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Restaurants

Fressen

  • Currently 2.52/5

Rating: 2.5/5 (62 votes)

Posted by Tim / Listed on September 9, 2007 / review policy

15 Comments

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Fressen is one of the most popular vegan restaurants in the city. From the same owner's as Urban Herbivore.

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15 Comments

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J / July 4, 2008 at 08:10 pm
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I absolutely love the food at fressen. The dishes are fresh, delicious and unique. The ambiance is really nice as well, it is really warm and cozy inside. The only negative thing i have to say is that the service isn't so great. I think they might be understaffed, or maybe it was just the night i went, but the waiter was really slow. I would risk the slow service again just cause the food is awesome.
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warmflash / September 7, 2008 at 02:35 pm
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I've been to Fressen twice for brunch and it's awful.

DInner is ok. But brunch is terrible.

If only we had a great vegetarian restaurant here like Candle Cafe in NYC or Millennium in San Fran. The food at these two restaurants is great as is the service.

Perhaps Toronto vegetarians like the abuse?
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Laura / November 24, 2008 at 12:29 pm
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Brunch has been really spotty, and I've walked in too many times when their espresso machine has not been working. Service here has gone downhill, and it would take a lot for me to go back.
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lolita replying to a comment from warmflash / February 2, 2009 at 10:56 pm
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you really don't need to go that far for the best vegetarian restaurant in your neighbourhood.
It's right there in the Village by the grange on Mccaul and Dundas.
It's called Karine's by Maggie's and it's absolutely Great!
My visit got worth wile from Quebec when I visited AGO and came across to this cute veggie place. Family owned and operated, excellent food choices and lots of smile.
Check them out.
Their prices are very cheap and you'll be happy.
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Kelly / February 8, 2009 at 08:38 pm
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I was there for a friend's birthday brunch and I've heard so much great stuff about Fressen from her and her boyfriend that I was so excited to try it! Our party of 8 arrived around 11:30 and we weren't acknowledged until about 12. We didn't get our drinks (coffee, tea, and juice) until an hour later! Our waitress claimed they were short on the tea strainers, mean while we saw her bringing some out to other tables. She came back to our table asking us what our drink orders were (you would think she would have wrote it down the 2nd time she came back), she came back 4 times without our drinks!
Don't get me wrong, the food was fantastic, but the service was HORRIBLE!!!
When it came time for the bill our server told us that the machine was down and that she had to give us a hard copy...fine. She returned with a ripped piece of paper with just the total on it! We were floored! and when we asked for a written out detail of our bill she looked at us like we were crazy!
She claimed she was new and this was her second week....BULLSHIT!

I loved the food, it's too bad the service was half ass!


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greg / April 17, 2009 at 10:43 am
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The service was great for 2 servers and 13 tables. It was my partner and my 2 year anniversary + we like a slower paced dinner anyway, so the service was perfect for us.
The food was amazing, unique and incredibly tasty! We left talking about the food. Some of the best vegan food I've ever had. I want to try the rest of the menu!
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MCharlin replying to a comment from J / August 21, 2009 at 11:43 am
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I have to agree with J. My wife and I had a great meal there yesterday, with fantastic food and great atmosphere but the service was quite slow. Now I enjoy taking my time to eat but 30 minutes between finishing the tapas and receiving the entree is a little much, even with an enjoyable glass of wine.

The food, once we got it, was fantastic and full of flavour (sometimes lacking in vegetarian restaurants) so I would definitely return.
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AshK / November 23, 2009 at 02:16 pm
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Restaurants don't usually effect me enough to write about but Fressen was downright disappointing.

After being instructed that we MUST be on time for our Saturday reservation, our table wasn't ready for another 45 minutes. We had finished an entire bottle of wine before our small plates began to arrive (half an hour or more after we ordered).
For a place that's "vegan AND gluten free" (I am both) there were NO gluten free entrees, none! so we just shared a bunch of Small plates and Apps, none of which were very convenient for sharing. They also didn't have gluten free bread. Which made the small plates a bit pointless and difficult to eat.

Dessert was amazing and for $150 for three people including a bottle of wine it's not heinously expensive, but for that much money the food is nothing special.

I'm not surprised about the Urban Herbivore connection, I went there the next day and have never encountered such rude people anywhere!
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Candice / January 11, 2010 at 11:08 am
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Fressen used to be a lot more gluten-free-friendly, back when the menu was ALL small plates. Now, as mentioned by AshK, they've got a few small plates on the menu but mostly do appetizers and entrees. And yes, most of the small plates were dips or whatnot that required bread, and they have no gluten-free bread.

The first time I went to Fressen was back in December 2008, when it was still all small plates, and I had a great experience. My second time was in November 2009, and I have to say I was disappointed. I wish they'd bring back the old menu!

I will say that I've had good experiences with their sister restaurant, Urban Herbivore, and they can do a decent gluten-free meal. There are several options available.

(I should probably note that I'm not Celiac so if you are, I can't speak for how their cleaning/cross contamination practices are)
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Sh replying to a comment from Candice / February 3, 2010 at 02:08 pm
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My gf is allergic to gluten and wheat and has never had a reaction from the Urban Herbivore grain bowls, which are often really good. The catch is that they always, always run out of rice and quinoa by the late afternoon, so if you're in the Market looking for gluten free, your best option is to run down to Hibiscus before they close at 6:00!
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Merlingo / January 11, 2011 at 12:34 pm
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I've been going to Fressen for special days (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) I finally smarten up and stopped going to this place. The service is always terrible. The servers are hip and very snobby. I don't look very rich or famous, so perhaps that's the treatment I deserve. The food isn't bad, but not good either. Not very memorable. Even if their food was good, I don't see a point of being treated like this anymore when I'm paying a lot for it. For a consistent (and dumb) customer of many years, I wonder... why don't they train their servers to be nicer?

Their servers have been cold and mean to my friends, family and me all the time. I'm sorry I am not wearing an expensive yoga pants with 1000 dollar hand bags. I'm going to go to Lee for special day vegan dinners from now on. Lee had amazing food with super nice servers.

Good bye Fressen.
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Lindsay / February 22, 2011 at 11:51 pm
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I LOVE Fressen!!!
Their (one and only) dessert is SOOOOO incredibly out of this world ... and the service has always been amazing.

The only negative thing I've experienced is their reservations and their washroom. Whenever you call for a reservation, no one answers the phone... and then if you happen TO make a reservation, it's a 50/50 chance they weren't expecting you.

The washrooms (one stall)- YUCK.


The FOOD is AMAZING.
I highly recommend!!!!!
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Matt / March 1, 2011 at 10:39 am
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I tried this place recently. The dessert was excellent, but the rest of the meal was pretty mediocre, especially for the price. Service wise it was rude and slow, which suggests to me that they may have been understaffed. I won't go back any time soon.
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pk / March 2, 2011 at 06:17 pm
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I miss their old menu!!!

the new one is over priced for the same kinds of portioned food masked as entrees, and they're not even that great.

the standards were and continue to be their gems, and the idea to get 2 or 3 and share was a nice niche

as for dessert...please add a vanilla option for people who are not fans of chocolate

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Jules / June 6, 2012 at 09:35 am
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This place is fantastic quality gluten free food. The jicama slaw was pleasantly surprising. Soups are always good and the atmosphere is nice. Thank you Fressen.
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Location and Contact Details

478 Queen Street West (Get Directions)
416.504.5127
Queen West
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Vegetarian

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