Maxim’s Café & Patisserie

The extraordinary politeness and manner of the North York Maxim’s Café manage: «Your cake won’t be flipped (by my staffs) unless it’s your car that flip over». This comment was said to my mom in the face when she expressed her concerns about the cake falling off/​flip over.
This manager is a tall mid-​40 ~ 50 man who speaks Cantonese. His comment is beyond rude, disrespectful, and insolent in every way. This one-​star review could have been saved up if there’s a 0-​star option. No one deserves to be treated wrongfully and disrespectfully.

They’ve been here FOREVER.
I feel ancient just thinking about it.
Once upon a time over 15 years ago their blueberry meringue cake was famous and to-​die-​for because quantity and quality were generous and they did not skimp on size, cream, butter, sugar, fruit, portion balance, etc. But now, just like most mom-​and-​pop restaurant businesses and lesser-​known fastfood franchises in the GTA that serve/​sit 30 – 50 people, something’s gotta give in a less-​than-​stellar economy topped with a high cost of living.
Their meringue cake, black forest, white chocolate, cheesecake, etc are now sub par in quality and quantity, and prices can only grow larger while slices only shrink smaller.
Maxim’s tries to survive in other creative ways such as offering weekend oldies music lounge performances which is pretty nice if you want to take your momma out somewhere for «After Eight» fun and entertainment. But beyond that, you can pick up better meringue, cakes, and pastries in other cafes and high end grocery stores. How they survive is reliance on middle class old Bayview neighbourhood regulars and their next of kin to stop by. The retired doctors, lawyers, ex-​pats, entrepreneurs and private school-​educated folks who’ve lived in the area since before the 90s.
Some advice: If you are going to continue and charge a fine dining price, you should update your melamine plates and serve your desserts on finer tableware (i.e., the breakable kind).

Went to the café yesterday to get takeout. I always only purchase the meringue, and nothing else.
In terms of service, I find the servers have a bit of an attitude. As I usually get takeout, it doesn’t affect me that much, but it is one of the reasons why I don’t dine in there. Because I always take out, I can’t really comment much on anything.
The presentation of the food was excellent. it feels really high end. The quality of the food was also excellent.

This place is not worth the price displayed, and the service is so so poor

I absolutely love the strawberry meringue cake! It’s not too sweet like some reviewers have said. I have noticed that it’s not as good as it used to be, but still worth it. The meringue cake here is better than the Bayview location, in my opinon.
I’ve eaten the food food here once and it was mediocre at best. Best to just get a cake to go.

First off cash only, but there’s a machine there that’s usable, but refuse to use it. Desserts aren’t crazy, but a meringue cake lover would love their mango one. Service isn’t great, so I recommend not staying there, just do take out. As I was there the woman was clipping her finger nails. Very insanitary. Would not come back.

It’s a small café. Really nice. The meringue is really good but a bit to sweet. I would definitely go back.

Maybe go to this place for the baked goods. The cakes are reasonably priced and not too sweet like most Asian bakeries. The strawberry and mango meringue cakes are my favorite. I’ve had dinner there only a couple of times. They have set menus. The food is average and service is average.

I’ve been here over a dozen times and only for one thing, meringue cake. It’s the best meringue cake in the city probably. and the rest of their cakes are really good as well!
However, the service is terrible, the people behind the counter are rude and generally could careless if people came in or not. The dinner service is also not good. Their menu sounds like it’s italian or french food, but it’s not. It’s chinese people trying to make italian food similar to Firefly (on hwy 7) and it’s not better then what you can likely make at home.
Their hours are sketchy as hell, as in, they may or may not be open until the time listed and sometimes if you walk in later in the evening around 8:40 or later, the people behind the counter will be very rude and seem impatient then tell you they’re closing at 9:30 or ‘earlier’ so that you’ll be deterred from staying (happened to me on three separate occasions).
**The take home message is — only drop in to pick up a cake/​dessert TO GO, because if you stay, you will not be a happy customer**

