix.
It's a cute little, long and narrow cafe located down the steps on yorkville. Long white leather banquets along one side with black glossy tables make for cozy seating. Upon entering an illuminated cake display stole my attention. I looked back and forth over the cakes like a wide eyed kid in a candy store.
After coming back to reality the smiling waiter greeted me and told to have a seat anywhere I liked when I was ready. I conviently chose the table directly infront of the cake display. He brought us over two menus and gave us time to peruse them. However I never even opened mine because I knew exactly what I wanted.
Two orders of English Breakfast Tea
A beautiful presentation of tea, served on a silver tray, they fill a tea bag with real leaves, and provide you with an extra pot of boiling hot water. The tea was superberb.
Snickers Cheese Cake - Tasted exactly like a Snickers Chocolate Bar! Chocolate cookie crumb base, with a layer of caramel and chopped peanuts, with a chocolatey nougaty cheesecake coated in milk chocolate and sprinkled with peanuts. A total delight from start to finish!
Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting - Best part of this cake.... it was served WARM! I've never eaten a warm carrot cake before but it totally blew my mind! 3 layers of moist and flavourful cake dotted with walnuts and raisins with alternating layers of goeey cream cheese frosting. Mouth wateringly delicious!
Overall great service, fabulously delicious cakes, the only downside? I was shocked that our 2 slices of cake and 2 teas cost about $25 bucks! It was the price of the tea that really sent the bill up however this is Yorkville and the tea was truly devine. Would I be back? Definitely! That display case of cakes is forever embedded in my dreams!Listed in: Bakeries & Cafes
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Review from Man Yee C.
Mississauga, ON
9/19/2011
My buddies and I went here after grabbing some sushi. As another reviewer stated the seating is really awkward, and I did notice that one of the waiter was constantly checking his phone and in my personal opinion you should only check it after work to show professionalism and it actually got on my nerve.
I ordered the Fluffly Waffle with ice cream and it was really fluffly. I actually enjoyed eating it. The texture of the waffle was perfectly warm and the decorating on the plate was magnificently nice. I'm not sure if it was the chocolate syrup or it was cancer, but the back of the waffle was slightly burnt. I can understand why because I kept seeing the pastry chef outside eating a cheesecake while the waffle was cooking. You should always focus on cooking waffles before coming out to eat, since I know waffles usually don't take that long to cook.
Overall, it was a good place to try thanks to my friend's recommendation. I would go there again, but probably would try somewhere else. The waiter was friendly, which was a good thing. -
Review from Steph L.
8/24/2011
Cheesecake + Coffee = Cheesecake Cafe
Notice how this equation contains no food.
The cheesecake is yummy and there are lots of cakes to choose from.
I had the dulche de leche cheesecake. The filling had a mouse-like texture and it was not too heavy.
I was starving and I ordered food.
The kitchen was closing but they could make grilled cheese.
It took awhile, the grilled cheese was slightly burnt and served with rippled potato chips for like...
I can't remember what I paid, but it was WAY too much.
It wasn't great.
The service was slow.
Considering we were in Yorkville, I was a bit surprised by the clientele.
A bit young and dressed like they came from a mall... or a plaza somewhere east of Yonge or something.
But hey, the cake was alright. -
Review from Katherine S.
North York, ON
8/20/2011
We ended up here because MoRoCo had rented out their entire restaurant for a party and we wanted a decadent dessert. We went in and looked at the selection and decided what we wanted and when the person behind the counter asked to take our order and we said we wanted to sit down. He wouldn't take the order and instead had us sit down and look at menus. We explained we knew what we wanted already, but he said he'd be back in a minute. This was fine, we weren't in a rush, but we were both a little confused by the ten minutes we sat there waiting for him.
When he finally came out, as we were ordering, his cell phone rang and he took the call and walked away, around the corner of the building. We waited for about five minutes for him to finish his call and he finally took our order. Umm...that was some pretty shocking un-professionalism, but we laughed it off and ordered.
I ordered basic New York cheesecake and my friend ordered an apple cheesecake. Cheesecakes were good, (she really liked her) and we ordered cappuccino and a flavored San Pellegrino and they were good and big sizes, but my cheesecake was a bit frozen in the middle. Knowing it wasn't fresh sort of took away from the experience.
Anyway, we had a fine time here and the desserts are good, but not great. It was the service that was most disappointing.
