The Cheesecake Factory (Yorkdale)

17 Mar The Cheesecake Factory (Yorkdale)

Very hyped. Everything new that comes to Toronto gets all the buzz and then it creates the ultimate line-up. The Cheesecake Factory is no different yet if you go to Buffalo or anywhere in the States, it’s just like another restaurant down the street.

THE WAIT

Almost four months since Cheesecake Factory opened here, the wait is still pretty much the same. I went on a Saturday during the weekend and cumulatively, it took 3 hours from line up to being seated. It sounds long but in reality it’s not too bad since 2.5 hours of it I was able to shop around Yorkdale. Only caution is that you need to be within a certain range for the buzzer to work (you’ll be good as long as you get back within the period they tell you to). The wait process (if there are a lot of people) is to stay in the middle of Yorkdale where it indicates, then a security guard will guide around 10 people from the line to another queue in front of the restaurant to make the seating list and get told when to come back for a buzzer.

ATMOSPHERE & DECOR

Not truly remembering how the States’ Cheesecake Factory looks like, the Toronto one’s interior was quite luxurious and grand, especially at night for dinner where the ceiling decor and lights were lit – it reminds me a little bit of Vegas and eating at Bellagio. However, I would say overall it’s still dim and tables were fairly close to one another. It didn’t bother me, except the part where I couldn’t take nice photos at night time.

FOOD & DRINKS

I have to admit it took me quite a while to choose the dish I want. There were just too many choices! For two people, my boyfriend and I landed on ordering two specialties: Sheppard’s Pie and the Chicken Riesling, plus a Toasted Marshmallow S’mores Galore Cheesecake to-go.

One small detail I found excellent from the service is asking our table if we wanted the starter bread. It was good to question because 1) Cheesecake Factory portion sizes are not small to begin with and 2) if the table doesn’t eat or want that bread, it will just go to waste without question.

Shepherd’s Pie ($21.95): This dish includes ground beef, carrots, peas, zucchini and onion in a delicious mushroom gravy covered with a mashed potato-parmesan cheese crust. As my boyfriend states, this Sheppard’s Pie was one of the best he has ever tried and I would agree. Funny part is that it doesn’t look like your typical Sheppard’s Pie within an elevated flat dish. Nevertheless, the taste was savoury and flavourful while everything mixed well together. It’s a different variation but it’s just as delicious!

Chicken Riesling ($18.95): This dish consists of chicken breast, mushrooms, bacon, caramelized onions and garlic in a white wine Riesling cream sauce served with buttered parmesan pasta. This on the other hand, was delicious in some way but not super good in others. The chicken breast was cooked nicely and soft, but there’s nothing too special about it. However, what blew my taste buds was actually the sauce accompanied with the mushroom, bacon, onion content.. and how well it mixed with the pasta.

Toasted Marshmallow S’mores Galore ($9.95): Lastly, the S’mores cheesecake was great but more on the pricey side. It’s a sweet food with a Hershey’s cheesecake topped with house-made marshmallow and graham crackers. Every layer was smooth like mousse (yet it’s not mousse) and every bite was filled with texture. Although the cake has a few different layers, it all blends in within each bite. I enjoyed the cheesecake and was surprised it didn’t come off as sweet as I thought. Overall, it’s a good experience but I won’t be too sure if I can devour this every week if I had the chance!

P.S. The entree portion sizes are HUGE! Basically 85% chance you will be doggy-bagging your meal and most likely ordering a cheesecake to-go like me if you insist on trying their signature dessert.

OVERALL RATING: 3.8/5

Atmosphere: 4/5
Customer Service: 3.5/5
Food Quality: 4/5