Seems like their main thing here is the meringue cake. Since that’s not my thing, I can’t really give them a high rating, the experience and the service is not that great. Also everyone seems to have recognized the sour-​faced lady owner/​manager, who is not very pleasant. I remember my experience with her before, where I told her the mussels in my pasta dish was not fresh and mushy/​crumbly. Of course she proceeds to tell me that it’s the freshest mussels evs and it’s obviously a problem on my end. Can’t believe they charge so much for their meals. You might as well go to a decent Western place for this price instead of this Asian-​style western food.
So my partner suggested we give them another try after 10+ years of boycott. Although the décor got an update, the people and service have not changed. Seemed to be a very popular place for their cakes, especial popular amongst the older Asian ladies who tend to favor cakes with less sugar. The whole time we were there people were in and out getting cakes.
We ordered a French onion soup and it was served with complementary garlic bread… Oooo… a pleasant surprise and it was good. The soup however is a disappointment. Sitting at a price of $ 8, there needs to be some sort of standards. The portion was painfully small, the cheese on top of poor quality and there’s a small piece of bread in there looks like day old baguette. I ordered the garlic tiger shrimp pasta in tomato sauce. I didn’t have high hopes for «tiger shrimps», since a lot of restaurants called their shrimps tiger when they are not. And these were not, but at least they were fresh. The sauce was interesting it was tomatoey, and I think they added crab eggs in it, which was interesting and added a nice texture. Otherwise, the décor was blah, the ambience meh and service okay… And sour face lady didn’t help.

I went to Karaōke on Friday nights at Maxim’s. I sang my heart out till 1:00am. Tuesdsay nights, they have a rock band that comes and plays. I like their strawberry short cake and their mango

Cute café :) We came here just to grab some cakes to go so didn’t stay, but definitely roomy enough to be a nice sit-​down place. There was quite a wide collection of different assortments of cakes, though I was told their cheesecakes weren’t the best. I had a slice of the mango meringue and a slice of strawberry meringue. My favourite was mango, this was a super crumbly cake and goes so well with coffee :3 Would definitely go back to try another one of their pretty cakes! Price was $ 20 – 40 for entire cakes (not sure about how much per slice, though. but since it’s an Asian place, you do probably get your money’s worth)

So I checked the website this morning and it said they close at 12am on weekends. I called and they said they close at 11pm. I allowed that because tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I understand if they want to close early. At 8:40pm, I called to make a dessert reservation for that night. I was told they close at 9:30pm. I told the person who answered the phone that I had called earlier and that the person who had answered the phone said the close at 11pm today. She said that 9:30pm was last call for orders. That being the case, I went. The three of us ordered three slices of cake to eat in, and one to take out. First problem of the night was that they don’t split bills, even if we order at the counter and then get seated (we had to choose our own table). Second problem was that they did not provide us with water. No one came to our table to ask us whether we were even interested in beverages. Third problem was that around 9:45, the waitress said they had to close the cash register, so we had to pay right then. Minimum 10% tip required… on a party of 3. The only thing they had done was bring us our plates. We still had no drinks. At around 9:50pm, we were the last table occupied, and the waiters started to give us evil eye. At 10:05pm, they came up to us and told us they needed to close, and thus, kicked us out of the restaurant. At the end of about an hour there, we still never got drinks.
I highly doubt I would ever voluntarily come to eat in again, but their meringues are still delicious, so take-​out?

I’ve only had take out cake from here, but many many times. So in May, I had it at least 3 – 4 times. It was always delicious. But most recently, their meringue has gone down SO MUCH in quality.
The meringue was not crunchy as usual. Instead it was soggy. And within the meringue, the cream had almost NO fruit. So cheap of them!
Even worse, the lady insisted that they made them freshly today. So we were expecting the usual deliciousness. However it seemed like they actually had saved these pieces from yesterday… No good!!!
Bring back the quality of your cake!!!

Felt very unwelcome from the beginning. They rushed us to make an order, never came by to refill our water until we asked them – when there were only 4 other people in the restaurant. The paella was bland… not surprising considering they couldn’t even pronounce their own menu items correctly.
Finally the dessert… I didn’t realize it was possible but they managed to make mousse cake soggy and gross. Not surprising given all the poor hygiene reviews here. To top it all off, they added an automatic gratuity. Very disingenuous practice that can lead to double tipping if you don’t inspect your bill correctly. Would not go back, ever.

