The Coffee Mill Restaurant

Just found out it closed. Pathetic. Only in Toronto would an institution like this close down, and with so little fanfare. Unpretentious, tasty, lovely patio, Goulash soup like your Hungarian Grandmother makes, schnitzel with a twist of lemon. Too tasty, too reasonably priced, too real for this town.

I can’t believe this place will be closing in just a few days. This is a Toronto institution that has been in Yorkville long before Yorkville was hip. It definitely sticks out now, but the good is delicious, it’s family-​friendly, and it is a true reflection of Hungarian hospitality.
My first time here was a week ago, but my fiancé and his cousin ate here regularly with their Hungarian parents (who emigrated to North America 40 years ago). It was apparent when we were there that this is a destination for immigrants looking for a taste of Magyar culture and food. I went to grad school in Budapest, so I know some Hungarian, and the boys both grew up with a Hungarian parent and have visited the old country on multiple occasion. This place is authentic!
We sat outside on the patio, and we waited a very long time for a server (those who have been to restaurants in Hungary know that this is normal). Our server was a bit standoffish until it came time to order and I asked if I could sub galuska for mashed potatoes. His eyes got very large, he broke out in a huge smile, and he asked if I was Hungarian. Just like that, we were in. He was very friendly and hospitable from that point on, and even helped us move to a new table when it looked like it might rain.
We ordered schnitzel and kolbasz, with sides of galuska and red cabbage all around. We loved our food! We ended with palacsinta and dobos torta. Both were delicious, although I’m partial to dobos torta in general, so I liked that more than the crepes.
So sad to see this Yorkville institution close it’s doors after more than 50 years!

While I have to warn you that I only tried two things on the menu, and I was told they are the two best things they make, I liked this place.
It is not fancy or pretentious even though it is in the heart of Yorkville.
I had the goulash which was tasty and a huge, very tasty schnitzel that made me very happy. I happen to be partial to schnitzel and this was one of the better ones I have had in Toronto.

Get the coffee cake! It goes so well with the ice coffee especially on a hot summer day. To top it off, the service was above par and über friendly. Would recommend and visit again!

After so many years this little gem is a gift that keeps on giving! Hearty European fare, always fresh and well prepared. Fab service and ambience… stay in business for another 50 years!

I have mixed feeling about this locale.
There are things I really really like and other that I don’t but I would still recommend it, in particular if you are in the neighbourhood.
I didn’t try their food, the menu offers good selection of traditional Hungarian food (more on this later) and other European options. You can see how the menu evolved over time from an Hungarian café to a more recreational place (mox Café’-Restaurant). I went last weekend during the IceFest in Yorkville so I didn’t enjoy the patio but it looked so nice and i can’t wait to sit outside during summer while drinking coffee or a good glass of wine
The ambiance reflects the old European charm. It has been open for more than 50 years and it is reflected in the decorations. While «old», you feel like travelling in the past, beck to a mid-​century Budapest café. A little hidden gem. The owners are Hungarians and this helps keeping the traditional food «original».
Coffee and lattes are OK and they come in small cups, maybe a bit too small. We ordered palacsinta (Hungarian crepes) and the apple-​cherry strudel. they were very good but you should go on a Saturday to enjoy the traditional Kremes (one of the most popular Hungarian pastry). It is a light and fluffy custard cream mixed with the egg whites within 2 sheets of puff pastry. DELICIOUS!!!

This restaurant has been a staple in Yorkville for a long time and serves up Hungarian cuisine
As soon as you walk in, Martha the owner greets you with a warm smile and also hugs at times
This is where to come for the weiner schnitzel. Take a pork filet and pound it thin, dredge it in flour and egg, and bread crumbs and then fry it quickly.
This plate full size needs a splash of lemon and maybe a sprinkle of paprika and you are all set.
Cabbage rolls are another item to order and is full of peppery ground pork and rice and grain fillins with a splash of sour cream on top.
Sausages, of course pork ones, are also partr of hungarian cuisine and these are full of paprikia and garlic. They are served with a side of red cabbage.
On a snowy day like today, the Ghoulash soup would be warming to the soul. It offers pork chunks with potatoes and carrots.
This old school Hungarian cooking (not sure if there is any new school style) and the perfect dinner for the hungry during the winter months.

