Cosmic Treats has a special place in my heart. It was one of the first vegan eateries I visited in Toronto after going vegan. I believe the first time I actually went into what one can call a cross between a dinner and a cool ice cream shop was after a vegan meet-up. Since then, I have been a regular visitor and have seen this establishment grow from a dessert spot to a restaurant that serves a variety of decadent vegan treat as well as brunch favourites and classic comfort foods. I definitely recommend this restaurant with a cool 8/10 for food and experience. Why is it not a 10 you may ask, you have to keep reading to find out?
Basic Ratings
Cost: $$/$$$ Cosmic Treats is definitely not cheap. Prices are affordable and understandable as everything is made in house right down to the ice cream. But when you are on a student budget like mine, Cosmic Treats is definitely not a place you will be heading to every weekend. For example a slice of cake and two scoops of ice cream comes up to about 15$, or a plate of their all-day breakfast with an add-on of 2 veggie sausage patties all rounds out to 20$ after tax. Although two scoops of ice cream is sizeable the all-day breakfast, in my opinion, does not seem to be worth 13$ for the portion you get. It is good, do not get me wrong; but for 13$, it’s a stretch. This is a place Cosmic Treats loses a point for me.
Service: 3/5 As much as I love the food here, one thing time and time again that leaves me with a bit of a sour taste is the service. Don’t get me wrong, the waiters and staff are super sweet, but it always feels like the staff is a bit disorganized or too few. As the business continues to grow, there are more and more customers filing in and out of the eatery but the number of servers seems consistent. Being a bit understaffed, the waiters are always running back and forth between customers and it is a bit more difficult to grab their attention. Also, there is a delay in table turnarounds whereby recently empty tables are not cleared promptly for waiting customers, leaving us waiting customer wondering when we can sit.
Experience: 4/5. The food is tasty and the staff is nice but the disorganization and wait is what keeps the score at a 4 instead of a 5.
Vegan Friendliness: 6/5. It is an all vegan restaurant and it is nice how all options are made in house. The ice creams are cashew based and they are so creamy and just feel like a lot of love went into making them
My Favourites
All-Day Breakfast
If you know me, you know I am a sucker for a sweet and savoury combination. So you bet I was over the moon when I saw the all-day breakfast option. The all-day breakfast option comes with tofu scramble, home fries and you have an option to get cornmeal waffles or blueberry oatmeal pancakes with this order. I always go for the pancakes option and sometimes I add in a side of two sausage patties. The tofu scramble is well done but the winner for me is always the pancakes.
Mac and Cheese Balls
These are a treat. Although pricey, I highly recommend them if you are looking to fully indulge. They are very crispy on the outside but nice and cheezy on the inside.
Ice Cream
My personal favourite ice cream options are cookies and cream or cookie dough. These are a staple amongst the changing ice cream flavours they have. For 4$ you get a large scoop of the cashew based ice cream or you can get it in a vegan waffle cone (plain or crusted with sprinkles or chocolate, or even better, sandwiched between two cookies. This is a perfect treat for a hot summer day.
Aside from these favourite, they have a diverse menu that features comfort foods like vegan pot pie, pancakes and sandwiches. But the one thing I always remember cosmic treats for, and what brings me back time to time, is their desert options. There are so many sweet treats you can get with your meal and they are all so well done.
Lastly, shoutout to my girl Katrina for not only introducing me to this place but for giving me some of her amazing photos (cover photo and chick’n ceaser wrap) that were taken on her phone and really gave my camera a run for its money.
Update (June 2020)
Cosmic Treats closed its doors at Kensington Market the fall of 2019 because of high rent prices for the restaurant. This is just another example of how maintaining and sustaining a business in Toronto is getting more and more difficult for small businesses
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