Ceylon Ceylon

A rich and flavorful chicken curry, deeply marinated with spices, served with fragrant basmati rice.

Madeline Garden Bistro Venue

Madeline Garden Bistro Venue

1030 E. Green St., Pasadena, United States

Cafe • French • Dining • High Tea


"Ambience/surrounding: We requested to be seated outside because we brought our dog along with us. Although they have mosquito repellents hanging on the trees, it still wasn’t enough to keep the mosquitos away. My partner and I got bit a few times throughout our time here, which made the overall experience a little bothersome. Food Value: The food SUCKED. My partner got the champagne brunch. He chose the French toast as his main course and we both strongly disliked it. I personally feel as if they overcomplicated their recipe for their French toast, which only resulted to it having a weird off taste. On the other hand, I got the English high tea. For the price I paid, i personally didn’t think it was worth it. The portion sizes were way too small and every food item on the tier tasted whatever/nothing special. I’ve paid around the same amount at other high-tea services and those places give you a better bang for your buck as opposed to this place and their tea sandwiches were a lot better (such as Morning Lavender in Tustin and Tea Rose Garden in Pasadena). I also ordered the strawberry lemonade on the side — it was definitely nothing special. I regretted spending the $12 on it. If there is something good to say about the food, it would just be that everything was served aesthetically nice, but that’s about it. Service: The service was good and the employees are friendly. One of them went out of their way to bring a small bowl of water out for my dog. Overall, I had my hopes high for this place, especially since I love high-tea experiences. But, I wouldn’t be coming back to this specific place."

Osgoode Hall

Osgoode Hall

130 Queen St. West Toronto, ON M5H 2N6, M5H2N6, United States

Fish • Coffee • Organic • Canadian


"You have to go through a metal detector to enter this restaurant which was a first for me when it comes to dining, but it was well worth the pat-down because the food was unbelievable. I visited with two co-workers for a Friday lunch. The room is lined with book shelves, and the patrons are a mixture of business folk, lawyers and judges. Get past the stuffy atmosphere, and you will enjoy the fact that you’re not wedged in elbow to elbow with other patrons. The tables are nicely distanced from each other and the wait staff is friendly. But move on to the menu and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the offerings. If you’re into ethical treatment of animals, this is the lunch spot for you. I opted for the Cumbrae Farms Free Range Chicken Breast. It was served with a Black Bean salad, corn, pickled peppers with avocado and a coriander dressing. I was as happy as Peter Piper who picked a peck of these pickled peppers and went away as happy as a clam. The chicken was so tender that I pretty much didn’t need a knife to cut through it, and I was thrilled that that particular chicken didn’t live in a tiny cage but had free range of Cumbrae Farms before it ended up on the chopping block. The black beans were lemony and delicious. The avocado was perfectly ripened and was a beautiful accompaniment to the black beans and chicken. I would have licked my plate clean if I weren’t in a room full of lawyers and judges. Well done, Osgoode Hall. You’re doing a great job of feeding the lawyerly crowd in Toronto. But I know your secret and I’m going to shout it out from the rooftops. Here’s the kicker: that unbelievable lunch I had was $16. That’s right business folks, you pay $15 for a crappy salad in the financial district when you could be eating fine dining for the SAME PRICE at this lovely little spot. See you soon Osgoode Hall Restaurant! Next time, I’ll sample the butter tart that I saw on the dessert menu."