Carens Rosedale

A lovely place with considerable charm. We had the octopus as an appetizer ... wonderfully tender and beautifully seasoned. Charcuterie platter as well, quite nice. Mussels for an entree ... good, though not exceptional. The service was wonderful, just enough to make sure we were looked after and happy, friendly but not cloying The presentation is superb, each dish delivered on carefully considered dishware. Highly recommend.

Much improved relative to previous visits

Despite a very few other customers at the restaurant, the service was poor and the food took ages to come. When it did come, the order was incorrect and food ok, but not great as on previous visits. Eggs Benedict tasted like vinagar and the bacon was over cooked and tough. Additionally the only server on hand was ill, and told customers. It’s very unappetizing to be served food and beverages by someone who is not well. Repeated touching of our beverage glasses while serving food was not welcome. Will not visit this restaurant again.

Cozy, French Bistro feel.

It's a shame that we cannot share the fondue when we are 4. It's only portion for 2 people. The aim of the fondue is to share with friends But food was good

We all enjoyed our meal and the waiter was very helpful as it was our first time at Carens... and we will be back!

Nice neighborhood spot for Saturday lunch. Not noisy. Easy to talk. Temperature a bit cool.

I never got to actually dine here as we were told when we arrived that was now closed at 9:10 p.m. even though the website says they're open until 11. I had a reservation for 8:30 and I will say that we were running late as we were coming from out of town and got stuck in traffic, but no one phoned to ask if we still wanted to keep the reservation so I didn't think being late would ruin my birthday dinner and we would be turned away coldly at the door. You have no idea how badly I was looking forward to trying this fondue I've heard so much about, too bad I'll never get to try it as I most likely won't be returning if that's the way they run their business. I normally never write reviews but this experience was particularly disappointing.(Only selected stars because 0 wasn't an option) Luckily Terroni was close by who had a wonderful waitress and we ended up having a nice evening over there instead.

Amazing food and service. The piano man was a great musician and the receptionist has an beautiful voice

Service needs improvement but food is good

The waiter was amazing, nice and professional, delicious good and relaxing atmosphere

Love this restaurant

Very disappointing. We used to frequent the Yorkville restaurant and always enjoyed the food. I don't know if this was an "off' day (Thursday, September 6) but there was one server for the entire restaurant. Service was slow and inattentive. Water was tepid, no bread was offered (even if it was an extra charge). Server wasn't sure about our order and after some time came back to check as to what we had ordered. My friend's lunch was fine (omlette) but her greens were also soggy. My tuna nicoise was mediocre at best -- it was extremely over-salted -- as if the tuna had been marinated in salt water. Salad was uninspired -- greens were slightly wilted; green beans looked as if two different orders of beans had been used -- also wilted and soggy. For $24 dollars -- a complete rip off. I am reluctant to return.

We had 5 apologies for the dreadfully slow service.....specifically on the 40 minute time to serve our dinner Yes, FIVE apologies......initially two from our waiter, who without comment or complaint from us, came twice to our table to say “sorry” for the delay. Then, an apology from the chef, who came out from the kitchen to give us a convoluted explanation for the delay. Then, from Caren herself, whose apologies did not properly explain the terrible service. As I told her, my wife and I have been dining out in Toronto for 50+ years and we have seldom experienced such terribly slow service of food ordered Caren needs to better manage her business, and apologize less....otherwise, she will be ut of business.

The kitchen was very, very slow. It took one hour and 10 minutes to get our main course in a restaurant the wasn’t even half full. Appetizers came quite quickly but mains and dessert were very slow.

Poor service, and the food was not good at all. Very disappointing meal and we won’t be back

We tried Summerlicious menu and it was excellent!

beautiful interior design, we had summerlicious menu, reasonable portion, fresh food, will go back.

The food was really good. I had the sea scallops and spinach. Friendly staff and attentive service.