After some years, we revisited the Coffee Mill, mainly as a nostalgia trip. In its early days we were frequent visitors, coming partly for the good food and the continental atmosphere. Unfortunately, this time we found neither. If you must eat at Coffee Mill stick to some of the pastries, and if you are looking for some continental atmosphere close your eyes and dream that you are in Vienna. For the sake of the good old times I gave a 2 star.
Food lover

I will be fair, I cannot honestly review this locale for its food. In the years I have been coming here, I have never once ordered anything to eat.
I come here for the patio and the wine. Although most importantly for its charming patio. This café –or Restaurant as they are really called — is tucked away in a you-​blink-​and-​you-​will-​miss-​it alleyway.
It is a very simplistic place with a somewhat European charm. I find the trees, the subtle fountain and the never ending sounds of water flowing to really add to the atmosphere.
Unlike many other places in Yorkville I have never felt this locale to be either obstentacious or stuck up, since they really have no reason to be, aside from perhaps their address which from my experience has not become a deterrent.
Many a time I have found myself here, with my notebook (both paper-​based and electronic) and just write undisturbed while enjoying a glorious Summer afternoon.
I very much recommend it if you are in the hood. Again though, do not know much about the food.

I often look forward to retirement… I think about it, dream about it and then I try to prematurely live it by eating at places like The Coffee Mill Restaurant.
This small, unassuming café is tucked in behind the 5-​star gourmet dining and expensive clothing boutiques of Yorkville. You’d probably never know it was here, unless you went looking for it.
We ordered the cabbage roll entrée ($ 12.50) accompanied by mashed potatoes and saurkraut and the Hungarian goulash ($ 7.50) which came with a few pieces of already buttered rye bread.
Service was okay with only one waitress working the dining area. Food came up nice and hot shortly after ordering but our waitress never came back for water refills.
The cabbage roll was a bit on the dry side and it’s size was ¹⁄₃ the size of the rolls that I’ve had at other Eastern European restaurants. Goulash was a bit runny but hearty with chunks of beef and dumplings.
Clientel was mostly older folks enjoying a meal for one. This is the life I have to look forward to, unless I become a snowbird and head for the sunny shores of Florida! Oh retirement, you can’t come soon enough!

Wretched service. Sub-​par food. Unfortunately we were deceived by the cozy appearance of this establishment.
My wife and I are business owners in our mid-20’s, not the demographic that this place appears to cater to, because we were treated rather differently from the other, older patrons. I can’t say we were dressed elegantly, but I daresay we appeared respectable to a decent degree.
We were seated but not informed of the specials– or anything for that matter. I was given poor directions to the washroom, which apparently required a key. Upon my return my wife informed me that two other individuals asked to use the washroom: they were each given a key and clear directions.
We ordered a «Chocolate drink». We were given a beverage with the Nestle-​type chocolate powder still floating atop the liquid (there was quite a bit of it, I’m unsure how the waitress could have overlooked it).
I told our server, who had thus far proved fairly impolite, that we were leaving. She said she had our food on the counter and that we would have to pay. «That’s fine», I said, «but I’d like to speak to your manager».
The manager was worse than the waitress and offered no recourse. He fervently defended the waitress. If, by chance, the East-​Indian manager who works at this establishment reads this, please, attend a customer service workshop or switch industries.

There’s a warm, neighbourly feel to this place that I really liked. It’s like taking a step through the time machine, to some unknown yesteryear. It’s not that the place is falling into disrepair or anything. It’s kind of like visiting your grandma’s place where everything is working well, and fine, but everything is from a different time. I loved it!
We were a large party (12 of us), and they were totally fine with doing separate checks, and didn’t even charge us extra gratuity. The waitress was quiet, efficient and sweet. As for the food sandwiches, ghoulash and other soups, salads and comfort Hungarian food.
This place is exactly what it sets out to be: comfortable, unpretentious and warm. It’s the kind of place you wish your neighbourhood had, but doesn’t.

Don’t necessarily go here for the food but for the violinist that plays weepy songs for you on a lonely Friday night. Everything kind of smells like feet, but I liked the unpretentious non-​Yorkville-​ish atmosphere and mom-​like service. I like the décor too. Nothing has changed since 1963.

4 years ago, right after I moved to Toronto, I started my «exploring», I don’t remember whoor what brought me into this place, might be a review I read or I just suddenly discovered this. It was the summer of 2007, I was sitting in the beautiful little yard of this place, loving Toronto.
However, their food was not as impressive, even goulash, I have to say i had better ones in LA. in a small food spot near Beverly Hills. Homemade sausages are good.
Some review mentioned that the service is kinda random, couldn’t agree more. I admire the atmosphere that people works there seem to be a long time friend with most of the customers, always stop by and chat with them. However, as someone just walk in, I am afraid I didn’t get as warm treatment. After a while, I just stop going.
I will still recommend it tho, especially the summer time, just have a coffee at the back yard will make your trip worth it.

