Julia made this an incredible experience! I am so grateful for Julia and The Mule, as a celiac and anaphylactic to Peanuts and Tree Nuts, my time finding restaurants that I feel truly safe is rare. This was the first place in Canada where I felt that safety to just explore the menu, relax, and enjoy. Everyone that came to our table was kind, informed, and awesome! Also the food IS AMAZING! Best tacos I’ve had in Ontario. Thank you again to Julia and the team for making a memorable meal and amazing experience. Will be coming back to Hamilton just for The Mule!
To prefix, I want to say that the staff at The Burnt Tongue have ALWAYS been great to deal with and accommodating.
However, if you are a vegan, dairy free or have any dietary restrictions: AVOID THIS RESTAURANT 🚫
Their system for indicating vegan items is inherently busted. Items are marked with a “VVC” which translates to being vegan and celiac friendly on their little ordering guide.
With that said, they have a little asterisk (*) that says to check about daily specials on a dish.. or something along those lines. The signage is confusing as the asterisk doesn’t say “may change what dietary restrictions are accommodated by this dish.”
In my scenario, I ordered a soup marked as “VVC”… but there was cheese in the toppings. Whoever thought that putting dairy in a dish SPECIFICALLY NOTED as being vegan shouldn’t be allowed to add items to the menu.
Again, the staff were fantastic at getting me a refund and courteous when on the phone.
This doesn’t excuse the fact that The Burnt Tongue is negligently and FALSELY advertising dishes as being vegan/dairy free when they are, in fact, not. I should not have to ask if a vegan option is actually vegan.. this is dangerous to people who have severe food allergies and grossly incompetent.
I will not be returning until they can make the appropriate changes to the listing process for their menu items. I and advising friends and family to go elsewhere until that change is made, too.
We travelled 2 hours to eat dinner here. Destination choice. Us and our friends (4 top) The dining room was busy, loud and full of laughter. The Kitchen was on a lull when we sat down for our 7 pm table, as we had a front row seat to see what they are up to. What they are "up to" is a LOT. As is the whole restaurant. Great greeting at the door, good well timed and solid service by the whole team, table visit from the Manager to say hello and chat for a minute. Very well made drinks, good wine selection by the glass, big tables, nice big chairs. Details. They have these covered. As the second rush hit, and the Kitchen crew was heading into what I know was the second stretch of service in a 10+ hour day, they did not let up. All of the parts of the dishes we ordered had their full attention. The salad, venison carpaccio and squash fritters were delicious, proportional and looked fantastic. The frites on the burger and flat iron steak (both cooked as ordered, delicious and served hot) were crisp and seasoned. The gnocchi was so good my wife purposefully did not finish so she could take some home to have the next day and my duck leg had crispy skin, soft delicious meat and slightly textured cabbage, with potatoes, proper lardons and a balance of tart mustard. There was dessert too after all of that great food, a smooth and full-of-real-vanilla-bean brulee and a light lemon tart. Espresso martinis after the meal instead of coffee. I am a full blown celiac diner who understands that there will be dishes that I just cannot have and yet I had numerous menu choices as well as un-requested thoughtful additions provided (gluten free crackers for my carpaccio) This is a restaurant business that you can go to knowing that all of the people that are here are working to put out the very best over-all experience they can, and have been doing so for the past several years. In a changing time of eating out and deciding where to go and what to get, my wife put it perfectly - "Go somewhere that can exceed your expectations" The French does just that.
They just put out a summer menu and it was excellent. Best to go with a group and share. They were able to accommodate for my celiac. Try the whipped feta. It was out of this world. The waitress was lovely and we didn’t need for anything.
This is a very cozy spot that my friend and I have visited on a few occasions now. Every time we are greeted with AMAZING service, everyone is so pleasant and knowledgeable about all the options available, especially for my friend who has a gluten intolerance - one of the few places that has a good amount of options for that dietary restriction. I impulsively decided on a dessert which also ended up being fantastic.
ALL their waffles are GF gluten free by default. Default was never so delicious as this! The Belgium Waffles had a perfect texture with a buttery moist chewy yet delicate airy interior and a crispy golden exterior. You can't make them better than this! Yum!! Thank you for sharing your talent 🙏
since having a family member that’s celiac we have stopped, recently discovering they offer gluten free wraps we tried it again. DO NOT,
(1)they use the same cooktops and utensils without cleaning.
This establishment needs to learn about contamination and true gluten friendly environments if they’re offering gluten free options.
Hambrgr had great selection for burgers and were even able to easily accommodate my gluten dietary restriction with a delicious bun substitute. I ordered the Hawaiian Punch burger and it truly was one of the best burgers I've had in a long time. The pulled pork's BBQ sauce and sweet pineapples balanced out the saltiness of the fried onion topping and savoury beef burger.