The noise level in the back was extremely high. Compounding it we were seated beside another table of 4 making conversation levels even higher when the better seating might have been to seat the other group on the other side of the room which was empty. The server was friendly and kept our water glasses full and replaced utensils. She answered every question and checked when she was unsure. The problem is the kitchen. The dessert menu said lemon tart with berries. I asked that there be no strawberries or raspberries. What came was the tart with strawberries. The hostess, I assume that is who it was, served it and when was told we had asked for no strawberries there was no quick apologies and removal of it. Instead I was questioned whether I was allergic to strawberries before removing it. I had gone in full detail about it with the server. When we mentioned it to the server she said she had told the kitchen and I believer her. Might I also say the "lemon tart" was a hard hard pastry shell with lemon pudding sauce poured over it.$12 The dishes were pricey to the quality. The salad dressing was drizzled over the Salad Maison, not tossed with the greens. $13. The poached salmon portion was generous. Be aware of the high noise level if you are looking for a quiet relaxing dinner.

The food was incredible-- we will definitely go back for that reason. The server, however, left a lot to be desired. He made two very offside comments that were borderline offensive and was very aloof the entire time. Wouldn't go back for the service, but again, the food was absolutely delicious.

Lively evening with friends. Enjoyed the jazz pianist. Food was excellent but a bit slow coming out. Otherwise thoroughly enjoyable.

Don't waste your time or money here. Nothing French about this loud over-priced place. Food was terrible.. I mean really bad... sloppily presented burnt offerings.. Service slow. Only good thing...waitress was a nice person.

Ryan is the best!

Fabulous food and experience. Definitely will return!!

Another wonderful meal at Carens!

Stellar service, great atmosphere, Oyster night (Thursday) was a treat!

Our server was understanding and turned the music down immediately with no bad vibe:)

We enjoyed our Brunch very much and hope to go back soon.

I would not return or recommend this restaurant. The restaurant was mostly empty and lacked energy. Bar service was good and bartender was friendly when we arrived, the interior of the restaurant is lovely with nice colors and a great bar. We were a party of 6 with a table set with menus right next to an elderly party of 2. We requested to sit at another table and this was begrudgingly accommodated. This should have been anticipated rather than requested and took all of 30 seconds to reposition the menus to another table. Service was painful from this moment. Our server had a dry sense of humor and was sarcastic throughout the experience. It was part of his schtick to be dry and condescending when he was in reality rude and unappreciative of a table of 6 tipping him120 on a very slow night in February. Food was overall ok but needed seasoning. The Fondue presentation was DIY but worked, the alcohol (wine or other) was not cooked off and overpowered the flavor of the gruyere or whatever cheese was used - we couldn't tell. Steak tartare was not seasoned and could have had some of the accoutrements on the side so the guests could make spicy or add worchestire or whatever to make it taste good. The scallop ravioli was good, the French Onion soup lacked depth, the escargots were good but needed salt. The lamb shank special was described by other guests as ok, needing some Moroccan flavors as described. One of our guests is experiencing food allergies and trying to isolate the issue listing out the things she couldn't have. Our server tritely mentioned, you know you are in a French Restaurant right? Funny and yes we are acutely aware that we are in French restaurant with a lot of attitude and a few customers. It was a nice touch for the Server to bring cucumbers for an appetizer, this was the bright service spot of the evening. When her steak frites entrée came, there was a sauce with red wine. Our guest can only drink biodynamic wines due to the fertilizer traces in most wines. She did not expressly advise that the steak should not have a sauce with wine. The server was aware that we were looking to drink only biodynamic wine but the dots were not connected...and the menu description had no mention of sauce on the Steak Frites, it read grilled 10oz Wellington County grass-fed striploin, $40. We offered to pay for the steak, as we didn't expressly advise. No problem, we'll take that for the team and we'll tip on the lame and slow service that accompanied it. The back servers told us "The Chef is pissed" oh really? the Chef should be pissed that his restaurant is empty and Carens management should look at how your team treats guests.