Why there is NO STAR option in the setting?! One star is already too much. I ordered their well known meringue in the restaurant. The first bite was alright, but during my second one, I pulled one strand of hair out from the filling/​icing. And no, I was sure it wasnt my hair. Oh dear it was gross. Service wise? HORRIBLE ++++. The eldest lady in the restaurant, who I believe was the boss, was just sitting there, whispering, critizing and talking bad stuffs about others to employees in cantonese; and assuming I wouldn’t understand because I’m indian! I grew up in HONG Kong so I know cantonese! To conclude, never going back again.

I really wanted to like this place since it is right around the corner, but unfortunately I did not. I’ve been here a couple times hoping the next thing I ordered would taste better than the last (and that the service would improve –they treat you like they are doing YOU a huge favour).
The first cheese cake we bought looked beautiful but tasted horrible. My guest were spitting it out into napkins. It only had one flavour and that flavour was: EGG. yuck!
I went there for a small cappuccino (it was very bad — it just looked like hot milk and espresso stirred together, no foam) and a cookie and it ended up being $ 6 (a little pricey for the quality).
All in all, I wont be returning.

If I could give this place a zero, I would definitely give it to this place. This place has no shame in serving MOULDY CAKE.
And the sour-​faced lady owner/​manager doesn’t care about the customers.
I’ve been to this place a few times with my mom and she picked this place for me to take her on Mother’s Day. The food was okay up until the dessert, which is what they are supposedly famous for.
My mom got a set menu and it came with a daily dessert, but she wanted a specific cake so she ordered it separate and I took her set menu dessert. I noticed that everyone who ordered the set menu was getting this chocolate mousse cake, so I was looking forward to that, but what ended up coming was something different. I didn’t care that it was different, I just wanted something sweet. When I bit into it it had a mouldy taste and I thought maybe they just overburnt the sugar topping on top. So I took a few more bites and my mom even tried it, agreeing that it had a mouldy taste. I dissected the cake until I flipped it over and saw several LARGE GREEN SPOTS OF MOULD!!!
The first waitress we reported it to denied it and just brought me the chocolate mousse cake I had expected, but I didn’t eat it because I was already disgusted. Then the second waitress profusely apologized and gave us 10% off. But it’s not her job to apologize for MOULDY CAKE! It’s the owner/manager’s job and not ONCE did she come to the table to apologize. The 10% is great but it won’t help me when I’m sitting on the toilet all night.
I really wish I could have taken a picture of the cake to report them, but I was just so shocked and disgusted it is one of those «in-​hindsight I should have done this and that» scenario.
Needless to say, we are never coming back here and if you want to be treated with respect, I would suggest you spend your money elsewhere. You can find better food at any of the joints nearby at the Leslie and Finch plaza.

Visit #3 and FINAL visit: I’ve been back twice since the January lunch. Their service (or lack thereof) has now been CONSISTENTLY very poor!
I got a luke-​warm hot chocolate and my friend’s coffee was cold. They put much less sugar in the dessert than the previous time. The toilets weren’t particularly well cleaned. I will NOT be going back or recommending anyone to go to this restaurant to have a meal. Yes, their meringue dessert is delicious so take-​out is a good option!
Feb visit #2 — Service very slow. The young waitress behind the counter had a «real attitude» problem. If I were the owner I’d be concerned… she seemed more interested in talking on her cell phone that serving paying customers.
Jan visit #1 — Excellent service. Food fresh. I can’t wait to go back!

There really is no better place for Meringue. This is by far the best place I’ve had for meringue in Toronto. The mango meringue is my favorite.
I’ve also come here for like weekend lunch once too over a holiday. The food was average, but the three course meal (soup, entrée and dessert) for like $ 15 is like a super deal, while everywhere else around the city is like price gouging over the same holiday.
The service, was decent enough. Just a fan of the meringue.