Will I go back?? Yes, if MoRoCo is closed again! -
Review from Raymond W.
Toronto, ON
3/6/2011
I was on my way to Sassafraz for some coffee, when I saw this place out of the corner of my eye. I saw the word "cheesecake", and my legs began to descend down the stairs.
This place is small, with wall mounted lounge chairs. It was incredibly clean, I sat at the very end of the cafe.
Let's get straight to the point. I ordered the latte, freshly squeezed apple juice, dolce cheesecake with a scoop of blue banana ice cream.
IT WAS SOOOOOOO GOOD..!!
The latte was a bit rich, but the apple juice, omg..it was like eating apple, but...without the chewing. What is this nasty business of chewing? This was truly revolutionary.
Each bite of the cheesecake accompanied by the ice cream was a moment of sheer happiness. I think I smiled each time I put something in my mouth.
My friend thought I was on drugs.
Itis immediately hit after finishing my sweets, I couldn't move.
I'd move to Yorkville just for this place.
Did I mention you didn't have to chew for the appleness to go down your throat? -
Review from Melodie M.
Toronto, ON
1/22/2011
Carole's Cafe Yorkville has gone through a few different owners in the last while. It is under new management and it better than ever. If you've gone there before and had a less than spectacular experience, I urge you to go back. I've had the pleasure of talking with the staff and they are extremely helpful and every time I go to Carole's I leave with an even bigger smile.
Besides their cheesecake being mouth watering, their other menu items leave my tummy very happy. Not only that but I feel good about eating the things on their menu. They strive to not only have fantastic food but fantastic, healthy food.
I love their breakfast. They have generous portions and many different options and ways to personalize. It used to be quiet when I would go for breakfast but more and more people are finding out about their breakfast Every time I go there is more and more people.
The service has always been fast and friendly. They often swing by a few times to check on you. They also make recommendation on what to eat if your a first timer. I love how they are always happy to bring me water with lemon. I love lemon with my water.
MY favorite are panini, veg chili with a apple cheesecake to finish it off. I like to have their fresh juice concoction with my breakfast and their fantastic coffee. -
Review from Thomas H.
4/16/2011
I don't understand all the awful reviews.
This isn't the best spot ever in yorkville, but it's more than decent at what it does. It's a good spot for hanging out after dinner, or after a movie, etc.
The cheesecake is solid. It's not too rich, and there are a good variety of flavors.
The food is good too. They have a really delicious chicken wrap (succulent pieces of chicken) + soup combo.
They also have Greg's ice cream now, so that can't hurt in the summer.
The service has been slow in my experience. It's primarily a cheesecake place... so temper your expectations. -
Review from Rick D.
Toronto, ON
11/14/2009
My girlfriend and I went to this place to grab an afternoon snack. They sat us at this bech/seat at the back facing the table infront of us which kindof put us into a staring competition. To avoid this, we tried to use the corner of the bench (since this was a corner table) yet the end of the bench was too small to fit anyone. Therefore we had 2 things to look at, the people in front or directly into the bathroom. So we went to the bar.
We ordered 2 drinks, water and a diet coke. They brought us 2 dirty glasses fill them with ice, with water in one and only one straw. We were confused. We only noticed the dirty glasses once my gf had poured her pop into the glass. We notified the girl that served us that they were dirty which she then proceeded to bring us 2 more dirty glasses and asked us if it was ok. We looked at her and said that they were also filthy. She said "it's only water stains". The other women told her to run it under the steamer that they use to froth the coffee which she did. When she came back with them, they were hot, she dropped them in front of us and walked away. We were totally confused because our drinks were still in the dirty glasses. We we supposed to transfer the liquids from one glass to another over the bar? I wish i knew what to do in this first time situation. We pushed the drinks aside
I had ordered the chilli and my girlfriend ordered the veggy panini. They took the chilli out of the heated soup holder, put some in a bowl, cut up some cheese to put on top, then threw it into the microwave. We they served it to me it was so hot that I burnt my mouth, then blew on it for 10 minutes before I attempted to take another taste. The bread they served with it was good enough to distract me from the taste of the chilli.
My girlfriend ordered the panini since the ingredients looked good, tomato, boccacini and pickles. When it came it had no pickles. We felt anoyed by this, yet my gf asked the girl behind the counter if she could have her pickles. The girl brought us the bill instead. I then had to ask her if we could have the pickles that it was supposed to come with, which they quickly served to us 10 minutes later.
