Review: Caffé Demetre (Uptown)

Caffé Demetre. Click to enlarge.

After lunch, my friends and I decided to hit up Caffé Demetre, the Uptown location on Eglinton/Mt. Pleasant, for some awesome desserts. Caffé Demetre is probably one of the most popular dessert cafés in Toronto...and there are a lot of reasons as to why it has received so much hype.

The interior of Caffé Demetre. Click to enlarge.

When we first entered in, the café had a sizeable number of people in it, not surprising for the early afternoon on a weekday. The décor of the place was nice, modern and definitely very relaxing. Definitely the perfect place for either catching up with friends or a date.

The staff greeted us and showed us to our table, allowing us to choose the nice corner area, and then gave us the menu. Although Caffé Demetre's website does not display its menu (to prevent internet piracy, apparently), you definitely won't feel limited with the café's massive selection. A big chunk of their menus is dedicated to their signature waffle and crêpe desserts, however if you're not in the mood for these, you could always order ice cream (which they make!), coffee, and cakes (which were displayed at the entrance of the café). After about 10 minutes of scrutinizing the menu, we finally placed our orders. I ordered Caffé Demetre's version of a café mocha and a "Livin' La Vida Mocha" waffle while my friends ordered their own custom waffle (white chocolate ice cream, strawberry sauce and white chocolate chunks) and a signature waffle with a name that I can't really remember (it had some type of special chocolate ice cream with brownie chunks, white chocolate chunks, and chocolate sauce).

My drink (~$4). Click to enlarge.

After about 2 minutes after ordering, my café mocha was immediately served. I was quite surprised at how fast they got this out! On the menu, this has a special name which I don't remember (I should really write these down for you guys next time...), however it's basically a café mocha (coffee + hot chocolate). It tasted really good! The coffee portion was definitely prominent, but didn't overpower the whole drink. I actually ordered a hot drink to try and "expand" my stomach so that I could have a better chance of finishing my waffle.

My "Livin' La Vida Mocha" dessert waffle (~$10). Click to enlarge.

A couple minutes later, our waffles were served. I had the "Livin' La Vida Mocha" waffle, which consisted of Tiramisu ice cream, Oreo cookie crumble, and chocolate sauce. This was absolutely amazing! There wasn't anything I didn't like about this dessert. The waffle was nice, warm and crispy and the ice cream was nice and rich (you could definitely taste the Tiramisu inspiration). I thought that there would've been a chance that the waffle under the ice cream would turn soggy, but it didn't. I was actually quite surprised that I managed to finish this all by myself! Last time I visited Demetre with my friends, we all struggled to finish our desserts. Something must've come over me this day...

What my friends ordered (both ~$10). Click to enlarge.

My friends also had no complaints about their waffles. They actually all got quite full, even though the 4 of them were sharing their waffles (2 per waffle). In case you don't really like any of the signature waffles Demetre's has to offer, you can make your own custom waffle (as what my friends did with their white chocolate and strawberry waffle) for the exact same price as their signatures! Pretty awesome, isn't it?

The staff in this location were very friendly and courteous. We had no problem giving them a very good tip after having our desserts.

The ratings for Caffé Demetre are as follows (detailed ratings system here and out of 5):

Flavour = 5
Value = 4
Atmosphere = 5
Uniqueness = +0.5 (They make their own ice cream!)

OVERALL RANKING: 5 / 5 (Of course, you can't get anything higher than a 5!)

The only reason I gave the restaurant a 4 out of 5 on value is that the food is still a tad pricey for a patron such as myself who did not share their food with anyone else. However, it's perfect for two people and I understand that they also charge a bit more since their ingredients are of high quality.

If you are coming to this café, you should know that the signature desserts that we ordered actually initially list the price for the crêpe option. If you want to have Belgian waffles like we did, you need to pay about $2-3 extra (it's totally worth it; the crêpe becomes soggy and chewy really easily with the ice cream). You should also know that if you want fresh fruit on your desserts, you should also be prepared to pay a little bit extra since Demetre's does change the price of the fruit desserts depending on the season.

I would also recommend that you should also come to the café with your friend or date to share the dessert. The portion size is pretty massive and are definitely made for sharing. I still have no idea as to how I managed to finish my waffle. If you're feeling greedy and don't want to share, then I recommend getting one of their hot drinks like I did, or don't eat anything before you visit the café.

With excellent food and service, it's no wonder Caffé Demetre is one of the most popular desserts spots of Toronto. In case you're wondering, they do have other locations in the GTA and surrounding towns, which is definitely another great aspect of this franchise. If you're looking for waffles + ice cream, this is the place to go.



Type of Cuisine: Dessert (European/North American)
Price Range: $4-15
Atmosphere/Attire: Casual
Website (check for other locations): Caffé Demetre

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