I’ve gone here on several occasions and I’ve felt compelled to write a review of this place.
Lunches:
Nothing special. They range in price from $ 10 – 20 and aren’t particularly good. The stupid thing about their lunches is that they choose the dessert for you. So on several occasions, they’ve chosen the cheapest, most unflattering dessert for their patrons… all of which I’ve eaten a bite off and had enough.
Christmas dinner: $ 42/​person — prix fixe
DON’T EVER GO. That is all I have to say… and here is why
a) Salad & appetizer — coleslaw w/​Norwegian Smoked Salmon & Duck Confit
Coleslaw was nothing special at all. It lacked flavour and taste. The duck confit was not tender at all and also lacked taste and was quite bland. As for the smoked salmon, it didn’t taste that great at all. Just ordinary normal smoked salmon.
b) Soup — Lobster bisque w/​puff pastry
By puff pastry, they mean a random block of phyllo puff on your soup just randomly floating around. The lobster bisque was absolutely horrible being that it seemed like it was mixed with corn starch to thicken the soup and watered down because they were too cheap to make a real lobster bisque. I couldn’t bring myself to finish that thing and drank less than half of this soup.
c) 1^st course — half de-​boned quail in cranberry sauce
First of all, my quail was most definitely boned. Second of all, they gave you a little quail thigh. The cranberry sauce was minimal and I honestly wondered where it was as I was eating the quail. Quail was also very chewy and lacked tenderness and flavour.
d) Entrees — New Zealand Rack of Lamb OR US Choice Filet Mignon w/​Goose Liver Pâté OR Lobster & seafood Pasta OR Filet of Grouper with Sauteed Scallop
I had 3 out of 4 entrees to try. The NZ rack of lamb was NOT cooked to perfect and the rosemary sauce and other gravies they put onto the lamb absolutely ruined it for me. The sauce made the lamb taste like dish detergent so I’m not sure what Rosemary sauce was used but rosemary does NOT taste like that.
The US Choice Filet mignon was NOT actual filet mignon. It was chewy, untender, and had gravy splattered all over it. What is worse is that it had goose liver pâté on TOP of the filet mignon. I thought it was going to be off on the side but that pâté was slathered on the filet mignon as if the filet mignon was toast or something. The pâté was disgusting and totally ruined the taste of the filet mignon. Also, the gravy splattered over it made it even worse. What made me even more upset was that the side consisted of a frozen vegetable assortment of corn, peas, and beans. Honestly, it was as if it was dumped out of a Green Giant bag and dumped onto my plate.
The grouper also was hard boiled and lacked any flavour at all. There was a total of one scallop in that whole dish. Also green giant vegetables.
e) All you can eat dessert & coffee/​tea
Dessert was the only thing that was great. Their meringue is one of the best meringues that I have ever had and they’ve honestly perfected that to a T. Their best merignques are the mocha meringue and the strawberry meringue. Their jam cookie is also great — which consists of a shortbread sandwiched with strawberry jam and sprinkled with icing sugar.
For $ 42 per person, I thought that was an absolute waste of my time and money. Their service, although not horrible, was not particularly great and had they not already slapped a 15% gratuity on their bill, I would not have given that at all. The food was just unpleasant that night and thank goodness their meringue made the experience slightly less unpleasant. I think my whole family has agreed that we will NEVER come back here for any dinners because we all feel as if their Christmas dinner, they’ve skimped out a lot. I’m not paying $ 42 again to drink watered down lobster bisque and not-​real filet mignon.
2 stars. Will not return unless I’m buying pastries for take-​out.

This is just a bit of a word of warning for anyone showing up and expecting sweets and cakes from a typical cake shop. Everything here is geared towards a Asian taste bud, which means, lighter, fluffier and significantly much less sweet. Now this is fine, if that’s what you’re looking for, but just to illustrate, a few years back for my birthday a bunch of friends had bought two extra «Asian» cakes (it was a black forest cake and probably a mango something something).
We couldn’t finish them all so I brought it in to work and gave it to my staff. I warned them all that it’s probably not what they’re expecting, but as soon as I saw their expressions taking a bite of their cake, I said it was ok to not swallow it and chuck it out, and every single person tossed their slice in the garbage with a sigh of relief. Then they all proceeded to the Tim Horton’s where I bought them donuts.
Sooo. if you’re looking for Asian style cakes, then fine. But I’ve kind of forgotten that the Tiramisu here is NOTHING like a Tiramisu! So buyer be warned.