Free Times Cafe

7 Reviews on “Free Times Cafe”

• Pablo

  Amazing brunch buffet. Everything is super delicious and it includes orange juice and coffee. They also play live music and the atmosphere reminds you of 1950 or so. The place to be for breakfast!

  May 12, 2017, 9:26 pm

  Log in to Reply
• Bridget Liang

  So a bunch of my friends decided to host a monthly brunch and we decided to try Free Times Cafe. We heard that it was affordable, accessible, and pretty good all around for a Sunday brunch.When I arrived, I found out that we could only choose the buffet. Which wasn’t the best for me with my limited budget. But I decided to join the buffet anyways. The food was delicious, but it wasn’t labeled at all so I didn’t know what was vegetarian friendly and what wasn’t without bugging people to tell me what things were.I was billed $29 which was a lot more than the price that I was told. The reason I was told is that the gratuities were included. That’s approximately a 40% gratuity. I’ve never had to pay that much for a brunch buffet in my life. It’s ridiculous.On top of it all, my friend who organized our brunch was yelled at by the owner. Most of us were running late (subway closures made me take a 20 minute walk to get to the shuttle). She said that she could have filled these seats since we hadn’t arrived. And the place was still pretty empty, there weren’t any people waiting in line… The serving staff were all charming and great though.The place was not affordable in any way shape or form. Most of our group make less than $1,000 a month, students, and/or on OW. Being asked to pay $29 is not affordable. We could have gone to the Mandarin or sushi for that amount.

  August 30, 2016, 7:54 am

  Log in to Reply
• BL

  Its a shame that Im writing this review of the Free Times Caf, because Ive always liked going there. Since I moved to the neighbourhood, 5 years ago, I have regularly visited on my own, with groups of friends, and often with my family. Indeed, its become a tradition that when my family visit Toronto, we go to the Free Times, and have drinks and a meal. Weve enjoyed the food, and have gotten along well with the staff to the point that some of them recognize us and greet us when we come in. Unfortunately, after our visit on New Years Day, we wont be returning. The five of us had a meal and a couple of drinks. Things were a little rushed, and quality in product and service was lower than usual; we were told (not asked) to move tables a little abruptly after wed been seated, some of the food was cold, some of the meat was dry. Nothing major, but noticeable. We tipped around 12%. A little lower than usual, but not what we thought was insulting. The waiter, obviously perturbed, told the owner, who promptly returned to our table and told us in no uncertain terms that they expected more of a tip, and stated the amount of extra money she would like us to pay. There was no attempt to ask us if anything was wrong with our meal, or with the service, simply a demand for more tip. She waited until we passed over more money, and left without comment. Its fair to say that we were all pretty surprised that it had happened. Having been frequent customers (I was there twice in the previous week, for example), and regularly tipping between 15 and 20%, this behaviour really surprised us. We tipped what we thought was appropriate, given the product and the service, as we do each time we visit. Sometimes it means 20% and on this one (and only) occasion, it was less than 15%. Its completely unacceptable to demand more tip from a customer, and was exceedingly poor customer relations for this response to come from the business owner. So in the end, the Free Times Caf is a place we have good memories of, but we wont be going back. We mentioned this to the proprietor upon leaving, and received a completely bored apology. The Free Times does good business, which unfortunately means that they arent bothered by losing a few customers over the matter of a few dollars in tips.

  April 12, 2016, 3:23 am

  Log in to Reply
• Steve

  Never thought I’d do a positive review of the food at a pub-like place, but hot-diggity-dang, is the food ever good here.Free Times is like the kid in the corner who never gets picked first when you’re picking your hockey team but ends up the one scoring all the goals. It’s easy to walk by it without giving it a glance: it looks like a dingy dive bar. I’ve walked by it for years. Finally decided to go in one recent late night, and have gone back again in less than a week. I’m a big fan.The menu is interesting, split into three sections: typical burgers and fries, Jewish comfort food (brisket and latka), middle eastern comfort food (falafel and shish tawook). Have done the first two sections and gearing up to do the third. Had the burger with fries the first time: big winner! Tasty, juicy, and fast. I will never drop a week’s salary at P&L burger or the Priest again. Why would I? These guys are just as good. Came back and did the club and the brisket. Both generous and tasty. The club was definitely the better way to go, stacked high and fair amount of chicken. The brisket was ok but the plate was messy. What is a real treat though is you get this side dish of pickled cabbage, beat, and zucchini. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be a salad or just pickles, but lovely. Sent back a clean plate.Good for you FTC! Can’t wait to try your middle eastern.

  September 12, 2015, 6:41 pm

  Log in to Reply
• Ashley

  Jewish brunch, friendly casual atmosphere. Nice and comfy place to have a Sunday brunch. Cozy atmosphere. The servers were warm and hospitable … Lots of variety of dishes: cheese blintzes, smoked salmon, potato latkas, several salads, many sweet somethings

  April 1, 2014, 10:42 pm

  Log in to Reply
• MBS

  Food adequate, woman owner annoying.

  February 18, 2013, 7:20 pm

  Log in to Reply
• Phoebe

  Jewish brunch anyone? Very good. I enjoy it every time.

  May 27, 2012, 12:21 am

  Log in to Reply