While we were there, we heard one table have their bill explained to them, since it appeared that the cafe had messed something up, therefore the waitress took the cheesecake off their bill. There was a couple of women behind us that were commenting that they didn't understand where their food was since the place wasn't that busy.
Between the awkward seating, the dirty glasses, the volcanic chilli and the missing ingredient panini we realised that there wasn't any left for the to screw up. We were wrong, the bill was also incorrect.
This place is a FAIL -
Review from Marianna T.
Waterloo, ON
3/30/2011
Food poisoning! Don't go there. I wanted to take my mom out to somewhere nice and thought this place was descent. She got so poisoned that spent hours throwing up. She felt bad about 20 minutes after we left, so no doubt this place was a reason.
Don't ever go there and don't even think bringing your parents or business partners there. You will be hated. -
Review from Mozart A.
Whitby, ON
9/12/2009
I found this place after looking for a cheesecake joint in Toronto on Google; people were saying good things about it, so I took my wife and we went there today. Unfortunately things got very wrong...
The place is small. They have a big counter and maybe 5 tables, and then 2 or 3 tables outside. As we entered, there were some 2 tables available. I didn't know the system of the place, so I assumed that someone would come and serve us. We sat there and waited for some 5 minutes, there was nobody cleaning tables or serving, so I went to grab a menu that was available at the entrance (despite being a "Cheesecake Cafe" they were not mentioned on the big chalkboards behind the counter). I did that and when returning to my table, I hit my head lightly on the hanging table lamp; an old guy that was behind the counter washing the dishes said "it's extra if you break the lamp, ok?" and he didn't seem to be kidding, but at that time I gave him the benefit of the doubt, simply saying "sorry" and smiling.
The menu didn't mentioned any cheesecakes at all. That said, and with nobody coming to our table, I presumed that we had to go there and choose one of the available cheesecakes that were being displayed at the counter. I went there, spent a minute looking the options, and then went to the cashier to place my order. She was busy taking care of another customer so I waited again. When it was my turn, I asked "can I have two pieces of cheesecake"... "For here?" "Yes" "Sorry, you've got to wait in your table for someone to go over there"...
So I went back to our table... waited 10 more minutes... then a mid-aged lady came out and started going from table to table like she was in a marathon. She was passing by our table and asked, "do you need a menu?" I said "No, I've already chosen..." but in the middle of the "No" she already said "OK", and kept running. I don't know if she got that I didn't need a menu because I've already ordered, the thing is that I waited for more 5 minutes and she didn't come back to take my order.
At that point I had enough of waiting. We just left.
One could say that because TIFF was happening in Yorkville, they couldn't keep up the level of customer service. The thing is: the place wasn't overcrowded, there wasn't a line of people trying to get in... there were available tables, for God's sake! I even tried to help'em by going there and trying to place the order, but they refused that. And what about the jerk whose comment when I hit my head was "if you break it, you'll pay it" instead of "are you OK?".
Terrible experience. I will never, ever go back to that place. I am disgusted by the fact that I have to give them one star instead of the big "zero" that they deserve. -
Review from Chris P.
Its great that they're open late but that shouldn't mean that because you come late the cheesecake should be stale and dry. My slice was was ok, nothing fantastic, but my wife's was drier than a popcorn fart. If I'm paying over $15 for two slices of heaven it should taste like heaven, not the frozen store bought crap you can get anywhere.
I'll give you another chance Carole, but only one! -
Review from Adam E.
Barrie, ON
3/15/2010 1 Check-in Here
I went to Carole's Cheesecake Cafe last summer, while I was looking for a place to grab lunch/coffee with a friend.
When I first walked in, the atmosphere seemed hip and inviting. However, after sitting down I discovered a significant short-coming of the restaurant: the seats are extremely small!
They're all booth style with large tables, which is nice; however, the booths are small and far from comfortable.
It's not a deal-breaker, but it surprised me that a restaurant would have such uncomfortable seating. The only alternative was bar seating, which I'm not a fan of either.
Lunch was decent. It was pricy, but this is Yorkville. I had a soup, if I recall, and my friend had a salad which she enjoyed. She also had a cup of cocoa, which was apparently very good.