Side caesar salad was a little pricey at $6.00 for a small salad but was tasty and wasn't overwhelmed with too much dressing. I would order it again.
Overall, Hambrgr is a great value for a gourmet burger and worth spending a couple extra dollars for a premium meal. I have gone twice and will be back.
Solid all-you-can-eat sushi dining experience. Has options for vegetarians, as well as gluten-free options (just make sure to ask for gluten-free soy tamari). Food is usually fresh and delicious. Variety is okay.
No matter where I go across Ontario, I cannot find Café Oranje's equal. The staff, the atmosphere, the coffee, the food... There is no comparison. I am delighted each and every time I visit.
If you are gluten-sensitive, there are always wheat-free options aplenty and their muffins are some of the best I have had in a long time. There is also gluten-free bread available if you want to get into any of their robust selection of sandwiches. And to any fans of oat milk, there is Earth's Own Barrista-style oat milk available.
The coffee is excellent - fans of black coffee, rejoice. It needs nothing added to be enjoyed to it's fullest. I simply tend to order lattes as a matter of preference.
The store is always clean and welcoming with an atmosphere that delights in clever simplicity. The owner reflects these values with her personable, easy wit, and her staff are always professional and courteous. I'm incredibly socially awkward and still, I find everyone who works here is really easy to talk to.
I am also sound sensitive but never feel the need to drown out noise here. Guests trend towards intelligent or pleasant conversation at a reasonable volume, and that over the sound of smooth jazz or lo-fi beats makes for pleasant background noise.
If you are someone who likes to work at the café, I have been using the space to draw and work on commission illustrations and have found it very easy to focus and get a lot done here.
The front door is a little small and heavy, but the staff are super courteous and if you think you will have any trouble with it, flag them down and they will absolutely help you. It's worth noting for the sake of accessibility as well, the bathroom is a rather small single-person room that requires you to ascend about two or three steps. As a result of the size and age of the building, there is no wheelchair accessibility.
The store is very lgbtq2+ friendly! I was asked for my pronouns (for context, I use they/them) and they have been well respected ever since.
All in all, I love this café. It is easily my favourite in the province. I am moving away soon, so I will dearly miss it. But I hope that it will continue to thrive so that whenever I visit Hamilton, I can stop by for a while.
We hosted our wedding at The Diplomat and everything was incredible! Our event coordinator, Kyla, was super helpful throughout the whole planning process and answered all of our questions promptly. The restaurant is beautiful and required such minimal decor. The staff working the event made everything run so smoothly, from set up, to cocktail hour, to dinner service. The servers were amazing. The bartenders are so talented and our guests loved the cocktails. All of the food was DELICIOUS! Our favourite canapés were the fried halloumi and the chili chicken. The braised beef was to die for. There were vegan and gluten free options for our guests with dietary restrictions. Our guests raved about the food! I would highly recommend The Diplomat for hosting events!
pro's. best gluten free pizza base i have ever tasted. best seitan pieces i have ever tasted. cons. the ghost buffalo sauce that accompanied the bucket of seitan pieces has been haunting my digestive system for 9 hours. the next time i order this sauce, and i will because i crave it, i will ask if it can be cut with something to reduce the scoville rating. i hope this is a request that can be accomodated. but congratulations. you win. well played.
Had a lovely time enjoying various offerings, all of which were perfectly executed and which happened to be gluten free!
The service was excellent with a very knowledgeable and attentive server.
I highly recommend this place for an intimate gathering or date night.
Ok. Martello - whoever you are. You cook the best food!!! I have two enemies in this world, the sun and gluten. I was super impressed with how diverse your menu is! Lots of gluten free options. Everything I had tasted awesome too :)
First, the food was incredible. Secondly, they have great gluten free capacity.
If you go, go for the food, and if you are celiac, enjoy your evening, because the food is incredible!
Service: Got to the restaurant in time for reservation, the hostess was seating us. There was an area of 3 empty tables, two of them by the window. I asked could we have a table by the window. The hostess said yes, and seated us. Well..... then it all fell apart. Another person, no idea who came over and said no we can't have that table because it was already set up for a different reservation. Directed us to a different table (another empty table) So we had to get up and move to a different table. Maybe they should talk to each other. The place filled up within 20 minutes of us getting there. We got kicked out exactly at the expiry time of our table. I read on the website that it could happen and it did. We did not dawdle.
When I made the reservation on Open Table I wrote that there were two birthdays - Like that didn't matter at all. Nothing happened about birthdays. Lucky we brought our own cake and candles, Whew!
Incredible food, nothing much to say about service.
Atmosphere: The noise from the kitchen comes all the way through the restaurant, and there are no sound absorbers anywhere in the place, so so so much noise. We had to yell at each other to have a conversation. Like I said, go for the food.
100% Dedicated Gluten-Free