When I think of hearty comfort food, I usually think of my mother. But I won’t get into that.
A co-​worker introduced me to Hungarian food many moons ago. The food is genuinely warm and inviting. My first meal was all it took to erase the misconception that it was greasy and heavy.
The Coffee Mill has been around a long time. In fact, they’ve been serving continental cuisine for more than 40 years, and always in perfect portions.
A large order of the goulash eats like a meal and leaves you satisfied. I was having a long, long day and decided to take an early lunch. I found comfort in the chicken schnitzel — fried goodness with a scoop of mashed potatoes. It’s enough for me to end my work day here.

I decided to give this place a try as it seemed like a nice alternative to the bustling and packed coffee shops you normally find in Yorkville. From the outside it looked great — a small restaurant with a pretty courtyard.
The first lady who greeted us was polite and directed us to the outside seating area in the courtyard. The second lady, however, who was our waitress, was extremely rude. When we placed our order for iced coffees, she stared at us like we had three heads each and then asked if it was take-​out. Um, hello, you’ve just seated us at a table. Does it look like we’re ordering take-​out? After confirming that we were in fact going to be enjoying our drinks at the table, she took off and re-​emerged quickly (a little too quickly, I must add) with two iced coffees in what appeared to be beer mugs. THEN, she had the nerve to state immediately, «That’ll be $ 8.50,» as if we were ordering something to go at the counter. We nodded but did not pay until she came by about a couple minutes later, pressing us again to pay.
We did end up leaving soon afterwards anyways as the drinks tasted terrible and the service was unacceptably rude.
I don’t expect to be back here again.

I used to be a big fan of this place.
The coffee is good, and the schnitzel is delicious.
It’s still good, but the service can be volatile. Many times I’ve been treated kindly, but once I went with a group of people for coffee after lunch, and our server demanded that we all order something. It’s not like they were busy, she was just being a jerk.
I normally don’t go unless it’s the summer and I want to sit in the courtyard. It’s great as a quiet, intimate setting.

Mmm… great, gigantic schnitzel. Thin, fresh, crispy and piping hot, the schnitzel was delicious paired simply with a few squeezes of fresh lemon. It came with coleslaw and a scoop of mashed potatoes — perfect cold weather fare!
The restaurant is a tad hidden in the heart of Yorkville and is a busy, but quieter alternative to the other eateries in the area. You can find the entrance next to Sushi Inn on Cumberland and Paper Things on Yorkville Avenue. We came here for lunch to a full house. One of the grandmotherly proprietors of the establishment came up to our table for a quick chat and asked to see if everything was to our satisfaction. Coming here was definitely a breath of fresh air compared to the ultra modern atmosphere of other surrounding places. Here, we’re treated to old-​school charm, delicious food, and simple down-​to-​earth attitude.

This place has some five-​star features and some surprisingly poor ones, so I’m giving it three stars overall.
Let’s start with the good. The inner-​courtyard setting is very pleasant. There is tree shade on sunny days, and one enjoys being tucked away from the Yorkville bustle and pomp. I used to pass by here for years unaware that this place even existed. The live violinist is also excellent, playing the Habsburg classics (La Marche Turque, Hungarian Dances, etc.) with skill and flair. The menu has many distinctly European elements like palacsinta and café Viennese.
Unfortunately, the effect is spoiled by mediocre food and embarrassingly bad service. Our waitress was slow to show up with the menus but incredibly quick with the bill. When I got up to find a washroom, the first staff person I asked about it simply looked at me saying nothing, so I had to go on inquisitioning others. The coffee cake was dry and spongy, the Tiramisu barely passable, and the latte I had gave me acid reflux for the rest of the day.
I will personally not go back, but maybe others will find that the positives overcome the negatives. This is likely if you’re a homesick European nostalgic for some live Liszt, old-​country cuisine, and spotty service.

Hungarian comfort food place. Despite being in posh Yorkville, the entrée menu is very affordable and the food portions are reasonable so that you have room for dessert. Around the table there were rave reviews for the schnitzel while I had a special Veal loaf baked in zucchini. The atmosphere was enhanced with a very talented violinist for classical mood music.