Of course, we also did have cheesecake for dessert. I was impressed by the selection, but I've never been to a Cheesecake place before. My slice was also fresh and yummy, so I cannot complain about that.
In closing, the steep prices and uncomfortable seating prevent Carole's Cheesecake Cafe from being a great lunch/coffee/cheesecake place. It's not a bad alternative to your daily routine--to try something new--but don't be surprised if you don't find yourself going back many times over. -
Review from Robin D.
6/19/2011
The cheesecake was good.
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Review from Taylor B.
York, ON
5/31/2011
Went here just for dessert - a nice solid, rich cheesecake!
Not sure if it was just bad luck, but it took three tries with the menu to get a piece I wanted - they had no Cappuccino or Raspberry cheesecake, so I settled for blueberry. That said, the piece I did get was great.
The other one we tried, the Dulce de Leche piece, was not nearly as impressive as it sounds, despite the server's insistence that it was the best one. -
Review from Michael M.
Toronto, ON
9/3/2010
I live in Yorkville and work alone out of my home office so I like having a place to go to for morning (or most of the time in my case closer to afternoon) coffee, breakfast and read the paper. Hard to find a homey place in Yorkville that has good, healthy food and is unpretentious. Carole's is the best in the neighbourhood, in my view.
There are some huge downsides. First, the seating is horrific. Whoever designed the seating apparently could not figure out the standard dimensions of the human body and had previously been employed as the trainer for a group of circus contortionists. It is very difficult to sit in a booth. Even the outside tables are uncomfortable. The owners (with whom I have chatted and lodged various suggestions) have said that they are bringing in a designer to redo the interior. The sooner the better.
Second, if the place gets busy and you order anything unusual let's hope you are not in a hurry. They are not really set up for the rush. Third, the menu is the most confusing possible, especially for newbies, as there are really two menus - one a dense hard-to-read handwritten blackboard and the other a sparse plastic menu. These two menus have no relation to one another. I always order from the blackboard, but I see many people coming in are often totally confused and just walk out again. Fourth, if you need to get out quickly don't wait for the check to come to you.
Now the good part...if you order the right things the food is really quite good, particularly if you are looking for reasonably plain down-to-earth wholesome food. They use excellent ingredients. For example, their bread is Ace Bakery, unlike MBCO across the street which buys much cheaper Silverstein bread in cello bags. Carole's makes a terrific egg white omelet. Their coffee when fresh brewed is quite good. You can get a big bowl of yogurt topped with a lot of fresh berries, or a nice garden salad in a big glass bowl. I have taken quite a few people with me (some for my version of business meetings) and they have all liked it a lot, but then they had me to help them through the whole experience.
The big plus in my view is the staff, who are very friendly and the place is as a result usually pretty happy. I hate going to a restaurant where the staff act like resentful draftees to an occupation army. The staff, within the limits of the restaurant and the space, really do want to make their customers happy. I have also been around enough to see that the staff like the owners and the owners treat the staff with respect, which is also a great sign.
Therefore, overall, I give Carole's a four-star because all the positives are to me the most important and very hard to find in this neighbourhood. Don't go in hoping for McDonald's efficiency and Pangaea food and you will have an excellent experience. I do hope the owners get their act together and resolve some of the negatives. -
Review from WaYnE c.
Maple, ON
5/10/2010
From prior reviews, I agree that there are DOWNSIDES to this place such as order taking and food prep organization. At the same time I can see some GOOD coming out of this if you come here with a different perspective and attitude, I will expand on this...
Sunday night coming out of Bay Station we come in finding the WINDOW booth perfect and the Waitress was ready for our order if we were ready which we weren't because it's the first time for the few of us.
Water was served while we looked through a menu that didn't include Cheese Cakes, so we went to the Cake Fridge where a CROWD was forming like a Deli Counter. Our Waitress saw us from behind the counter and knew we were ready and took our order there.
TIP#1: Look at the Cheese Cake Counter before you do anything else.
Drinks and Cheese Cakes(Pistachio, Raspberry, Taffy Apple) came to the table which was over-crowded as well with candles, sugar holder, and glasses of water.
YUP, it was a small crowded space but it depends on how you see it. Smaller space can turn to more intimate conversations in MY case. Obviously depending on your culture, your friend could be INVADING your personal space.
