Fresh on Queen

So we are off to a rough start - I forgot that I had planned on creating this blog so I failed to take any pictures during my visit. This will not happen again! I like pictures of food. I'd steal photos from the internet, but, you know, that would be stealing.

Okay, so on to my review!

Restaurant: Fresh on Queen
Location: Trinity Bellwoods
Meal: Lunch
Day: Tuesday
Son's Age: 7 weeks

I came to Fresh after an exhilarating mommy and baby stroller fitness class in the park. Mommies - fresh air is key to feeling human again! Since I was feeling relatively healthy, I decided to join a fellow mommy to try Fresh, which is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant. It was a beautiful day, so we decided to eat lunch on the patio. My son had just been fed so I was hoping he would be relatively calm during lunch, and boy was I wrong! He decided to be fussy so I ended up having to carry him in one arm while I ate my lunch! Luckily for me (but not so much for the other patrons), my lunch companion had the exact same issue.

On to the ratings!

Accessibility: ⭐️
I definitely give accessibility one star because I absolutely could not have eaten here if I was alone with my son. This restaurant was not designed to accommodate strollers at all. We both struggled just to open the door (which should have been our first clue), then asked to sit on the patio. I admit that I expected someone to let us enter the patio from outside, but instead we had to wheel our strollers through the whole interior of the restaurant, then onto the patio to get to the corner table where our strollers would fit without being in the way. If that sounds inconvenient, the space between the tables were not wide enough to accommodate strollers, and we ended up having to push all the tables out a little so that we could get through. This wasn't so terrible going in when the restaurant was relatively empty, but by the time we had finished our meals, the place was full, and we had to ask several people to stand up and move their chairs/tables so we could exit again. This is the epitome of interrupting other people's meals and I hate that I was that person.  The washrooms were also small and downstairs, meaning it would have been impossible to take the stroller down, and I definitely would not have been able to change my son's diaper if that had been necessary. Granted, I found out afterwards that there was a wheelchair washroom on the main floor, but navigating my stroller there would already have been a pain, and the fact that I had not seen it initially probably means it isn't very obvious to other patrons either. I also did not notice any high chairs, nor were any offered to us (although our babies clearly are not old enough to hold up their own heads so potentially this is why no one mentioned this), so not sure if this restaurant would have been more accessible for an older baby.

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
To their credit, our server did quite a good job given the circumstances. She put together a four person table and removed two chairs so that our strollers could fit, and she was quick to come over and ensure our water glasses were filled and our food was served promptly. She also very patiently explained different aspects of the menu, since we decided to ask a bunch of questions despite trying to soothe our crying babies. I did not feel rushed at all, which is nice considering how quickly the restaurant filled up. That being said, no one helped us to move the tables and chairs out of the way when we were entering and exiting the restaurant, and no one told us about the wheelchair accessible washroom, so I had to take off one star.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I ordered the baby size Jerusalem bowl with falafel. I'm just going to quote the menu's description here: "flax hummus, grilled spinach, tomato, cucumber, parsley, red onion, sunflower sprouts, olive oil, tamari, lemon, mixed herbs & chili powder". Given my craving for healthy food, I very much enjoyed it, and I would definitely come back again and order take-out if I am in the area. Everything was fresh and tasty and it was easy for me to eat with just a fork (important given that my left hand was occupied with my son). The name "baby size" is very deceptive - this is definitely a perfection portion size for lunch.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Food and service were great but the accessibility factor is very problematic. I would recommend coming to get take-out and then enjoy a nice picnic in the park, but unless you can fold up your stroller and carry your baby in your arm, I would say this restaurant is not mommy-friendly.

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to Toronto Gourmommy! I have created this blog to help other mommies like me find some great restaurants that are also baby-friendly!

A little bit about me: I love food. I love finding new places to eat and trying new things. I consider myself a gourmand because I like eating all kinds of food (versus a foodie whose tastes are a little more refined). I do not like when I am having a romantic (not to mention expensive) meal with my husband, only to be interrupted by the crying baby at the next table. That is not to say that I never tolerate it - there are many restaurants that are casual, noisy, or laid back where it does not bother me at all. Once I became pregnant, I realized that I needed to find restaurants with the right ambiance to bring baby to if I wanted to continue dining out on a regular basis. While trying to research restaurants, I found that there were not many reviews that indicated whether a restaurant was particularly baby-friendly, and the only restaurants I felt confident about bringing my son to were the ones that specifically provided a kids' menu; however, throughout my pregnancy, I noticed that there were a few restaurants that I could probably bring a baby to, but would never have thought to try based on descriptions and reviews. I'm hoping that this blog will change that!

I would tell you more about my son but I am finding that he changes almost on a daily basis, so I will just let you know that he is adorable, and he makes motherhood both challenging and rewarding.

With this in mind, let me explain how my future blog posts will be organized:

Each review will indicate the name of the restaurant and the general area where it is located. I will also note what meal I am eating (I expect lunch to be easier for baby than dinner), what day of the week it is (weekdays are probably less busy than weekends), and how old my baby is.

I will then proceed to rate my experience according to the following parameters:

Accessibility:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Five stars means that the restaurant accommodates strollers and provides change tables, making it easy for me to bring baby in.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Four stars means it is relatively accessible but missing something that would have made the experience easier.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Three stars means that it is definitely possible to bring your baby, but not necessarily convenient.
⭐️⭐️ - Two stars indicate that bringing a baby to this restaurant is going to be a hassle.
⭐️ - One star shows that the restaurant is absolutely inaccessible and not worth trying to bring baby in the future.

Service:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Service was excellent and the staff really did their best to accommodate me and my baby.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Service was great but there was some room for improvement.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Decent service, but not particularly memorable.
⭐️⭐️ - Service was quite slow and not particularly accommodating.
⭐️ - Terrible service.

Food:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I would highly recommend the food to anyone.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I enjoyed the food very much but might not necessarily recommend everyone try it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I would eat here again, but the food is not particularly noteworthy.
⭐️⭐️ - The food was not great but I could eat here again if I had to.
⭐️ - I would actively avoid any future visits.

Overall:
I will provide a star rating based on the average of the three parameters above (rounded - I don't feel like doing half stars).

Hopefully this blog will be useful for all the other mommy gourmands in the city!