A friend arrived FROZEN from the cool night air and ordered a 30-minute Panini so to warm up. It wasn't actually named 30-minute Panini, but it took our Waitress to SHOUT to the Dishwasher 10+ times to make the Panini before he finished the dishes and even at that did not begin it so another staff took over.
There were only 3 staff there at this point and when then Panini took shape the whole restaurant smelled like SMOKE once the Panini was being grilled.
TIP#2: Order Panini, etc? Make sure staff are NOT busy!
Another GOOD part I spoke about is that we went specifically for DESSERT therefore not going in hungry. It's like how they say about going to a Grocery Store hungry. We were just casually sitting there DEEP in discussions so we didn't even mind if it took a little longer to be served or not.
My Taffy Apple Cheese Cake and my friend's Pistachio did DIFFER in a GOOD way that if you use a fork to slice into it you will notice it CRUMBLES rather than the clean slices that you will find from FROZEN Cakes at grocery stores. The Apple Slices were as if it was for Apple Pies, while the Taffy was caramel-ly and crunchy as if it was the TOP of a Creme Brulee.
From this analysis, I would agree that if you are not in the RIGHT scenario it can be a bad experience however my situation was a GOOD one at this instance. If you want to skip the possibility of any slight frustrations from happening, simply order out the Cheese Cake as if it's a SIDE STREET vendor. -
Review from jennifer h.
4/24/2011 1 Check-in Here
At first glance, I didn't want to eat here, but we did. Decor is nothing to speak of, but the place is clean! I had a cup of the Hungarian Goulash soup which was very flavorful and the dumplings were just the right texture.Also had the grilled cheese with tomato sandwich....very cheesy and nice hunky slices of tomato. My husband had an omelette which he loved...looked perfect. A little expensive for their fresh squeezed OJ, but other than that, everything was just right. I'd go again if in the area.
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Review from Ed S.
9/12/2009
Coffee wasn't warm enough to melt sugar, but the lemon cheese cake was good with real lemon zest in the frosting. The low carb chocolate cheesecake didn't really taste like chocolate. Slices aren't deli huge, but that's not a bad thing unless you like huge chunks of cheesecake.
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Review from Virginia V.
Toronto, ON
6/27/2011
Last time I went there was at the end of March but it was actually my 5th or 6th time at that place... I love cheesecakes!
Cheesecakes at Carole's Cheesecake Cafe are very good, although most of them have no crust but that makes them ok to eat for people allergic to gluten. The staff is friendly at times and I have been offered a hot drink when I only came for take out one lunch time, which was nice. Their soups are excellent, healthy and very tasty.
Now despite all that, I am not sure I would go back there: the service is slow (went there for lunch, went there after work, went there for dinner... it is always slow!).
Last time I went they didn't check on us to see if we were happy with the food... and that's understandable because the salmon with couscous they served me was terrible, and this is not an over-statement. It was overcooked (probably re-heated in the microwave). The couscous was not good, it was dry and had like lumps in it. I barely ate. I waited for a while for someone to take the plate back and thought that if they'd ask, I'd say politely it was not to my taste and order cheesecake. That didn't happen. They took the plates away and didn't come to ask if we wanted to order more or wanted the bill. 30min later, hungry and tired of waiting, we decided to pay and leave. My boyfriend paid and I stayed a bit behind to tell them I didn't think the food was very good. That's all I said, I didn't want to be mean or anything. The lady shrugged and said "ok", like she didn't care, so i reiterated my statement and asked what she thought, and she totally ignored me. I asked a question, and she just ignored me!! So I left, but I was extremely disappointed. That salmon was actually like $18, which is a total rip-off. That wouldn't have prevented me from going back there if they had done something about it after I voiced my dissatisfaction. Or just listened to me in fact.
So... I don't know. If you haven't found a better place for cheesecake, if you have 2 hours in front of you and don't mind slow, unfriendly service, you can go there! Hopefully your experience will be better than my last one. ( I don't see how it could be worse actually). -
Review from C M.
Montréal, QC
2/5/2010
I havent; actually sat down in the cafe, I've only gotten cheesecake to take out. But from the interactions I've had with the servers, they all seem pretty nice...and the cheesecake is pretty good. A slice will cost you around $6. Most (if not all) don't have the crust, so if you're a fan of cheesecake crusts, this place isn't for you. But other than that, they have some interesting types of cheesecake...try the pistachio!
